Holy moly it's hot! I went down to Al Ain, a city in another emirate, for the weekend, wondering if there would be a temperature difference. If there was, I couldn't feel it. I had a lovely trip visiting family, and was pleasantly surprised to find the distance and time between Dubai and Al Ain to be less than I remembered. Today the heat index is 117 degrees, and wearing my sunglasses as I stepped outside yesterday they immediately fogged up. They say the weather starts to cool around the end of October (OCTOBER!), and with all of the air conditioning I really can't complain.
I went to the Mall of the Emirates today (yes, the one with the indoor ski slope) and I found lots of stores I want to go back to. Surprise, surprise, lol. Walking through the mall is such a fascinating experience, not only because of the variety and quality of the hundreds of shops on the three floors of the mall, but also because of the languages spoken and the ethnicities of the shoppers. I heard languages being spoken today that I could not identify, and I like to think I have a pretty good ear for that sort of thing. I saw people from what seemed like every corner of the world, just hanging out with their friends and family and getting some shopping done.
I am still adjusting to the time difference, partly I think because of my early starts. Today I left the hotel at around 7:45 a.m., which you all know is obscenely early for me. Tomorrow, God willing, I am going to Dubai Festival City and taking a city tour of Dubai, which I'm sure is gonna be awesome.
