Du-bye for now

It is now day 9 and our last full day in Dubai – we fly out tomorrow morning at 6:55am on the hunt for a white Christmas. We have had a great time in Dubai. Highlights have included: • The fountain at the Dubai Mall at night; a choreographed light and water spectacle to music hits such as ‘Thriller’ against the backdrop of Burj Khalifa.

• The opulent shopping malls; luxurious labyrinths so huge the best way to find your way back to a certain spot is to retrace your steps. As well as the designer names there are great boutiques with sales and promotions so there is many a bargain to be had.

• The people; such a cosmopolitan mix of races and backgrounds (apparently there are less than one million Dubai nationals and a large expat community).

We met this lovely family holidaying in Dubai from Saudi Arabia. They were very open about their customs and traditions. I told the mum, in the middle, that she looked great for her age and she laughed indicating her burkha. • Witnessing the vision that has gone into creating this wonder in the dessert

• Brunch at the Burj Al Arab

Naturally with highlights come lowlights: • Crazy Cabbies; note to cab drivers, Dubai is not a Grand Prix Circuit and your taxi is not a Formula One Ferrari. I have had to threaten to throw up more than once to entice the driver to slow down. It doesn’t help when this is a cue for your delightful children to yell, ‘go faster, go faster… see if you can make her throw up.’ • Alcohol restrictions; Not being able to have a wine or beer with your meal at over ninety per cent of restaurants - though this does have the advantage of everyone being extremely well behaved.