One Daily Positive 2017 Week 2 After the visitors

There's a bit of a change on the blog, I'm still Chickenruby and in my 8th year of blogging, I've just decided to drop the words 'Expat' 'solo travel' and 'family life'

I'm not really sure what an expat is anymore, Dubai is just where I live now, like South Africa before that and various places in the UK before that. My youngest child finished school this June, although he left home over 3 years ago now. The solo travel isn't really solo, I stay with friends and family in places where I've lived. The world of the internet is full of blog posts on 'how to pack a suit case' 'best places to visit with kids' I don't need to keep reinventing the wheel.

This month is also the 6th anniversary of us leaving the UK. As well as writing my weekly #Project 365, HDYGG? Animal Tales and My Sunday Photo Photo posts, I will be reflecting quite a bit, as I celebrate 25 years of parenting in May this year.

The visitors have gone, they left on Tuesday. I must admit I am enjoying the peace and quiet, but I know it won't last long. It's hard being an expat, family come and it's an intense few weeks, then nothing till the next trip, which will be me visiting the UK in March/April.

The last few days were busy with a desert safari on Sunday and I managed to get the christmas decorations down on Monday when the kids popped to the beach, followed by a visit to the Aquarium, some last minute shopping and a new suitcase for me with industrial wheels followed by afternoon tea at The Palace Hotel. Peter and the teen spent the evening installing a new TV and sound bar.

It was an early start, 4am on Tuesday to the airport for the goodbyes, it doesn't get any easier. I then spent the day cleaning and blitzing the house. 

Wednesday involved a lie in, food shop and coffee. The decorations were put away, although there is still a set of lights to come down but it's a two person job. I did the ironing, a bit more tidying and then headed off to a friends house where Peter joined me for a pub quiz and dinner.

Thursday morning was spent gardening, then off to work to collect my final salary pay cheque, I opted not to let anyone know I was coming and left some stuff in reception. I called in at the garden centre on my way home, followed by dinner and an early night.

Friday and another lie in, took Bob for a play date, followed by my first proper night out out in Dubai with some of the girls from work, which saw me dancing on the beach, drinking cocktails and getting home at 3.30am. 

Saturday and another lie in, took Bob to soft play for an hour and spent the evening on the sofa with the duvet.

I'm determined to find something new to do with our next lot of visitors.
8/365 Goals.

Afternoon tea at The Palace Hotel with my niece my first visit here and 1st time I've been defeated. 
9/365 New.

Could only find gluten free bread so I'm toasting it in the hope it's tastes better. I really need to start eating more healthily, but it's been difficult with all the visitors.
10/365 Make up

The first time since I left work that I've had a chance to tidy up properly and find a place for everything 11/365 Smells Good.

First meal I've cooked from scratch in ages.
12/365 I'm cooking.

Duvet day in preparation for going out.
13/365 Inspire.

Taking Bob to soft play

14/365 Car.

This week on the blog.

My Sunday Photo 'S is for Selfie'
HDYGG with a visit to Zaabeel, Dubai Garden Glow
And a post about 'why I'm done with being a tour guide' with #PoCoLo

How does you Garden Glow with Dubai Garden Glow and HDYGG

We should've entered Za'abeel park through gate 6, but I find the roads a little complicated around that part of town and at 5pm, the Sheikh Zayed Road is a little busy and I really didn't want to negate the traffic. We were able to access the Garden Glow via a foot bridge, but sign posting wasn't too good and it took a while to find it. Just remember to turn at the Chinese Pagoda and all will be ok. You can buy tickets at any of the gates and they cost AED 60 each.

 Upon exiting the footbridge you are greeted by the dinosaurs, I wasn't too impressed with this part of the attraction, we walked through quickly and took few photo's, although I'm sure if I'd gone with small children it would've held more excitement. 

Colour changing trees

Interactive musical lights.

 Back into Za'abeel park and home. There were many families having picnics and BBQ's in designated areas, there was even a wedding party, with tables and chairs and caterers.

Dubai Garden Glow is only open during the winter months.

I'm done with being a tour guide

Since November 18th 2016 we've welcomed a friend, my mother, 2 kids and our niece into our home for a holiday. For my mother and our niece it's been their first and probably only visit to Dubai. For the kids it will be their last trip for a year or so.

It's been busy, expensive and very tiring. Up until December 16th I was working full time and despite it being winter in Dubai, at 28c most days it was too hot for my mother to go out in the day, so we did things on the weekends and evenings instead.

With all the places visited and time spent cooking meals, extra washing and tidying as well as just time spent sitting and chatting, the housework got neglected.

I wrote something similar in 2015 after yet another spate of visitors. Despite knowing Dubai well now, I still don't know what everyone wants to do and it's hard work organising everything.

My wallet also suffered quite badly and while I don't begrudge a single dirham we spent, it has been a very expensive 2 months. I've given up work now, I don't think I would've managed that as well after Christmas. Although everyone paid their own way, they were heavily subsidised and of course there were my costs. Purchasing the Entertainer App at AED 445 (£99) saved a lot of money with 2 for 1 deals, but paid for itself with one visit to Wild Wadi water park and I made sure we ate and visited where possible, the places available on the app.

I have of course visited many places on my own as a tourist when I first visited here and with Peter on weekends and many more places have opened and changed over the past 3 years. I had thought we'd use more public transport, something I do when I'm on my own, but we really didn't have the time with everything we wanted to fit in. Fuel costs are low and parking almost everywhere is free.

While everyone chipped in and bought ice creams and coffees, laid the table, tidied up, collected their washing and did the ironing (thanks Dan) I am glad they've all gone home now and I have some time on my own, time to tidy and clean the house, catch up with neglected paperwork, get on with various projects, blog and just work to my own schedule, I know that in a few weeks I'll be bored, lonely and looking for something to do.

What I need now is a holiday, to a place where things are new to me, a place I can explore, relax in and chill out away from home. While all our visitors are on holiday, I live in Dubai, it's home, it's not a holiday destination for me.

We're off to Luxor at the end of the month for a few days, which although is a place we visited around 10 years ago, it's somewhere we've always wanted to go back to. We have a few other trips lined up to the UK and will be visiting Leeds and Northern Ireland where 2 of our kids live and hopefully a visit to Dublin and Munich to see friends who used to live in South Africa. It will be nice to explore some new places. But when we're back at home in the South West we just spend our time visiting people and not being tourists. It would be lovely if on this trip we visited places with family and friends rather than sitting in their house or having coffee in town.

We've decided that future visitors will be given a Nol travel card, a map, sim card and instructions on how everything works, they will book their own flights, change their own money and will be given a quick tour so they can get their bearings. We will of course join in with a few things, dinners etc, but we just can't keep up this level of entertainment and cost.

So if you're coming out to see us any time soon, you have been warned and if we're coming over to see you, be prepared to provide us with a list of things to do where you live, that you think we'll like to visit. We'll sort our own flights, money, sim cards, car hire etc.

I know it sounds harsh, but we really have enjoyed all our visitors over the previous 6 years, both here in Dubai and in South Africa, but we're done now with being tour guides.

This is where Peter and I have been over the past 2 months and we've done these places most times we've had visitors, regardless of their length of stay, family or friends, with and without kids.

Desert Safari x 1
Miracle Gardens x 1
Wild Wadi x 1
Dubai Garden Glow x 1
Rain Forest x 1
Afternoon tea x 2
Led display x 2
Global Village x 2
Burj Khalifa x 2
Aquariums x 2
City Walk x 2
Walk along the canal x 3
Ferry and Souks x 3
Souk Madinat x 3
Fountains x 5
Mercato Mall x 5

Too many visits to count
Mall of the Emirates
Dubai Mall
Meals out
Trips to the desert
Visits to the beach

Other Malls visited
Outlet Village, Mirdiff City Centre, Oasis Mall, Marina Mall

Airport runs -  collections and drop off's x 8

106 My Sunday Photo January 8th 2017. S is for Selfie.

There were too many photo's to choose my favourite from for this week. Sunrise from the top of the Burj Khalifa on Friday morning and a Desert Safari this evening, to name but a few of the places we've visited this week in Dubai.

I bought a selfie stick, yes I know I'm a little bit behind the times.

Having clicked away taking several photo's of the family and myself  I discovered I had taken endless photos of what was in front of us as I hadn't switched the camera round. Basically just the inside of the roof of the Abra.

This was the only one I got right and the selfie stick is now residing in the bottom of my camera bag and will probably stay there with the iPhone camera lenses I gave up on also.

One Daily Positive 2017 Week 1 Moving on.

Welcome to my 3rd year of Project 365, SnapHappyBritMums prompts and One Daily Positive. I've had a clear out on social media and left quite a few groups and joined a few, more suited to the links I join in with with.

I've been giving a lot of thought to what I post on my blog as it's currently a mix of gardening, pets, family, travel and life as an expat, plus the odd general moan and groan about life in general. But I've decided I'm not really a person who wants or needs to fit in with life and others, so I'll just carry on with what I'm doing, which is writing an online diary about my personal experiences. However I am still on the lookout for a travel or days out linky to join in with on a weekly basis.

Happy New Year and moving on, please forget everything that I said last year, for this is a new one and I'm hitting in full force. I start the year without a job, but I have my husband, my family visiting over the holidays and planned trips to the UK throughout the year and friends. New Years Day lunch. 
1/365 The Night Before.

This is the year I will come to love Dubai, make good friends and feel I belong. We spent the day at Wild Wadi water park.
2/365 2017

With the kids and niece at Global Village for dinner and shopping. 

3/365 I'm eating

A quiet day with son and niece at the beach, teen to the dentist for final wisdom tooth extraction and apart from running them around, washing and ironing, I've spent most of the day in the garden watching The Crown on Netflix and scheduling blog posts.

4/365 I'm watching.

A lovely day, spent the morning in the desert, followed by a picnic breakfast for 3 plus #BobTheDog shopping with my niece and dinner with Peter, Beth, Dan and Alex at Reem Al Bawadi wishing I'd ordered one of the for dessert also.
5/365 I'm Thinking.

At the airport to see Dan off on his travels home, we've had a great 3 weeks, despite me losing his UK SIM card. Spent our last day on the beach, he got a little sun burnt. On our return home #BobTheDog was looking for him.  
6/365 I'm loving.

Taxi from home to Dubai Marina, on the ferry to the Creek, souks, lunch and shopping. Abra to the other side and taxi home. A lovely day spent with Peter, Beth and Dan.
7/365 Silver.

On the blog this week:

Animal Tales, HDYGG and PoCoLo A visit to The Green Planet at City Walk. A tropical rain forest in the desert.

My Sunday Photo Week 105 D is for disappointment.