Last full day in Dubai and more exploring

 Friday 

5 July 

Day 5

92 to go

We’ve got a pretty good routine now; breakfast at 830am and out the door by 930am. Today we were off to visit JBR Beach and Palm Jameirah. We jumped in a taxi outside the hotel and had the driver take us to check out the Arabian Sea. 

Once dropped at the taxi rank, we made our way to the beach. I was eager to remove the shoes, get the sand between my toes and paddle in the water. I was surprised to find the water was warmer than the air around me. There was certainly no relief to the heat, provided by the sea. 

From here, we could see the Dubai Ferris wheel and we could see plenty of sky divers jumping to the beach below. 

We moved away from the beach and onto the walkway which was paved with glitzy stores, plenty of eateries and no shortage of fancy sports cars. There was also plenty of street art to be viewed. While it was warm again today, the humidity was missing and every now and then a breeze wafted in. 

After walking up and down the strip, we caught a taxi for the Palm Jameirah. This is the man made island that was created through the dredging of the coast, layering in millions tonnes of sand from the ocean floor and boulders carved from nearby mountain stone. While an amazing engineering feat, it makes you wonder how much damage was done to ecosystems. 

We were dropped outside Nakheel Mall, so that we could go to the View on the 52nd floor and check out just that. Thankfully it wasn’t busy and there was no line. We followed the markings and directions to various spaces before watching some interactive videos and finally making our way to the outdoor viewing area. 

We walked around the perimeter, taking in the homes, boats, roads and buildings that were splayed out before us. The Atlantis Hotel and Atlantis the Royal were were clearly in view, along with the Burj Al Arab. 

Following the 360 wander, we returned to the elevator and then meandered through the mall to the monorail station, so that we could make our way out to the Atlantis Hotel at the very tip of the palm. We took in the view, as we moved along the track. Once at the end, we remained with the monorail, as only those attending the water park or those staying at the hotel, could actually move around the spaces. 

We returned to the mall and then found a taxi to take us to the Mall of the Emirates. Once we were dropped off, we followed the signage to the ski area. We weren’t going to be partaking, but we were interesting seeing what it was all about. There wasn’t much of a viewing area unfortunately, but we got the idea. 

We stopped for lunch and then did a quick shop, before returning to the taxi rank and making our way back to the hotel. We took stock in the room for a short while and then we wandered out for a swim in the pool. The main pool was still off limits, so it was off to the residence pool again. We enjoyed the refreshing soak and then came back to the room to chill out. 

Just after 6, we walked to the Dubai Mall, again taking a different route and entering via a new entrance. The end of this mall was obviously frequented by the locals, as there were men in long, white shirts and headdresses, all over the place. 

We made our way through the busy centre, for the food court, ordered two meals and then sat back and ate. With full bellies, we traversed the now familiar mall, to our exit. The instant we walked out the heat enveloped us. We watched the evening traffic bank up, as we crossed the main roads back to the hotel, ready to rest up, before moving on again tomorrow.