Things to do in the UAE before you leave
 

I've been here long enough that I should have done a bit more than I have so am starting a strict regimne to get off my ass and do the things I really should do whilst I am still here, so I'm off to see the Sheik Zayed Mosque next weekend, am thinking a weekend in Egypt to see the pyramids is required (its safe there now isnt it?) so what else should I definately aim to do- bare in mind most of these things will be done on my own so no romantic hotel trips are required. :D

so what are the must do things of the UAE and Middle East?

Re: Things to do in the UAE before you leave
 

Off the top of my head.
Have you been to Hatta fort, Hatta pools, trip into the mountains round Hatta ray and filli, camped in the desert, camped on the beach, visited al ain, gone to the old date farm in al ain, gone up jebel hafeet, visited rak, gone to rak museum, gone to fujirah swum in the Indian ocean, blue souq in Sharjah, seen the dunes in Liwa, gone to the fish souq in Dubai, wandered round Deira souq area and got lost, gone to the musandam, hili fort in al ain, watch a camel race,

Tons of stuff will post more after ive had a think

Re: Things to do in the UAE before you leave
 

Have you been taken up the Burj Khalifa?

Re: Things to do in the UAE before you leave
 

I took her up the Jebel Hafeet once but she wouldn't let me near the Burj :rofl:

Re: Things to do in the UAE before you leave
 

:rofl: :o

Re: Things to do in the UAE before you leave
 

3am shawarma at Al Mallah in Dhiyafa after a night out at the Iranian night club in Deira

Re: Things to do in the UAE before you leave
 

ah...is that were you go after the quiz...

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Have you done the Valley of the Kings and the incredible Temples of Luxor yet? You can fly there from Dubai for only a few hundred bob.

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I want to go to Jordan, and Lebanon before I leave and stay in the Burj Al Arab at some point as well.

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Beruit i'd recommend , great city , good bars , good restaurants and pretty nice people i found . Probably better with friends but still a good place to visit .

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Petra in Jordan is fantastic, and the Jordanians a very friendly bunch.

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Dune bashing - driving yourself is so much fun - with BBQ/shisha afterwards.*

Mussandan gets my vote - do the dolphin cruise.

*I belong to AD4x4 club and would be happy to have you along as a passenger if you are interested.

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All true - also worth going to Jeita Grotto, Baalbeck & Byblos....

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I have some dolphin cruise tickets going spare...

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there's also the RTA "ferry" that leaves from very near to Marina Mall at 11h every Friday and goes all the way along the coast and deposits you in Dubai Creek. It's one-way only, for some reason, but it'd be quite nice and is far, far cheaper than chartering a yacht (which is well worth doing to see the Marina coastline) - 50aed or 75 if you want Gold Class.

I would also suggest Damascus, but, er... not at the moment. So, so glad we went last year!

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Have you peeped through a French woman's bathroom window in Mirdif yet?

Re: Things to do in the UAE before you leave
 

Agreed, went last year for a long weekend, nice place to chill out in. Steeped in history too, if you're into that.

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Drink beer in Barasti's. Steeped in history.

Re: Things to do in the UAE before you leave
 

I'm there tomorrow... will let you know :blink:. But, I can say one thing - don't bother with the Pyramids or Cairo. Go to Jordan - Amman, Petra, Dead Sea, Jerash - way nicer.

Re: Things to do in the UAE before you leave
 

:rofl::thumbup:

Re: Things to do in the UAE before you leave
 

Never been to the pyramids or Cairo and have no desire to see either dump.


Jordan on the other hand I would agree, I went to petra on my own and will definately be going back as I was on a visa run from Saudi and didnt spend anywhere near enough time there.

Syria as well I really want to visit and Lebanon :thumbsup:

My bucket is nearly full of shit right now so I may be going travelling shortly unless someone wants a 20 year experienced Tower and heavy steel rigger onshore but willing to do the offshore survival if anything offshore is going. :fingerscrossed:

Re: Things to do in the UAE before you leave
 

Let us also not forget that Jordanian women are beautiful... Egyptian women, well, aren't.

Wish me luck in the Casino - Bahtaboy, any tips?

Re: Things to do in the UAE before you leave
 

Salalah in the Khareef season

Muscat: Grand Mosque, authentic Souqs, restaurants & clubs where it is legal for tourists to drink, diving where there is no "organic material" floating around

Mussandam: one & only

RAK: Aqualand; Iceland

Re: Things to do in the UAE before you leave
 

overnight, on a boat, out at sea, drinking.

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Iceland? Really?

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Yeah, go for the big juicy ones. Oh, "tips", I thought you said ...

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Over a decade since I did any serious money-making in Egypt. At that time there were only about half-a-dozen casinos in Cairo, the best IMHO being the Omar Khayam in the Marriott. So, a few basic tips:

1 Know what you want to do. If you're happy to spend $100 and walk out with nothing, then that's a totally different mindset from wanting to win.

2 Stick to roulette and blackjack, they're relatively simple.

3 Roulette. Don't get sucked into a Martingale: doubling you're bets until you win which, mathematically, will always result in a net win at some point, but in practice you'll hit the table limit and you'll run out of money really quickly. Instead, keep a track of red / black, even / odd and high / low, and when there have been, say, 5 of any of those, start flat betting on the opposite till you have a net win on that run. You're allowed pen and paper at the roulette table to keep track. Only play on the French tables (with a single Zero), never on the American tables (with two Zeroes).

4 Blackjack. Try to memorise as much of the below Basic Strategy chart as possible. If you can't memorise it all, remember the following 7 Golden Rules:

•Stay on a 12 if the dealer card is 6 or lower
•Hit if you have 16 when the dealer has 7 or higher
•Hit on a soft 17 or less and stay on a soft 18 soft or higher
•Always split aces and 8
•Split if you have a pair of 7’s against a pair of 7’s or lower for the dealer
•Never take insurance
•Double on 10 or 11 if the total of your cards is higher than the visible card of the dealer (never double against an Ace).

5 If you want to come out with more money than you go in with, be realistic. 10% profit for an evening's work isn't bad, so if you have a bank of $100 then $10 is a decent profit.

6 Don't drink, have fun, and benefit from all those punters who have the attitude, "I've got $100, and when that's gone I'll leave." They've already decided they're going to lose, which makes it easier for those of us who have decided we're going to win.

7 Good luck!

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Re: Things to do in the UAE before you leave
 

http://www.icelandwaterpark.com/

obscenity in the desert

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That's what I meant. ;)

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How'd it go?

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at the Casino or with the Egyptian women?

Miserable on both fronts - I ended up drinking* with weasel.





* he will take the piss out of me as for some reason the beer just wasn't going in.

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Its been a while since someone described drinking with me as something they ended up doing. :rolleyes: Consider your priviliges cancelled for a two month period.
Let your poor performance act as a salutary warning to others.

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Lost money at the casino, rebuffed by every Arabess you tried to chat up, and then pissed off smoothnuts. Do you do encores?

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I have gone native on the nuts score at the moment. :) I am just hoping that his bad karma doesn't rub off on me.