Summer Adventure: Week 51, July 9-15, 2023

Hello from Dubai! We have had quite the week.

On Sunday we spent the morning in Sydney at our favourite breakfast spot, Grounds of the City.

Then, we checked out, headed to the airport and boarded a flight back to Brisbane. It was the last weekend of kids school holidays in Australia so the airport was packed!

In the evening, we met up with Sam, Carter, and Carter’s parents on the Gold Coast for one last dinner together. They are off on a grand Australian adventure over the next month!

On Monday, we spent the afternoon walking around Southbank. I got a birthday cake latte - yum! In the evening, we got some trip planning done and organized our bags.

Tuesday was graduation! We spent the day on campus taking photos, attending the ceremony and celebrating. The ceremony was quite long… I was graduate #408 to cross the stage! I graduated with a Master of Global Management degree from the University of Queensland.

Later in the evening we went for a steak dinner at the Boatshed in Toowong - it was a delicious way to end the day of celebrations.

On Wednesday we had a quiet day with lots of packing and organization. It was our last full day in Australia so we had a lot of administrative stuff to take care of. I met a friend for a delicious Greek lunch - thanks Vanessa! Then, we spent the evening on the roof of Carter & Sam’s apartment enjoying a view of the city.

Thursday was the longest day ever! We left Brisbane at 4:30AM on July 13 en route to Dubai. We started our morning watching the sunrise at Currumbin Beach, Webster's favourite surf spot, one last time. Then, we drove 80km from Brisbane to the Gold Coast Airport where we flew to Singapore (8 hour flight). We had a 10 hour layover so we decided to go into the city and enjoy some time at Marina Bay. Our first stop was Marina Bay Sands Mall!

Then, we went to Black Tap for dinner. A gourmet burger restaurant with locations in Singapore, Dubai, New York and Las Vegas.

Then, we walked around outside in the Marina Bay Area to see the iconic three tower hotel, the Merlion, and the bay. We finished our evening adventure at Gardens By The Bay watching the SuperTrees.

Then, after a 5 hour delay we flew from Singapore to Manila at 3:30AM on July 14th (4 hour flight) where we had a layover. Finally, after another delay, we flew from Manila to Dubai at 2:30PM (9 hour flight).

On Friday, we arrived in Dubai at 8PM local time after 44 hours of travelling. We checked into our beautiful hotel, and were greeted with a wonderful celebration of our engagement. We were exhausted but knew it was the coldest time of day (only 38 degrees) so we decided to head out!

Our first stop was Souk Al Bahar for Time Out Market Dubai. A meal at Time Out Market Dubai means you’re truly digging into the city’s most delicious dishes, cooked by the most exciting talent in town. What you’ll find inside is a hand-selected array of everything you could want to eat and drink, all under one roof. We had Lebanese food and bao - it was delicious!

Then, we walked around the mall and saw Tim Hortons, we had to stop for an Iced Capp! We finished our evening with some time at the Burj Khalifa, the worlds tallest building.

On Saturday, we had our first full day in Dubai. It was 44 degrees, with no wind. We started our day at Jumeriah Mosque for a public visit. The Jumeriah Mosque is part of the ‘Open Doors. Open Minds.’ program, an opportunity for tourists to interact with local guides, ask plenty of questions and take photographs. We chatted with locals, learnt about their culture, religion, and how prayer is integrated into daily life. It was a really neat way to explore local culture in a beautiful space.

Then, we set out for the Gold Souk, one of the oldest and most fascinating traditional markets. There were hundreds of shops, stalls and stands, filled with gold - it was crazy! Every shop owner was very keen to get our attention, invite us into their shops, and try and sell us something.

Afterwards, we took a short boat ride on the Dubai Canal. It was very hot, but a neat way to see the area!

Then, we made our way to the Al Seef district - a heritage area featuring old architecture. Al Seef places a strong emphasis on the region’s heritage and presents forward-thinking elements that showcase the area’s natural beauty. Dotted with windtowers and sandstone buildings, a stroll through the old-world district and its charming sikkas, or alleyways, offers a glimpse of past Dubai life. Since it was so hot, we stopped into one of the most unique looking Starbucks locations - thanks for the air conditioning Starbucks!

Later in the afternoon, we made our way back to the hotel to cool down by the pool.

We finished our evening with a trip to the Dubai Mall to window shop, people watch and see the famous water fountain show! The Dubai Mall has more than 1,200 retail outlets, 200 international dining experiences and a wide range of entertainment and leisure attractions including an ice rink, aquarium, movie theatre, and indoor skydiving. We were amazed at how clean it was despite the thousands of people there. The fountain show was outside the Dubai Mall, in front of the Burj Khalifa. The water sprayed along to music and drew huge crowds.

This week we have a few more days in Dubai, then we fly to Kenya! Thanks for following along with our summer adventure. More excitement to come in the next few weeks.