Dubai, U.A.E.

I have to admit, looking out the window to watch Iran, Iraq and the Persian Gulf (or by it's politically correct local name, "The Arabian Gulf", or simply "The Gulf") pass beneath us was a bit unnerving. But from the minute we landed in Dubai, the wonderful hospitality, natural beauty, and amazing city developments continued to delight us.

Tim planned the trip as a birthday gift for me back in December (a birthday which shall remain number-less) but the timing couldn't have been more perfect, as we departed London a mere 36 hours after I completed the London Marathon (enter Flora London Marathon 2007 and my bib number 29766 to see my pics). London was marathon #6 for me and the third in my quest to complete all 5 of the World's Majors - that's London, Berlin, Boston finished with New York and Chicago still left to do.


Dubai is an interesting city (more than 80% of it's residents are expats) and going through an explosion of growth, apparent by the constant construction everywhere you look.









The white sandy beaches and resort hotels are amazing, with attentive service rivaling that in Asia (and yes, those are camels you're looking at in the pic of the beach to the left!).

The food was wonderful - we tried the local cuisine for breakfast one morning and went to a Turkish restaurant one evening where Tim indulged in a post-dinner shisha (he went for the watermelon flavored).

It's a very religious culture. Every night next to a little box of chocolates on the pillow, we found the "Arabic Proverb of the Day". My favorite:

Always do your best. What you plant now, you will harvest later.

We had the pleasure of visiting with Tim's Dad, who is on assignment in Dubai for a few months.

On our last night, he gave us a gift of a desert ride and dinner. What a fun experience (with perhaps the exception of the sand dune ride... I think the 2-year old in the back-seat managed those better than I did!) We had a blast riding camels & Tim on the 4-wheeler, and we enjoyed a great dinner with 2 belly-dancers (including one little girl who was even more entertaining than the 'professional' dancer!)

Most of our days were quite relaxed though... breakfast on the balcony overlooking the pools & beach, then a few hours in the sun, some cocktails at the pool, with a spa treatment or nice dinner with a bottle (or two!) of great wine to finish it all off. I couldn't have asked for anything nicer.

As quoted on the coasters placed beneath our wine glasses:

"Let us have wine and women, mirth and laughter, sermons and soda water the day after" -Lord Byron

We did make visits to the Gold and Spice Souks and the Emirates Mall - complete with its own downhill skiing slope! (check out the Shutterfly album for pics)

All in all, a fabulous holiday experience, and a gift I'd be most happy to receive for my next 29th birthday, too.

PS, If you haven't seen enough of Dubai yet, check out our Shutterfly photo album.