Suite Life

Our bags are packed and we are all ready to leave, wake up call arranged for 5am, our flight is at 9.  The company brought me Tinus' paycheck to the hotel on Thursday - a cash check (I thought you spell that something like cheque - but the spellchecker disagrees with me) .  I was too late to get to a bank and I very nervously held on to it the whole of Friday until Saturday morning at 8 am, when the banks over here open again.*    The bank close to the hotel didn't do cash transactions (that would just be too easy) so after various people explained to me how to get to the branch that does; three different explanations to three different locations - yes, the same one: "Creek-side" branch.  The two kids and myself set off bravely to find the bank.  Almost an hour later - if you know what the roads around the creek on Bur-Dubai side looks like you'll understand, we saw the Museum.  "Look there's our bus Mom!"  From Louis. 'Our bus' was the Big City Tour bus we took a few days earlier.

I was so tired so lost and so without other options that I decided to employ the Dirk Gently method ( from Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency - Douglas Adams) and I followed the bus, which - to prove Dirk's theory on the interconnectedness of everything correct - lead me straight to the bank.  A short while later (another few scenic routes on the way to the international exchange) and we were done with the financial stuff and decided to go experience ski-Dubai.  For those of you who do not know, the Emirates Mall has an indoor ski-slope, which includes a winter wonderland play area with ice caves, bob-sleigh rides, big plastic ball things and snow - real snow!  It was amazing.  We arrived there shortly after 12 in the afternoon and left at ten o'clock at night.  We've had an hour long ski lesson and also had a few (slow) goes at the (kiddy) slope.  It was such fun!!  They also have a typical ski lodge-style restaurant (the St. Mauritz) and we HAD to have fondue.  Unfortunately, Ms photographer took her camera with, went to all the trouble of managing the thing with all her snow gear on, only to have her camera tell her "change battery pack" after her first photo in the snow park. 

After almost a month living in a hotel it is understandable that we are a little sad to go.  The hotel is overwhelmingly beautiful - but then most buildings here in Dubai are.  Our suite is just slightly smaller than our house in Hopefield - ok so that's not very big, but still. 

The suites have a little kitchenette but the standard buffet breakfast are included.  Breakfasts are served in the 'atrium' which reminds me a bit of the inside of the Burj Al Arab, with hidden lights changing colours.  One gets bored surprisingly quickly with the same choice of thirty different cheeses .. ok I'm kidding.  The spread is amazing!   

 

Our rooms has the standard bi-i-i-i-ig bed and bi-i-i-ig screen TVs in both rooms with twin beds for the kids.  

On the top floor the hotel has a gym and then the outside pool, which is where we spent a lot of our time here.  The water temperature was never below thirty degrees Celsius but compared to outside temps lovely refreshing.  The staff are superb and we will miss them very much. These photos are from the Rotana website, but interestingly enough the girl on the photo below, with the long hair, lives in the hotel.  I always wonder about people's lives, she's got a very handsome boyfriend / husband which could be Emirati but she's french.  I need to get a life!!

I hope everything will go smoothly with the check-in and everything else.  We're only 17kg overweight!!! Ha ha - will cross that bridge when we come to it.  We should be in South Africa tomorrow afternoon at around four.  Tinus has to check into hospital, either tomorrow or Tuesday morning, but he's having the operation to remove the whatever from his lung on Tuesday.  He will get the results from the biopsy tomorrow and I will let you know what it says as soon as I can.  Thank you for all your kind thoughts and lovely messages, comments and emails.  I hope all of this is going to work out just fine - insh'Allah.  

In Arabic, if you say 'how are you?' to someone, the correct response is "Al-ham dul Allah"  which means 'God is good.'  So tonight I want to say whatever tomorrow, and all the tomorrows after that brings, Al-ham dul Allah.  

*Just a note on work days:  In the UAE weekends are Fridays (the holy day) and Saturday, but for most businesses Saturday is a normal working day.