Dubai Part 2

On Tuesday during our trip

we went to the top of the

tallest building in the world!

The Burg Khalifa is 2,722 ft tall

and has 163 floors.

What an amazing view

of the city..

and beyond!

We could see out to the man made

World Islands

After visiting the Burg Khalifa,

we walked around the Dubai Mall..

the worlds largest shopping mall!

We had lunch and got lost

and went to the aquarium.

Griffin loved the "whale sharks"

(sting rays).

We sat at a coffee shop just outside

the indoor ice rink.

We all would have skated 

but we were not dressed properly!

It was fun to watch though.

Later that night we had 

dinner at P.F.Changs 

and watched the fabulous

fountain show.

On Wednesday we went 

out to the desert on a safari.

When we all sat around at breakfast

on our last morning in Dubai

and asked what was our favorite part of 

the trip..

we all agreed this was.

A LandRover picked us up

at our hotel in the afternoon..

we drove about an hour out to the desert

where we went "dune bashing"

I admit I was a little green by

the end of it..

but all the kids, 

including Griffin loved it!

He didn't want it to end!

There was camel riding

And dancing 

and BBQ for dinner..

The desert safari was our

favorite experience in Dubai!!

Thursday was beach day.

It was HOT!

And the water was loaded 

with jelly fish

but they didn't seem to

bother us.

On Friday we had planned

to Ski Dubai

inside the mall..

we even brought our own

hats/gloves!

But we decided to

go back to Atlantis

for another great day

at the water park!

Griffy loved it here.

We spent hours

riding in the tubes 

down the rapids.

A great way to spend 

a hot day in Dubai.

Our day pass

included access to 

the beach.

Saturday we flew home...

Here are a few pictures taken from

our hotel balcony.

We were obsessed with watching

these workers building this hotel

next to ours.

We watched them build 

an entire floor while we were there.

These guys work so hard

out there in the heat.

Dubai is still under so much 

construction.

I hope we can visit 

again someday.

It was an amazing 

holiday!

How blessed we are

to have these experiences

and to travel to such places 

in the world!

Dubai Part 1

Our trip to Dubai was

amazing!

I'll be honest..

I didn't think I was going to like it.

The newness of it..

The racy cars..

the shiny skyscrapers..

the desert.

But, 

I did.

I truly loved it.

It was so very different than anywhere

I've ever traveled.

And boy was it HOT!

We stayed at the Marriott on the marina..

this was our view from our balcony.

We arrived late Saturday night..

after a 6 1/2 hour flight on Emirates!

Our view at night.

Sunday morning we walked

along the marina.

Dubai is one of the 7 emirates in the 

U.A.E. ..

the United Arab Emirates.

About 85% of it's population

are expats. 

Mainly Indian, Pakistani, Filipino and 

Bangladeshi.

We met so many interesting people.

And some of the friendliest!

The culture here revolves around

the Islamic religion and traditional 

Arab activities..

like shisha smoking.

This is a social activity..

similar to Westerners meeting

at a pub or cafe for a glass of wine or beer

as there is not alcohol served.

I loved the smell of the shisha!

It's nothing like cigar or cigarette smoke.

I tried it when we were on safari in 

the desert!

And five times a day,

Muslims are called to prayer.

We would hear the beautiful music

coming from the mosques.

This was a cool looking outdoor 

cafe..

at night filled with people smoking

shisha!

Sunday afternoon

we took the hotel shuttle 

to a Souk.

This was a touristy Souk..

filled with shops and places to eat.

(visiting the traditional Gold souk and the spice market

was one of the things we didn't get to do..

hopefully on another visit!)

We bought a shisha pipe

to bring home for decoration!

Sunday night Steve and I made

reservations at the SkyView Bar

at the Burg Al Arab!

(pictured above)

This was the coolest building

I've ever been in!

I took a picture of this from

the menu..

We did NOT order this

$4,000 drink.

Maybe next time

:)

Monday we drove out to Atlantis

on the Palm Island.

We spent the day at the water park.

Hannah swam with the dolphins!

Not many pictures to share

as we were in the water all day!

Monday night we went out 

for Middle Eastern food...

Delicious hummus,

grape leaves, tabbouleh, 

chicken tagine...

So good!

I will share the rest of the week

later..

Will and Griffin and I are off

to London for a few days

to see the Lion King!

Steve and Stephen flew to the States

yesterday to visit colleges

and Hannah is flying to 

Romania tomorrow with

her volunteer group!