Vacationing

The United Arab Emirates is a wonderful place to explore. With having more free time on my hands - explanation to come in a following blog post, I went on a mini-vacation to get out of the hustle and bustle of Dubai. We stopped in Fujairah for one night and stopped in Ras Al Khaimah for a few more nights. We focused on beach resorts and relaxation, and really didnt do anything touristy - the entire experience was magnificent.

FUJAIRAH

Le Meridien Al Aqah Beach Resort
http://www.lemeridien-alaqah.com/

To get to Fujairah, we had to drive through the desert and beautiful mountains. The desert here is quite unique and boring - sand, sand and more sand. It does have a bit of shrubbery, and sometimes camels or goats can be spotted. It's certainly different than driving through lush greenery with deers and bunnies in the fields, or desolate icy roads in the winter. The drive was about 2 hours - and went by smoothly... Drivers in the UAE have no road manners and common courtesy is often forgotten so it can be nerve wracking for back seat drivers! haha.

We stayed in a Royal Club Room which had a separate checkin level, a great view, a beautiful room, free massages, a complimentary afternoon tea buffet, a four hour unlimited drinks happy hour, free nonalcoholic beverages whenever we were thirsty, a complimentary breakfast, and excellent customer service. I would really recommend this hotel - the ocean was beautiful and you could enjoy the beach in a cabana; the pool was huge - and even had a swim up bar; and, the food we ate was delicious. The hotel offers activities and has a lot to do; however, we werent there long enough to enjoy everything.

Funny story: during the happy hour, we met an older German couple - very nice people. And, as we were leaving, we all decided to get the dancefloor going and so the four of us danced to some ridiculous tunes playing, and we were all laughing. There was no one else in the club, and the staff thought it was hilarious...

In Canada, some people decide to heat their pools - but here it is the complete opposite. Pools need to be cooled or else they get too hot to swim in ! The pool at this hotel was still a bit too warm to be a refreshing cool off from the hot sun. And the ocean is hot, like bath water. I never really believed people when they told me this, but it's true. Nonetheless, it is still refreshing to swim in.

For those who are traveling to the Fujairah area, I would absolutely recommend this hotel - and the upgrade to a Royal Club room.

RAS AL KHAIMAH

The Hilton Resort & Spa
http://www1.hilton.com/en_US/hi/hotel/RKTRSHI-Hilton-Ras-Al-Khaimah-Resort-Spa/index.do

After Fujairah, we drove about an hour to get to the Hilton Resort & Spa in Ras Al Khaimah. Here we stayed in a villa suite located by the chilled pool and the ocean. We had booked a regular room; however, upon arrival we were offered the upgrade at a great price so we took it. Since we were traveling during the week, both hotels were not that busy so it made our getaway extra relaxing. The grounds at this Hilton were huge - we had to be driven in golf carts to get from one end to the other end. Everything was so well manicured and beautiful. We were rather spoiled with having the chilled pool, the salt water pool, the ocean and a bar all within a few feet of our back patio door.

I especially liked the little discoveries that I made during our stay at this resort. We were pleasantly surprised to have found the only inland duty free in the UAE right in our resort !!! Naturally, we stocked up on great wines and alcohol at really affordable rates ! During one of our nightly beach walks, we noticed things scurrying on the beach ... while at first I was a tad scared - thinking it could be snakes lol - it turned out that they were crabs and fish coming out at night. There were many different crab varieties - some large, some small, and some hermit crabs as well. This reminded me of the times during family vacations when we used to hunt little crabs in the sand & keep them hostage in a bucket all day... as a young girl, this kept me entertained for hours ! This was no different - Aaron and I hunted the crabs in the sand, and caught a few but quickly let them go back. It was also nice to see the school of fish swimming and jumping in the shallow water. There is something about seeing wildlife that just pleases me !

Considering we stayed for a few days, we were able to try a few of their restaurants. I had one of the best steaks we have ever had at the Brazilian restaurant there called Pura Vida - the restaurant had a relaxed atmosphere with really helpful and attentive staff, and the food was purely extraordinary, so we had a great night. We also tried the Japanese/Thai restaurant called Passage to Asia; again, the food here was amazing, and the Chef was friendly as were the staff. The food was a bit pricey in both restaurants, but considering we had 2 for 1 coupons from the Entertainer book, it didnt dent our budget too much. I would definitely recommend both these restaurants if you are staying in this Hilton!!

The one thing I would mention is that as it got closer to the weekend more families started to arrive at the resort. While I have nothing against families with children, it makes it hard to relax by the pool when there are misbehaved little children running around and screaming. Considering there was an entire resort section devoted for children, I would have expected the lifeguards to not allow them in the adult area or at least monitor their behavior a bit more.

The drive home took about 1.5 hours – and again, pure desert. Camels, goats and shrubbery were seen as we drove along, but nothing else too exciting. And before we knew it, we were back in the metropolitan of Dubai.  What's great is that you can truly get away from it all in just a short drive. Overall the getaway was much needed and very relaxing. I very much look forward to going back to these locations, and checking out more areas of this country – and the surrounding countries.

xox <3 xox