Still suffering the fallout from the horse bomb we were eventually given clearance to make our way to the yacht show and civilisation. I say civilisation loosely because yacht shows are a very distorted slice of humanity and the whole Emirates experience can be very overwhelming.

Large circular building that beggared my beliefs.

The Emirates are full of impressive monuments to money, engineering and some would say a foolhardy disregard to physics and geography. Our marina was purpose built beside a purpose built racetrack and a very impressive hotel.

Imagine if you will (use the pictures where your imagination fails ) entering the lobby of said hotel and being blinded by a white everything. So white you could think you were inside a bottle of bleach.

You enter a lift and notice this pearl of wisdom beside the buttons.

We were actually on our way to the roof top pool bar. Imagine our surprise when we came upon a very unfurnished and unfinished room. Even with my formidable lack of carpentry skills I would have struggled to do less. This was a recurring theme for our trip. Large tracts of the Emirates are under construction. It is a great place to be if you are in city planning or enjoyed Sim City.

We had a very enjoyable day in Dubai following the yacht show. It was our third day off for the year and we were determined to make the most of it. Our morning began with a delicious buffet breakfast followed by a furious bout of relaxed shopping. We then ordered room service for lunch, had a scrumptious day spa session and headed towards the Burj. I ate lobster for dinner and we drank some very expensive New Zealand wine

I can safely say the service provided by almost every person in Dubai and Abu Dhabi is exceptional. The only place where things go awry is when you step into a taxi. We had some abysmal taxi rides. in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The offered excuse for this is that the rapid development in this region makes GPS, maps and a memory better than a gold fish helplessly redundant. If I was professionally travelling again I would have unleashed my wife of war but I am now a professional who happens to be travelling and time off is a very precious commodity best not soured by anger.

Please enjoy the numerous photos I took.

Interesting solar cells covering that magnificent hotel near the marina. Power generation other than oil is illegal in the emirates. Abu Dhabi is exempt.

Bentley on a floating pontoon. Exotic cars a plenty here. More impressive than Monaco.

Burj from the highway.

The Burj up close.

Water fountains in front of the Burj.

Just another amazing skyscraper.

Dubai is what I imagine Las Vegas to be like without strippers, bars and Casinos. I look forward to testing this theory. For arts sake of course.

I do have a lot more to write about the Emirates but we are going to leave here on Sunday for the Maldives and we will soon be without internet again. The numerous things might take up pages in that book which more people are starting to make noises about.

The really exciting thing is that we will be heading home to New Zealand after the Maldives. The last week has been a very challenging one for Anna and I. It is good that learning English as your first language endows one with a stiff upper lip.

God save the Queen.

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