We woke up at around 8AM this morning and it did not take me very long. I did realize that I could never get a real tattoo ever. The scorpion I have on will fade off in 7 to 10 days, but I could never get something permanently drawn on my body. It would get old very quick and it seemed more like a mistake this morning more than anything. We did some last moment packing and ate breakfast before heading out to the Burj al Arab for a private suite touring with our new friend that works at the hotel.
We took the taxi there and waited by the front area until he showed up. We walked up to the hotel, enjoyed the sights and were greeted by the front reception for our tour. The cost would have been 175 AED ($50) but we got in for free due to being an employee guest. We got to go up to the 27th floor at the skyview bar where they have a limited edition of Johnny Walker 2,500 AED ($700) shot available, but they ran out recently of that drink. Then we went to suite 901 where it costs 10,000 AED ($2,500) for 1 night stay. They had remote controlled everything ranging from the television monitor, curtains, lights, to opening the front door. Each floor of the hotel had its own reception desk. The suite was 2 levels the first being the office and living room while the 2nd floor consisted of the bathroom and bedroom. The bed itself is replaces each year and costs 50,000 AED ($13,000). Our last stop was the restaurant on the first floor where there is an aquarium as well in the dining area giving the appearance of being under water.
From there, we departed to the Mall of the Emirates to enjoy Sky Dubai. There was a giant plastic snow ball that one can climb inside and I of course took the opportunity to enjoy the fun as well. We bought an 2 hour pass for 190AED ($50) that also included rental equipment. What we did not know was that it took forever to get the clothes, change, get the boots, skis and then the poles. It took us an hour for us to be ready to ski and it was not easy since I had to change the sizes on everything.
Once we got inside the snow park, we to took the ski lift to half way on the slopes. I began there with reacquainting myself with the skis. All that I remember is that in order to slow down, one must bring the skis closer together. I did fall down several times in the snow and sometimes the ice got into my clothes, but it was fun nevertheless. It took me several tries to get comfortable with the speed and controlling where I was headed. The restroom facilities inside the ski park was closed for maintenance so I had to leave to use the restroom which ate into my play time. Eventually I had the courage to take the ski lift to the very top and went down from the top all the way to the bottom about 6 times. The last time, I did everything in one try and did not fall down at all. I was not brave enough to take on the expert slope as it was very steep. I will have to save that for next time. I was very pleased that I got to ski in the middle of the desert. I was smart enough to bring my hat and gloves so that I would not freeze to death in the extremities.
After that adventure, we took the metro to Al Rashidiya station and then a taxi to the Mirdif City Centre mall. We sought out iFly Dubai where we got to experience weightlessness in a air chamber. The cost was 195 AED ($50) which included a 15 minute class, equipment (goggles, ear plugs, suit, and helmet) and then two 1-minute sessions in the tube. It was exhilarating to be able to fly for a brief moment. After that experience, we took a taxi back to the metro, then took the metro for an hour to Dubai Marina station, then took another taxi to our apartment. We had to cab driver wait for us as we were heading off towards the airport. We went up quickly, grabbed our bags, made a last minute pass to make sure we collected everything, drop off the keys at reception, and then proceeded to the airport. We stopped by the Burj Kalifa to see if there was any fountain shows going on, but we barely missed the cutoff time so it was off to the airport to catch our 10:30PM flight on Delta back to Atlanta.
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