Dubai - girl

Dubai 18-23 February 2010

I write this sitting in a small hotel room in Delhi - just three hours away but a far cry from Dubai in every other respect.

The main point of our time in Dubai was to see A, P and H. We were also extremely lucky that K and D happened to be in the city at the same time. This made for some wonderful nights out. The typical day for us in Dubai consisted of a late start, late breakfast, some sitting or walking and then an evening drinking and eating. Complain? Certainly not, there’s not much else to do in Dubai. We did try the gold souk - tacky (my favourite item was a transformer head ring: yes, Optimus Prime style transformer); the museum - dull and not informative; and a desert safari - embarrassed we even tried it.

Friday was P’s birthday so as soon as we were done with dune bashing (and man, did we bash them), attentions were turned to the birthday. The party began in the apartment and continued in a salsa club. Any night that begins with Jaegermeister and ends in tequilla shots and cigars can be defined as a good night and this was no exception. We were in bed by 0430. Ow.

Saturday was D’s 30^th so after a lot of whinging about our heads hurting, we trundled over to D and K’s hotel for birthday number 2. This one came complete with champagne, a beautiful sunset and K in full Saudi get up. A slightly earlier night given how much pain we were all still in. A great steak restaurant with the biggest chairs ever and bed by midnight followed.

Monday. C and I made a big mistake and accidentally wound up on a ‘desert safari’ tour. The ‘safari’ was a waste of time and money but I did giggle when an Indian guy in full Emirati get-up was pulled off stage for improper dancing with women only to reveal his western clothes and Hindu self to the entire audience. The day was rescued by an evening of shisha and A and P.

We only went to Dubai to see friends. We weren’t disappointed, a lot of fun was head despite the place having very little to offer tourists. Sure it’s a little lacking in character but who doesn’t want to see the world’s tallest building or a seven star hotel shaped like a sail whilst drinking cocktails on a pier?

And now here we are in Delhi, a crazy, overwhelming city where I feel totally out of my depth despite a love of immersing myself in developing countries. I’m sure it’ll only take a few days for us to acclimatise but we’re certainly not there yet.