Everyone who comes to the UAE to work, regardless of what job you do, has to undergo an obligatory medical exam. This is what I spent most of the day doing. What it entails is having to sit in a queue at a government hospital (rooms separated into male and female) and wait till they call your number. Then they give you a chest x-ray (checking for TB) and take your blood to make sure you are a) not HIV-positive, b) don’t have hepatitis or c) not pregnant. If they tick the “yes” box on any of the above you are taken to the airport immediately- do not pass the hotel, do not pack your stuff, they’ll send it later - and put you on the next plane home. Unless , of course, you are unmarried and pregnant, in which case you go straight to the chookie. I kid you not (no pun intended). It’s a criminal offence to be with child without husband.

Anyway, I had the most wonderful weekend. Went to Dubai with surrogate aunt JTI. She has an amazing apartment with a view of the Burj Khalifa - the tallest building in the world. Dubai is a remarkable city, completely different to Abu Dhabi. To think that most of it was built only in the last 8 years, a feet that no other place in the world can lay claim to, is pretty darn remarkable. In less than a decade it has become one of the most vibrant, bustling cities on the planet with skyscrapers and state-of-the-art architecture.

I must admit though that I didn’t think Dubai was terribly “bustling” when we first drove in. There are loads of cars on the roads, but it took me a while to figure out that there was something a little odd about the place.... there are no people on the street (OK except two lost souls who looked suspiciously Australian to me) and the shop doors are all closed. The penny did eventually drop that it’s hot and everyone is indoors under the cover of aircon. Yes, yes, it’s that slow South African ex-pat thing again...

JTI and I had a fabulous time. She’s been living here for 5 years, so she really knows her way around. She took me for breakfast at The Creek - which is on the Dubai Golf Course - tres larney (see the photo with the, erm, small little boats and you’ll get the vibe). Great place, even a nice breeze to go with it AND they served pork sausages & bacon with our brekkie!

Took a very short (3-hour) trip around the Mall of the Emirates. Could have spent an entire day at the Virgin Megastore. And if you want to know what a Gucci store smells like ........ hmmmmmmmmmm....... unfortunately they haven’t invented internet scratch-n-sniff yet, but I’m pretty sure it’s the aroma of style, the most expensive leather in the world, and lots and lots of money. (You should have - high pitched squeak - seen the shoes!!!!!!!)

Unfortunately, we didn’t have the whole day to potter around the mall. It’s so big, you need days to navigate it. In fact there is a saying that if you try on a pair of jeans when you get to the mall and they don’t fit - don’t panic! By the time you’ve walked through it all, you’ll have dropped a dress-size!

After surveying the merchandise on offer at the mall I now have a dilemma of epic proportion on my hands: Gucci or Prada sunglasses? The glare is very bad here, you know. And one has to protect one’s eyes.