Friday, 1 July 2016
Thursday, 30 June 2016
Fri 1 July
Again another picture perfect cloudless morning!!!!
Yesterday was taken up with the Bull Creek Aviation Museum topped off with a superb meal at their restaurant patronized by resident of the neighboring retirement village.
Then off into Perth CBD to the central I-site to be plied with all the copious tourist publicity for Western Australia. So now all we have to do is decide what to select for our remaining 6 days.
Then home for Peter's afternoon nap before we took off to Gold Class Finding Dory in the local mall. I know!!!! Trust me, there was just nothing else on we could bear.
Again another picture perfect cloudless morning!!!!
Yesterday was taken up with the Bull Creek Aviation Museum topped off with a superb meal at their restaurant patronized by resident of the neighboring retirement village.
Then off into Perth CBD to the central I-site to be plied with all the copious tourist publicity for Western Australia. So now all we have to do is decide what to select for our remaining 6 days.
Then home for Peter's afternoon nap before we took off to Gold Class Finding Dory in the local mall. I know!!!! Trust me, there was just nothing else on we could bear.
Wednesday, 29 June 2016
Thurs 30 June
It is just awesome to wake up to this scenic Swan River , the only ripples on which are the wake of the black swans gliding serenely; a cloudless sky and no leaf stirring in these huge ancient gum trees. It looks to be midsummer but one step out the door onto our private balcony reminds me to put my jacket on.
Yesterday we got a call for Peter to wait for another radio interview before driving out to discover the huge Riverdale Mall block -much the same as all malls but in sections about the size of Albany Mall. Coles offered us produce far beyond our Countdown.
Today we'll explore further afield, knock off Bull Creek, the West Australian aviation museum, Finding Dory (so I know what my grandchildren are talking about) and start finding the must-see tourist attractions.
It is just awesome to wake up to this scenic Swan River , the only ripples on which are the wake of the black swans gliding serenely; a cloudless sky and no leaf stirring in these huge ancient gum trees. It looks to be midsummer but one step out the door onto our private balcony reminds me to put my jacket on.
Yesterday we got a call for Peter to wait for another radio interview before driving out to discover the huge Riverdale Mall block -much the same as all malls but in sections about the size of Albany Mall. Coles offered us produce far beyond our Countdown.
Today we'll explore further afield, knock off Bull Creek, the West Australian aviation museum, Finding Dory (so I know what my grandchildren are talking about) and start finding the must-see tourist attractions.
Tuesday, 28 June 2016
29 June 2016
if you ever want to experience flying at its best, go somewhere by Dreamliner. They say it's the journey not the destination that counts, and I'd go along with that .The plane is just superb. We had 7 1/2 hours of unequalled flying to arrive in Perth just as the rains had stopped. The place was under water but not a drop has fallen since. We picked up our Kia automatic and followed the woman in the GPS to get to our Airbnb on the banks of the Swan River. I have put a photo of the view out the glass wall of our unit. In due course we'll Sally forth and discover this city.
if you ever want to experience flying at its best, go somewhere by Dreamliner. They say it's the journey not the destination that counts, and I'd go along with that .The plane is just superb. We had 7 1/2 hours of unequalled flying to arrive in Perth just as the rains had stopped. The place was under water but not a drop has fallen since. We picked up our Kia automatic and followed the woman in the GPS to get to our Airbnb on the banks of the Swan River. I have put a photo of the view out the glass wall of our unit. In due course we'll Sally forth and discover this city.
Wednesday, 22 June 2016
Just five more sleeps until we fly away on a Dreamliner to Perth to see what that's like in the middle of winter.
I'll do photos on fb as I did this time last year. Those of you who like the low-down might like to follow it on the blog. Those who just go for the pikkies can stay with fb.
Next message from Perth.
I'll do photos on fb as I did this time last year. Those of you who like the low-down might like to follow it on the blog. Those who just go for the pikkies can stay with fb.
Next message from Perth.
Sunday, 2 August 2015
3 August: Dubai reviewed
After the 10 am -11.30 pm Dubai coverage we experienced yesterday we are now in a position to form our own opinions on this extraordinary sandpit for billionaires to play in. And they have to play like anyone else does.
The motivation for this explosive building boom is the 2020 World Expo and of course, like the rest of us, they want the place looking nice when the guests come. They've obviously chosen "mine's bigger than yours" as the Expo theme.
After doing the 2 hour night bus tour last night we could see the huge omission at this stage is bling lighting. You'll see far superior coloured lighting in Brunei, Hong Kong, Las Vegas - any of the major cities. Mind you, that's an 11th hour add-on I guess. But even the magnificent Burj Al Arab fountain display last night was only 10 minutes with minimal use of colour. Brunei's fountains far outstripped that and it was at least 10 years since we were there.
An amusing note is that they are supplying police with Ferraris, Porsches and Lamborghinis. You really can't chase the Bad Boys in Nissans now can you.
So we're off now for one last ogling session and then fly back home tomorrow.
This will probably be my last blog. Hope you've enjoyed the trip as much as we have.
After the 10 am -11.30 pm Dubai coverage we experienced yesterday we are now in a position to form our own opinions on this extraordinary sandpit for billionaires to play in. And they have to play like anyone else does.
The motivation for this explosive building boom is the 2020 World Expo and of course, like the rest of us, they want the place looking nice when the guests come. They've obviously chosen "mine's bigger than yours" as the Expo theme.
After doing the 2 hour night bus tour last night we could see the huge omission at this stage is bling lighting. You'll see far superior coloured lighting in Brunei, Hong Kong, Las Vegas - any of the major cities. Mind you, that's an 11th hour add-on I guess. But even the magnificent Burj Al Arab fountain display last night was only 10 minutes with minimal use of colour. Brunei's fountains far outstripped that and it was at least 10 years since we were there.
An amusing note is that they are supplying police with Ferraris, Porsches and Lamborghinis. You really can't chase the Bad Boys in Nissans now can you.
So we're off now for one last ogling session and then fly back home tomorrow.
This will probably be my last blog. Hope you've enjoyed the trip as much as we have.
Saturday, 1 August 2015
1 August: Est day
Today we had a booking for the City and Merchants Tour. We managed to capture a taxi at 7.30 am and were ready and waiting at the prestigious Jumeirah Beach Hotel for an 8 am departure. And thus began our journey to another planet - the Est planet. The highest, the biggest, the fastest, the expensivest, the goldest, the newest, the mostest.
The tour itself was 4 hours on the comfiest, coolest coach (and we come with experience now), and the smartest Russian tour guide with 25 years experience in Dubai. The coach was full with 47 passengers.
After driving past a long strip of Sheiks' palaces (which we were banned from photographing) our first stop was at the Burj Al Arab, the sail Hotel ( see Fb).The biggest suite is 780 Sq metres and costs
$US 30,000 per night. Cocktails are
$ US7, 500 each. Instead of stopping for one, we drove on along the Arabian Gulf where they are building the Dubai waterway, extending The Creek to turn the whole city into an island. It is said that the national emblem of Dubai is the crane. It has the largest collection of the biggest cranes working 24/7 in the world.
Our next stop was at the Jumeirah Mosque which is the largest in the Union of Arab Emirates. There are 1500 mosques in Dubai. The government has built them all so that Muslim worshippers do not have far to walk to any one in the heat, which reaches 52 C in August (it was only 42 C today). On we sped past the tallest building in the world. Our guide was very proud of the vast green areas in the city. The government spends $ US 55m per year on its water system. 80% of all water is recycled. The best system in the world (need I tell you?)
To get to the Spice Market and the Gold & Diamond market we had to cross The Creek (the waterway that is being extended right around the city). There are 4 bridges across The Creek but still the best means of crossing is by water taxi. (See FB photos) Much of the water transportation of exports is still by the original dhow.
We were allowed 1/2 hour stops at the Museum, the Spice Market and the Gold & Diamond Markets. That was quite long enough in that heat. They just went on endlessly and were a bit overwhelming for these two Kiwi pensioners.
Eventually we were taken back to our favourite Mall of Emirates and sank thankfully into our favourite bar that makes the best iced coffee.
Friends had told us to allow a whole day for the hop-on-hop-off bus tour, so we found our way to buying a 2 day pass for that. Peter thought he was returning home at that stage to rest, but found himself on the green line bus to do the Palm Island Drive. Well, blow me, that's when we knew for certain we were on a different planet. You'll know the circuit from the totally incredible YouTube clips that have been doing the rounds. It includes the whole city of Atlantis. It has all been built on reclaimed land and is the only man-made feature that can be seen from the space rockets. I didn't get any photos at all. We had to sit inside the bus because of the heat and it was all just too vast to photograph. Quite apart from the fact that we were too busy rotating our heads to try to see it all. I kept turning my camera on but by the time I could get a shot without buses or palm trees in the way, it had given up and turned itself off. We'll have to get up early again tomorrow and tackle it all in the morning when the atmosphere is clearer.
Today we had a booking for the City and Merchants Tour. We managed to capture a taxi at 7.30 am and were ready and waiting at the prestigious Jumeirah Beach Hotel for an 8 am departure. And thus began our journey to another planet - the Est planet. The highest, the biggest, the fastest, the expensivest, the goldest, the newest, the mostest.
The tour itself was 4 hours on the comfiest, coolest coach (and we come with experience now), and the smartest Russian tour guide with 25 years experience in Dubai. The coach was full with 47 passengers.
After driving past a long strip of Sheiks' palaces (which we were banned from photographing) our first stop was at the Burj Al Arab, the sail Hotel ( see Fb).The biggest suite is 780 Sq metres and costs
$US 30,000 per night. Cocktails are
$ US7, 500 each. Instead of stopping for one, we drove on along the Arabian Gulf where they are building the Dubai waterway, extending The Creek to turn the whole city into an island. It is said that the national emblem of Dubai is the crane. It has the largest collection of the biggest cranes working 24/7 in the world.
Our next stop was at the Jumeirah Mosque which is the largest in the Union of Arab Emirates. There are 1500 mosques in Dubai. The government has built them all so that Muslim worshippers do not have far to walk to any one in the heat, which reaches 52 C in August (it was only 42 C today). On we sped past the tallest building in the world. Our guide was very proud of the vast green areas in the city. The government spends $ US 55m per year on its water system. 80% of all water is recycled. The best system in the world (need I tell you?)
To get to the Spice Market and the Gold & Diamond market we had to cross The Creek (the waterway that is being extended right around the city). There are 4 bridges across The Creek but still the best means of crossing is by water taxi. (See FB photos) Much of the water transportation of exports is still by the original dhow.
We were allowed 1/2 hour stops at the Museum, the Spice Market and the Gold & Diamond Markets. That was quite long enough in that heat. They just went on endlessly and were a bit overwhelming for these two Kiwi pensioners.
Eventually we were taken back to our favourite Mall of Emirates and sank thankfully into our favourite bar that makes the best iced coffee.
Friends had told us to allow a whole day for the hop-on-hop-off bus tour, so we found our way to buying a 2 day pass for that. Peter thought he was returning home at that stage to rest, but found himself on the green line bus to do the Palm Island Drive. Well, blow me, that's when we knew for certain we were on a different planet. You'll know the circuit from the totally incredible YouTube clips that have been doing the rounds. It includes the whole city of Atlantis. It has all been built on reclaimed land and is the only man-made feature that can be seen from the space rockets. I didn't get any photos at all. We had to sit inside the bus because of the heat and it was all just too vast to photograph. Quite apart from the fact that we were too busy rotating our heads to try to see it all. I kept turning my camera on but by the time I could get a shot without buses or palm trees in the way, it had given up and turned itself off. We'll have to get up early again tomorrow and tackle it all in the morning when the atmosphere is clearer.
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