Dubai is an incongruity. In a land where there is plenty of flat empty space they build UP! The tallest building - Burj Khalifa; 2nd tallest hotel - Burj Al-Arab; tallest hotel - JW Marriott Marquis Dubai; the second biggest shopping mall has a ski slope and luge, and the biggest shopping mall has a giant aquarium. On the drive in from the airport I saw a department store decorated on the outside with giant reproductions of ancient Egyptian art. It is the sort of skyscape that makes you think that the Jetsons will suddenly putter around the nearest skyscraper.
The flight was dire. Not because the the aeroplane, food or the service was less than excellent, but because flying for over 13 hours is just a disgusting experience. Our first "experience" came in Sydney when the immensely obliging and efficient young woman from Emirates solved our seating problem - and then all three of us realised that she had sent our bags straight to Rome! In other words, we are in Dubai without a change of clothes. We'll cope because we don't feel energetic anyway.
We arrived at our hotel at about 7.00 a.m to find that our room wouldn't be ready for some hours. We went for a walk but the heat and humidity hit our tired bodies like a Loony Tunes anvil. We found and explored the Mall of the Emirates ('Ski Slope Mall'). We walked streets almost devoid of women. Hmm...
We then retired to the foyer where Lyn trawled the internet in search of an alternative way to get to and from Europe, without suffering the tyranny of distance, and avoiding Dubai.
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