Let's Play Catch-Up: 2015 Travels - Dubai

A four-hour flight from Sri Lanka and we were in Dubai. I must say it's somewhere I've always wanted to visit, but hubby wasn't too keen, so when we saw that our flights to Sri Lanka had stop-overs in Dubai both ways we thought we should take the opportunity to spend a few nights there rather than making a special trip. We were able to book a fantastic hotel for a really good price, and I must say, we were VERY impressed with it; so much so that I fear no other hotel will ever live up to the standards of the Waldorf Astoria!

Our room was lovely - spacious, luxurious, a super comfy bed and lots of little extra touches like a personal concierge, a bag to take your bits and bobs down to the pool, robes and slippers, complimentary bottled water, a coffee machine, great turn down service where they left the radio playing on a special station designed to help you drift off to sleep and probably lots more I've forgotten.

The bathroom was very plush, with Salvatore Ferragamo toiletries and a tv at the end of the bath.

The view wasn't the best, but then this was one of the cheapest rooms so we weren't too bothered.

Best of all was the air conditioning, which was VERY welcome...

The grounds of the hotel were just as luxurious

although the pool was a lot more crowded than any we had been used to in Sri Lanka!

We ventured out on our first evening to The Dubai Mall which was immense, pretty much every shop you could think of, plus restaurants, cafes, an aquarium, an ice skating rink and so much more. There was even a Cheesecake Factory so we were in heaven!

Right outside the mall is the Burj Khalifa, which is the tallest structure in the world - so tall that it needed two photos to get the whole thing in!

Plus the amazing Dubai Fountain which puts on a show set to music every 30 minutes in the evening.

The next morning we spent more time by the pool

and in the sea - look how clear it was!

And then back in the room to cool off - a view of the famous Burj al Arab luxury hotel from our balcony.

You can see why we needed to make the most of the air-con in our room!

Later in the afternoon we went to visit another mall (in an effort to keep cool, you understand!); and we found M&S!

Plus our favourite US fast food eatery

and best of all

 which did takeaway!

 The following morning was spent by the pool again, before it all got too hot to handle

 at which point we went inside for afternoon tea

 so very civilized!

before setting off for our last evening in Dubai. What else to do when you're in the country that boasts the tallest building in the world

We went up at about 4.30pm so we could see the city in the light and the dark, but unfortunately we got a bit bored after about an hour so we only saw the start of sunset and then gave up in favour of...

...food!

And a spot of shopping - Mummy's favourite supermarket!

And that was our last night in Dubai. The following morning was spent relaxing on the balcony

and making the most of the sunshine and pool

and who could resist a dip in the bath with the TV on!

Then it was time to say 'bye bye, Dubai'.

We weren't overly impressed with Dubai (or what we saw of it); it was VERY expensive and there are plenty more interesting and attractive places in the world that we would rather go, but I'm glad we got the chance to experience it and tick it off the list. I wouldn't say no if someone offered me a free trip there (especially for the hotels), but we won't be rushing back otherwise!