Ski slopes and sand dunes

Yesterday was our first experience of the dubai metro. The rail is raised above the city and offers great views on all sides through big glass windows. Surpisingly, the trains are really busy all day long! Maybe that is only surprising to a South African... The train left us at the Mall of The Emirates which is quite an impressive building. It is huge, but apparently (and unfortunately) has the largest carbon footprint in the world. This is mainly due to the large indoor snow park and ski slopes. We booked a 'discovery ski lesson' i.e. for the totally clueless! Our instructor was really good and had us up and going in no time. His motto is: if you believe you can, then you can. That's a good one to remember for most things in life. Bron was the first in the class to fall on her bum and did so many times. Justin only fell once, 'avoiding someone'. Snow might look light and fluffy but falling on it was definitely not pleasant! Bron has many bruises and sore muscles today!

Skiing wasn't as hard as we thought it would be. Think the trick is knowing how to brake. Bron's problem was getting her ski's crossed and not being able to untangle them before bailing. But after the lesson we feel more confident and able to tackle a beginner lesson to learn how to turn and jump, and then some real slopes!

We also visited the Madinat Jumeirah Souk, or traditional market, near Burj Al Arab (the sail looking building). It wasn't quite as old and traditonal as we had hoped but was still pretty cool. We bought some roasted nuts covered in honey, chocolate or sesame seeds, yum! In SA, 'nuts' would usually mean peanuts but here they are cashews, almonds and hazelnuts. Way better! Bron also got a 100% silk scarf from India for a steal.

Today started with exploring the spice and gold souks. Bargaining is a must in the souk as some sellers take a chance and really try to rip you off. Think we were overcharged for my pashmina but how were we to know? Definitely suggest investigating the prices around the market before buying and then bargaining as well. It was quite interesting walking around the markets though. We found that is were you see the real people of Dubai. A lot of foreigners work in the tourist attractions but walking around the souks gave us a feel of the old Dubai.

The water taxi or 'abra' was a great experience too. For only AED1 (R2) we crossed to the other side of the creek. Abra's are traditonal boats which are quaint and romantic looking until the engine starts up and spews out diesel fumes.

This evening we enjoyed a sundowner dune safari cruise through the desert. It was well organised and a lot of fun. Bron felt a queezy at times but was worth it. The dinner included many traditional dishes and their lamb chops can compete with SA! Bron recieved a traditonal henna tattoo and we enjoyed a camel ride outside the camp. Hoping no fleas jumped across!

So in two days we went to the two extremes of snow and desert in the winter of Dubai. Today ends our time here and tomorrow we are off to London in time for New Year's Eve! If you are in the London area during the month of January please let us know, we would love to see you. Wednesday next week we fly to Dublin in the Emerald Isle for 5 days. Lots of cold weather coming our way!! See you soon Shell and Graham!

Wishing everyone a happy and blessed New Year and 2011

x



Abra - used to cross Dubai Creek



A Dubai Metro Station





Gold at the Gold Souk










Dubai Skyline
(the Burj Khalifa in the centre is the tallest building
in the world at about 900m high)

Old boat outside Dubai Museum



Spices from the Spice Souk



Atlantis, The Lost City

After a very average flight, Justin & Bronwen arrived safely in Dubai at 5:30am local time today! Yay! We are officially on our way =)

Thanks to everyone who called, smsd or emailed to wish us well on our trip, it was very much appreciated! Thanks also to Bren and Kirst for dropping us off at the airport, you guys rock! Yesterday was a very weird day since it didn't feel real that we were leaving, even once we were standing at the gate waiting to board the plane. Hoping it will sink it soon that we don't have return air tickets! A highlight at the airport was seeing Kath & Julian and having an opportunity to say goodbye. Enjoy the skiiing in Austria guys!!

In general, passport control is not a favourite part of any journey, and this time, especially not in an Arab country! After much confusion and having to have an eye scan, we finally made it through passport control and customs.

First impressions of Dubai are it is very clean with a lot of construction still on the go everywhere. It is a very cosmopolitan city with a lot of Indians, both holiday makers and workers, Germans, French and Australians. We also heard the odd South African accent which made us feel at home =) Taxi's and public transport are also relatively cheap and easy to use. The people are also very friendly here, except for passport control of course ;~) Although it is winter in Dubai, today was a pleasant 25C with a slight breeze. Winter here feels very much like winter in Johannesburg except that it is much warmer. But the air has the same dry, browny feel; not like the brilliant blue skies of Cape Town.  At the moment, Dubai is 2 hours ahead of Johannesburg and 4 hours ahead of London.

We are staying at the Golden Sands hotel not far from the airport. Our room is pretty basic but since we will only be sleeping and showering there it doesn't bother us too much. After checking in, we made our way to the Atlantis hotel at Palm Jumeirah, about a 30 min drive from the hotel. Most of the day was spent exploring the Aquaventure theme park and enjoying the many water rides. Our faves were 'The Rapids', in which you go down a series of gentle rapids in a 600m circuit of the park in a plastic raft-type tube and 'The Plunge' in which you rapidly go through a series of twists and turns in a closed water tube in the dark!! Other rides we tried out where 'The Leap of Faith', the pic below will explain why it is so called, and 'The Shark Attack' which includes a stretch of closed water tube in the middle of the shark tank. Bron screamed so much today and swallowed so much water only time will tell if it was safe or not! All in all was a very kewl experience and comes highly recommended.

Also at Atlantis is 'The Lost Chambers' which is basically an aquarium styled in the theme of the lost city of Atlantis. The decor is a bit out there but kewl if you enjoy that sort of thing. They have a lot of different and interesting fish and seem to be going for the very unnusual items. The aquarium was kewl but maybe not as good value for money as Aquaventure and we prefer the Cape Town and Durban aquariums more. Local is Lekker =)

Another highlight of today was our inagural Starbucks snack! Haven't had the coffe yet, but enjoyed a sandwich and muffin. There will be plenty more time to experiment in London & Europe.

Right now it is bed time! After roughly 3 hours sleep in the last two very busy days we are feeling somewhat bushed. But we will be up bright and early to hit the ski slopes at the Emirates Mall. Other items on the agenda in the next two days are exploring the souks and a dune safari. But more about those next time!

Until then, sleep tight!

x





Backpacks packed and ready to go





The various rides at 'Aquaventure'





'Shark Attack':
A ride that ends with a tunnel through a shark tank







'Leap of Faith':
A 60 m drop with speeds of up to 80 km/hr





'Lost Chambers'








Atlantis Hotel





This one is for Bren





Dubai - northern region night skyline



... don't know when I'll be back again

We are officially homeless and unemployed!

Our furniture was removed yesterday by a very professional and organised Elliot's team and is on it's way to Rotterdam via the storehouse and London Thanks guys, you did a great job!

Other good news is we managed to sell Justin's car this week. A bit last minute but perfectly timed in the end. Feeling relieved that that task is accomplished.

At the moment we are in an interesting place with very mixed feelings. As excited as we are about the adventures and opportunities ahead, we are also extremely sad at leaving our family and friends and beautiful country. The past few weeks have been filled with many farewells and goodbyes and there are more to come before Monday. Thanks to everyone who has called us and organised a goodbye, small or large. It has been great to see you all one last time. Sorry to those we didn't manage to see, you are in our thoughts though! 

Thanks to all the people who offered us a place to stay this week, you guys rock! Special thanks to Andrew & Lisa whose home we are staying in this week. Thank you for opening your home to us, we are very comfortable and happy here. Thanks also for allowing us the use of your car =)

Here are some pics from Christmas dinners we have been fortunate to share with family and friends.

A Christmas dinner with Joan and Mayira

Family celebrating Christmas Eve

Not sure that there is a suitable caption for this photo...

 

We wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year. 

x 

I'm leaving on a jet plane....

Hi Everyone!

Welcome to our new blog! Thanks to Phil for the inspiration for the name, we think it has a nice ring to it =)

As many of you know we are leaving Cape Town, South Africa to go live in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, the idea being to do as much travelling as possible!! We leave SA on 27 Dec, spend 3 days exploring Dubai and then head to London on 31 Dec. The month of Jan will be spent visiting Bron's sister and brother-in-law (Michelle and Graham) and exploring London. If you are in the area let us know! We would love to see you =)

We then head to Amsterdam on 1 Feb. After hopefully finding a place to stay the plan is to travel around Europe for the months of Feb and March. Justin starts his new job with Royal Haskoning on 1 April (April fools?). Bron is yet to find a job but is happy to plant tulips for a while ;~)

At the moment we are in Uvongo on the South Coast of Durban visiting Justin's parents and attending the wedding of Rob & Lisa which was super kewl. We head back to CT on Mon (20 Dec), pack up our flat, have Christmas with the family and head to Dubai on the 27th.

We hope you will enjoy following our travels around Europe and find out more about 'Going Dutch' with us. Become a follower and leave us messages! We are looking forward to hearing from you soon!

Below are some pics of the farewell boat cruise and drinks Justin's office held for him, our time in the Drakensberg and Uvongo, Lisa's wedding and other bits n pieces.

Till next time when we will be on the cold soggy island covered in snow...

Justin & Bronwen

aka 'Going Dutch'

x



Some of the PRDW crew giving us a send off with a sundowner cruise...







...followed by drinks at Ferrymans



Hiking at Garden Castle (Drakensberg Gardens)




Blesbok and bokkie





Himeville dam reflection




Some friends at the 'Duck and Dolittle'




Dung beetle doing its thing




A furry worm





A resident of Puckety Farm (Underberg)



Blesbok and Wildebeest (Himeville)





Loteni... and relatively clear skies





Loteni... and storm clouds





Sani Pass in the background



Heading to the wedding...







Rob, Lisa and the family

Rob and Lisa leaving the chapel





uShaka Marine World



uShaka - Dolphin in action