Unfortunately we only had 2 nights in Dubai meaning we had very little time to do much more than we already had.
We started off the morning having breakfast with our Swedish friends before saying goodbye and that we might visit them in Copenhagen. We caught a taxi out to see the world’s only 7-star hotel, the Burj Al Arab – the iconic hotel on the water in the shape of a sail. Sadly, to get past security you need a reservation and moreso, semi-formal attire is a must. No shorts, jeans etc which is all I have. No matter, we got the photos, we can say we’ve seen it – mark it off the list.
From there, we caught a taxi to go to Palm Jumeriah – the man made island created from nothing in the shape of a palm tree. The hotels, the housing – just everything is beyond belief. It’s excess for the sake of it. We couldn’t help but think how much water must be used to keep the lush grass, trees and flowers alive given the conditions.
Our taxi driver gave us an unguided tour in that he really had no idea what was what, but he stopped occasionally for us to get out and take photos. The crown jewel on the palm is Hotel Atlantis – a massive resort where the filthy rich play.
From there, back to the hotel, grabbed our bags and off to the airport. We were in the taxi for probably an hour, maybe 75mins for the princely sum of 140dirhams or about $40. Bargain.
You know the airport is busy when they have actual checkouts – probably 8 in the normal food area and another 6 in the alcohol / cigarettes area. Duty free seems an odd thing in Dubai as it’s an open port – there is no sales tax. But – the airport is one of very few spots you can buy alcohol so I guess people stock up.
The plane ride to Munich was easy and uneventful. We got an older Airbus and whilst comfortable, was showing it’s age a bit and the Boeing we had to Dubai was noticeably nicer.
We got through customs, caught a train into the city center along with about 20 Scottsmen dressed in their kilts (and had clearly had a few drinks on the plane). We found our terrible hotel, but it was clean and it’s grown on us since. A good night’s sleep and we ready ourselves for the big day – Oktoberfest!