In July 2012, the Kershaw family holiday plan was to travel to Dubai for 5 days, England for 2 weeks, and Malta for the last 5 days. First, we took off on a plane destined to land in Abu Dhabi. As we were flying in, I looked out the window to witness the amazing cities and sights of Dubai from above. When we arrived at the airport after a _ hour flight, we stacked up on all the typical Arabian juices being sold. We tried a variety of cardamom milk, date shake, cranberry-apple muesli milk and other eccentric concoctions. The taxi we took from the airport was pastel pink, being driven by a friendly Arabian lady also in pink and white, who took us to our hotel nearby the canal.
The Arabian Courtyard was a grande, modernised hotel amongst the other typical Arabian architecture. We were welcomed in by a friendly doorman named *NAME* and sat on low couches drinking herbal tea whilst awaiting our room. Our room came with a view of the city, monuments, structures and rivers. We settled in, unpacked, explored the streets and local area. We had to be extremely conscious of what we were wearing as Dubai is much stricter than Australia in clothing and decency laws.
The following day, we took a trip to the famous Aquaventure waterpark Atlantis. This is located on a man-made island in the shape of a palm tree. We travelled in the skylift around the park and floated in rings around the water maze. We also visited the aquarium where you could float through the tank of sharks in a floaty ring through a see-through tunnel. Afterwards, we swam in the Arabian Sea which is far more salt concentrated than the Pacific Ocean near Australia, resulting in my being encrusted with salt for the remainder of the day.
The next day, we travelled by river-boat to the other side of the canal to see the famous markets typical of Dubai. We traipsed through the shops, being pulled into almost every single one by shopkeepers who kept referring to us as 'Kangaroo' with pointed fingers as their limited English vocabulary would allow. Shops were selling scarves, head wraps, cushion covers and fancy sequinned hats. We tried on multiple different combinations of stylish Arabian clothes and eventually bought a scarf for my sister and cushion covers for the whole family. One desperate shopkeeper even referred to my dad as his 'long lost brother' and invited my sister to a beach party that night! After the long day, as we were just about to sail back to our side of the canal, one shopkeeper who took a liking to me even chased after me and gave me a complementary scarf!
The following day we decided to explore the markets on our side of the canal. I tried on diamonte anklets, pointy elf shoes, feathered rings, head jewellery and more. We also sampled traditional Arabian spices and herbs whilst wandering the busy streets.
The next day was our wildlife safari trip. A junky four wheel drive drove us violently over the sand hills of the Arabian desert. At one point we literally were facing down at 90 degrees and our front bumper bar touched the ground! When we arrived, we saw a hawk show where the birds are trained to swoop and fetch meat. The heat was scorching and the humidity made the air hardly bearable to breathe. We rode around on camels and then entered the camp isolated in the middle of the desert. The sand was covered in carpets and low cushioned seats and tables. We devoured a traditional Arabian feast and got our henna done by professionals. Belly dancers jiggled away in the sunset as candles were lit and the festive celebrations continued. When it was finally pitch dark, all the lights were blown out and the entire camp stargazed in silence. Outside of the city, the night sky was so clear and the stars glowed so bright. Exploring the site, we found an area dotted with shishas. We weren't sure whether that kind of thing was legal in Dubai as we didn't have that much experience. It was labelled as 'apple flavour' and other teenagers were doing it, so we assumed it wasn't tobacco and safe (we still don't know to this day...). We tried it and it actually tasted quite pleasant and left a smoky apple-juice flavour in my mouth. The night ended late with a rocky trip back in the four wheel drive to our hotel.
The following day we went to the world's largest shopping centre! With inside iceskating rinks, aquariums, waterfalls and even a whole hallway for only gold products! Afterwards we witnessed the world's tallest building - the Burj Khalifa - which is 828m tall with 163 floors!
It was hard parting with the magnificent country of Dubai to continue on to England, but I will always carry with me my memories of our time there.
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