This was supposed to be a pre-back-to-work post, but the heavy traffic and the power outage last Sunday, both due to typhoon Bebeng, kept me from working on this post. Nevertheless, here's the first entry in the series of posts about my recent out-of-the-country adventure.
Walking in the streets of Dubai was an unexpected treat. We knew we had a layover in Dubai, but when it was extended to eight hours weeks before our trip. Horay for the transit visas shouldered by Emirates! It cut our first day in Cairo short, but at least we got the chance to roam around Dubai.
When we arrived in Dubai, we checked in at Millennium Airport Hotel. By the way, it took us longer than expected to get past the airport standard operating procedures due to the language barrier, but everything went well. So, we checked in the hotel, had breakfast and got ready to tour the city.
A trip to Dubai wouldn't be complete without checking out the world-renowned hotel Burj Arab. Just a bit of trivia, it stands as the world's largest Christian cross. You'll see a huge cross supporting the building seeing it from a certain angle. Unfortunately, I couldn't take a picture of "the cross" from where we were standing.
The Burj Arab
Spike, Me, Ma, and Pa. Lisa, is that you behind me?
After the visit to Burj Arab, we were met by my cousin, Dhang then took a cab to Dubai Mall. We had to buy change clothes since we forgot to pack some in our hand-carry luggage. Thanks, Dhang for the impromptu shopping!
Inside Dubai Mall
At the Dubai Mall with Dhang and my parents
After the mall visit my parents, together with the other members of our tour group decided to return to the hotel and get some rest. I, on the other hand, went with Dhang to check the world's tallest buidling - Burj Khalifa, which also completes my mini Dubai tour.
The Burj Khalifa
In-between site visits, Dhang told me stories about how life in Dubai is. It wasn't an easy start for her and it was a tough decision to work in the middle east. Good thing her hard work is now paying off. She plans to return to the Philippines once she has saved enough dough. It made me think (again). Will I be able to survive life outside the Philippines? I've asked this question to myself a lot of times and the answer is always the same - I don't think so. Until I went on this trip. :P
Before returning back to the hotel, we dropped by a souvenir shop to grab some, err, souvenirs to bring back home. I got a mug with a "King" printed on it, plus Dhang bought me a miniature glass replica of Burj Khalifa, which now sits on my desk.
We had lunch at the hotel and about two hours before our flight to Cairo, we went back to the airport. I hope I had more time to explore Dubai, but I think I made the most out of my brief stay.
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