Day 33 - Tuesday 14th June

Since we got to bed so late last night, we set the alarm for 9am this morning to catch up on some sleep. We would have preferred to stay in bed longer but the hotel's buffet breakfast closes at 10:30am. Like everything at this hotel, the breakfast was excellent - plenty of choice, beautiful setting and great service.

After breakfast, we explored the hotel and grounds. There are several swimming pools in the vast grounds between the hotel and the beach. Between the pools, there are well-kept lawns, palm trees and gardens. The beach is made of sand - we read somewhere that it is man made. The sun glare off the sand was so bright that it hurt my eyes and so I soon retreated to the lawns and palm trees instead.

We went back to our room to change into our swimmers and then spent a couple of hours in and around the main pool. We pulled a couple of lounge chairs back under a nearby palm tree. You needed your sandals to walk from your lounge chair to the pool because the paving was so hot. The water was nice and warm - a perfect temperature for me.

Mid-afternoon, we decided to catch a taxi to the Mall of the Emirates - one of the largest shopping centres in the Dubai area and not too far from our hotel. It has a wide range of shops - everything from Debenhams to Gucci. The layout and structure is very impressive because it has large domes and skylights. Some parts reminded me of the structures covering famous European railway stations except here they are modern and spotlessly clean.

One of the reasons for going to the mall was to find somewhere to have a late lunch. That wasn't hard because there were so many to choose from. We settled for a cafe right near the entrance. Like so many of the cafes, it had a unique theme for its decorations and menu options. It turned out to be a good choice.

This mall is famous because it contains the Dubai indoor ski fields. It wasn't necessary for us to go inside the ski area because there were large viewing windows where the public could see what was going on inside. You could see the chairlift, ski slopes and kids play area. There was plenty of snow and a digital thermometer said the temperature inside was -2C.

It seems as though you can hire your ski gear there because all the skiers were wearing the same coloured clothes. Not many people would bring ski gear to a city where the outside temperature rarely falls below 30C.

We caught a taxi back to the hotel because we had a booking at 7pm this evening for drinks in the Skybar at the Burj Al Arab Hotel. This is one of the most famous landmarks and attractions in Dubai. It is 7-star hotel on the Jumeira Beach coastline and is shaped like a boat or a sail. Near the top of the hotel, there is a helipad suspended off the side of the building.

Inside the entrance area, you see a multi-level waterfall and fountain straight in front of the entrance doors with escalators on either side. The centre of the hotel is a vast atrium that ascends to the peak of the hotel with guest rooms overlooking the atrium. Another key architectural feature is the curved gold columns for the full height of the atrium. Everything about this building says style and opulence.

The skybar is also near the top of the building. It offers panoramic views of the sea, beach and city. You get to the Skybar using a lift with glass sides so you can take advantage of the view on your journey up the side of the building.

Everywhere you go, there are smiling staff waiting to welcome, help and guide you. It is clear that they recruit and train their staff very carefully.

We'd booked to go there at 7pm because the sun sets at 7:10pm. Our hostess showed us to a small table next to the window looking north along the beach. Soon after we sat down, we saw the sun set out to sea through the haze. There's a minimum spend limit on drinks and so we decided to try some exotic cocktails.

For dinner we caught a taxi back to our hotel and, after checking out most of the restaurants, we decided on the pizzeria next to the piano bar. It was a good meal but, because alcohol prices are so high, I just had a single glass of wine.