Monday, 19th April. .....Dubai.....and some adventure!

Our day began knowing that Emirates have given us another 24hrs on our vouchers....everybody sighed with relief however this means that there a no flights departing today to Hamburg or most European destinations!
I filled up on breakfast and having searched the net for relevant, recent information we confidently decided that today is a 'tourist' day! Hollie has yet another vanilla coffee and is able to chill somewhat as she now has her boss's feedback to stay put and ride it out! However we have to go to the airport to give them my bag number again....on arriving at the bag collection area the first thing I see as I get closer is......................my pink ribbon and pink security lock!!!! ..............I was stunned.....immobilised.....then it struck me that it was there............and I started jumping around very excited...this was shared with all of the other travellers as they were just as pleased for me as I was excited!!!........all of them knew what I had been through because they were going through it too!!! One guy informed me that his bag is very similar to mine and had hoped it was his...until he saw the pink ribbon! He said that it had only just arrived on the last trolley 2 minutes before I arrived.... good timimg Fran!
Back home to make some choices. I had spoken to our next door neighbor (he must be okay as he is a Marine Engineer) and he was heading out on safari and invited me to join the fun.....I decided that never having riden a camel, it would be appropriate to do it in Arabian sand dunes....so I'm heading off to get a taste of life outside!

UPDATE:
Yesterday was truly amazing and I now feel I have experienced some af the real Arabian culture .....Waiting for our tour guide, I was interviewed by CNN news about my story....(it felt familiar DT & Abbie!!) Our Landcruiser arrived and we headed off towards Hatta, collecting another couple, Nic and Jenny from frankfurt, who are actually holidaying in Dubai by choice....great fun people looking for adventure too. It felt good getting out of the city and into the dessert country......flat, then red sandy dunes for as far as you can see. Having driven for an hour we arrived at the dunes and for the next hour spent a crazy time flying over and around the red sandy dunes.....with an adrenalin junkie at the wheel.....we squealed with delight/fright/anxiety/relief and loved  every minute of the play time....I just wished I had been allowed behind the wheel!

UPDATE: 23/4: We had Arabian turbans fitted and dressed up in belly dancing gear...then were harassed to pay them for the pictures we had taken on our own cameras....we arrived at the camp site just on dusk...there were 100's of stranded travellers all doing the same as us...people sandboarding...taking snaps of the beautiful sun setting...and I finally got to take a camel ride!...It was very toursity but I didn't care as I was in the correct country to be doing it! I met Claire (from Brunswick in Melbourne) and Jill and linked up with them to share the evenings entertainment whilst we wined and dined. We shared a table with Thomas and Eva who work in Brisbane and were travelling to visit their families in Vienna to share with them their exciting news that they were newly pregnant...good luck guys!..

Entertainment included: fire twirling....People twirling.....They guys twirled non-stop for about 15mins demonstrating a visual delight of skill......then...........he stopped....drums rollled while he ran around the arena and...............YES................he stopped at me and took my hand inviting me to do what he had just done!!!!....Crumbs.....out of ALL those people....I became the entertainment!.......I was so thankful that I had only had one wine because, twirling with the beautiful skirt on for what felt like an eternity but was more like 4-5mins, was challenging!!!....When I stopped he was very kind and said that I was amazing...and that most people don't last that long...(demonstrated by the poor man who wanted to have a go too, and lasted only one minute before he fell over!!) Claire and Jill were great company and we have followed each other's journeys since then. Before we said farewell we decided that I would join them on the Big Bus Tour of Dubai the next day to see the sights....It was something I really wanted to do and was pleased to find others who were going to do it too!
Our trip home was fun as Abdul, our driver, decided to treat us to part of the trip in a Hummer instead of the Landcruiser we had been in...He knew we were loving the ride!
On returning to the Premier, I found Hollie and Shafik. another stranded traveller who does a lot of work in Dubai, working out their strategy for coping!......
It became a very late night!