Indoor Skiing in Dubai
On Tuesday night, we went to Ski Dubai – the indoor skiing place in the Mall of the Emirates shopping centre (giant shopping centre). I had a one hour Discovery Lesson – I’d never skied before. So we learnt the ropes and practiced on a smaller slope – and I only fell over once on my bum! (Right before that photo was taken.) Lots of fun. Would like to try it again. Went to a bar/restaurant afterwards that overlooks/looks into slopes where I took some of the photos from (see all the photos below / at the end).
Moroccan bath
Oh my GOD. Wednesday, I spent all day at a beauty salon. I had a Moroccan Bath which is like nothing I’ve ever experienced before – it was amazing. You are given a robe and a disposable plastic/cotton g-string are taken into this small room which is like a shower, sauna and steamroom in one. It is dimly lit with candles and has aromatherapy oils burning. The ceiling has a purple frosted covering with a small amount of glowing purple light shining through. There is a shower arm, a small stool, a sill with the oils, candles, lotions etc and a padded waterproof bench to the side. The lady who gives you your Moroccan Bath comes into the room and you’re told to remove your robe and sit on the stool (ie, all you’re wearing is the g-string they give you). You sit there and she showers and washes you. She washes your hair while you’re sitting there. You stand up and you are washed from head to toe (this experience is not for the shy!). She then gets you to lie on the padded bench and you are showered again (more lotions). She leaves you there to relax uncovered for 15 minutes whilst the room fills up with steam. The candles and oils continue to burn and the room becomes so steamy, all you can see staring at the ceiling is a purple haze. After the 15 minutes, she comes back and proceeds with the full body scrub. Head to toe, front, sides, back nothing is left unscrubbed, well obviously except for “downstairs” ;). Now, I’m a clean and hygienic person, but you’d be shocked at the amount of dead skin that comes off. I highly suggest everyone gets a full body scrub! After the extremely vigorous body scrub (it’s like being sanded with an electric sander almost), more lotions and masks are applied and washed off again and again from head to toe. Finally, you get up off the bench and you are showered again and you proceed to another room with a massage table. The lady then gives you a 1 hour full body massage, followed by half hour reflexology massage. Needless to say, I was quite relaxed after all this, and my goodness, my skin has never felt this smooth – so incredibly silky smooth it’s amazing. Anyway, after all this, (I’m not finished!), I had a facial, and a manicure and French pedicure. What a day!
H Stern Diamond Exhibition at the Burj Al Arab Hotel
So after my day of indulgence, it was time to get dressed up and head off to the Burj Al Arab hotel (click on the link to see a picture of it). For those who don’t know – this is the world’s only 7 star hotel that’s built in the shape of a giant sail. This place is super posh – there’s gold everywhere – I’d hate to think how much it is to stay there! Anyway, I’d bought a new purple dress for 44 Dirhams which is about $15 AUD – absolute bargain. So me and my cous got all dressed up and headed off. This was an invitation only event and seemed that the people there were let’s just say posh, famous, loaded or all of the above. There were a tonne of photographers from various UAE magazines there. I had my photo taken at least a dozen times by various photographers – my cousin is going to buy all the magazines next week to see if we’re in them! Anyway, the diamonds and jewelry were stunning. The one piece of jewelry that caught my eye was the GIANT aquamarine ring and they let me try it on (see photos). My cousin also thinks I should be a hand model. So yes, knocked back a few champagnes and we headed off. We went home via some shopping centre food court and ordered a stack of food to takeaway. So far I’ve tried Iranian food, Lebanese food, and to be honest – it all tastes the same and very similar to Turkish food - and I love it all! Basically lots of fresh chopped veges / salads, tabouli, hummus, falafel, tzatziki, thin breads, shish kebabs, fresh herbs, vine leaves etc etc – it’s all very yum (and actually good for you). So we set ourselves up with a big spread of food on the coffee table at home and feasted away and had a giggle watching ParentHood on tv.
Anyway, I fly out on Saturday morning – so I’ve really only 2 more days here. I’m going to register with a few IT recruiters and agencies online. My next entry will hopefully be from London. Enjoy all the photos below! Manda xox
On Tuesday night, we went to Ski Dubai – the indoor skiing place in the Mall of the Emirates shopping centre (giant shopping centre). I had a one hour Discovery Lesson – I’d never skied before. So we learnt the ropes and practiced on a smaller slope – and I only fell over once on my bum! (Right before that photo was taken.) Lots of fun. Would like to try it again. Went to a bar/restaurant afterwards that overlooks/looks into slopes where I took some of the photos from (see all the photos below / at the end).
Moroccan bath
Oh my GOD. Wednesday, I spent all day at a beauty salon. I had a Moroccan Bath which is like nothing I’ve ever experienced before – it was amazing. You are given a robe and a disposable plastic/cotton g-string are taken into this small room which is like a shower, sauna and steamroom in one. It is dimly lit with candles and has aromatherapy oils burning. The ceiling has a purple frosted covering with a small amount of glowing purple light shining through. There is a shower arm, a small stool, a sill with the oils, candles, lotions etc and a padded waterproof bench to the side. The lady who gives you your Moroccan Bath comes into the room and you’re told to remove your robe and sit on the stool (ie, all you’re wearing is the g-string they give you). You sit there and she showers and washes you. She washes your hair while you’re sitting there. You stand up and you are washed from head to toe (this experience is not for the shy!). She then gets you to lie on the padded bench and you are showered again (more lotions). She leaves you there to relax uncovered for 15 minutes whilst the room fills up with steam. The candles and oils continue to burn and the room becomes so steamy, all you can see staring at the ceiling is a purple haze. After the 15 minutes, she comes back and proceeds with the full body scrub. Head to toe, front, sides, back nothing is left unscrubbed, well obviously except for “downstairs” ;). Now, I’m a clean and hygienic person, but you’d be shocked at the amount of dead skin that comes off. I highly suggest everyone gets a full body scrub! After the extremely vigorous body scrub (it’s like being sanded with an electric sander almost), more lotions and masks are applied and washed off again and again from head to toe. Finally, you get up off the bench and you are showered again and you proceed to another room with a massage table. The lady then gives you a 1 hour full body massage, followed by half hour reflexology massage. Needless to say, I was quite relaxed after all this, and my goodness, my skin has never felt this smooth – so incredibly silky smooth it’s amazing. Anyway, after all this, (I’m not finished!), I had a facial, and a manicure and French pedicure. What a day!
H Stern Diamond Exhibition at the Burj Al Arab Hotel
So after my day of indulgence, it was time to get dressed up and head off to the Burj Al Arab hotel (click on the link to see a picture of it). For those who don’t know – this is the world’s only 7 star hotel that’s built in the shape of a giant sail. This place is super posh – there’s gold everywhere – I’d hate to think how much it is to stay there! Anyway, I’d bought a new purple dress for 44 Dirhams which is about $15 AUD – absolute bargain. So me and my cous got all dressed up and headed off. This was an invitation only event and seemed that the people there were let’s just say posh, famous, loaded or all of the above. There were a tonne of photographers from various UAE magazines there. I had my photo taken at least a dozen times by various photographers – my cousin is going to buy all the magazines next week to see if we’re in them! Anyway, the diamonds and jewelry were stunning. The one piece of jewelry that caught my eye was the GIANT aquamarine ring and they let me try it on (see photos). My cousin also thinks I should be a hand model. So yes, knocked back a few champagnes and we headed off. We went home via some shopping centre food court and ordered a stack of food to takeaway. So far I’ve tried Iranian food, Lebanese food, and to be honest – it all tastes the same and very similar to Turkish food - and I love it all! Basically lots of fresh chopped veges / salads, tabouli, hummus, falafel, tzatziki, thin breads, shish kebabs, fresh herbs, vine leaves etc etc – it’s all very yum (and actually good for you). So we set ourselves up with a big spread of food on the coffee table at home and feasted away and had a giggle watching ParentHood on tv.
Anyway, I fly out on Saturday morning – so I’ve really only 2 more days here. I’m going to register with a few IT recruiters and agencies online. My next entry will hopefully be from London. Enjoy all the photos below! Manda xox
Me skiing!
All rugged up
Argh! Wooly mammath!
Getting ready for the Diamond Exhibition.
Me and Kerri all ready to go!
Me wearing a giant aquamarine ring from the display.
Close up of the ring!
Oh - more bounty from a previous shopping trip..
Sunset in Dubai taken from the roof of my cousin's house.
