Dubai, Headlines Update

So this is just a quick and dirty update, no pictures (sorry, I didn't bring the cord for my camera here), that I fully plan to redo later.

travel time = fairly amazing. first flight (Chicago to London) was bumped up to first class free of charge, second flight (London to Dubai) was so empty we all had a row of 4 seats to ourselves

first day = sleeping and readjusting after getting in at 5am Dubai time. slept til 2pm, then went to a souk (market), the beach for sunset (and a dip in the Arabian Sea), a showarma, a trip to a bazaar, and a dinner with family friends. excellent dinner/food all around (very flavorful)

second day = lots of walking/shopping. window shopping at Wafi (upscale) in the morning, Indian food (dosa, kind of like a crazy crepe, and mango lassi, smoothie-type thing), afternoon break to avoid 104 degree sun, shopping at Karama (real local market with hard core haggling), dinner out with the family to see the new fountain show (world's tallest fountain, 15 stories high)

UPDATE 2:

third day = zatar and cheese for breakfast, morning at the fish market (extreme haggling), afternoon nap, drive to palm island (crazy man made island), saw sheik's palace and his peacocks, saw burg al arab, drank aloe vera, seafood and Arabic food for dinner

fourth day = sleep in, late breakfast of parahta and crazy fruits (mango, fig, chickoo, lychee, yummy), visit Dubai Land showroom and Jameira islands, crab dinner at home, watched a movie at Illika's

fifth day = parahta for breakfast, shopping at the dihrum store (aka dollar store), lunch out at Gazeebo (Indian food) with Link and his family, walked around Dubai museum, crossed the creek in an abra (boat), shopped at textile souk and gold souk, pani-porri (exploding crazy street food)

UPDATE 3:

sixth day = visiting Olsen in Abu Dhabi (another Emirate), got up very early and ate an interesting brunch-meal cooked by Olsen, visited the third largest mosque in the world, went to the Palace Hotel (used to be a Sheik's palace, now converted to a very swanky hotel), back in Dubai we had very spicy and delicious Pakistani food.

seventh day = went for a swim in the morning at Illika's, then Olsen and Link joined us for a desert safari which included dune bashing (think desert version of a rollercoaster, carried out in an off-road vehicle), camel rides, sand boarding, belly dancing, an a falcon. got back late, then went for deserts near Illika's house.

eigth day = Dubai mall (largest mall in the world-- are you getting the feeling that Dubai really likes it's superlatives?), which included a skating rink in the middle of the mall and an aquarium complete with sharks and scuba divers. Buboti for dinner (south African dish at Illika's)

ninth day = Tahra and Hillary's last day before they hit London. henna in the morning, Mina Bazar after lunch, burf-ka-golla (snow cone on a stick type Indian dessert) and masala chai (the real version of what Starbucks tries and fails to make with their chai tea), porri (crazy bread stuff), aloo (potato), shrikhand (hung yogurt), dal-petti (lentils with dumplings)

more/better description later, +pictures