A Bucket List Item Checked Off!

September 4th - 8th 2021

I recently returned from a trip that has been on my bucket list since 2003 before I began my travel industry career. This 7 star luxury hotel was featured in a commercial with Tiger Woods hitting a golf ball into the ocean from the top. I fell in love with the United Arab Emirates. The water was beautiful and this hotel was stunning. The hotel was opened in 1999 and is the hotel of choice for the rich and famous. Then the UAE just kept improving on the excitement by creating the Palm Islands in 2001 and indoor skiing and snowboarding resort in 2005. This is a wonderful, clean, and extremely safe country. I would go back in a heartbeat.

Our trip included a desert safari with a stop to ride 4 wheel ATV's first. That was extremely fun, and I would highly recommend it. From there we drove straight into the desert in the driver's vehicle. A Toyota Land Cruiser. We "bashed the dunes" which was like a roller coaster ride in the desert. This was about a 45 minute to an hour ride. We stopped for stunning sunset pictures and then proceeded to the tent city where we would eat dinner, enjoy a show, get a henna tattoo and ride a camel. This was so much fun, and the food was great too. The next day we met in the lobby first thing in the morning for a city tour, with stops at "souks" for shopping, a palace visit, a stop at a museum, and a lunch experience. The souks were wonderful. It is a big flea market where you can bargain your price for wonderful treasures. We had the afternoon off and met in the lobby at 7:00 for a drive to Palm Jumerah to see the Atlantis, then to Dubai Marina for a traditional cruise on a dhow with dinner. These are just some of the pictures I took on this trip.