Hey Guys,

This is our first official blog entry! We have both (me and my partner Kayleigh) been in Aus for around 7 weeks now. Our first stop over was Dubai where we experienced 30 degree heat, never ending sunshine and lots of halal food. Don't come here if you are offended by chicken sausages and turkey bacon.

Dubai

After our arrival we headed off to Dubai Mall to spend what we thought was considerable spending money. Turns out, £400.00 will not get you very far in the most expensive and extravagant mall in the world. Shops typically included Cartier, Tiffany's, Rolex was their version of a charity shop and that pretty much set the tone for Dubai. In the Mall itself there was a giant aquarium (random) which included sharks, sting rays and thousands of colourful fish. We also viewed the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa which is impossible to take a photo off if you want the whole bloody thing in it. In the end we realised the only way to get a decent shot was to lie down on the floor like a crazy tourist.

NB: Turns out there are over 10,000 species of fish in the aquarium. Completely free to view from the outside.

This was the view we enjoyed whilst enjoying the local cuisine... the Cheesecake Factory which you should recall from Big Bang Theory.

We spent the rest of the day wandering the mall, too fearful to enter the ridiculous shops but admiring the goods anyway. Pretty overwhelming when you come from a small town in Wales where the average watch is not the price of a very large mortgage! The same day we witnessed a race between a Bugatti Veyron, a Ferrari and a Bentley Continental need I say more.

That evening we went on the Desert Safari where we went off roading with a convoy of jeeps across 20km of sand dunes. Our driver was previously a getaway driver for the mafia or something similar anyway and seemed to enjoy attempting to make his passengers vomit on the never ending sand. After enjoying an Arabian sunset we were taken to a remote area in the desert where we enjoyed a delicious barbecue, smoked copious amounts of shisha and got henna tattoos (Richard included).

On the second day we visited the Burj Al Arab and a nearby beach. The building was impressive to look at and has its own helicopter pad and high restaurant. Although impressed, it wasn't as visually impressive or as good value for money (we didn't stay over, £1000 a night is a bit steep!!) as the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore which we will blog soon enough. We also managed to visit Rob and his girlfriend Cat when we were here and we all tucked in to a Lobster dinner at another famous Dubai restaurant, the Red Lobster. First time I have had lobster, I was impressed.

All in all Dubai was a great first step on our epic journey to conquer the world, or at least, travel some of it.

Peace out.