August 2013

One of the most annoying things was actually the air conditioning...being that it was kept too cold! Meaning the inside temperatures were around 25 degrees colder than the outside. It was quite annoying that just as you got used to the heat, you'd go inside and freeze...then as you got used to that you'd be boiling again - a bit like when you walk round the freezer section of the supermarket in your shorts - I resorted to bringing my jacket round with me all day!

On my first full day I was still getting used to the temperature and so I had a long lie in before a short walk around the area, where the souqs were located and then going back to my hotel before being picked up at 3 for my Evening Desert Safari! This was a lot of fun, being driven over the sand dunes as well as getting to ride a camel and then an evening meal whilst watching belly dancing. Definitely worth the money! One the second and third full days I had booked myself onto the bus tours of the city (having experienced what heat does in Hungary, I knew that this was probably the best way for me to see the sights in my limited time in the city) and so on the first day I saw the Bur Dubai and Deira areas and then change bus to see the new development areas such as the Palm and the Burj al-Arab hotel and many of the huge shopping centres.

Burj Al-Arab

Burj Khalifa

This then took me to the tallest building in the world - the Burj Khalifa, where I had booked a ticket to ascend to the observation tower, although for a moment I wondered whether I would in fact make it up there - having put my bags through security, Kevin Bear was picked out as being food! (something banned from the top) Whether this was a genuine mistake, or a reflection of Middle Eastern eating habits is still unclear. But once making it to the top it was an incredible experience, being on the 124th floor looking down over the desert - although unfortunately the humidity does limit the distance that can be seen.

View from the Burj Khalifa

Dubai by night

I had timed this visit so that I would be able to see the city in both daylight and at night..amazing to see a city lit up at night! I spent a while up the tower before coming back down to view the fountain show and then heading back to my hotel.

On my final day, I had a late flight (or is it early the next?) at 2:50am, and so I had a long day to visit more of the city. I therefore took the free Dhow cruise down the river, before making my way on the bus tour to the meeting point where we would have a free guided tour of the neighbouring Emirate of Sharjah just to the north east of Dubai. After arriving back I then made my way over to the Dubai Museum and Sheikh's house which were too free after purchasing my tour bus ride, before making my way back to my hotel to collect my luggage and travel to the airport...albeit 5 hours early.

Dubai was an incredible experience...seeing both luxury and Arab culture although I would say go in the winter months instead, as several continuous days at 40+ is really uncomfortable!

Next stop: Tokyo!

Just spending the day there, we walked up to the castle and then took a nice walk around the lake before heading back to Ljubljana.

On our final day of the two week adventure, we finally explored the capital.
Starting with the castle, and getting views of the city surrounded by the mountains on every angle, we made our way down to the market and then onwards the Triple Bridge.

Having wanted to visit this area for a long time, I can definitely say it was worth it, and would highly recommend Budapest, the Balaton area and Lake Bled to all of you!

Scrapping that plan, the following day we started with visiting the house in Graz where my great grandmother lived, before climbing the Schloßberg and viewing the symbol of the city - the Uhrturm, and then making our way down into the market place. Being a small city we then had ample time to visit the shopping centre where we ate the classic Schnitzel, topping up our culinary delights after the Paprika Chicken in Hungary!

The second part of the trip involved visiting Lake Balaton in the west of Hungary. We stayed in the resort town of Keszthely, where there was a lovely beach into the shallow lake which was rather refreshing after the hot weather of recent. This was also the first place I had ever been where my German was actually required to get around - despite having lived in Germany for a year!

On the following day we took the trip to Sümeg, the village where my grandad lived until he escaped Hungary in 1956, and where the majority of the rest of his family still live.

Despite speaking no Hungarian, and most of them speaking no English, we were warmly welcomed and had a thoroughly enjoyable day getting to know them and visiting Sümeg Castle.

Sümeg Castle

Lake Hévíz

The following day we visited the spa town of Hévíz just up the road from Keszthely where the thermal lake had waters of 30˚C+, something I had yet to experience. The sun also left its mark on me that day, allowing me to sport a lovely sunburn for the next week. On our final day we relaxed a little as our next day involved a 5-leg travel into Austria and spent the day at the market hunting for Noodle scrapers!

We started our trip by taking a tour of the Parliament building, before taking in the view of the city from Gellert Hegy. We then walked over to Buda Castle and Fisherman's Bastion, where the buildings had now been lit up after sunset, and finished by walking across Chain Bridge to view the riverbank in darkness.

The following day we went to the House of Terror, which like the KGB museum in Vilnius featured many genuine torture objects from the days of communism. Scarier still was the fact the last time Mum was in the city, these activities were still going on. Following on from here we went to Heroes Square, the Central Market and then the city centre, where we stocked up on naff souvenirs.

Being so hot it was hard to cram in all the sights we wished to see, but we managed the essentials! On the evening of our final day, my friend from Erasmus, Hanna came to meet up with me and we spent the evening catching up on Gellert Hegy. Luckily that night there was a storm, and so the heights of 40˚ would never be seen again (at least not until Dubai in 3 weeks) - and leaving 22˚ feeling rather chilly.