It's 39 degrees outside, so I went snowboarding...

As well as having a 4x4 drive in the desert to have breakfast, going to the 3rd Al Habtoor Challenge Cup Polo Match between Team Rashid and Team Mohammed, a trip onto the famous 'Palm Jumeirah' (this is now, due to some fantastic project management, sinking. Who ever thought that giant pumps in the sea to move around water that wasn't being refreshed, because man made something unnatural, would also suck out the sand that was the island?! I mean, I certainly wouldn't have thought that would happen...) and various trips around shopping malls and even a trip to Al Satwa - finally some real Dubaian culture! Al Satwa is the least developed part of Dubai, where they haven't (yet?) torn everything down to build ridiculously tall, shiny and ugly buildings. It is grimy. It is poor. It is loud. It is hot. It is real. I can imagine that was what Dubai developed to be in the 60s. Very cool. Dom (who arrived on Monday - good to have my sis here) and I found a textiles shop (there are tonnes here) and she bought some stuff to make some funky clothes, we wandered around a little more looking for some interesting shops, but they were all furniture or textiles or electronics, which we didn't want. So we headed back, popped into a little restaurant (3 sq metres in total?) for some fruit juices (options ranged from the 'Burj Al Arab' to the 'Shakisha', to the 'Bin Laden' - most included mango or coconut) and to watch a guy smashing open a coconut. Failed to get to the beach. Also went to Mercato Mall to check it out - based soley on Venice on all four sides, this is a sight to behold! Wandered around the bridges, alleys and balconeys. Very refreshing.

So, yes, I've been snowboarding. I have had three lessons and am 'boarderline level 1' which means I can almost confidently make complete turns (not linked turns, though I can almost confidently do those, too). Had a 'Snow Camp' with a bloke called Liam from Essex. Good lad. Great snowboarder. Really nice, encouraging. Snowboarding is top quality fun, though hurts the bum when you crash and burn. Though not literally, because it's quite cold, so burning might not occur. Crash and freeze? Next stop the Alps! (Or Bulgaria - Liam said there's good snow there, and a hotel for 100 euros for 2 weeks? Top!) Such great fun, up on the ski lift, board hanging down, looking dead cool. Till you get to the top, launch yourself down the slope, and forget how to turn, and end up on your face. Stylish.

Other highlights have included the beach and kite surfing. I didn't do it, but I did swim in the sea while watching a whole ton of kite surfers flying through the air as the powerful wind picked them up and smashed them into the neutral-temperatured salt water. Riveting.

The Polo was great fun, although we were the only ones all dressed up (chinos, brown shoes, smart shirt, jumped tied around the chest? Nicely done, sir). Very hot. Beautiful horses. Felt very posh.

Probably the best thing, though, has been the desert drive and breakfast. We got up early, and met four other cars at a petrol station at 8am. Then, we drove down a couple of windy roads, before making a sharp right turn and heading off road. We quickly pulled over, and let the tyres down to give ourselves more traction. Then off we set - this was the first time we'd done anything like this, but the others had all already done it. 5 families, bombing through the desert, over very uneven territory, seemingly in any direction. Such fun. Stuff thrown all over the place in the back, we didn't care. We followed the car in front, that's all we had to do. Suddenly, we saw the back of said car disappear down a 45 degree slope.
'Sorry, I'm supposed to follow you? No, no I'm not doing that.' Came Dad's response to the sight. And it was all of ours. It wasn't until all four cars had gone down and some come back up again to do it a second time, that Julian ran back up and drove it down for us. What a rush! We carried on, back on horisontal (for the majority) ground. When suddenly, the car we were following sped up, bombing up the side of a massive dune about 50 or 60ft in height. The next thing we knew, it was coming back towards us, down the 60 degree gradient. Err...sure. We knew what we had to do - try to get up, but weren't going nearly fast enough, and got semi-stuck. Julian came to push the front while Dad reversed, and then tried again, first gear, foot to the floor. We made it up, just, slipping and sliding all over. Mum and Felix didn't want to do it, so they got out and watched as Dad and I steeled ourselves and went for it. Never brake, keep the front wheels straight, and drive slowly down. Awesome. Two or three times we did it. What a feeling.
After finding a couple of gerbils under the car, awwing over them, we carried on for 5 minutes until we found a nice, camel-surrounded flat area to eat lunch. Perfect. French Cricket ensued. Eggs and bacon were eaten. When it got too hot (35ish degrees) we decided to head back. this time, Dad gave me the wheel! And my word, it was good. No steep drops, but still. List of cars:
1) VW Lupo
2) Ford Fiesta
3) Mistubishi Pajero through the desert.
Can't complain.
Great great morning, and then we went swimming! Get in!

The biggest news, however, is tha Felix has broken his wrist. Both bones are broken, one had slid over the other. Having spent a night and a full day in hospital, his arm has now been reset and put in plaster. We were planning on going on a desert safari and dinner last night. Maybe another time.

And I leave on Monday morning, 2am. Rubbish.
Blessings
Aidan