So You're Coming To The UAE....

   On Christmas Day Ethihad had the wickedest deal ever. Some people got flights out of the USA for as low as 200$ round trip, mistake or not there will be a lot of visitors to the UAE in the next year. My blog alone tripled on hits yesterday (thank you!).  Here is a mini list of what you should see and do while you are here .

Abu Dhabi:

- Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque-- if you can only see one thing in Abu Dhabi go to the  grand mosque. It is the third largest mosque in the world and leaves me in awe each time I see it. Entry is free and ladies, you will be given an abaya (robe with hood) to wear as you walk around. The mosque is closed to the public on Fridays.

-Emirates Palace-- located near the cornice this is also a hotel, you can come hear and have high tea. Reservations need to be made Restaurants@emiratespalace.ae and you can have high tea daily from 2-6 pm. You must enjoy the cappuccino with the gold flakes which is their signature drink. The cost is about 75$ for two people.

-Saddyat Beach--in my opinion the best beach in the UAE. Clean with beautiful sand and water. 70 AED (about 20$) for an umbrella and a chair on the weekends (Friday and Saturday), less during the week. 

--A walk on the corniche. Take in the sunset. 

--Yas Island--I have only been to a club and a concert on the island but a visit is a must. 

This is just a mini list of my must dos in Abu Dhabi.

Dubai

-Dubai Mall-- the largest mall in the world, check out the skating rink, largest indoor aquarium, fountain show (every night from 6 or 8 pm, every half an hour). Movie theatre with bed like seats. 

-Burj Khalifa-- the tallest building in the world. Book your tickets online, they are cheaper. Sunset fills up fast. You get a glimpse of the world from the 124th floor.  It is a bit expensive but worth the trip up. About 45$. If heights are not your thing, you can take a picture from the ground with the Burj in the background from various spots (hit: get an outdoor seat at IHOP near the Dubai waterfall for a great view)

-Desert Safari-- book on either a groupon.ae or cobone.com both are reliable and cheap (about 30$ per person) and you get to go dune bashing, ride a camel (depending which safari you get), a buffet dinner and belly dancing.

-Mall of the Emirates-- you can snap a pic In front of Ski Dubai. Or experience this indoor ski hill for yourself.

-check out the only 7 star hotel in the worldBurj Al Arab aka the sail boat hotel. If you are Puff Daddy, stay here a night for 1500$ a night.

-Friday brunch--if you love to have a good time and want an absolutely memorable experience and don't mind dropping 150$ for an AMAZING all you eat and drink brunch, check out Saffron at Atlantis. If not just go check the hotel anyway, located in the man made palm islands.

-If clubbing is your thing, check out Barastri, a club on the beach. In the Dubai Marina area.

There is tons more, but this is my MUST DO list and anyone that visits, I try to do as many of these things are possible. You can take a bus from Abu Dhabi to Dubai and vise versa for 20$ US and they are clean and safe. The drive takes about 2 hours. You can also take a taxi for about 100$ if you are 4 people the price isn't too bad and it will take you a little less time. I hope that helps. If you have any questions, drop them below.

Happy travels! 

Christmas in the UAE

   Welp, I survived my first semester ofgrad  school and I am just waiting on my final marks. I am very pleased with how things have gone and I am impressed with myself and that I was able to balance work and grad school successfully. 

   The holidays can be an extremely hard time to be away from family and friends. Luckily, my UAE family is here to celebrate the holidays with and we had an Ugly Christmas Sweater party. I couldn't find an ugly sweater so I decided to make one; I got a glue gun and some Christmas decorations and voila! 

We also got a partner and took cheesy 'family photos'. 

Bahahahaha.

We plays name that Christmas movie ( I got 13/15) and unscramble the Christmas word (I won that too), can you tell I love party games? 

I had a wonderful time and we are surely going to do it again. 

I am heading to India tomorrow for two weeks. I will be doing the Golden Triangle (Delhi, Agra and Jaipur) for the first week and Goa the second week. Super excited to see the Taj Mahal. 

Have a Merry Christmas and all the best for 2015. Thank you so much for reading! 

Drinking Gold Flakes

     My visit with my parents continues. I took them to the Emirates Palace for high tea in Abu Dhabi. If ever you come to Abu Dhabi you have to go the Emirates Palace and enjoy high tea. You get a lovely assortment of sandwiches and desserts.

    

Scones, rose jam and the piece de resistance their signature drink a latte with real gold flakes.

No trip to Abu Dhabi is complete without a trip to the Grand Mosque.

This is the third largest mosque in the world and it is absolutely stunning.

   

       My parents and I went to the fountain show at Dubai mall and took a pic with the Burj Khalifa.

   Here in Al Ain the only thing to really see is Jabel hafeet one of the tallest mountains in the UAE. I took mom and dad to the top and his was the view at sunset.

Hello Stranger!

     Hello blog fam! Glad that you are still reading, I am still here! To all of you that have approached me in person, thanks again for reading my blog. I apologize for the hiatus, but between grad school and work I have so bad with blogging. But I am here now and that is all that matters, right!? So much to tell you, where to begin? 

    Back at the end of October I went to a Halloween party here in Al Ain, there is a new promotion group that is trying to put Al Ain in the map. They had a wicked party and I was great fun. As you can see I went as a pilot, don't worry I left the rolley at home.

   American Thanksgiving was at the end of November and although I am Canadian many of my friends are American. My neighbors ordered a turkey from a guy that makes food and made the sides and we had a little get together, it was really, really nice. 

     Last week was National Day in the UAE on December 2 and 3 the country comes out and this year was the 43rd year of independence. Our school had a celebration and I got all decked out. The kids went crazy because I was wearing make up (which I never do at school). 

'Miss, too much beautiful! Do like this every day!'

     

    My parents are in the UAE for the next two weeks. Of course, I have to show them around. We spent a few days in Dubai.

     Mom and dad in front of the waterfall in Dubai Mall.

   

     My mother loved the Dubai Mall aquarium, the largest indoor aquarium in the world.

We checked out Ski Dubai

And of course went on a desert safari.  I got to ride a camel which was the highlight of the day.

    Posed with a falcon.

 More to come...