Reset search
Dubai 2019Dubai 2019
SatelliteEdit route

Dubai 2019

August 2019
Vacation to Dubai with my daughters, sister and nieces. Read more
  • 28footprints
  • 2countries
  • 18days
  • 62photos
  • 0videos
  • 12.9kkilometers
  • 11.7kkilometers
Follow Calendar Share Bucket list
Date descending
  • TravelerDubai 2019
    Day 18

    Back Home

    August 23, 2019 in Nigeria ⋅ 🌧 24 °C

    Flight took off from Lagos by 12:15pm and shortly after 1:00pm we were in PH. This time around the bags came out quickly. Innocent was at the airport, I had called him early in the morning and sent a Pam taxi to bring him to the airport in order for him to accompany the luggage vehicle back to the house as I had reserved a saloon to take me and the kids home. We went through the new airport road bursting out at SARS road into Eliozu. Road was free and we got back in record time.Read more

  • TravelerDubai 2019
    Day 18

    Transit Home

    August 23, 2019 in Nigeria ⋅ 🌧 26 °C

    Another day of waking up early 6:30am to commence the last leg of our journey back home. Left the hotel at 8:47 using the hotel bus. No traffic to the airport. Check in was smooth and fast, had 86kg excess luggage to pay for after which we had breakfast at KFC. Boarding started at 10:30 which was quite early for ArikRead more

  • TravelerDubai 2019
    Day 17

    Rowdy Murtala Muhammed Airport

    August 22, 2019 in Nigeria ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    We landed in Lagos about 5:45pm local time and greeted by no light in the first part of the landing bridge which gave me the assurance that truely I was back home in Naija. A ground staff held up an emergency light to help us find our way.

    Our flight back was full of Mecca immigrants and was noisy and very rowdy. Long immigration queue to get our passports stamped and then a 3hr wait for all our luggage to come out of the plane. A fight almost broke out by the conveyor belt between two mature "agbero" part of the hajj crowd 'shame'

    The hotel driver arrived on time and was on constant communication with me throughout, nice guy, excellent service. Arrived at the hotel by 9pm. Check in was fast and smooth. Ordered Nigerian dinner and slept off after eating.    Read more

  • TravelerDubai 2019
    Day 17

    At Dubai Airport awaiting departure

    August 22, 2019 in the United Arab Emirates ⋅ ☀️ 38 °C

    Tax refund was effortless. The officers scanned the tax refund stamps we were given at the store asked for my debit card (gave them the GTB one) which he snapped the front of and then told me the money will be refunded to the card within 10 days. Unfortunately the bulk of my refund was to come from the eye glasses but the store didn't upload the detail into the system. The official snapped it and said he will lodge a complaint with the store (fingers crossed)

    Going through Immigration was a breeze for us but Affiong and the kids were told their visa had expired. They had a 14day service visa and today is the 14th day so I wonder how it was calculated, anyway they had to pay a fine of AED 340 each.    Read more

  • TravelerDubai 2019
    Day 17

    Goodbye Dubai

    August 22, 2019 in the United Arab Emirates ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

    Woke up 6am to get ready for the trip, showered and ate left over jollof rice. By 8:45am we were down in the lobby to check out and get back the security deposit. The drop off bus driver was in the lobby waiting for us and assisted with the loading of our suitcases onto the bus. We then picked up Affiong and the twins and headed off to the airport.Read more

  • TravelerDubai 2019
    Day 16

    IKEA for inspiration

    August 21, 2019 in the United Arab Emirates ⋅ ☀️ 35 °C

    Today is the last day of our Dubai vacation. I started the day early with a visit to the computer plaza to pick up my daughter's laptop which i had dropped for screen replacement. After being made to wait for 30mins i was presented with the fixed system without the touch function. I was so mad at the incompetent folks in the store. None of the 3 laptops i gave them were fixed to my satisfaction. Due to the annoyance I missed my metro stop in the way back to the apartment.

    Left rhe apartment at 3:30pm for IKEA the world famous Swedish furniture store using a combination of Metro and bus. The idea wasn't to buy as shipment cost of the heavy otems outweighs the cost savings of buying in Dubai against back home, but to get inspirations on how to furnish and arrange my home.    Read more

  • TravelerDubai 2019
    Day 15

    Etihad Museum

    August 20, 2019 in the United Arab Emirates ⋅ ☀️ 35 °C

    Today was designated as Museum day, the plan was to visit Dubai Musuem and the new Etihad Museum but alas the lazy vacationers didn't wake up till 1:30pm and by the time they bathed, dressed up, cooled breakfast and eat it was already after 3pm. We eventually left the house about 3:30pm, first stop Mall of the Emirates to change some money and a quick detour into Marks & Spencer to buy my pyjamas before proceeding to the metro station, topping up our NOL cards before boarding the train to Business Bay as advised by Google Maps. At Business Bay we were meant to take Bus 9 to Etihad Museum, haven shelved the idea of also going to Dubai Musuem due to the time and the fact that we visited it back in 2014. After waiting for over 30 minutes with no bus 9 in sight we hailed a taxi to the musiem, unknown to us we were waiting at the wrong bus station and ought to have crossed the road to the other side to catch the recommended bus.

    Etihad museum is sited in a very modern and contemporary building and is a tribute of a grateful nation to the 7 founding fathers, the Sheikhs of the different Emirates who came together to form the United Arab Emirates. Apparently Qatar and Bahrain were part of the initial agreement but later pulled out to form their independent countries.    Read more

  • TravelerDubai 2019
    Day 14

    Desert Safari

    August 19, 2019 in the United Arab Emirates ⋅ 🌙 36 °C

    Today was dedicated for our desert safari experience. I booked online for a deluxe desert safari package and negotiated a discount of AED 10 per person on the advertised price.

    Shortly before 4pm the driver from Sky Land was already parked downstairs waiting for us in a Toyota jeep. Off we went to pick up Affiong and the twins before heading out to the outskirt of Dubai close to Sharjah. The road leading to the desert seperated Sharjah on the left from Dubai on the right.

    As we got to the desert about to get off the tarred road, the driver got down to remove some air from the tire to increase it's surface area (friction) with the ground. We then proceeded up the sand dunes to a hill where he parked for us to snap some memorable pics. A jeep from the same company was already there with it's passengers snapping pictures. While we waited 4 more jeeps from Sky Land joined us before we then proceeded for the dune bashing which involved driving precariously up and down the sand dunes, making sharp and tight turns and steep climbs and declines. The experience was similar to going on a roller coaster and hair raising but was a lovely experience as the driver expertly maneuvered the vehicle. It was a 30mins ride before we finally got to their desert camp.

    At the camp we upgraded for a fee to the VIP upstairs patio which gave us a bird's eye view of the camp as well as the stage, this also came with steward who attended to all our food and drinks request, serving us immediately unlike the other guests who had to wait till 7:30pm and queue up for their food and drinks.

    For starters we were given some local "puff puff" like snacks. Dinner was barbecued chicken, chicken suya served with white rice & yellow basmati rice, with beans and 2 other unknown sauces with lots of salad. The food was filling even though the kids didn't eat much and for desert we were served fruits with custard in a saucer.

    For entertainment there was a tanoura dance followed by a belly dance show and finally a fire dance. The kids did Henna painting on their hands. The free one was small and with black ink which was hardly visible so they opted to spend more for the bigger one with black paint. While they were busy painting their hands I went on the free camel ride. Later on the kids tried shisha.

    Overall the desert safari was a pleasant experience    Read more

  • TravelerDubai 2019
    Day 13

    Kite Beach Day

    August 18, 2019 in the United Arab Emirates ⋅ ⛅ 36 °C

    Our Chief planner Uddy had dedicated today as a beach day, due to the blazing heat in Dubai we planned it as an evening event. At 4:30pm Affiong joined us, the twins were meeting up with their Indian family friends and couldn't go with us. So off we went to the bus station at Sharaf DG after consulting the movement wizard "Google Maps". The bus schedule was quite confusing as we couldn't identify the stop recommended by Google Maps so we crossed over to the other side of the road only to discover it was an abandoned bus stop. We retraced our steps to the initial bus stop and as I was about to call a taxi on Careem we saw the recommended bus 81 coming, Affiong suggested I ask the bus driver which I did showing him the stops breakdown on my phone, he checked the onboard computer and confirmed we were on the right bus. So off we went. Interestingly Google Maps not only shows you the route but tracks the bus stops as well, with it you can never go astray. Kudos to a great app.

    The bus stop to the kite beach required some considerable amount of walking along a well paved and soft running track of 3.3km along the beach.

    Unfortunately we got to the beach at almost 6pm, didn't see anyone flying a kite, few persons were in the water swimming close to the shore and the waves were quite strong. Had a refreshing slush drink of blueberry and strawberry at a mobile kiosk on the beach.    Read more

  • TravelerDubai 2019
    Day 12

    Birthday Dinner for the twins

    August 17, 2019 in the United Arab Emirates ⋅ 🌙 35 °C

    Today is the twins birthday and Enobong had earlier suggested prior to the commencement of this Dubai trip that we all go for a birthday dinner. So we plan to visit Africana Home Restaurant which Uddy had found for us through recommendation from her friend. The hotel delivered meal we ordered from them some days back was really nice so we all looked forward to a sumptuous meal.

    The day started off quite late due to exhaustion from the previous day's visit to Yas Waterworld. Enobong came down with stomach cramps so we had to leave her in the apartment while we dashed off to Lulu Hypermarket in Al Barsha at about 4pm to buy school supplies Uddy wanted. I stopped up my mobile data at the Mall of Emirates as well as collecting AED 500 from an ATM machine in the mall using my FirstBank Mastercard. I was charged NGN 1,000 and vat of NGN 50 for the withdrawal.

    We took a taxi to Affiongs hotel apartment. The receptionist didn't allow us go to her room without first dropping my passport with him which I refused. We eventually took 2 separate taxis to Africana Home Restaurant in Diera for the birthday dinner. We were expecting a Jevinik type experience but were disappointed to find out it had a bulky like setting where you pick your food displayed behind a glass and pay before being served. The seating area upstairs was nice anyway. The others picked on Uddy for suggesting such a place for the birthday dinner upsetting her. The meal was very sumptious and we all enjoyed it but the taxi rides to and fro was quite expensive but was part of the birthday package. Overall it was a nice day.    Read more

  • 2024© FindPenguins
  • Home
  • About us
  • Blog
  • Group Tracking
  • Press
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy & Cookies
  • Support
  • Legal notice
  • English