Dubai Ferry trip

There are several routes available, travel along the coast  or take a look at The Palm from the sea, or just pop to one of the fabulous beaches in Jumeriah away from the tourists.

For up to date information on times, locations and costs visit the RTA website

Catching the ferry from either Dubai Marina or Al Ghubaiba, Deira Creek is a must do if visiting Dubai. The trip costs AED 50 and lasts for 90 minutes. After a brief safety demo, the ferry sets off out the harbour.

We started our trip from the Creek, catching the bus from our house on the Al Wasl Road, on our arrival at the Marina, we travelled home on the tram, train and bus. 

Food and snacks were served on the ferry and you were free to walk around talking as many photos as you wanted, which of course my son and I did in abundance.

The ferry travels approximately 1km from the shore line and the views are simply stunning. On this day I had a headache so stayed mainly indoors, so please excuse the reflection in the windows. To be able to see all of Dubai in one go is astounding.

We can see the Burj Al Arab from the beach near our house, but when approaching from the Mairina area by road you can only see the top half of the building and despite the sail looking very close to the Al Arab there is now such much building going on around the area you can only see this iconic view now from the air or sea.

The last part of the journey is entering Dubai Marina, again the shore line is simply stunning.

Dubai Marina Mall, final destination from where you can get the tram, tube or a taxi back to your hotel or home. After a spot of lunch and shopping of course.

Week 13 My Sunday Photo

For Earth Hour yesterday, hubby and I visited nearby Safa Park in the evening to take a photo of the city at night. Then took the same photo when all the lights were switched off.

It was quite foggy and cloudy and many buildings had turned their lights off early so the contrast between my two photos isn't that good.

Some lights had to stay on as the buildings are so tall, there's a risk for aeroplanes and lots of buildings had these weird blue lights traveling up and down the side of them, which we worked out were the lifts.

Before and After

Week 8 Project 365 Visitors, travel and sand storms

Wow what a week. Been a tourist this week with my dear friend Chrissie who I met on twitter 5 years ago and her 7 year old daughter. We've been up the Burj Khalifa, on the beach, on a water taxi on the creek and finished the week off with a desert safari. We've also experienced our first sand storm which went on for nearly 3 days and I think it could be 3 weeks before I can get all the sand out of the house. Hubby has bought a car which should be ready next week along with my Emirates ID and alcohol licence. Then the boring stuff starts....I'll be job hunting, wish me luck, I've not worked since we started our expat journey in January 2011.

Day 46 #onedailypositive #cosy #fmsphotoaday #spot #snaphappybritmums #project365 

Not a cosy spot as on somewhere warn to snuggle down, but for me it's somewhere to cool down from the continuous heat. It's a corner of the dining room that has a door and a separate air conditioning unit so I don't have to cool the whole house. It's mine and Bob's afternoon cosy spot.

Day 47 #onedailypositive #fromwhereIstand #fmsphotoaday #indulgent #snaphappybritmums #project365

From where I stand I see this. I'm not on holiday, this is my new home and I intend to be indulgent everyday by walking the 15 minutes from home to be here.

Day 48 ‪#‎onedailypositive‬ ‪#‎routine‬ ‪#‎fmsphotoaday‬ ‪#‎maybe‬‪#‎snaphappybritmums‬ ‪#‎project365‬ 

Everyday I go out by myself for a coffee, it gets me out the house, sometimes I go first thing in the morning, other times I go out in the evening. Today has been spent on the beach with @mediocremum and her daughter who are visiting Dubai for a holiday. I've had enough of the beach and enough of the sun so while they paddle and build sandcastle a I've gone for my daily coffee. Maybe one day I'll try one of the many syrups on offer but for today I'll just stick with my routine of a latte, on my own.

Day 49 #onedailypositive #bedside #fmsphotoaday #blue #snaphappybritmums #project365

On Monday I went to the beach and swam in the sea, my hair was scraped back in a pony tail and was sandy and wet and I wasn't wearing any make up. I passed a beauty parlour on my way home and thought I'd pop in and see if they had time to thread my eyebrows. It was the beginning of December since I last had my hair and nails done and although I've had my eyebrows threaded since then. The woman sat behind the counter looked mortified at my current state and tried to offer me every service they offered, I didn't know whether to feel insulted or not.....lol. Anyway, in response to the look of shock on her face and today's photo prompts I've decided to paint my fingers and toes. My daily positive is that it doesn't matter how I look, just that I feel good about myself right now.

Day 50 #onedailypositive #fresh #fmsphotoaday #really #snaphappybritmums #project365

Spent the day with a friend in Bur Dubai the Souk. We travelled in on the bus and crossed the creek on a water taxi. Having wandered through the narrow lanes we ended up quite some distance from the tourist area and we needed lunch. One of the requests for 'things to do in Dubai' was to experience street food, an annual event with the Dubai Food Festival, but the place we came across was street food, proper street style, while the Watermelon drink was fresh we really did have to ask ourselves if this was a good idea or not, guess we'll find out in less than 24 hours :-) the daily positive is we tried something new, we had an adventure.

Day 51 #onedailypositive #ThisIsSoMe #fmsphotoaday #cuppa #snaphappybritmums #project365

The perfect prompts today as This Is So Me, a cuppa tea. Anytime of the day, anywhere. Hubby (when he's at home) brings me a cuppa every morning before he goes to work, although most times I go back to sleep and wake up to a cold cup of tea. I also take tea with me whenever I travel, just a few bags of PG Tips, to get me going before I find a tea I like. Now we are in Dubai I can buy my own PG Tips rather than getting friends and family to traffic them into South Africa.

Day 52 #onedailypositive #matching #fmsphotoaday #sweet #snaphappybritmums #project365 

Afternoon and evening spent in the desert with friends, 4x4 trip across the sand, meal, matching henna painting, dinner, wine, belly dancing and camel rides. Lots of lovely food and sweet dates growing and fantastic company

Week 7 Project 365 I finally got my visa

The week hasn't started well I'm afraid, no dramas, just health issues. All this uncertainty and hotel living has finally caught up with me and I can't seem to stay awake. I finally got my residency visa this week, just waiting for my Emirates ID, then I can apply for my driving license and open a bank account.

Day 39 #onedailypositive #inmybag #fmsphotoaday #out&about #snaphappybritmums #project365

I spent the morning cooking and wearing pjs, I had no plans to go out other than the photo prompt for today. The cooking inspired ideas for the rest of the week, so I dressed, caught the number 93 bus and visited Carrefore, returning within the hour with a bag full of goodies to make soups, risotto and banana muffins. It's wonderful after living in South Africa just to be able to 'pop to the shops' using public transport.

Day 40 ‪#‎onedailypositive‬ ‪#‎energy‬ ‪#‎fmsphotoaday‬ ‪#‎snowdrops‬‪#‎snaphappybritmums‬ ‪#‎project365‬ 

Any suggestions as to where I can find snowdrops in the middle of the desert? So I'm cheating and took a photo of the sledge run at the ‪#‎MallOfEmirates‬ it's snow and a drop. Energy wise and my one daily positive I'm on a train to Jebel Ali with my passport TO FINALLY GET MY VISA. My tourist visa expires in 2 days and I really didn't fancy another visa flight to Oman and back.

The train to Jebel Ali was a new route for me and it was weird to pass through Energy station on route.








Day 41 #onedailypositive #ThisInspiresMe #fmsphotoaday #RaiseSomeDough #snaphappybritmums #project365

4 years ago I gave up making financial donations to #charities. I'll still happily sponsor a child with an activity at their school as I believe the message of helping others is a good virtue to install into our children, but I won't be sponsoring the cost of your skydive or mountain trek and I won't be donating to #ComicRelief and other organisations.
What happened to change my mind? I moved to South Africa and volunteering became a way of life for me, in fact my entire life and I was fortunate to meet some of the most inspiring people I've ever come across with my involvement in Santa Shoebox and The Viva Foundation. Alone we cannot stop poverty, but from experience we can do something to make life a little more tolerant and give hope and a sense of identity. This little girl in the picture is 3 and like all her class mates she had never had a birthday party, in fact if you ask the children at the Viva School how old they are, they are unable to tell you. Birthday parties are a luxury, actually running water and electricity are luxuries so you can imagine how far down the list a birthday party or a gift actually is.
I shall be back in South Africa in October to help collect, pack, sort and distribute up to 10,000 christmas gifts in Pretoria and will be making and selling cakes and crafts here in Dubai to raise funds for Viva to support education and provide their children with the opportunity to have a birthday party, a cake and a bit of respect. If you want to donate directly to Viva then please click here, citing Party and Chickenruby as your reference. 

Day 42 #onedailypositive #OnTheWall #fmsphotaday #two #snaphappybritmums #project365

This is driving me up the wall, I have no idea which light switch operates which light and for some reason as I've discovered today, if I want the outside light on at the front of the house, the switch for it is in our bedroom at the back of the house. So today I'm labelling all the switches and drawn a little map. Sad? No, we had 2 switches in South Africa for 2 years that we never knew what they switched on. In every room there appears to be 2 switches that don't operate any lights anywhere and yes, I've checked and replaced bulbs/globes. The daily positive is that today feels like the first day of normal, I'm catching up with blogging and sorting photo's and off to the beach in a bit to cool down after mopping the kitchen floor.

Day 43 #onedailypositive #pointy #fmsphotoaday #white #snaphappybritmums #project365

This photo was taken from our front door step. It is the white moon above the pointy top of the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building at 828 meters high. Everywhere you go in Dubai the Burj Khalifa is visible, from the beach, the bus stop and on a very clear day there have been reports you can see it from Saudi Arabia.
Now we are back in the northern hemisphere the moon and the stars are familiar again, it's strange though not to be able to see the southern cross anymore. Today's positive is we are fortunate, through hard work and determination to have the opportunity to live abroad and experience life as expats.

Day 44 ‪#‎temptation‬ ‪#‎fmsphotoaday‬ ‪#‎dinner‬ ‪#‎snaphappybritmums‬‪#‎project365‬ 

Sitting in the desert having a braai, there's a fillet steak on the coals and for dessert M&Ms, fairy cakes and fizzy pop.

Day 45 #onedailypositive #love #fmsphotoaday #hearts #snaphappybritmums #project365

Having spent 4 years in the Southern Hemisphere and now moving to another hot climate, it has been important to me to mark the seasons in some way rather than relying on the weather. In South Africa Halloween is in Spring, Christmas in the summer and Easter in Autumn. I marked the seasons by celebrating the events and decided the dining room was the best place to do this because as a family with kids and now without them we always sat down together for our main meal of the day. We spent this christmas back in the northern hemisphere but on the beach, no amount of penguins or snowmen on cards can make it feel like a christmas I knew but I do enjoy setting the dining room table to reflect the seasons and at least now at Easter when I put the decorations out, it will be back in spring again.