“WOW, WOW, WOW!”, is all I can say!
Stu and I took advantage of an amazing Eid BOGOF* offer from Seawings this past Sunday. And yes I do mean Sunday and not Friday. I was (still) not working, and he had a surprise day off due to Eid and Tecom being closed. So we called Seawings on Sunday morning (after trying all day Saturday with no answer but we won’t go there), and yes!, they had space for 2 on their 16h45 30 minute, or Pearl, flight. The 45 minute flight, which includes flying over the Creek, was just sliiiiightly out of our price-range (and not on special). But we were not unhappy as we still flew over and around many Dubai Landmarks, including the Marina, Burj al Arab, Burj tower, the Palm Jebel-Ali, the Palm Jumeirah and The World. Dubai is truly amazing from the air. Even though the sun was setting, and it was a little hazy, we had the best time. I have loaded a few photos here for you to see what I mean.
I am sure this is something that anyone in Dubai, both visitor and resident, should do at least once (no I am not getting commission or anything) but I think it really is special when you have lived in the place a little while and you can put things in context. “Oh there’s our house, and there’s where I work!” And so on. We even got our own little boarding cards and sat in a departure “lounge” for 5 minutes. The only spanner in an otherwise flawless performance was not realising we had to start in the office, so we walked all the way down to the plane on arrival at Jebel Ali Marina, to be told, barely in English, that we had to pay at the office. Luckily the lady with the golf-cart arrived at the same time so we hitched a ride back there and started over.
The thing that struck me most during the flight was how much water there is. And no I don’t mean the sea. Most of the newer residential developments (The Greens, The Lakes, Emirates Hills, Jumeirah Islands, the Marina, Jumeirah Lakes Towers, JBR and so on) are built around man-made lakes and waterways, and laid out in geometrical, symmetrical patterns which you really can’t appreciate until you are flying over them. Unbelievable. The size and scale of some of the villas along the beach will make you green with envy and blow you away all at the same time. You really don’t get a sense of any of this from the ground.
It was also my first ride on a sea-plane, a little Cessna Caravan which seated 8 people plus the pilot (who was also South African). Taking off and landing on water feels a little like aqua-planing in a heavy car, without the worry of crashing into a tree. Well some people, my Mom for example, would probably opt for the out-of-control car instead, but overall I thought it was fine, a little weird maybe, but the landing was much smoother than I expected. However I expect that depends more on the sea and wind than anything else on some days.
Then the other piece of news I have is that I am working again. Ok it is just temporary work but at least I am out of the house, earning some money, keeping busy and it’s cheered me up. I am filling in for a lady that has gone off to have a baby, so for 4 months at least I will be gainfully employed. It also gets me through Christmas and new year and to the end of Q1 when, I am told by several people, the market should have recovered a little more. Here’s hoping. I am also helping out with the FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2009 opening ceremony. Yes, I have been chaperoning teenagers, and helping with costumes, at several rehearsals over the past few weeks. The actual ceremony is on the 9th in Abu Dhabi, and I think it will be amazing. I can’t wait to see it all come together on the day. Thanks Tes and Belinda for the opportunities.
Tomorrow is UAE National Day, so we will be having a day off and a braai with some friends. After 2 solid days of working I really could use the break 😀
Oh, and Rugby 7s starts in 2 days, see you there!
*BOGOF = Buy One Get One Free