Day 48/49 - Home

The trip home is like the day that never ends...

We were up at 5.30am for the final pack and trip to the airport. In stark contrast to our most recent spine tingling journey to an airport, this one was very sedate, very quick and very efficient...perhaps a little too much so as we arrived 30 minutes before we were even able to check in. This allowed a leisurely breakfast before we checked in our bags - mine was bang on 23 kg (the baggage allowance) and Carly's was a tad under so we were very pleased by our restraint over the previous 7 weeks. Carly's was only 13kg (and mine 18kg) or so when we started so I guess we did add to it a bit after all.

We had plenty of time to shop (Carly) and blog on free airport wifi (me) and then boarded the plane where we left a little bit late at about 10.45am for the 13+ hour flight. As it was during the day (Dubai time) there was little opportunity or inclination to sleep so I only slept for an hour while Carly managed two. This left a lot of free time that we filled with movies - I watched five I think!

With the seven hour time difference when we finally arrived in Sydney at 7.15am local time it felt like 12.15am in Dubai. Gary was there to collect us and it was then the 2 hour or so journey up the F3 to drop Carly at home and then on to Newcastle where I was greated with a freshly painted apartment (yay!).

Carly was able to present Rhys with his souvenirs:

 

Rhys undies of the world (I got one from nearly every country but I think Switzerland and Austria were too classy to sell them) and of course his fav gift - a sling shot from Greece

Well, it has been a great trip - we both agree that pretty much we wouldn't change anything. We have seen some awesome places, experienced wonderful moments and met some incredible people. Thanks for sharing our journey with us...now I'm off to unpack...

Day 47 - Dubai 2

Well after a great night’s sleep, another buffet breakfast to die for, we were ready for some serious pampering at the spa. We got scrubbed, we got wrapped, we got lotioned and came out the other end all relaxed. Carly spent some quiet time watching TV while I lazed by the pool and had a little swim.

 

At 3pm we were in the lobby waiting for our ride to go on a Desert Adventure Safari. This consisted of a group of 20 or so 4-wheel drives each carrying 6 passengers, driving an hour or so outside Dubai to the desert. We then stopped at the beginning of the dunes while the air was let out of the tyres and got our first close look at the beautiful red, fine sand.

 

The next 20 to 30 minutes may have been the scariest of my life. We flew up and down sand dunes, slid sideways, bounced, twisted and turned our way across acres of dunes. I’m not sure what we were doing at all intervals as my eyes were closed tight more than half the time. Carly wasn’t scared at all…go figure!

 

 

 

We did stop half way through for more photo opportunities – and more time to freak out about what was to come.

 

Anyway, we eventually arrived at an area where a BBQ was set up, camel rides were available, you could get henna designs painted and much more. Unfortunately a friend, (you know who you are Alex), had told us we might get car sick so we had dosed ourselves up on medication which not only ensured we weren’t sick but made us drowsy as well. So we sat quietly and watched all the action. The dinner was very nice, the belly-dancers were entertaining, and then it was back in the dreaded 4WD for (thankfully on tarmac) trip back to the hotel.

 

We arrived back at 9pm, watched Erin Brockovich, (well I did, Carly slept), on TV and in bed by midnight ready for our final journey home tomorrow.

Day 46 - Dubai 1

So the staff at the hotel were wonderful and found us a room when we checked in at around 9am when check in is not really until 2pm. Boy did we need it! Two hours sleep is clearly not enough to get by on so, after a fantastic buffet breakfast consumed while they got the room ready, we showered (ahhh) and grabbed another 2 hours sleep.

 

(View from our room)

We then decided it was time to be pampered and so had booked in for a deluxe foot massage…and it was awesome! It was a very luxurious & fancy spa treatment – nice enough that we have booked in for a different treatment tomorrow. Hey, our bodies have taken a battering over the last six and a half weeks – they need some serious pampering.

 

The hotel has a shuttle bus that goes into the Dubai Mall so we grabbed a ride to check it out. It was pretty amazing – full size ice rink, aquarium, indoor theme park, massive waterfall, and a spectacular fountain that plays to music…and we saw it all. We walked, we ate, we walked, and then we caught a taxi back to the hotel. All this with the aim to stay awake until at least 9pm – mission accomplished.

 

 

Day 45 - London 4

Last day in London…awwww. We did our final pack, checked out of the hotel (leaving luggage in storage), and caught the tube to Baker St to be at Madame Tussaud’s by our appointed 9.30am slot. Apparently it normally takes 2 – 3 hours to see everything but we were lucky that the crowd was very light, allowing us to get through in a little over an hour and a half.

 

It was very good – the wax figures are very life-like and it was good that you could actually touch them and be photographed in different poses. There was also a 4D movie experience and a “ride” that were pretty cool too.

 

So we did some last minute shopping on Oxford St (as you do) and then it was back on the tube to meet Carley for lunch at her workplace, the famous “Gherkin”, where we were booked in at the restaurant on the top floor. Once again we got lost – it seems when we ask for directions people send us the wrong way – what’s the go with that? Anyway, we finally found it and were signed in to the building, got through security, and then it was up on a series of elevators until we were at the very top with a wonderful view of London – who needs the London Eye? Lunch was amazing – really yummy food and very artistically presented. So we farewelled Carley, who presented us with some much appreciated emergency chocolate and biscuits for our journey. Thanks Carley for being such a great guide and friend!

 

 

 

A bit more shopping on the way back to the hotel and then it was time to wait for the shuttle bus we had booked for 4.30pm. Can I just tell you that it was the trip from hell…and that may be understating it? The driver had no idea where he was going, picked up numerous people, got lost numerous times, and then dropped everyone else off at every Heathrow terminal prior to dropping us at our terminal where we checked in with literally 30 seconds to spare. I am not exaggerating – 30 seconds to spare or we would not have been allowed to check in…and we sprinted (with about 30 kg of luggage each) the last few hundred metres to make it on time. So with hearts beating at a million miles an hour we then joined the longest line you have ever seen (I’m serious, you have EVER seen) to get through security and customs. It was touch and go but after another dash to make it to our boarding gate we eventually made it to the flight with minutes to spare. They almost gave us a heart attack as the board said the flight was closing so we were sprinting through the terminal only to find when we got to the gate that actual boarding had not even started.

Suffice it to say we were just happy to be on board, enjoyed a nice meal, watched a movie and grabbed a couple of hours sleep before landing at Dubai at 7am local time the next day…or 3am body clock time.

 

Day 44 - London 3

Today was the sight-seeing day – we walked for about 10 minutes to join the Hop On Hop Off bus for our tour of London. Once again it was very cold but we were somewhat sheltered on top of the double decker bus and enjoyed the scenery. The first time we hopped off was to look at St Paul’s Cathedral…which we did for a few minutes before we started to really feel frozen…so we hopped in to a nearby pub where we spent a pleasant hour eating lunch (steak & ale pie with vegies) and having a drink.

 

We hopped back on and continued the tour, hopping off at Westminster Abbey and walking via Trafalgar Square to Buckingham Palace. The cold had started to seep into our bones so we hopped back on and finished the loop, arriving back at the hotel at about 4pm.

 

Our next adventure was to head out to Stratford to meet up with Carley, (Carly’s friend), and go to dinner at Jamie Oliver’s restaurant Jamie’s Italian. Carley had been in Amsterdam for the weekend and was delayed getting back so Carly & I went by ourselves…and we were glad that we did. It was really nice food and also had a good vibe to it as well. Then it was back on the tube to the hotel – our last night in London – we leave for Dubai tomorrow…not long now til we’re home.

 

 

 

Day 43 - London 2

OK – it is officially very cold, possibly freezing! We started the day with a visit to the Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park which is a combined Christmas Market and fun fair. We looked through the markets and watched the crowd grow…and grow…so by 11.15am we were ready to go.

 

After dropping our purchases off at the hotel we were back on the tube again to meet Slug, (James’ mate Michael), who is currently living in London. We went to a pub (ironically named The Temperance) for lunch and a few drinks before heading off to the football. That’s right. Finally it was game day and we were excited to be going to see Fulham v Tottenham Hotspurs. It was a short walk to Craven Cottage where we joined about 25,000 others to (unfortunately) see Spurs thrash Fulham 3-0. The atmosphere was pretty awesome though the Spurs fans were a lot more vocal than the Fulham crew, possibly due to the fact they had more to cheer about. It was a great experience!

 

After the game we (along with about 20,000 others) walked the 20 min or so back to the tube station. It was slow going with such a big crowd of people yet we eventually got on a train and headed back to the Winter Wonderland markets. It was nice to see them at night but it was exceptionally cold. We were only there because Carly had accidently dropped and cracked one of her purchases from the morning’s expedition so we needed to replace it. It was a well-planned mission – we were in and out – which was just as well because the crowds were huge…and did I mention it was cold?

 

We couldn’t wait to get back to the hotel to have a warm shower and thaw out…I may have mentioned, it was really cold.

Day 42 - Cardiff

Another chilly, frosty morning greeted us as we set out to walk the 20 minutes or so to Paddington station to catch the 10.15am train to Cardiff. Unfortunately due to recent flooding and landslides in Wales the train was cancelled! Luckily another train went half an hour later which was a relief as we thought we may have done our dough - £67 each. Because they had to re-route the journey it took two and a half hours to get there but it was very pleasant – they even have personal entertainment screens like on international flights.

 

We were pretty peckish by the time we arrived in Cardiff so went and grabbed lunch at a pub. I had chicken & leek pie – you’ve got to eat the local delicacies! So after a lovely break there we wandered around to look for Cardiff Castle and finally stumbled upon it – OK, maybe we should have asked directions, but we figured it was pretty big and we would find it eventually.

 

As time was marching on we high tailed it into the castle and looked around. I climbed to the top of the Castle Keep while Carly chose to stay down the bottom. Wise woman – I’m sure I’m getting worse with heights every day! We looked all over the complex and then spent some time in a souvenir shop – the only one we saw all day – that must be a record.

 

Unfortunately we had missed the last hop on hop off bus so we decided to make our way back to the station for our return journey. Although it was only 4pm it was getting darker, colder and we also felt a few drops of rain so it seemed time to move back under cover. Because of the disrupted service, half of the trains were cancelled so we were only able to squeeze on to the train and were standing, crammed in like sardines, cursing the railway (and the first class passengers where the carriages were half empty). This is how revolutions start! Thankfully we were both able to jag seats at the first stop when some people got off – I don’t think I could have stood up for 2 and a half hours!

 

Back in London and we decided it was time to do some laundry – we found a good laundrette close by to the hotel et voila one hour later we had sparkling clean (well…cleaner) clothes. We grabbed some pre made meals from Marks & Spencers and warmed them in a microwave at the hotel for dinner – very yummy and very cheap! It has got very cold & icy - looking forward to the football tomorrow – maybe the crowd will keep us warm.