The absolute highlight of Dubai for me was this ridiculous feat of engineering. In the day time you have to sacrifice your retinas to the sun to get a good look at the top of the Burj Khalifa. I don’t know it’s exact height so lets just go with tall. As if humans can make buildings like that, or the machines that, granted, do all the real heavy lifting.

At nighttime it’s even more impressive, I was in total awe, it looks SO much bigger night and all the other incredible buildings surrounding it are totally dwarfed – seriously they must all regard it as that smug friend who knows their prettier and taller and more slender than everyone else. I bet the other buildings in Dubai all hate the Burj Khalifa. I actually stared at it last night for a good half hour and wasn’t bored one bit. It’s kind of hard to believe that there are even enough resources in the world to sustain it, definitely adding to my theory that Dubai city does not actually exist.

It also has the most spectacular water fountain shows which occur each half an hour, we were lucky enough to catch the “Thriller” … I’m sure MJ would be impressed at how some crazy specialist expert managed to make water jets look like dancing zombies. We hung around for a second show too, set to an Opera classic, don’t ask me to name it, but it was a tuneeeee for sure.

People live in it, insanity, you could 100% fit the entire population of Torbay into it, comfortably. Apparently near the top everyone has to anchor their furniture to the walls/floors because it sways up to a metre in the wind… Not up for that. Jade has been up in it pretty high before but we kept our feet on the ground and craned our necks instead.

The building also glitters all throughout the night, intensifying when the fountain shows are on. From Sue and Paul’s house you get an awesome view of this. Where ever you look in the city centre everything is covered in as many beautiful sparkling lights as possible, without ever looking tacky, bravo Dubai, you have the worlds tallest building and I imagine an equally as competitive carbon foot print.

We’re on the way to Bangkok now, which I am sure will offer the Burj some competition for a new highlight, it just probably won’t tower so high above us.

If you’re lucky Jade is also going to fill you in on some other Dubai fun times.

Rose x

I’m just going to hijack this post rather than make my own! We went to the desert one evening with some ciders and a few camels to keep us company (and no I don’t mean Kirsty or Sue). We climbed a few dunes and tried our hardest to man up and accept the fact it felt like we were walking on hot coals…but when you look up and realise where you are it really doesn’t matter! I think i’ll be finding sand in my bag for the rest of my/its life. Oh, and the sunset was amazing too!

Soon enough it was time to leave Dubai and say goodbye to the fam at the airport (again!) We were well and truly on our own, AHHHHHH! I impulse bought a new camera as mine had already packed up. Good. But two stories stem from this – first, the guy who served me asked if Rose was my mum. LOL. And second, on the plane to Bangkok I thought i’d make use of the ‘charging facilities’. A word of advice, DON’T. The battery flung out and was swiftly consumed by the apparent black hole that is an Emirates aeroplane seat. Gone. So, ‘find a battery for Jade’s camera’ has reluctantly been added to the list of things to do in Bangkok…and if you’re lucky I might keep you up to date with how that goes…*

Bye Dubai!

Jade x

*but no seriously, I will.