# REPOST #TBT Dubai Lights...

#REPOST
I must say one of the greatest perks of being a twin is that you can be effortlessly enjoined in a plot with her friends and feel no shame….that is me J. My twin sister Gertrude and her chama mates Anne, Sophie, Janet and Lillian planned to visit Dubai to mark turining 40 years!

Plans rolled out in January and payments made early in the year. The Sunday of August 10 arrived…..and finally we were airborne to Dubai. Must say we got a great deal….Return flights and airport transfers, 6 nights BB accommodation, Tour of Dubai and Dhow cruise dinner, desert trail and BBQ dinner….all for a very considerate price a piece! Much as we tried, we could not tell where the profit margins came from!! 
Anyways, we arrived through Sharjah airport since we used Air Arabia. Small hitch on arrival…the airport transfer happened after one hour of frantic phone calls….the hotel we were booked in was situated in a predominantly Indian area….Fortune Grand hotel….not bad…good wifi (10 points for this as we all are wired by internet)…..exhausted we slept and woke up early Monday morning to enjoy the experience that Dubai was to offer. In the group, some had been to Dubai, but none as tourists, but for business (which translates to knowing the inside of one hotel, one mall for a limited period and airport only!).

Monday was day for Dubai tour,… that was nice….we drove round the main streets of old and new Dubai with a tour guide who sang praises for His Highness, Sheikh (could not catch the full very long name). Gist is that he is a generous fellow and has ensured the “Dubains” are in comfort. What was apparent was the effort to make the city green…we were told that the soil is imported and that the smaller shrubs are uprooted and new ones planted every three months, while the bigger ones are replaced yearly…aii that one sounded doubtful….but who knows? When cash is no problem…anything is possible!! She also mentioned that Dubai didn’t have a single 7 start hotel - that the first one in Dubai is under construction (we all thought that one that looks like a Dhow was 7 star – Dr Google says that it’s not a star rating they have embraced…so, there you have it!) It was great to see Palm Jumeira via an overhead tram…that is one megaproject – the land was reclaimed from the
sea and is shaped like palm leaves – magnificent to say the very least!…..That evening was dinner at the creek on a dhow…quite nice…mainly Eqyptian, even the dance performance…interesting and strange to some level given the puppets they used J

Tuesday was for the desert trail. Since it was starting in the afternoon, we did quick visit to the Emirates mall and headed on to the desert in a landcruiser that came for us. The driver, Abdul was pleasant, told us he came from Oman, that he has been at it for several years, that he is teaching his 10 year old son the skill of desert driving and that he sometimes brings his mother but she gets so scared of the ride up and down the dunes. The ride was quite something, so many cars! And the hot sand!!...anyways, we got several chances for great photo ops and moved on to the site where the BBQ dinner was to be served. Must say that was quite a sizeable crowd for a loose Tuesday evening!! Dinner was great, and we watched a similar Egyptian dance, but with additional belly dancers.

The rest of the week was not scheduled…so it was malls, malls and more malls (retail therapy at its very best)….we discovered the metro train and attempted to visit all the major malls, Emirates, Dragon Mart (by taxi), Dubai mall, Deira City mall etc; even managed to bump into Hon Joho in one of the malls and gave him a loud greeting J. For some reason the dancing fountain at the Dubai mall simply blew me away….mesmerizing to the least! I can watch it again and again….we had a vantage point from one of the restaurants overlooking the man-made lake that has been fitted with the fountain….and right next is the grand Burj Khalifa…..tallest building in the world (like 8 KICCs stacked up on each other!!!)….we could not miss taking photos next to it!!

My personal favourite was the Gold Souk…..rows and rows; and more rows of shops selling gold and silver…..my oh my….I was in gold heaven….the prices are regulated so moving from shop to shop is about looking for a design that you fancy, not so much for best price. And West Africans were many….mpaka attendant asks you whether you want the price in Naira!!...no security checks here….everywhere is safe….my kid sis was right, the gold wizard cast a spell on me and can’t be found to unlock me from this spell….I had to get myself a piece …. priceless!

One thing often came up – that when will Kenya open up / develop like Dubai?? Vision 3020 or nearer?? Yaani, God is great…making plans in January and actually everything goes as planned….tunashukuru! Anyways, all great things have a beginning and an end….and Saturday morning came faster than we thought…..back to Nairobi….Girls, you the best….may the next phase of our lives be filled with the love  and laughter from family and friends, be blessed, be surrounded by uncommon favour and ever more glorious….FOREVER YOUNG!