Dubai

Our world tour is nearing its end, with Dubai chosen to be the final destination. (Truth be known we do actually have a final final stop, but as part of our round the world trip , Dubai is our last awesome adventure). I knew in advance that we were heading to Dubai in the worst possible month, July, average temperatures in the high 40s, and that these bunnies were going to cook, but that couldn`t be avoided. Not sure however if I was prepared for the cost of Dubai....

With the temperature scale hitting record numbers I decided that touring Dubai would not be an option. Just the thought of getting taxis or buses here there and everywhere made me hot, tired and grumpy. I had to weigh up seeing the the sights of Dubai in punishing heat, or keeping it simple and ticking off the just the biggest icons. And what is bigger than the Burj Khalifa? We had hoped to add the Dubai Frame and the fountain show to our itinerary, but not every plan comes to fruition.

Picked up from the airport by Uber, we set off for the most spectacularly stunning, hottest ride to date. Personally this bunny had eyes on stalks looking out of every window to catch the first sight of the Burj Khalifa. I knew we were only around twenty minutes from the airport, so surely I must be able to see the worlds tallest building without too much trouble? I was wrong. I am not entirely certain the last time I was surrounded by so many architecturally beautiful and amazing looking, tall buildings. Oh my golly gosh who designs such buildings! To say Dubai is almost futuristic would be an understatement. Then to my right I saw it, but how can it be? Surely it was bigger than that? Why does that little building resemble the Burj, nooooo! this cannot be! Turns out it can. We were surrounded by so many buildings of such incredible heights, the beautiful Burj could quietly dodge and hide at every turn. Even turning into our stunning apartment complex knowing the Burj was walking distance away, it still refused to present itself to us.

To be as close to the Burj Khalifa as possible I had found the bunnies the most spectacular little bunny pad imaginable. Bookingdotcom could you possibly, just this once, live up to every photo with supreme accuracy? Yes, Yes you can, and even better, just once, excelled as well. This stunning little...little?...probably bigger than my own bunny pad in the UK truth be known, was situated on the 42nd floor (yikes) of two identical towers quite literally within walking distance of the Burj. Oh my goodness did we strike gold or oil, or what! This stunning apartment was on a corner and had the most breath taking panoramic views. Two balconies with grass underfoot and comfortable chairs, and there, right there, no neck craning, leaning, or obstruction, stood the Burj Khalifa in all its stunning glory.

The Burj Khalifa stands majestically within its own area. Once you enter its domain it is only then you can appreciate the sheer size and scale of this monumental iconic structure. From the ground it quietly hides, biding its time until you reach the spot where you just stand in pure wonder and awe. Even the large mostly unobtrusive walls go unnoticed for a while, until the moment you realise, the fountains were being refurbished. Oh, we were gutted. We had chosen not to look too much at Dubai wanting to see it with our own eyes, but we did know that these fountains are amongst the best, if not the best, in the world. And closed. Our disappointment rapidly dissipated however as we entered the Mall, and the public entrance to the Burj. (We had already been quietly and politely turned around by security as we accidentally wandered the grounds of the private residential entrance, maybe the odd Ferrari or two roaring up the drive should have alerted us sooner..)

The Dubai Mall, situated underneath the Burj is unbelievable. We thought we had been in some special buildings, but goodness me, this was just stunningly beautiful. We chose not to venture too high, as with all the best will in the world, these bunnies were not quite ready for the pure elegance, style and opulence that so many of the patrons exuded with little effort. Three bunny backpackers, just didn`t quite fit the mould. We did however purchase ourselves some sneakily reduced priced tickets to enter the lift to the next world. Standing on our apartment balcony on the 42nd floor, we were so high. Our next lift ride would stop at level 124. With surprising speed we were raised to the viewing point, and stepped out into space. Mrs Bunny who doesn`t generally have a head for heights, took several moments of gluing herself to the building, before the wobbly bunny butt subsided and she was able to hop forward towards the balcony edge for a better look. The platform was open to the elements, but the glass walls surrounding the platform were clearly extraordinarily substantial. 124 floors above ground level, yet looking up, there was still another 40 plus floors above us. With a 360` degree view, we could walk around the whole platform. We looked for, and found, our incredibly tall apartment block, which now resembled the size of a child`s Lego brick. And my first impression of the Burj Khalifa was that it was smaller than I thought?? Ha !

With all our photographs taken, and memories stored, once more we returned, almost literally back to earth. To the men and women who designed and built this building. I salute you.

As I said earlier in my blog, we had planned to visit the Frame next. Truthfully, after standing on top of the world looking down, way way down on said Frame, we suddenly didn`t feel the need to see it any closer.

Our next hotel has a bit of a back story. Many months ago I remembered about a certain amazing hotel in Dubai. We were actually in KL at the time. I showed it Mr B with a certain degree of trepidation and hope, and knowing it would make a fabulous end of trip stay, together we made the decision to cash in the chips so they say, and booked ourselves a 4 night stay, in `that hotel`. We kept little B in the dark, since I know that from being a very small bunny she had longed to stay at said hotel, same name, different destination. We still gave little B her chance to do the what and where of Dubai, keeping up pretences, but coming to the end of the trip I made noises about keeping things free, or as cheap as possible (in Dubai? chance was a fine thing) Time and time again she dropped hints and suggestions about `that hotel`, we could just visit the lobby? They have a waterpark? It took this mummy bunny real strength of character trying to keep a poker face. As we were to check out of our 42nd floor apartment at 10am, Mr and Mrs B embarked on a rambling conversation of how long we would have to sit in reception, that our new room was very different (hum te tum) to this one, and not everywhere has luggage storage. Oh we played the game of `Keep the Secret` so very well. Mr and Mrs B then suggested to little B, that whilst we had 5 hours to kill, did she fancy going to `That Hotel` and having a look around in the public spaces......

Atlantis, The Palm, Dubai.

We duly called a taxi, loaded up all our bags and headed off to Atlantis. Mr and Mrs B were just so excited, little B was equally excited but for very different reasons. And then ARGHHH!! the taxi pulled up, and security guard stuck his head through the car window and requested our room numbers. Room number Sir! Room number? This was not how we planned to drop the bombshell on little B, so we said, No, no room number, we are just visiting. Our taxi driver huffed and puffed, saying Not staying? you didn`t say, visitor entrance is not here. He duly drove us round the corner, and dumping our bags on the pavement left us at the visitor entrance. We entered this jaw dropping hotel with all our bags, and instantly knew we had made the right decision. Atlantis is utterly stunning. Even this general area for day visitors was a vision to behold. With sparkling eyes, little B got out her go pro and started filming. This, that, down there, grabbing as much video as she possibly could. We knew we couldn`t keep the secret much longer.

At a corner of the most beautiful hotel corridor you have ever seen, she raised her go pro once more, but this time Mummy Bunny gently placed her bunny paw on the camera, and whispered, `You don`t need to film it all now, you have 4 days, this is our next hotel. Together Mr B and I had pulled off the best kept secret ever, and the tears flowed copiously.

With the secret now free to share, I admit that we are staying at the Atlantis Hotel, The Palm, Dubai. Bags in hand we headed for reception and couldn`t stop grinning. Our room is located in the west wing, and on the 12th floor. The view is just amazing, and the room, I know to some of the clientele staying here, it just another hotel, but for 3 bunnies who have endured just about every kind of room and accommodation going, this was, and is, very very special.

Atlantis is without doubt the most amazing hotel we have seen, and we do admit to having stuck our bunny noses in several good looking hotels around the world. The attention to detail is just exquisite. Themed within an inch of its life around the lost underwater world of Atlantis, this hotel just exudes rich detail. My descriptions couldn`t begin do it justice, so I hope a few photos will help. Splendid or not, what we hadn`t expected were the prices. Yes, we knew it was going to be expensive, but there is expensive, then there is `you are kidding`. We assumed by the number of Ferraris parked at the front, Russian guests weighed down by gold chains, and handsome Sheiks in their pristine Abaya, that to them a price list was a mere token of information, whilst to these 3 budget conscious bunnies, choosing a bottle of water for £8 each because it was the cheapest drink made our eyes water. Breakfast is around £15 each, for a bowl of granola. Coffee is £8.50 per cup, as is tea. An average no frills meal for 3 at the most `average` restaurant ran up a bill of £100. We declined the dessert at £13 per portion. Three drinks tot up to £30 per round. With the average daily temperatures reaching the high 40s, the need to drink copiously is essential, thankfully the room water is free, and our flasks were purchased to serve a purpose. We don`t wish to be frugal bunnies, but at the end of a very long trip, the prices here are a little eye watering.

There are quite a number of shops here at Atlantis, they are located in an area called the Avenues. Tiffany is one of them. Need I say more? We spotted a well known UK shop brand, WH Smith, and had a giggle. It stocked a tiny portion of well known English chocolate brands, such as Mars bars, but at £5 each, the need for a chocolate fix rapidly diminished.

With four days to relax and explore the joys of Atlantis, I feel we have tried our best to enjoy the most relaxing areas of the hotel, aka, the free bits. We could have chosen to dine at any one of the exquisite Michelin starred restaurants, of which there are a few, but alas, our frugal wardrobes did not contain items to match the desired dress code of ` elegant and smart` darn.... Then there were the spa treatments, nails, eyebrows, massage we understood and dithered about booking but we drew a very firm line at `IV Treatments` the Underwater Yoga classes, Face Art Botox sessions , the Red Light Laser Bed and Microneedling whatever that heck that may be. I think these three bunnies are a little more down to earth enjoying life as it comes, not as pampered spoilt bunnybrats.

Aquaventure World. Labelled as the worlds largest waterpark, this was a favourite of ours. We are entitled to enter free as guests of the hotel, but the park itself is open to paying day guests. With daytime temperatures akin to a hot oven, we relaxed on the lazy river on large rubber rings. Whilst enjoyable, the occasional rise up a moving ramp lowering slowly down the other side into rapids was fun, it was also brief. The water flow was a little too slow moving at times and more than once we found ourselves exerting more energy than we could spare trying to move our floats along. Mr B and little B managed to hoist their little butts up the tower to ride the tube rafts, but both felt that the constant flow of Fast Pass riders made the wait times tediously slow. At a different time of year I feel this could be a really good waterpark, but the incredible heat coupled with pathways on which you could have fried eggs was a little overwhelming for us. The cooler, deeper pool near the hotel beckoned us day on day.

The Lost Chambers Aquarium. An Aquarium like no other. Day guests can see part of the aquarium wall, but hotel guests are able to view the most stunning glass wall to an undersea world of epic proportions. Like every inch of the hotel, the glass is spotless. All day long an endless stream of children and adults alike place their hands on the glass to feel a part of the ocean in front of them, and not a single fingerprint remains. That glass is cleaned inside and out quite possibly as many time as the floors are. The bunnies are well used to grubby glass and poor cleanliness of Busch Gardens and similar, but here? Nothing is left marked. This pristine window offers an unblemished scene of underwater fish life, from sharks to rays, from eels to shoals of serious looking silver fish. Then you have the actual aquarium. Now, this bunny can name less fish than birds, so please accept my apologies when I say the fish are big, small, colourful, still, fast, sat on shelves, tiny with orange stripes with little blue ones darting about nearby and just about everything else in between. There are no information boards to mar the ambience, just a beautiful vista of the joys of the underwater world. There was also a large tank of bouncing jelly fish that were quite mesmerising.

With an exceptionally large budget, a luxury wardrobe, a penchant for all things expensive, a gourmet palate, the desire to be pampered to the extreme, and a flair for adventure (Balloon rides, Helicopter, Jet Bikes) then Atlantis is the most perfect destination hotel, a playground for the rich, a showground for those who want to be seen. For the more discerning and budget conscious bunnies, Atlantis is here for you as well. Three nights, or even two, would be more than enough time to give you the chance to experience this very special hotel. Research the restaurants thoroughly, decide on your preferred cuisine, and with a little hindsight you too could dip your little bunny toes into the life of the hotel Atlantis, the Palm, Dubai.

Now is the time to say goodbye. The three bunnies have completed their Round the World trip and alas home beckons us once more. There are more adventures planned for the future, including one just days away. The three bunnies will be venturing forth together for one last blast of Disney fun lasting a whole month, and I shall endeavour to write about what we get up to there in the near future. On our return however, little bunny will return to work, whilst Mr Bunny and I figure out how to balance a life of retirement and travel.

To the readers who have followed my bunny blog, I do hope I have inspired you, hopefully made you laugh or even just given you ideas. Thank you for sticking with us.