UAE (Ras Al Khamai & Dubai)
1. Hilton Resort & Spa in Ras Al Khamai - this is an amazing 5* resort. Brand new with excellent facilities (pools, restaurants, bars, spa, sea, sand). We really didn't have to leave for the whole 3 days!
2. Wild Wadi water park - brilliant selection of slide rides, mostly fun and not scary (apart from one which drops you from height!) You need to pick your rubber doughnut carefully though otherwise it can be painful!
3. Dubai Mall - the world's largest (a frequently made claim in Dubai!) mall. It really does have every shop you can think of from across the world plus an ice rink, aquarium, Sega Republic (arcade based theme park - lots of fun) and a 22 screen cinema. It is well designed and landscaped too so it is a nice place to spend time (eating also good with a massive selection). The water fountain show on the man made lake outside is up there with the Bellagio in Vegas in my list of Top 5 fountains.
4. Indian restaurant in Sheraton Hotel in Bur Dubai - live Indian music and dancing, great poppadums and curry. I have forgotten the name though, which goes to show what a good time I had!
5. The bars (Neo's & Kalibar (sp?) in The Address Hotel and Hive) - great views from both the bottom and the top of the Address Hotel. Hive was great just because it made Paul and Roops so grumpy to be there and also because they gave Jag and I a whole bottle of Brut for free to celebrate Ladies Night. No wonder Paris Hilton loves it!
Thank you again to Jag & Roops for their excellent hosting and great company!
India (Mumbai)
1. Cricket - won't repeat the long story associated with getting in, but it was a great way to pass a morning. The atmosphere in the cheap seats (more like a concrete step!) was fantastic (certainly better than in England) and the cricket was top quality (well, the batting was) with a record score being set. India won of course.
2. Dome Bar - the only place to find peace and quiet in the madness of Mumbai. A great place to watch the sunset on the roof of the Intercontinental Hotel on Marine Drive.
3. Pashminas - beautiful cashmere embroidered pashminas at a fraction of the British price. Purchase supports Indian Cottage industry too so I'm guilt free.
4. The food - great curry of course and no problems at all with badly cooked or poor quality meat. Khyber on MG Road (an enormous mad road typical of Mumbai) was particularly good.
5. Elephanta Island - (mostly) impressive temples carved into caves and lots of cute monkeys running around. Pleasant boat journey from Gateway to India to get there too.
Thailand (Bangkok)
1. Temples - known as Wats there are Buddhist temples everywhere! They are mostly modern and very bling indeed (a lot of gold and colours) so naturally I liked them! There is a lot of detail too with hundreds of colourful statues (very large to very small) standing guard plus the obligatory millions of Buddhas. My favourite Wat was Wat Arun on the river but the Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho was great and huge! The royal palace has a good Wat and the views of Bangkok from the Golden Mound are worth seeing. There are also some stunning examples of Thai architecture in the Ancient City park which is miles out of town (take a taxi not the 2 buses and 1 train we did!) but is fun to cycle around.
2. Massage - there are clean and legit spas everywhere and the treatments are very cheap indeed. I had a 2 hour Thai massage and a 30min foot reflexology for less than £12. The Thai massage is oil free and involves a lot of pressure and bending and stretching. It hurt quite a lot as I am totally inflexible but I felt great afterwards!
3. Long tailed boat tour along the river - much faster than they look! A bumpy way to see the river but lots of fun, especially when you come across a guy in another boat selling ice cold beer!
4. The prices - not just cheap massages, but food and alcohol is cheap too. We had lunch in the Ancient City for £2 total and a pint is about £1.50 (even on tourist central Kao San (sp?) Rd). Thai silk and jewellery is pretty cheap too.
5. Hotel (Centrepoint Silom) - excellent location near a main skytrain (clean, quick and cheap) and near the main pier for the river boats. Self catering but with hotel facilities too including gym and pool. Decent view from our 19th floor balcony too. Cheap.
I will also pick top 5 photos from each place when I have access to a proper Internet connection!
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