Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Happy Christmas

Happy Christmas. I hope by now you're sitting back and relaxing with a glass of your favourite tipple ready to tuck into a festive feast. The closest I've got to a traditional Christmas is sitting in Santa's sleigh underneath a giant fake tree in an air conditioned hotel lobby. I'm not seeking any sympathy as that giant hotel was next to the beach restaurant where I'd just enjoyed a delicious champagne brunch and that was only a warm up.

I love Christmas at home, seeing my friends, family, great food and beautiful walks on Dartmoor but I also love variety. Last year I decided I fancied a foreign holiday, so here I am - still seeing my friends, eating amazing food and I only had to swap walks on the moor for walks on the beach.

My first stop was a country that doesn't do anything by halves. Dubai is home to the Burj Al-Arab (the worlds first only 7 star hotel), the Burj Al-Khalifa (the worlds tallest building at 829m) but of the most interest to me, the world's largest shopping mall. On my first evening visiting my friends I was taken for dinner underneath a building that is almost three times the height of the Eiffel Tower. That in itself isn't enough for the people of Dubai; whilst dining we were treated to a water fountain show set to music, similar to a fireworks display, every thirty minutes.

I only appreciated the impressive buildings from the outside and didn't even venture into the shops. Fortunately I completed my present buying before I left home as otherwise I would probably still be lost in the worlds largest mall.