October 18 - 25, 2013, We went on Vacation to Dubai. We decided to fly out of Bahrain airport and had an 8:10 a.m. flight. We left Las Dunas at 4:30 a.m. to have enough time to cross the Causeway with all of the security checkpoints. Bahrain is a country that is not as strict with it's Islam laws. You don't have to wear an abaya, they don't close for prayer times, you can have pork, drink alcohol, and there are movie theaters. It was my first experience going to Bahrain and crossing the causeway bridge. Because it is another country we had to go through about 6 security checkpoints. The first was to pay to go across the causeway bridge. The second was a vehicle check, the third was a passport/visa check leaving Saudi. The forth was to collect the vehicle receipt. The fifth was a passport/visa check entering Bahrain, and the sixth was a vehicle/baggage check.
Bahrain
We stayed at Atlantis, The Palm in Dubai. It was an amazing Hotel! We stayed in the imperial club room. It was the most expensive night sleep we will ever have but the price included all food, snacks, drinks, Kids Club, Club Rush (for teens), Aquaventure Water-park, and The Lost Chambers Aquarium. Complimentary internet access and international newspapers. Complimentary use of the steam, sauna and jet pool at ShuiQi spa. One complimentary 30 minute personal training session. There was a daily list of activities that you could choose to do from 10 a.m. -12 a.m. The hotel also provided free bus shuttles to all 5 malls. There were other rooms that were a lot more expensive. The Atlantis' signature Royal Bridge Suite, the most luxurious in the resort, measures in at 9,945 square feet and has floor to ceiling views of all of Dubai. And there are Underwater Suites, with the bedroom and bathroom that has a floor to ceiling view of the aquarium.
view from our balcony
The aquarium from our balcony day and night
Our Room!
There are so many beautiful things to see in this hotel. Some mornings we would eat breakfast at the Kaleidoscope restaurant with a view of this huge aquarium. It was mesmerizing! We could have watched the fish for hours.
This is the priceless Dale Chihuly sculpture in the Grand Lobby, created using 3,000 hand blown pieces of glass, individually placed to create a 33 feet high centerpiece.
A throne big enough for the whole family.
The Aquaventure Water Park and Lazy River! During our week stay we saw 3 families that live on our compound. Hannah and Rachael were very happy to have friends that could go on the water slides and lazy river with them.
The Leap of faith and the Ziggurat were 2 of the big water slides. On the Leap of faith you fall straight down, then you actually go through this underwater tube in the Shark Lagoon.
Hannah, Yara and Noah being lazy!
This is how the Islam Ladies go to the water Park. The funny thing is Rachael decided to buy a swim suit almost like it and that's what she wore to the water park everyday. No need for sunscreen!
The lazy river had many different routes to take. The Torrent River and The Rapids are just two of the routes.
The Lost Chambers Aquarium is the ruins of the lost city of Atlantis beneath the ocean. There are 10 chambers to explore, amazing rare artifacts from a long lost civilization and 65,000 marine animals.
The picture above are Queensland grouper.
They can live 40 years and get up to 400 kg.
or 881 pounds.
In this chamber Atlanteans use
blue crystals as their currency.
We did the Dolphin Encounter. Marty, Hannah, and Rachael were able to get up close to play with a dolphin named Jasmine. They threw a ring for her to catch, she did a dance with them and she gave them a kiss.
We went to the Dubai Mall. It is huge! In this mall there is the Dubai Aquarium-underwater Zoo, one of the worlds largest aquariums, an indoor Souk, which was beautiful, and an Ice Skating Rink. From this mall you can go to the Burj Khalifa and the Dubai Fountains.
The beautiful indoor Souk!
The Burj Khalifa building is so tall that you can't get it all in one picture. It is a skyscraper in Dubai and is the tallest man-made structure in the world, 2722 ft. We began our vertical ascent to the observation deck in a high-speed elevator. As you arrive on the observation deck, which is on the 124th. floor, you can venture outside onto the open-air terrace to enjoy another perspective of the views below.
At The Top of The Burj Khalifa
We ended our night with a boat tour on the Burj Khalifa Lake to view the Dubai Fountains. The Dubai Fountains are choreographed to music and shoots water 500 feet high, that's about as high as a 50 story building.
The Boat Captain took this picture of Hannah & Rachael
Ski Dubai is an indoor snow resort in the Mall of the Emirates. That's right a ski resort in a mall, in the desert! We rode the chairlift, the giant snowball, tubing run, toboggan run and a snow sled. There was an opportunity to interact with snow penguins but we didn't have time. The temperature was -3 degrees and we were so cold that we could only stay in the snow for 1 hour at a time. We had to leave to go warm up.
Penguins!
Behind us is an Ice Sculpture of a dragon that changes colors.
Rachael, Hannah and
Marty rolled down the
hill in a giant snowball.
Marty rolled down the
hill in a giant snowball.
Check out the Saudi Man.
That's Hannah & Rachael in the chairlift behind us.
In the picture above in the chairlift on the left check out the Saudi Family!
So that is the end of our 7 day vacation in Dubai. I know it was a lot of pictures but less than the 1200 we took. We had such a good time and Dubai is a beautiful place. Marty wanted to quit work and move to Atlantis to become a golf cart driver. The only thing that would have made this vacation better would have been if we would have had Chelsey, Devin and Heather with us.
I often think about my dad and I wish I could share these beautiful places and wonderful experiences with him. I know he feels the same way, he probably wishes he could share the beautiful place he is in and wonderful experiences he is having with everyone. I think if I can experience such beautiful things here on earth how much more amazing will it be in Heaven?
