After settling into our room, we took a tour of Madinat Jumeirah in an Abra (water taxi) on the canals, which then dropped us off at the souk. This section of the resort is highly tourist orientated and is full of high priced souvenirs and accessories, so we made our way to the local mall for dinner. As we were sitting in the food court, we realised that we were over looking a snow field! The Mall of the Emirates is the home to the worlds largest indoor ski field, and it was quite a sight to behold, with local women in their traditional garb throwing snowballs! From the mall we headed back to the room for a much needed bout of rest and recuperation, along with a light show from Burj Al Arab.
The next morning we woke and it was as if we were cupped in the palm of a cloud. Zofia absolutely loved the variety of pillows, and spent a good half an hour crawling around and crash tackling each of the pillows individually. At this time of the year the afternoon heat is so stifling it is best spent in an air conditioned mall, which Dubai has in abundance. On our final day we headed to the Gold and Spice souk area in Deira, and after two hours in the heat we were left exhausted, searching for a taxi that would take us to a congested part of the city. Not so much fun with a baby in tow, but memorable all the same 
Dubai left us so awe struck that it is hard to think of any high lights, but the resort at Al Qasr, Madinat Jumeirah and our first taste of 5 star opulence, and a simple meal of Shwarma and shakes at Al Mallah in Satwa certainly make my list of memorable moments of the trip so far.
Two days of breakfast buffets, air conditioned afternoons in the mall and swimming with Zofia in the resorts pools left us well rested for the next stage of our journey to Europe.
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Stifling heat, sweet Arabic perfumes, glitz and glamour.
Our flight from Bangkok to Abu Dhabi on Etihad Airways went off without a hitch, arriving 12:30 local time. One of the first things Madzia noticed was the opulent fragrance of Oud, and the myriad of sweet Arabic scents that are used throughout this part of the world. One of the first things I noticed was the availability of porters and the amount of luggage that locals brought home from their shopping spress in Bangkok.
We ventured forth into the stifling heat to our coach for the transfer to Dubai. We made our way through a landscape of sandy shades and construction grey, and gradually, like a shimmering mirage, the desert came to life as we neared Dubai. Dubai itself seems as if someone had picked up a strip of prime real estate in Manhattan and dumped it in the middle of the desert, it is actually quite surreal. From the coach we made our way to our home for 3 days, Madinat Jumeirah. There really aren’t enough superlatives to describe this resort, and going from our digs in Thailand to 5 star luxury in Dubai left us speechless, the pictures really do speak for themselves…
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