I know it is not in East Africa but it is on the way home.
The flights last night with Rwandair were OK, in fact , the first one was one of the best I have had. We arrived here at 4.30 this morning. I was soo knackered I walked straight past baggage claim and was outside before I realized. I had to talk my way back inside through all the out doors. I changed $50 and got a taxi to the hotel cos I was too early for the train. My room was ready but they wanted to charge me extra for taking it early so I said stuff it and went walking. It is very hot here (35 at 4.30 and max 43) but when you go into the shopping ctr it is freezing. The shopping ctr next door, Mall of the Emirates, is massive. It opens at 10am and stays open til 1am on the weekend. I walked to Jumeirah and then back to the shopping ctr and now home for a shower and a nanny nap. You might recognize some of the pics.
The bus stops here are great. They are fully enclosed and airconditioned so if I get too hot walking around I just sit in there for a while.

This morning I went to play golf. When I got off the train the course was just there. They wouldn't let me play because I couldn't prove my handicap. (I might have to look into that) There looked to be almost no one on the course and it did look first class. I still have another chance tomorrow.
On the way I bought a nol card. It is a pre paid card for the public transport system and cheaper than paying as you go.
I am now a shopping king. I got from the second biggest shopping ctr in Dubai to the biggest shopping ctr in the world. I didn't actually do any shopping, I spent most of my time lost and looking for the exit. Dubai mall is massive, 1200 shops, and every brand name you can think of. All the stores are single brand and every brand has a store. They were way too expensive for me, Havaiana's were over $40 and T shirts were over $35. I was looking for something sweet like a donut or icecream but only managed to get lost.
While I was lost I found the entrance to the Burj Khalifa. I don't normally do heights but I paid the money and went to the observation deck on th124th floor. The lift travels at 35km/hr and takes 1 min to get there. I did two laps, including the outside deck, to make sure I got some good pics so you going to see some doubles. I was having trouble getting a pic of the building til I was on my way home and found a spot so I got a couple and will try to go back tonight to get some lit up.


While you were asleep last night I went out and got some pics of Dubai at night. To be honest I expected the place to look a little more spectacular than it was. I don't know how good they are going to be.

this morning the plan was to go to Deira to play golf and look around. Deira is the old part of Dubai, supposedly the Bedouin section. Well Bedouin it is not but it is the old part of Dubai. 20 years ago it would have been amazing but now the petro dollars uptown have made it almost obsolete. I really liked the area and would like to have seen a bit more of it. When I left here this morning I forgot to take my map so I missed a fair bit of what I wanted to see.
I played golf at the Dubai Creek Golf Club. It was very fancy and I played 9 holes on the par 3 course. It was not what I was expecting but you live and learn. They also have a yacht club there so I had a bit of a nosey around there as well. I am thinking I will go skiing tomorrow morning before I fly home tomorrow night.


So for my last day in one of the hottest places on earth I went skiing. The snow was great and it was pretty cheap. For about $60 they supply everything and I got 2 hr skiing. I had a great time and only fell over a few times. They have 2 runs and a ski park at the top. You can go from either the top or half way. The first time I fell over a little girl, looked about 5, flogged past me and sprayed me with snow. When I fell off the ski lift a hot german chick helped me up. Anna helped me for a while and showed me a few lessons, so it wasn't all bad.
Im coming home tonight on Emirates, don't forget me boy!