Finally arrived in Dubai today and god it is hot; we were told that it is 44c !!! Felt really relaxed after a great flight on Emirates. This is now our favourite airline; the in-flight entertainment is fantastic and food was very good – well Mark thought so as he also ate mine given I am always really picky with my food, which doesn’t bode well for Laos and Cambodia later in the trip (mmmmm.....cooked spiders)!!!. The relaxation soon dissipated though as Mark spent half an hour messing around with his luggage in Dubai airport as he kept losing things !!

Our first experience of the country was a dodgy taxi driver trying to overcharge us at the airport. Instead, we decided to hunt down the taxi rank and found a company called Ladies Taxis. We had a lovely driver (from Iran) and she was much cheaper than the dodgy taxi. It actually felt more like a guided tour than a taxi journey as she pointed out a number of the sights.

Anyway, we are staying at the Al Manzil Hotel in downtown Dubai. We are very close to the Dubai Mall.....too close in fact (a little too convenient for the credit card but we need to be careful as anything we buy will need to be carried around in the back-pack for the next few months !!!). The Mall is the world's largest shopping and entertainment destination....1,200 shops across 12 million square feet. The place is massive.....it even has a large ice rink, a huge waterfall feature and the world’s largest freestanding aquarium!! So, of course we had to venture there. We walked through the glass tunnel within the aquarium, which was pretty cool, did the glass bottom boat across the top of the tank and fed the fish (one is 7 foot !!). There were also countless sharks and rays within the tank. We also had the chance to go to the new "Underwater Zoo" which has just opened. It has some crazy sized crabs, penguins, otters, turtles and more fish.

Afterwards, we went to the Rainforest cafe for a drink. I had just a coffee, but Mark chose a mocktail. You can’t order alcohol in the mall so Mark decided to consul himself with a huge slice of chocolate cake instead....so much for the diet !!!

We are now back in the hotel room after spending an hour asleep on the sun loungers round the pool. Fortunately, we were in the shade, otherwise I dread to think how red we would have been.

It is 9pm and we are getting ready for our first night out on the town. We have been told that the place lights up like a Christmas tree and is a real spectacle........let’s wait and see. That’s enough for now but we will keep you all updated and will start to post a few piccies soon :-)

Lisa + Mark