1.Rocky Start: Dubai - 13/01/09

After our winter holiday in London we were ready to defrost in Dubai - also winter there, but weather like good old Durbs. So the gloves and scarves were packed at the bottom of our suitcases and out came the sun-tan lotion and flip flops!

We  cleverly planned our  flight to land in the morning and have a whole day to spend in Dubai (Just one of the 7 emirates).

Left: At the airport excited to be in Dubai.


With our luggage on the trolley, "passport"-pouch in the one hand and camera in the other hand we head for the exit of the airport. George made a quick stop at the currency exchange desk before we hail a taxi. The cabs were not those yellow ones you would normally associate with the word cab - some were nice..... some were dingy, old skedonks, and we took one anyway....

ooooooh-ing and aaaaah-ing as we go to our hotel, making the ride feel really quick. In a jiffy we arrive at the Pearl residence. We offload our luggage, take snaps of the skyscrapers, pay the driver and off to check in to our room we go.

The clerk asks for our passports......... OUR PASSPORTS..... Suddenly we frantically start searching for the pouch with everything in it. Our departure tickets. Identity documents. Passports. Money.... I start unpacking in the lobby, emptying out every possible zipper.



After minutes of hyperventilating and a few anxiety attacks, we realize that we must have left it at the currency counter. It Was There. Thank God. For a brief moment I have never felt so trapped in my life - My thoughts were: I can't stay here in some foreign country. What about my family back home. How will we get out of this. This is not how I imagined it.


In our room we washed up and settled in nicely. Time to hit the road. We go to the closest shopping mall and decide to get lunch. Sitting there, waiting for our lunch, we could hardly keep our eyes open. We had had quite the adventure today. Back in the hotel room we both fall into a deep sleep. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ......................

Dinner time: At 11pm.



Fancy meeting you here...