DUBAI & BRUSSELS
THE PHILIPPINES SERIES PT17
After a few days in Bangkok and Bahrain I was due to head back home with a few stops in between.
CHOCOLATE, BEER & WAFFLES IN THAT ORDER!
My best pal, Jenna who I know from Uni in Glasgow is currently living in Saudi and happens to be in Dubai the same weekend which is good.
DUBAI
I’ve been here before, on my way back home after my Oz trip and it was amazing. A friend of mine stayed on the Palm and was able to show me around. Without a contact or a good bit of research it can be difficult and expensive to get around. It’s most certainly not suited for a backpacker!
DESERT SAFARI
Jenna’s sister Mel was staying in a suite so I bagged the first night on their sofa which helped as I arrived late and then had me some free breakfast, I could hardly complain! Myself and Jenna then decided to go on a desert safari. These are all over the Middle East and basically involve getting thrown around inside a jeep while the driver takes on the sand dunes.
Safaris in Dubai & waffles in Brussels
CAMEL RIDE
After this (if you’ve made it) we had the most bizarre camel ride. We fully expected to go on an hours trek across the desert but instead we done about 3 loops of about 20 metres! Enough for a few daft photos before the evening show. There is nothing more typical here than watching middle eastern dancing, eating flatbread, drinking tea and watching the sunset over the dunes!
RELATED READ: THE GREATEST PARTY CRUISE IN THE WORLD
AQUARIUM BAR
That night myself and Jenna went to Ossiano, the underwater cocktail bar in the Atlantis. There is nothing like sipping on a cocktail while looking at a few stingrays!
That day I moved to Atana Hotel on the mainland. It almost doesn’t matter which location you stay at here because you require a taxi no matter where you want to go.
Safaris in Dubai & waffles in Brussels
Safaris in Dubai & waffles in Brussels
Safaris in Dubai & waffles in Brussels
BRUSSELS
I love to split my longer flights up to check out new cities and Brussels was a perfect stop between Dubai and Portugal where I would be meeting the rest of the family.
Belgium is famous for it’s chocolate, waffles and beer so it wasn’t going to take a genius to work out what I was going to do with my time. Between visits to the bar and the Waffle Factory I found myself hanging around the Grand Place, probably my favourite town square in Europe. With it’s impressive gothic architecture, chocolate museums and beer gardens, this wasn’t a lot I couldn’t like. Unfortunately I only had a day here as it was time to meet the family back in Portugal.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I do like Dubai but it’s generally a resort location. The only thing that it doesn’t seem to have is any kind of epicentre which would completely change things for me. No matter which hotel you are at nowhere is close by and you will need a car or a fair share of taxis if you want to get out and about.
NEXT UP
Portugal, home and then a trip around the Balkans and Eastern Europe Click to read.
SAFE TRAVELS, DS x
37/229
This episode is part of The Philippines Series. Click to view episode1.
