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Holiday in Dubai

Ever thought of taking a break to Dubai for a birthday party? As a birthday present from 2 very kind friends, Marlese van Wyk went for a trip to Dubai:

Sooooo I woke up one morning at six (take note......I am NEVER up at that time of the morning)...........while lying in my bed I went onto Facebook mobile and saw my friend Eduan, who's been staying in Dubai for a few years posted an article of a Madonna show in Abu Dhabi in June 2012......lights went on in my head :)..........this can be my birthday gift to myself.

I immediately called my best friend Richenda at that time of the morning (shame, the poor woman was still sleeping) and I told her about Miss Madonna in Abu Dhabi........Without hesitation she said she will definitely join me in the venture and we decided to go on this fabulous trip to celebrate my birthday of 8 June. Eduan emailed us sites with great deals on entertainment eg cobone, groupon UAE etc………you won't believe how great the deals are on these sites. I was told by Eduan and Richenda that I may not buy anything on the sites without speaking to them……..

We decided to fly with Emirates as they had the best prices at that time. I flew from Cape town and we had a stopover in Johannesburg for crew change and for Richenda to get onboard……….and off to Dubai we went…….with a short stopover in Doha. Our flight went very well with no hassles at all.

Our first night in Dubai we ate at Bu qtair……………..OH MY HAT…………..this was divine………..the boat on which the fish were caught was still outside the restaurant(house)……..You choose which fish you want them to prepare for you and provide them with your name…..and when your order is ready they come outside and scream your name……..you are seated at a white plastic table with colorful plastic chairs and a box, yes a whole box, of tissues (this is normal in Dubai…..to wipe off the sweat due to the curries;)

Our second day we were already mallrats…….we stayed 5 minutes from the Emirates Mall….this was a fun trip everyday……..out of our airconditioned flat in the heat of at least 40 degrees and into the airconditioned mall. It's very safe to walk in Dubai….they have no mercy for any crime whatsoever.

Eating was one of our main priorities and this evening we enjoyed the cuisine of Calicut Paragon……another restaurant not to be missed……….here I had my first pineapple mint juice…..I've had it after Dubai again BUT Dubai gets first prize on this one. On day 3 we went on our almost 2 hour drive to YAS ISLAND , Abu Dhabi for the Madonna show……….
I was absolutely furious at the show….she came 2 hours late………the show was fine but I wanted more of her songs of the 80's/90's……while those songs were on ,she was busy with a wardrobe change, mxm…….. I guess I would've been more intrigued by her if she at least came early…..at least I saw ABU DHABI and YAS ISLAND.

On day 4 we went on the Desert Safari. Our guide was not the nicest person around……..even the family of three who were with us in the 4x4 thought so, eventualy we just had a good laugh about him not having the best personality. We had such a ball that he later came to ask us why are we are laughing so much. Strange guy.

We had a fun time on the Safari. Got some Henna tattoos, had a nice buffet, saw cool belly dancing, saw an Arabian dance normally done by males (can't remember the name at all...OOPS), met great people and had a hell of a Killarney drive with our tour guide behind the wheel. LOL

The next day we lay till late, went to the Mall AGAIN and in the evening we hopped onto the Dhow Cruise. This was beautiful…….going down the Dubai Creek by Dhow is a must-do when you're in Dubai. It was Stunning with friends and I can just imagine how romantic it can be with your partner.

On Wednesday we took the train (absolutely safe and easy to use) to get to the meeting point of THE WONDERBUS…….I don't even want to spoil the fun on this one…………..book it and experience it…We had the most informed, funny, and great gentleman as our tour guide. While Richenda and I were chatting to each other, the lady and gentleman (the two of them reminded me of our parents and were the same age as our parents) in front of us turned around and asked if we are from South Africa. Yip, they were from here as well…..just around the corner….Simonstown. The two of them were actually had flown to Dubai for a 3 day holiday on their way to London. They asked us which excursions we've been on and told us that they don't have a clue what excursions would be best to do before they leave for London. We told them we had a whole itinerary planned for the next day and they are welcome to join us the following morning. After the Wonderbus we took them to Herschy's chocolate store (one of the places Richenda googled and we had to visit before leaving Dubai) and went for coffee at some glam coffeeplace near Herschy's.

That evening Richenda, Eduan and I went with a few friends to Jumeirah Beach Hotel…….girls and boys……this is stunning. Had a lovely 4course dinner and a glass of wine of approximately …mmmmm…..R350. Bankrupt !LOL
After dinner we messaged the couple we met but realized later the eve that they probably have not received the message. I remembered the train station nearest to their Hotel was Internet City station and Richenda remembered their surname. While sleeping the next morning I heard someone was busy making telephone calls. Miss Richenda woke up and started to google all the hotels near Internet City Station and started calling each and every hotel that popped up on the computer. A few minutes later I heard her having a jolly convo…………SHE FOUND THEM!! :D :D

We got them at Emirates Mall a hour later and our first pitstop was the Mosque where non-muslims were allowed….Sheik Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding….this is such a beautiful place.

Next stop was the Grand Hyatt Dubai where we had a stunning high tea with our new friends whom we met the previous day…….high teas are very popular in Dubai.

After the Hyatt we were off to DINO LIVE. All our Jurassic Park buddies are here at the WORLDS LARGEST DINO EXHIBITION...very informative and an interesting adventure.

We then went to the SOUKS (market) and obviously I had the time of my life shopping. …..I should not forget to tell about the DEIRA market we went to……beautiful clothes, Hookas , spices etc. I bought one of the latest hookas for my brother……the shopowner was so excited to have us, he almost begged us to stay till his shop closed later the day coz he wanted to take us to the beach LOL.

We finished the day by going for dinner at an authentic Arabian restaurant situated just next to the creek.
The next day was my birthday……the whole week was already special as Richenda and Eduan decided everything is on them as it was my birthday week . They surprised me with vouchers for every single excursion and an itinerary for every day (one of the reasons why they told me I can't buy any deals whatsoever before leaving SA for Dubai). I woke up and saw Richenda's missing………she came back half an hour later with choc croissants, lovely choc croissants to be precise  I was told to get dressed and was forced (HAHA) into a cab, not knowing where we were off to.

The way to get around in Dubai is by cab, and what makes it interesting is that the driver could be from any multitude of different countries (but almost certainly wont be an Emirati!).

We approached this absolutely outstanding place…….the YALUMBA HOTEL……………….I immediately saw this was my kind of party when the doors opened at the restaurant. Props were lying around and available for everybody to ear…….crowns, tiaras etc. Everybody was in party mood…….Friday brunches are the IT-THING in Dubai. You can eat and drink as much as you like………….the waiters jog through the tables and fill your glass after every sip ;) ;) (this is the truth). There's a carousel with plenty of different dishes and almost twenty salads. Except for the carousel we also had a waiter presenting a menu with other meals eg Lamshank , eggs benedict etc, You can't walk out of this restaurant and not want to sleep. This was my best surprize and gift for the whole week. My friends definitely know me very well. I've always had a big birthday party and almost all my parties were costume parties and the YALUMBA was perfect for a similar feel.

Here's a photo of Marlese and her pals at the Yalumba Hotel, enjoying an all you can eat and drink brunch.

It's a popular spot to celebrate birthdays.

Yes, very popular!

Five hours later we went back to our den and packed our clothes to catch our Emirates flight to Cape Town in the early hours of the morn……………..but we couldn't leave Dubai without another bang ………..our last stop was the kareoke at Kitikats…………..here we had great fun……and I don't even love Kareoke. We left Kitikats before twelve at night to hop on to the aeroplane back to South Africa…………. If ever you need an itinerary for Dubai…..all of the abovementioned it is!
It was a great birthday week indeed!

Published on the 30th May 2013.