8 October - Dubai International Airport

Another busy day in Dubai yesterday. Visited the old Soukh (Market) and in the evening we had a Desert Sunset experience. We left Dubai at 5pm and drove into the Arabian desert where we encountered a huge restaurant and activities complex. You could actually sit in an open air restaurant and have a meal but our ticket did not include the meal so we were able to look around and take photo as the sun went down. Rosa and Sandra had a short camel ride.

After an hour or so it was time to go back to Dubai. We had time for a final drink together, then to complete our packing ready for a 6 am breakfast in the morning. Right now we are at the airport, baggage is all. checked in and we expect a boarding call in about 1 hour

5 October, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

After a fairly early breakfast this morning it was back to the Big Bus for our trip to New Dubai. Nearly 20 years ago I drove from Dubai to Abu Dhabi, which at that time was a trip across the Arabian dessert. Within 15 minutes of leaving the airport I had departed Dubai and had started crossing the dessert. Today 25km of that stretch of dessert has been turned into hundreds of skyscrapers - one block alone has 30 skyscrapers with a population of 60,000 housed in luxury apartments - marinas, shopping malls and an artificial waterway which has turned desert into a maritime wonderland.

This photo shows a very small part of an area which only 10 years ago was desert. We started today with a cruise along this waterway, from the residential area all the way out to where it meets the Arabian Gulf.

It goes without saying the the sky was blue and it was hot. As we approached the sea we could see another artificial island being built, and the erection of the Dubai Eye, a ferris wheel which, when completed will be the largest in the world.

It is spectacular, as everything is here in Dubai. Once we completed the cruise we then returned to the Big Bus and continued on to the famous Palm complex. This complex consists of reclaimed land created in the shape of a palm tree surrounded by a crescent moon, all made from sand dredged from the sea.

This incredible complex houses luxury homes, with private beaches, hotels, parks, a water Theme Park and shopping centres. Our bus took us right down the trunk of the tree, and then entered an underwater tunnel to reach the crescent, on which is located the Atlantis Hotel.

The hotel itself features shopping malls, restaurants and two giant aquariums. Our bus tickets included access to both and we spent a few hours looking at the most incredible collection of marine life all set in a space made to resemble the mythical lost continent of Atlantis.

Quite a wonderful environment and an endless array of fish, jelly fish, crayfish, and coral.

We spent a few hours wandering around and admiring this display and trying to capture the feel of the place with the camera.

I've lost count of how many photos and videos I took and it's going to be quite a task sorting them all out when we get home.

We have one more full day here tomorrow. Out tickets include a "Sunset in the Dessert" experience so we'll definitely try to fit that in. We also want to visit one of the traditional soukhs (markets) here in old Dubai. Then very early on Sunday morning it's time to make our way to the airport for the flight home.

4 October, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Woke to an alarm this morning after a very comfortable night here at the Novotel in Dubai. We wanted to get an early start to work out a program for the next three days here. So many things to see and do, and so many types of transport but in the end after speaking with our very helpful concierge we decided to all buy a three day ticket on the "Big Bus" which provides a 'hop on, hop off" service to all parts of the city, and includes tickets and entry into a lot of the things we want to see.

Our hotel is located next to the second biggest mall in Dubai, the Mall of the Emirates. It is hard to describe how big this place is, it is probably the same size as all Melbourne Malls (including Chadstone) combined. It was also our embarkation point for the Big Bus, and so we spent the rest of the afternoon touring around to a range of interesting locations around the city. At 38ºC it is too hot to walk anywhere and so the bus is is the best option to get an overview. In 1999 I spent a week in Abu Dhabi, and as a result became a bit familiar with Dubai. It is amazing to see how much has changed in only 19 years. Building and development of new areas and projects is occurring everywhere. Our bus trip today gave us a good overview, and a better idea about activities for the next two nights. On our return, we called in to the Dubai Mall, now the largest shopping centre in the world for a drink and a snack. The food court alone is bigger than the whole of the Traralgon Plaza and Mid Valley combined, and features every food outlet we've ever heard off and quite a few we hadn't. I couldn't resist visiting the Ice Cream Factory. When you order a selection, the ingredients are placed into a machine which then blends everything. Then, right at the end the machine receives a short injection of liquid nitrogen, which turns everything into the most delicious ice-cream I have ever tasted.

This shopping centre also features a huge saltwater aquarium which extends to all three levels of the centre. While you are walking along the ground level you can watch sharks, rays and many other fish and watch SCUBA divers feeding the fish.

Ater a while it was time to take the final bus back to our hotel. The route took us along the beach and past the famous Burj al Arab hotel which is shaped like a giant sail. When we passed it the sun was already low.

Returning to our room it was soon time for drinks and a bite to eat, and now it is time to get to bed and prepare for another day. In a couple of days we'll be packing for the final time for the trip back home.

4 October - Duba, UAE

Arrived in Dubai last night at around 11:30pm local time. Temperature here was around 35ºC. Our hotel is the Novotel, Mall of the Emirates. Having breakfast shortly to plan our three days here. I was last in Dubai (other than the airport) in 1999. The changes are absolutely amazing. Will post again when we've been out and about.

2 October, Budapest, Hungary

Today is our third and final day here in Budapest. We are located in a beautiful 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment located close to everything and surrounded by cosy restaurants. Today John and Sandra headed off into the countryside quite early, to visit family who have a holiday house here in Hungary. Rosa and I took the opportunity to walk from our apartment to Heroe's Square which is one of the focal points of Budapest. It is a large square surrounded by museums, parks and a large lake and features a number of memorials to great figures in Hungary's history. It also has a tomb of the "unknown soldier".

When we started our walk it was quite chilly and there were signs of recent rain. Nevertheless armed with our cold weather gear we persevered and undertook the 2 km walk through some of the most beautiful parts of Budapest. You can really feel that winter is approaching quite rapidly here.

After our visit to to the square we then had a quick look at the lake which not surprisingly, given the weather was abandoned.

As we turned around for the walk back the sky had brightened somewhat so we decided to return via the shopping district and a coffee at Starbucks. That's it for shopping now - until Dubai of course!

We're going to spend the afternoon doing some serious packing as we are boarding our flight to Dubai tomorrow afternoon. Looked at the forecast for Dubai today and it is in the mid 30's - quite a change.

30 September - Budapest

Last night was our last night on the Monarch Baroness. Lots of festivities and farewells and speeches and a Captain's cocktail party. After a two week stint sailing and touring with a group of people it is a bit nostalgic to be finally saying goodbye and all going our own way. We were treated to a local operetta company performing some great operetta pieces for us and then it was time to retire for our final night on board. I briefly went on deck to admire a night time view of this incredible city and to snap this photo.

I must say the shipping line had arranged things beautifully. We had to vacate our cabins at 8:30 and leave our bags outside the cabin doors with our name and our intended departure time. The ship's receptionist handled all the taxis and transfers. After breakfast we killed some time in the lounge, and right on our nominated departure time of 10:30 we are called and our taxi driver was in the foyer waiting to take us to our mini van. A couple of burly seamen to help with the luggage and we were soon on our way. Shortly after a bit of confusion (Hungarian is quite difficult to read) we arrived at our destination, a beautiful apartment with two bedrooms and bathrooms to share. Our accommodation is 5 star. Went for a walk this afternoon through the popular shopping areas before sitting down for coffees/beers just outside our accommodation. A couple of hours ( and a couple of gin and tonics) later we were ready to find somewhere to eat dinner and found a very cosy looking Hungarian restaurant right on our front door. A signature dish here is beef goulash, a wonderfully rich beef stew and it went down well with a bottle of the excellent local red wine. A great meal and a wonderful memory. Altogether another fruitful and tiring day and tonight we are having an early night to prepare for another big day tomorrow.