On our way to Dubai

A deficiency in a fire truck was the reason given for the one hour delay in departing on our flight from Brisbane to Dubai. There was a rumour that the flight from New Zealand had to sit in a holding pattern for four hours due to the same problem. The extra time in the boarding lounge we used to play a round of cards or two before we were confined to seats that are never quite big enough to be comfortable.

Settling in for take off, I congratulated myself for choosing seats behind a galley that gave us more than adequate leg room. This seating row we shared with a mum, her 3 year old and eight month old children called Harper and Henry. This turned out to be a bonus as at times it kept us occupied helping her manage the logistics of two very young children in a confined space. Both children behaived very well and we had several moments of good humour. On one such occasion Harper (3 year old sitting next to me) referred to Ron as Grandpa and was keen to ask why he was fat. I explained that he lovedto eat food. Harper then looked at me and told me in confidence that I too was 'a little fat'. Harper's mother was mortified. I guess I came out of it quite lightly as Harper had not referred to me as Grandma!

Once in Dubai and after a couple of hours catching up on much needed sleep we decided on an expedition to the Mall of Emirates. This shopping centre is famous for its snow covered skiing slope. As we went to depart the hotel receptionist encouraged us to use the Dubai Metro and so we were presented with our first challenge in navigating transport in a foriegn land. The metro turned out to be a real bonus as it took us past some of Dubai's famous land marks. Dubai had not changed much since our last visit 2 years ago. It remains a city of sand and continuing construction. Having arrived at the MofE and gazing at the white wonder before us, we were not unimpressed with the snow skiing facility either. However, there is something uncomfortable about snow in the desert. I can barely imagine the amount of electricity it would take to keep it cold 24 hours a day.

For our evening in Dubai we had booked a Dubai Creek dinner and entertainment cruise. This turned out to be a real highlight not because the meal was delicious, that cruising the Dubai Creek at night with a backdrop of the city lights reflecting on the surface of the water was a treat in itself but, simply because the scheduled entertainment was a hoot! Our boat, which is one of many that take delighted tourists and locals on an evening cruise, was called the 'Cleopatra'. The name reflected the Egyptian themed entertainment. After we finished the buffet of middle eastern influenced food with a good dash of Asian noodles (which we assumed represented the number of cruise employees who were of asian origin) our host introduced the height challenged Mr Mohamed who would first perform an Egyptian 'something, something' dance. Mr Mohamed worked his way through the curious guests to the area set aside as a stage. Dressed in an elaborately embroidered vest, a colourful long and wide skirt and clutching what looked to be embroidered round hat boxes, Mr Mohamed began to spin in a circle. One guest who I assumed was of Egyptian origin himself, was delighted and began to clap and shout as Mr Mohamed spun faster and faster, a feet which he kept up for at least 15 minutes. The two 'hat boxes' became four and were arranged in various ways as he spun. The real highlight of the dance came as Mr Mohamed's skirt was pulled up over his head and he flicked a switch that illuminated the skirt with lights. Thank goodness neither Ron nor I suffered from epilepsy as the illuminated spinning would have been in danger of causing an epileptic fit! Of course the whirling thingy dance was not the only act that we watched in awe. We were also treated to a man dressed as a women puppet with gyrating hips, a fist fighting pair of Arabs who turned out to be one man in a costume and two men in a horse costume who enjoyed pretending to bite the men and kiss the women in the audience. What was earlier a curse as Ron and I were seated between a number of women who we established very quickly did not share a mutual spoken language nor, seem to enjoy our company and the outer windows of the boat, became a blessing as the amourous 'horse' was unable to reach my lips. There was also a magic act which when compared with the previous acts was a little lame.

Tomorrow we travel to Athens.