So I arrived in Dubai...

The View: The Palm Jumeriah

The  experience on the whole was a very pleasant one; helped by the fact that there were no queues either end of the journey, and that I had three seats to myself on the flight, so could stretch out and sleep for the entire 6 hours. This, although relaxing, did mean that I slept right through a couple of good films (The Iron Lady and My Week With Marilyn) that I really wanted to see  -oh well, can't have it all!

I am now going to gloat when I say that the embedded picture is in fact the view from my balcony. Our flat, although providing an unbeatable view, is an acrophobics nightmare at 55 floors up off the ground. Dubai and the rest of the UAE is not all too unfamiliar to me as I moved to the capital, Abu Dhabi, with my parents when I was 16 to finish school. Although I prefer Abu Dhabi, Dubai is the place to come for shopping and glamour; you get the sense that maybe, just maybe, you'll see Tom Cruise swinging from the Burj Khalifa or the chavs actors from TOWIE lobstering themselves up on the beaches. It is, at this time of year, unbearably hot in the daytime (37°c at time of writing), but this gives way to beautifully balmy evenings which are lovely for sitting out in or strolling along the marina and beaches.

In terms of preparations for the Asian Adventures, I've been sweating it down the gym, killing myself on the treadmill and cross trainer in a vain attempt to shape up, the vision of me in a wet suit is more than enough to keep me battling through! I did manage to squeeze in a couple of weight training exercises before the guy in there started smirking which ever so slightly put me off. I also visited my local library when back in England, and although could find no literature set in SE.A I did borrow a couple of NatGeo guides to further detail the itinerary; found that a hot air balloon trip over Angkor Wat is in the astronomical region of US$15! I must try and persuade Jamie...


-gutted to say that hot air balloon is in fact tethered, alas no persuasion necessary!