As the metro doesn’t run until 1pm on Fridays, we caught two buses to Umm Suqein Beach, where we swam in the warm waters next to the Burj Al Arab (a famous hotel in Dubai). We then walked down to Madinat Jumeirah, a collection of shops, hotels and restaurants that have been built in the style of traditional buildings, complete with a waterway, boats that you can ride on (we didn’t, as they were the same as the 1 DHR boats except that they cost 70 DHR) and a rather incongruent view of the Burj Al Arab. We had dinner at the Mall of the Emirates, famous for its indoor ski area where you can see people skiing from inside the mall.

For our final day in Dubai, we had brunch at the Dubai Marina, which is a little like the Auckland viaduct – lots of cafes spread around the marina (the buildings we could see were a lot bigger though). We finished with the highlight of our trip – a desert safari. We drove from Dubai out into the countryside, where we got into four wheel drive vehicles and headed out into the desert to be driven on the sand dunes. This was so much fun – like a roller coaster, but with stunning views across the sand. We were then taken to a “desert camp” (not so sure about how authentic it was) where we rode a camel, got henna painted on us, and watched a dancing  performance while eating a barbeque dinner. This part was pretty touristy, but still fun, and we enjoyed the food and watching the sun set over the desert.