UAE: one last ski?

Looking out of the window on our last morning in Dubai revealed heavy cloud and even a light shower which broke up the surface of the swimming pool below.

It is hard to believe but after checking out, we returned for a third time to the Emirates Mall for a final shopping burst before driving back to Muscat. Even then, while sitting in a café near the Ski Dome, we debated whether to Ski or do the quad-biking which mother had planned. The quad-biking just won.

We found a place near the Oman border and handed over all of our remaining Dirhams for four bikes, while Flossie was being washed by a teenage camel. There was no stopping Mrs M whose grin and big cheeks could just be seen under her helmet as she whizzed over the dunes at full throttle. Al similarly whirred around with reckless abandon, while Floss elegantly tootled across the sand posing for photographs. We were eventually hauled off the circuit by a chap on a tiny bike and headed east to the border checkpoints.

After a few hours of gentle snoring from the back of the car, we arrived back in Muscat around 8 p.m. to be greeted by two cats whose belly clocks had gone off several hours ago. While consuming some delightful stuffed pasta, we all agreed that this had been a splendid trip. Well done mother.