Well, the luggage was a miracle, 20.2 and 20.4 kgs, with hand luggage just scraping under the 7kg mark for each of us as well. (Only because I packed some things for mum in MY luggage, what can I say we all know the woman is hopeless) Then it was all aboard the Emirates 777 bound first for Singapore (about an hour's sleep each) and an hour's stopover, and onwards to Dubai - almost another 7 hours and about the same amount of sleep. Emirates has a forward camera on their aircraft (and a downward camera) so you can watch the landings/take offs in graphic detail - not necessarily such a great idea when the landing goes a bit wobbly like it did in Singapore!
Dubai is 6 hours behind Brisbane/Melbourne, so we arrived as dawn was breaking around 5.40 am. Surprisingly Dubai was covered in smoke/dust/smog with limited visibility, reminding me of China initially. The walk from the arrival gate to exit was at least 4 miles :-) and Lonni is insisting that we can only take stairs from here on in! The formalities were brief and painless, all the luggage arrived with us and the tour company met us as arranged.
When we left the terminal the heat hit us like a solid wall, and not only the heat but extremely high humidity. The camera kept fogging up so much I couldn't even get any pics at all for a while. The o
vernight temperature was 31C and today is a mere 41 degrees, humidity having now dropped away. And as the day has gone on the smoggy cover has mostly burnt off, just like our driver said it would.
Our room wasn't ready when we arrived but the hotel is well set up for early guests with breakfast immediately available (seated beside a wall of glass overlooking the creek with an amazing buffet and I swear a staff person per guest!) and complimentary use of the health club and the pool, including showers with all condiments supplied and towels, robes etc. plus a locker in which to put your valuables temporarily.
Our first order after breakfast was then to get clean and then to get cool - the pool of course - then a soothing massage each. Morning tea in the lobby cafe and then our room was ready and handed over at about 10.45 am even though checkin is not until 3.00 pm. I can't recommend the hotel - the Sheraton Creekside Towers - highly enough. It is quite beautiful and the staff are all so incredibly friendly and helpful. The man looking after the health club happens to be Ethiopian, he's already lined me up a meeting with his wife, a room and meals at his mother's in Addis and his little brother to look after me whenever I need it.
Dubai is 6 hours behind Brisbane/Melbourne, so we arrived as dawn was breaking around 5.40 am. Surprisingly Dubai was covered in smoke/dust/smog with limited visibility, reminding me of China initially. The walk from the arrival gate to exit was at least 4 miles :-) and Lonni is insisting that we can only take stairs from here on in! The formalities were brief and painless, all the luggage arrived with us and the tour company met us as arranged.
When we left the terminal the heat hit us like a solid wall, and not only the heat but extremely high humidity. The camera kept fogging up so much I couldn't even get any pics at all for a while. The o
vernight temperature was 31C and today is a mere 41 degrees, humidity having now dropped away. And as the day has gone on the smoggy cover has mostly burnt off, just like our driver said it would.Our room wasn't ready when we arrived but the hotel is well set up for early guests with breakfast immediately available (seated beside a wall of glass overlooking the creek with an amazing buffet and I swear a staff person per guest!) and complimentary use of the health club and the pool, including showers with all condiments supplied and towels, robes etc. plus a locker in which to put your valuables temporarily.
Our first order after breakfast was then to get clean and then to get cool - the pool of course - then a soothing massage each. Morning tea in the lobby cafe and then our room was ready and handed over at about 10.45 am even though checkin is not until 3.00 pm. I can't recommend the hotel - the Sheraton Creekside Towers - highly enough. It is quite beautiful and the staff are all so incredibly friendly and helpful. The man looking after the health club happens to be Ethiopian, he's already lined me up a meeting with his wife, a room and meals at his mother's in Addis and his little brother to look after me whenever I need it.
Visited the bank next door and withdrew some dirhams from the ATM and now Lonni is sleeping for a little while. Once she's up it will be lunch and into town to start seeing the sights and start the shopping. City Centre Mall here we come.
My first
impressions? Delightfully friendly people, amazing architecture, luxury cars everywhere and hot, hot hot. - Lyndall
Hot, hot, hot I feel does not describe the weather to my satisfaction. "It is hot, damn hot, real hot and wet which is ok when you're with a woman but no good when your on holiday, gonna try a little crotch pot cooking" or something like that. (A little tribute to Good Morning Vietnam)
What can I say (mum seems to have covered it all already) but as Micheal would say its not complete until I've had something to whinge about and well here goes. The flight was looooooooong and VERY uncomfortable, even with mum's squishy shoulder to lean on, and then finally came out of the airport only to step into the thick mist of a balmy thirty three degrees and its only 0530 in the morning! Dad, eat your heart out.
Enough of the whinge; the rest has been good, the people here are so lovely, ma'am this ma'am that, good morning here, good evening there, I feel slightly out of place with my, g'day ow ya goin'. Would have been helpful had someone told me, like, Lahni for instance (yes surely by now you would think I would have realised but no I have not) just how hopeless mother really is. Left the room, leaving the door key INSIDE, thank god someone's organised and I still had MY key, set out for the mall - tell mum to leave her phone in the room but no she needs to bring it along so she can leave it behind in the cab, along with her $800.00 camera! Thank god for honest citizens. Call the phone - cabby answers and is on his way to drop them off personally, not quite as painless as that but you get the shortened version. Why? because I finally get to go to one of my favourite places on holiday - or not - BED. Until next time - Lonni
PS from Lyndall - You can see the day's images from the safely recovered point and shoot (now if I'd had my real camera with me it never would have happened!) at http://lyndall.smugmug.com
TOMORROW - the big red bus goes round and round...
3 comments:
Hi
I am impressed! You are certainly making the most of it. Enjoy the luxury.
Thanks for the arrival message and have fun. John
hello Lyndall and Lonni, good to hear you got there ok, though Lonni did tell me how much she enjoyed the flight. Always got to have a whinge bout something don't ya! :) anyhoo guys have fun and spare a thought for us poor souls left behind to slug it out.
oki, now i'm not anonymous. another bloody id and password to remember. and no grief from you Lonni bout my memeory!!!
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