Four Days till Christmas...and what a Fantastic Desert Surprise!

Banyan Tree Luxury Al Wadi Resort front gates.

Mr. Big announced today that we would be going camping in the desert due to two very wonderful and nice gentlemen, Pete and Ryan, both of whom Mr. Big has been working with since we have been over here.

Destination: Banyan Tree Luxury Al Wadi Resort in Ras Al Khaimah. Can you say, "A dream come true!". Wow! I was expecting tents in the sand with scorpions, snakes, camel spiders and the likes. I was completely surprised by the beauty, luxury, and abiance of this luxury resort.

Inside the resort. To the right is their world famous "Rain Walk"
hydrotherapy spa.

We arrived at sunset. It was breathtaking, to see the final suns rays touching over such beautiful architecture in the desert sand. As they opened up the gates for us, it said, "Welcome home" to all of us. Inside the gate, you are lead to the lobby for check-in. You get to sit in luxurious chairs, while they serve you cranberry juice with honey, and the customary date (dates are a very yummy customary treat in the Middle East. Big Buddy and Mr. Big really love them!) Once checked in, a cute gentleman drove us in the "buggy" (a golf cart) around the resort introducing us to the resorts hidden treasures including our fantastic villa!

Cocktail and Sheesha beach

Big Buddy loved the buggy so much, that while we were staying here, he was given frequent rides by all the staff all over the resort. One time he came back sitting in the drivers seat (so far, Big Buddy has driven more than I have over here!)

Besides gorgeous villas placed strategically all about the resort, it was fun to see this little beach area where you could have cocktails and sheesha. A very relaxed and serene location next to what I swear was a desert mirage. This beautiful little lake glistened in the setting sun and is actually a main water source for several of the resorts wild animals near by.

Desert Oasis lake

As we drove up to our villa, I was amazed at how un-tent like it looked. Little stone steps lead you from the cobbled road to the front door of this beautiful sandcastle. Mr. Big and I kept looking at each other in amazement!

Our desert palace #215

I must be one of the luckiest girls in the world, is what I kept thinking as our tour guide took us from room to room in the palace that we would be staying in. The cutest thing, was Big Buddy though...he would comment and was so excited as we explored our new place to stay. He kept saying things like, "wow, mommy! Look at the beautiful bed!" and "look at how huge this tub is". When he finally saw where he would be sleeping, he immediately jumped onto his bed and said, "I love it!". I could not of agreed more! I had to pinch myself several times to reassure myself that I was actually living in this moment and not dreaming it.

Banyan Tree Al Wadi is the first desert resort in the United Arab Emirates to offer an all-pool villa concept, complete with 3,000 sqm of Asian-inspired hydrotherapy spa facilities, a dedicated nature reserve, a private beach club and an 18-hole championship golf course.

This oasis of indulgence spans over 100

Big Buddy was a hit with the staff! He totally worked it
while we were here, getting preferential treatment and tons
of surprises!

hectares, of which 60 hectares are dedicated as a nature reserve – home to local desert wildlife such as Arabian gazelles, camels and oryxes, offering guests a unique opportunity to interact with and observe these gentle creatures up close.

The Asian-inspired interior design was amazing! The bed was so comfortable, your body would just melt into it (it had memory foam on it and how I love it!). The bathroom was so amazing that all three of us could hang out in there. When you would take a shower, you could play relaxing music from the overhead speakers. We had our own private little front yard so if you wanted to take a bath, you could with the

Luxury Master Bedroom...amazing! The best "good night
sleep" we have ever had!

windows wide open so you could stare at the desert sand. There was a really nice walk in closet...yada, yada.

The most amazing and spectacular thing though, was that we had our very own private zero edge pool! Shut Up! The back of the villa open up completely to this beautiful pool and cabana chair/bed that Big Buddy wanted to take home. The water was warm and if it was not enough, you could swim and watch the gazelles graze less then 20 feet away from you. WOW! This stay was definitely a once in a lifetime event for us! And it was only the first day!

Master bath equipped with all the goodies, including water
cozies to keep them cold! Ah, Big Buddy found the wooden
brush and decided that he needed to keep it. ;)

The tub was the largest I have seen free standing. I loved the
giant circle seat in the middle of the room.

Beautiful Asian-inspired interior design.

A peak of the zero edge pool right off our patio. Notice that the
gazelles are right there eating! (click to view larger)

Picture of Gazelles right from our villa. First time we have
ever seen one! Very tame and friendly on this reserve.

Big Buddy enjoying the giant cabanna seat next to the pool!
We are definitely going to need to get one of these for
our house when we get home.

Mr. Big and Big Buddy giving the thumbs up on the pool.

Five days till Christmas, and what did we see?

Giant presents at the Mall.

Each day, more and more Christmas stuff appears at the Mall and around town. LOL! I realized that I am so conditioned to see Christmas right after Halloween, that it struck me as odd that they wait until the actual week of Christmas to display decorations here (the way that it used to be back in the states).

Big Buddy posing in front of this spectacular Christmas tree.

It was so wonderful for Big Buddy and I to see this four story tall Christmas tree. We are feeling the spirit of Christmas now. Big Buddy really digs the giant presents that sit on the floor next to it. It is fun to watch the droves of tourists getting their picture taken next to it...much like this picture of Big Buddy!

Sometimes when we see something so spectacular like this giant Christmas tree, I start wondering how many Christmas lights are on it...I know, it is the geek in me.

This tree is also a giant reminder that I am not done Christmas shopping. It gets a little bit hard when Mr. Big is gone all the time working, and Big Buddy is with me everyday. So I have learned a few techniques on how to buy things for Big Buddy while he is standing right there. I am a mastermind now. In fact, most of what I have purchased is while he is with me.

Breathtaking Christmas tree. When you get up close,
there are ornaments and giant stars all over it.

I just distract his attention, buy the item or items and then tell him that we bought a shirt for daddy when he asks what is in the bag. Tricky, I know...thinking about it, I wonder if my mom used to do the same when we were with her.

Six days till Christmas!

So Big Buddy and I went to the mall again to find some gifts for daddy. It turned out to be a really fun day. The mall is playing Christmas music now! That always helps with the Christmas spirit. After many stores, Big Buddy was being so good. We were in our last store, The New Yorker, which had been playing lots of really hip music like Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, etc...when all of a sudden, while we were at the checkout to buy a couple of shirts, this Michael Jackson song came on. I immediately thought about my sister who loves Michael Jackson.

In a small daze, I immediately realized that a African American man had grabbed a dress jacket and a hat and began dancing to the song as if he were Michael Jackson himself! Shut Up! Was this really happening! I fumbled for my camera and began filming.

Big Buddy was so shocked that he just clung to my leg and watched as everyone started to clap to the beat and cheer this guy on. I have to admit that the guy was really pretty good!

I decided to post the part of the dance that I was able to catch on video. At the end, everyone hooted and hollered for the guy! What a great surprise! Poor Big Buddy, was so overtaken with all the excitement, he screamed bloody murder afterwards! LOL. It was pretty funny.

Seven days till Christmas!

A snowman in Dubai! No way!

With only one week until Christmas, Big Buddy and I decided that we are going to try and seek out as many Christmas activities as we can this week. So here it goes...Seven days left and what did we see?

Big Buddy found this train and was in love!

We saw a giant snowman with presents at the toy store, Hamleys, in the mall! We ran around this store like crazy, playing with everything from tables with Legos, to riding bikes, to jumping on a trampoline, to playing with fish in water, to playdough, to train sets....you name it we played with it! This store is so cool! They let kids play with toys here for hours. They also get to know your names and show you all the new toys (great sales tack tick if I do say so myself!).

After all the fun at the toy store, we found this really fun train just parked out in the middle of nowhere. So we decided that we better take a ride on it through the mall! A couple of other kids went on a ride with us (I wondered why I was the only parent that decided to go...I may of looked ridiculous...but I had a fun time!) The train ride takes you through the open air part of the mall, where there are little eateries, cupcakes, ice-cream and the likes of everything delicious!

Mommy and Big Buddy in the last cart of the train!

Big Buddy chose the last car on the train, which I felt was the best one! Here we are sitting together in the little train car! Cant you just see the excitement in his eyes! Trains are so magical! It was a lot of fun people watching on our ride along the way. Yes, I am sure that people enjoyed watching a mom on the ride as well! I can imagine the Arab women talking under their breath, "Is she the nanny? No, could she really be playing with her own kid!".

After the quick little ride, I took Big Buddy's picture with the conductor! The guy was really nice and even blew the train whistle a few times.

The conductor was so friendly and nice to Big Buddy.

:)

After all the fun, the best part was that Mr. Big took us to the local ACE Harware and we were able to find a cute little plastic Christmas tree. The best thing was that it came with some decorations! I have to admit, it is better then I figured we would find! Now, we are all in the Christmas spirit!

Our cute little Christmas tree.

We cannot wait to see what we will find tomorrow!

Big Buddy in a Giant Bubble!

 

Big Buddy being pushed out into the lake.

One day as we were walking to the mall, we saw these bubbles of air that kids could get into and try to walk around the lake. Big Buddy FREAKED! He wanted to get in one so bad! We talked him out of it several times, because they seemed a bit strange. See, the balls are airtight so that water doesn't get in. So they have to pump in oxygen to fill them up, realizing that someone in the ball can only breath for I guess about 30 minutes before running out of oxygen. Plus, the sign said you had to be at least 4 years old to get into one of the balls.

Well, on one of the many days that Mr. Big was away working, Big Buddy and I decided to go

Here Big Buddy and a couple of other kids are trying to figure
out how to stand in the balls.

and see what we could see. We ended up walking next to these water balls again and Big Buddy looked up at me and said, "We should try new things Mommy." I said, "why yes we should Big Buddy". He then said, "well, Mommy...I have decided that I want to try these water balls". So I thought to myself, what the heck. What is the worst that could happen. So we got in line. Big Buddy was the first kid to get into a water ball (it seemed that there were alot of apprehensive parents, but when they saw Big Buddy going, they let their kids go also. :)

As in the first video, Big Buddy climbs into the deflated ball and then they zip it up and pump in

Floating along with the flag of the UAE.

the oxygen (I thought this would scare him, but not). They did tell Big Buddy that if water starts to leak into the ball, he is to wave his arms and hands to let them know there is a problem.

The guy let Big Buddy play up by the shore for a few minutes, but then he pushed him out into the lake further. Big Buddy saw himself floating away from everyone and he began to frantically wave his arms for help. The funny thing is that there is a tether on each ball so they cannot get far. The guy had to pull him in a little bit and tell him all was OK. Then Big Buddy had a blast. As you can see, it is super hard to stand up in these water balls. All the kids are sitting or

Here all the kids look sort of like gerbils in plastic balls.
Funny!

either laying down because they have just fell down. LOL! Super Funny! In the pictures you can see there are a couple of Arab girls also floating in the balls. One of them was crying because they were also a bit scared.

The whole thing lasts about 10 minutes. The cost is AED 50 which turns out to be about $14. Thinking about it, Big Buddy did have a blast and I am really glad I let him go! We took these videos and pictures to show Mr. Big when he got home.

New Apartment in Old Town

Old Town island in center of Dubai

It has been about a week and a half since we moved into our new apartment located in what is called, "Old Town" in downtown Dubai. We decided to move from the luxurious Palm island because we started feeling really secluded from everything but the beach. So to bring more experiences to our family and to make it easy for Big Buddy and me to entertain ourselves while Mr. Big is working and traveling, we moved.

Our apartment on the second floor.

Boy, are we happy that we did! Life is totally different here in Old Town. Old Town is situated on a small man-made island that sits in the middle of Dubai right next to the Burj Khalifa (the tallest building in the world) and also right next to the Dubai Mall (every girls dream if I do say so myself!). I have to admit, it feels a bit like Beverly Hills. Surrounded by 5 star restaurants, giant fountain shows, expensive cars, and the fashion...oh, what an experience!

I really like the architecture of Old Town. Sort of gives me a European feel. Many families have chosen to live here also due to convenience. Old Town places you in the center of town, making it easy to get to other cities which is great for Mr. Big. We are living on the second floor in the apartments. Here is a picture of our actual place. I also really like that it is a

Love the architecture of the buildings.

gated community, so people cannot wander in. I am finding it very relaxing waking up and seeing palm trees and running water right outside our windows. Next door is "The Address" a very nice 5 star hotel. At night we like to sit outside and watch the nightlife. Since we are so close to the mall and there is a giant water fountain show that goes off every thirty minutes, coupled with tons of tasty restaurants surrounding us, it has been declaired as the weekend hangout for Arab teens, families, and tourists.

I am also happy to report that Old Town has constant security walking around. Makes me feel safer just thinking about it. And I really appreciate that everyday you can catch maintenance happening. From just cleaning the sidewalks to repairing lights, and manicuring the landscape. They really take good care of this place!

View of the bridge, Burj Khalifa, and mall from the sidewalk
right outside my apartment.

There is just one small drawback...because it is the happening place all the time day or night, I have found that Arabs like to smoke "Sheesha". I am not completely sure if it is just tobacco, but it is a leisure to sit around in comfy chairs while smoking this Sheesha from a giant genie type looking lamp that sits on the ground (I guess it is a giant bong). They like to add flavors to it like peach, strawberry, apple, blueberry, mango, etc. Very strange to see and smell. I admit, I don't love second hand smoke. Every time, I encounter it, I think about where I work (Huntsman Cancer Institute) and wonder what the rate of lung cancer is here in Dubai. I am also holding my breath wondering if my stay here will shorten my life span any...interesting. Here is a picture of what I am talking about. Turns out it comes from Egypt and is loved in

A sheesha pipe or also known as the Hubbly bubbly. Seen at
every restaurant here outside.

the Middle East. Apple is the number one flavor used.

There is a giant walking path that goes all the way around the lake and the buildings that I like

At night we can sit out on the patio and watch the fountain
show (I am starting to get really tired of hearing Celene
Dion every hour and a half!)

to walk on. You cannot walk it during the day, because it does still get pretty warm during the day. But at night it is quite delightful! Plus, I really like to people watch and you can pretty much see people from all sorts of different walks of life here at any given moment (except from American, I think we are the token American family here!)

In our building on the 6th floor is also a hidden playground and two nice swimming pools that sits in the middle of the Old Town buildings...sort of like a private hidden garden. I like to take Big Buddy here every evening to play with his new little friends. He has made a friend from Japan, and two from France. Of course they are all girls! He loves it!

Riding on the Dubai Metro

Dubai Metro Train

The Dubai Metro is a driverless, fully automated metro network running in the UAE. 

The Red Line is partly operational. The Green Line is still under construction, and further lines are planned. These first two lines run underground in the city center and on elevated viaducts elsewhere. All trains and stations are air conditioned with platform edge doors to make this possible.

The first section of the Red line, covering 10 stations, was ceremonially inaugurated on Sept. 9, 2009, by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai, with the line opening

Dubai Metro Train Station (1 of 11)

to the public at 6am on September 10th. The Dubai Metro is the first urban train network in the Arabian Peninsula. More than 110,000 people, which is nearly 10 percent of Dubai's population used the Metro in its first two days of operation. The Dubai Metro carried 10 million passenger from launch on Sept. 9, 2009 to Feb. 9, 2010 with 11 stations operational on the Red Line. Once the 20 km Green Line opens, the Dubai Metro will overtake the title of the longest fully automated metro network from the Vancouver Skytrain, surpassing it by 1km.

Mr. Big, Big Buddy and I waiting for the train to Atlantis.

The Dubai Metro track runs right behind our apartment out on The Palm. It was sure a lot of fun to watch the train pass by at all times during the day and night. Lucky for us, the train is very quiet. Thank goodness! 

The train stations are definitely a sight to see. The look and feel very space age in and out. Mr. Big, and I decided that we better take a ride on this marvel and did just that. We decided to ride on a weekend to get the full experience. We chose to ride from the nearest station all the way out to the edge of The Palm island. Here we are waiting for the train to arrive. It was very exciting!


Once on the train, Big Buddy really had a blast!

Wow I really look tired! Big Buddy having a good time
on the train.

Here we are, along with many other people (we chose a busy day to experience the ride). Turns out that it is quite common for Arabs to take their family on the weekend on the Dubai Metro to Atlantis. Atlantis sits a the end of the Palm and is a huge water park! Many of them stay and swim, while others just go for lunch and to mill around and then back on the train they go. We went in the evening, so we were able to see some spectacular views of the city alongside the beach front.

Dubai city scape along the beach.