Friday - A trip to the mountains

Today's plan included a trip into the mountains to visit Hatta, about an hour and a
half's drive to the east. On the way we tried very hard to find the Dubai Wildlife Sanctuary and Bird Reserve but failed. There is an awful lot of development going on and it looks like the reserve might have become a victim. The desert scenery unfolded as we drove out of the city and we saw oodles of camels as we sped by on the motorway.

Despite being in the mountains Hatta was very hot, sitting in a bowl surrounded by rugged and bare rocky peaks. We climbed to a view point near the centre of the village and took photographs but the heat was taking its toll and we had to adjourn to a nearby resort hotel for a/c and refreshment. We had huge salad lunches in the hotel coffee shop overlooking the pool and cooled down. On the way home we looked for opportunities for camel photos but all we could find were some mangy brutes eating rubbish out of a skip. We did find the Wildlife Reserve on the way back but it closes on Fridays. Through the fence we could see the flamingos in the distance.

We went home via the Mall of the Emirates - shopping heaven for some but for us a chance to buy steaks and also to admire the indoor Ski slope and ice flume. The air temperature in the ski centre was -3C whilst in the open air it was well into the 30s C. This place really is amazing. P.S. The steaks were great.