The kids were bouncing excitedly wanting to know where the aeroplanes were and I had to reprimand them to sit down quietly or risk being left behind. My stomach knotted, I didn’t know who was more anxious to get to Dubai, them or me, the person who had been stressed out for weeks, first finding a flat then packing to move into it all the while planning to meet my family on holiday.
I sat in the taxi relishing the thought of spending nine whole glorious abaya free days driving around Dubai. Yes, I have hired a car and I can’t wait to feel independent again.
Friday has rolled around way too soon, I have been in the urban jungle for a couple of days now and I’m loving every second of it. It’s way too hot to go to the beach during the day, but on my first night here, I hit the sand with as much gusto as a junk food maniac seeing McDonalds after a week.
Yesterday we strolled around the malls before meeting up with friends for a bite to eat. The day whizzed by far too quickly for my liking, we oohed and aahed at the immaculately dressed crowds, the made up faces and fashionable designer must haves. Inspired by what we saw and feeling a little unkempt beside the Arab women, both my sister and I made an extra effort to look like supermodels for our visit to the Atlantic hotel. We arrived mid-afternoon in our five inch platform heels and were horrified at the distance of the parking facilities, contemplating the valet option, we noticed a family preparing to leave and I hurriedly swung the car around and indicated to park, thanking God for the clever driving skills I had inherited from my dad. Exiting the air-conditioned car we were hit with a blast of hot humid air that did nothing for our sprayed locks freshly washed that morning.
As we tottered up the hill, a security guard approached and informed us that if we were not attending the private ladies party we should use the side entrance to the hotel which was a mere five minutes walk around the corner. Now that wouldn’t seem too bad, but heels combined with the weather made it a problem. We considered saying we were attending the party when we saw another guard checking invitations, so that put an end to the dilemma and we casually sashayed past him towards the side entrance.
Sighing in the cool interior we mopped our brow and brushed down our frizzy mop before heading down the hallway. We were astounded when we realised that not only did we not make it to the posh part of the hotel, but we were standing at the entrance to the Aqua water park blushing furiously at our overdressed ensembles as the rest of the crowd were all strolling around in flip flops staring at us as if we belonged at the posh ladies party up in the main part of the hotel!
