Straight from Paris, via Amsterdam, Jeremy arrives around 1045pm.
Picked him up from a little cute blue Chevy.
Almost got summoned by the Airport traffic warden, but managed to get scott free after showing him I am a Malaysian tourist, and lost my way.
Whisked the VIP to the Grand Hyatt hotel, after packing in LOADS of suitcases into the teensy weensy car.
No traffic was apparent when crossing the Garhoud Bridge, and within 10 minutes, we were checking in at the Hyatt.
The room was upgraded as Jeremy had the Hyatt VIP card. Free breakfast and larger room.
So, I forked out 2 bucks as tips for the bell boy, as J was low on change.
After a quick freshening up and some room photos, we then darted out the room after midnite to head onto the Hard Rock Cafe.
Down the Sheikh Zayed Road we went, passing all the super skyscrapers along the 6 lane highway. If you had the patience of limiting yourself to the speed limit of 120 km/h for 90 minutes, you would be in Abu Dhabi.
However, as we passed the Internet City, my instincts told me to keep right to get close to our destination.
My scouting talents did not fail me and we reached the free car park safely next to HRC.
The night was quiet. The crowd was barely noticeable. NO live band was on display.
As we entered, the momentos counter greeted us on the left, after the Pinoy doorman greeted us on the right.
J soon got his paraphernalia, primarily a beer can opener amongst other HRC knick knacks. I only got a HRC brown bag as a souvenir (free one).
We then adjourned back to the hotel, after going through a few wrong turns. We landed in the middle of Dubai Marina, with its 24 hour construction shifts in full swing. Fortunately for the excellent signage in both Arabic and ENGLISH, we got ourselves out before sunrise!
So down the SZR again, we stopped for a moment on the road shoulder to witness the live progress of the worlds tallest building (for now!)
As we arrived back in the hotel, we took a few more night shots and then retired to the room. I happily continued my array of photos of the room, whilst J took a quick shower.
When it came to my turn for the shower, I was most unhappy as I forgot my toothbrush. I would have thought that a 5 star hotel would have provided one, but believe it or not, they did NOT have a toothbrush, nor a comb! They were generous with the cotton buds and cotton pads though!
After drying my wet hair (or whatever is left of it), I just picked up a magazine and glanced through it till I was well asleep on the 8 inch mattress. J was still busy packing and repacking his bags, enroute for his next destination, Muscat, OMAN!
The morning arrives. The rays shone through the slithers of thick curtains covering the 10 metre long window. I got up and did the necessities, geared up and headed for the gym and pool.
A private lift takes you down to the Atrium level (1 floor below ground) and you will enter the GRAND SPA. Check into the mens room with private lockers, don on a thick bathrobe and collect your towel and slippers. Head onto the gym.
This is the most hitech gym I've been too. All the cycles have a 10 inch LCD monitor which doubles as both a TV and the main touchscreen control. U can feast your eyes on all the piped in cable and satellite channels. You can loan a pair of Sony headphones too, if you so wish. On the other workout machines, from TECHNOGYM, you can monitor reps, weight, etc, via an attached LCD panel on each workstation.
After a quick 15 minutes on the cycle and a few rounds on a few machines, I had to rush into the pool. A quick shower with L'Occitane shower gel graced my sweaty body.
The pool was a bit cold, so strategically, there was a HOT pool juxtaposed next to the indoor covered pool with deck chairs. I had to dip inside for 5 minutes to increase bloodflow. After that, I managed to use my goggles after a 2 month hiatus in the small lap pool of 1.6m deep.
10 minutes was all I could spare before I headed into the men's room HOT Jacuzzi.
After relaxing the muscles, it was off to shower off the chlorine and headed back up to the room for a quick breakfast.
The swimming trunks were obviously drenched, and thanks to a SWIMMING ATTIRE drying machine, my speedos were air dryed within 15 seconds!
When I reached the room, J already finished his "delicious" complimentary breakfast on the CLUB floor. Nothing extravagant! Don't expect Nasi Lemak, Curry Laksa, Bacon and Eggs for breakfast. Some cereals and bread with cold cuts was the fare of the day.
I had to indulge in my fresh orange juice, caviar with brown bread buns together with a pot of Muller strawberry yoghurt to start my day. I did let J try the Indian mango!
After we packed up and checked out, we deposited the major bags with the concierge and made our way out to town in the sweltering heat of at least 40 degrees C!
Our first stop, a beach picture on Jumeirah with the Burj as the backdrop. Next was Madinat Jumeirah. Showed J the sights, and bought a pack of Energizer batteries from my Garmin eTrex Vista cx GPS unit.
After that it was off to Mall of the Emirates. Everything was in close proximity, thanks to my good tour planning.
A car park was obtained after circling for 5 minutes, and mind you, this is a working day around lunch time.
Loads of shops caught J' fancy, especially the designer ones. SKI Dubai was a sight to behold for J. We landed up at CHOP CHOP, a restaurant right next to SD. Perhaps we are paying 80% for the view and 20% for the food? What you see is definitely not "value for money".
After walking for another hour, we then darted back to Wafi City whereby I promised J to have a look at Penhaligons and also the Memoirs shop, full of CASTLE THEMED decor.
The long hot afternoon caught the best of our energy and we then had a pit stop at Starbucks (where else) for a cuppa. We had the fortune of trying some free frappucino and cookies too.
As they say, all good things must come to an end, and we had to dart back to the hotel (which was just 5 minutes away) to collect all the bags. After confirming the flights, we then took a long way round to Terminal 1 for the departure to Muscat.
Quite an exciting 18 hours I must say!
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Visited a few spots in Bandar Kinrara today.
