Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) - All is quiet on New Year's Day

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ABU DHABI (United Arab Emirates)

01 January - 03 January 2018

Still feeling a little deflated from the NYE debacle, we made drove back down to Abu Dhabi and checked into the palatial Anantara Eastern Mangroves resort. Without question, the Anantara group know how to put together a fantastic hotel in an as equally stunning location, this was no exception.

Anantara Eastern Mangroves Resort - Abu Dhabi - United Arab Emirates

Anantara Eastern Mangroves Resort - Abu Dhabi - United Arab Emirates

Equally wealthy is comparison to Dubai, striving to be as contemporary, if not as garish as its neighbour, it still has its eye on rapid transformation but in a style that is less high paced than Dubai. Whilst only 90kms apart, their styles and methodology is still different and distinct. Dubai has formed and continues to form its identity via the ‘go big or go home’ adage whilst Abu Dhabi, is still more rooted in tradition and is more culturally connected.

Anantara Eastern Mangroves Resort - Abu Dhabi - United Arab Emirates

Anantara Eastern Mangroves Resort - Abu Dhabi - United Arab Emirates

Our stay in Abu Dhabi was almost exclusively within the resort, which was perfectly fine. All we wanted to do was access the pool, get some soon, have some cocktails and smoke some shisha. The resort allowed us to do this whilst also providing an exceptional backdrop. Everyone was a winner.

Dubai (United Arab Emirates) - Dark side of the moon

DUBAI (United Arab Emirates)
30 December 2017 - 01 January 2018

We wanted to end this year on an epic high, we wanted it to be big, we wanted a show that was iconic, in the class of Sydney, Rio de Janeiro or New York.

Dubai - United Arab Emirates

Dubai - United Arab Emirates

After bringing in 2017 with an absolute whimper we committed to lighting a bonfire under the start of 2018 and identified Dubai as being the centre of all things grandiose. This city is the Texas of the middle east, in fact, its extravagant and outlandish in all that it does that everything that's oversized about Texas could in fact be encapsulated within this 'city on steroids'.

I'd seen the NYE fireworks from Dubai in previous years. With their world class locations such as The Atlantis on Palm Island,  The Burj al Arab and the Burj Khalifa, to me it felt as though Dubai was blowing itself up every NYE...thus the need for massive reconstruction during the year.

NYE traffic - Dubai - United Arab Emirates

Even when you read the write-ups regarding how magnificent the displays are what you get consistently are descriptions such as this;

BURJ KHALIFA FIREWORKS

In Dubai, New Year’s Eve and fireworks are pretty much synonymous. The city is known for hosting a magnificent display of lights every year that attracts hundreds of thousands of spectators around the world. This year won’t be any different, with an extravagant pyrotechnic show at Burj Khalifa and water-music dance at the Dubai Fountain.

Burj Khalifa & The Dubai Fountain

You can’t imagine a better view of Dubai’s most awe-inspiring New Year’s Eve celebration than from the very footsteps of Burj Khalifa. Thousands gather along the waterfront of the Dubai Fountain to catch the spectacular light and water show at midnight, so make sure to get a head start. Arrive as early as 6pm to avoid traffic and grab a top spot. Or, book a table at one of the famous restaurants lining the waterfront by The Dubai Mall to guarantee yourself a good seat. Plan ahead as roads and access to the Downtown area will be restricted on the night for crowd control.

Doesn't that sound like its the place to be!?!

After researching a few locations for a great meal, entertaining and spectacular views, I located the iKandy Ultralounge at the Shangri La Hotel.

Now the Shangri La we knew well, we actually stayed there a few nights whilst on our honeymoon some 6 months earlier. We also knew the iKandy Ultralounge to be a funky, cool, outdoor lounge that had direct views to the Burj Khalifa. The idea in itself seemed perfect. A great setting, a fantastic dinner, bottomless champagne & shisha without the hassle of being amongst the masses that would inevitably inhabit the area around Dubai Mall and Dubai fountain.

Once I'd zeroed in on the location getting us there was easy. This was set to be a monster of a NYE, guaranteed.

iKandy Ultralounge - Shangri La Hotel - Dubai - United Arab Emirates

Arriving on the 30th we actually flew into Abu Dhabi before driving up to Dubai and making our way to a hotel only a block or so from the Shangri La. As you can imagine, it seems that everywhere around the world NYE prices for a standard room involve an immediate tripling of standard rates and a request for a three (3) night minimum stay.

iKandy Ultralounge - Shangri La Hotel - Dubai - United Arab Emirates

Needless to say, all was forgotten when the 31st rolled around, and this time, Inga and I were ready. We were set for what was inevitably going to be an amazing night.

We took the 5-7 min walk down to the Shangri La, all ready to enter the iKandy Ultralounge stratosphere. And hey, didn't the crew at iKandy deliver. It was just as they had advertised, funky, cool, exclusive and in many way quite private. Small tables had been set up around the lounge and pool area. Inga and I actually had a fairly secluded area on one side of the pool with a direct view to the stage and with the wonderfully regal Burj Khalifa behind us, it felt like we had one of the best views in Dubai for the evening.

iKandy Ultralounge - Shangri La Hotel - Dubai - United Arab Emirates

How good did the place look!

How good did we look!!

iKandy Ultralounge - Shangri La Hotel - Dubai - United Arab Emirates

With the party in full swing, the champagne was flowing, the food was abundant and the shisha was the guilty pleasure that just topped off a fantastic event. Everything seemed to be going perfectly, I mean what can be better than an NYE that you don't really need to think about. I'm sure all of us have experienced those nights where we'd built up these unrealistic expectations, only to be let down by the location, by friends, family, whatever it may have been. This on the other hand was going much better than either of us had planned.

Eyes on the Burj Khalifa!!! iKandy Ultralounge - Shangri La Hotel - Dubai - United Arab Emirates

The food was superb - iKandy Ultralounge - Shangri La Hotel - Dubai - United Arab Emirates

iKandy Ultralounge - Shangri La Hotel - Dubai - United Arab Emirates

iKandy Ultralounge - Shangri La Hotel - Dubai - United Arab Emirates

And just like that, the night melted away

As the remaining time on the year that was 2017 dwindled and we inched closer to 2018, the small gathering at iKandy assembled itself around the pool area and cast their eyes in anticipation towards the Burj Khalifa, waiting for the inevitable explosion of colour that would bring in the New Year of 2018.

Then in a somewhat impromptu countdown that someone around us initiated we got into the final 10 seconds, '10, 9, 8....3, 2, 1'

All eyes locked on the Burj Khalifa..........

All eyes locked on the Burj Khalifa

All eyes still locked on the FREAKIN' BURJ KHALIFA

Hey, BURJ KHALIFA, SHOW TIME!!!!

No reaction from the Burj Khalifa. There were a few floodlights crisscrossing each other but something had gone wrong here...and then the whispers commenced. From somewhere I heard 'something' about no fireworks this year.

What do you mean no fireworks? That's like Santa forgetting to deliver presents! That's like being single on Valentine's Day or running out of Malbec in Buenos Aires!

I needed clarification, I needed to find out what the hell was going on.

I pulled one of the staff aside and asked them what the deal was, his response, 'Oh yes, for safety reasons this year we have a light show, apparently its very good'.

Huh, 'apparently its very good',  well maybe that might be the case, the only issue is that we're on the wrong side of the 'pretty good' light show.  We couldn't see ANYTHING!!!!!!!!!

Inga was looking at me and all she could say was 'Henry, do something'

But this one was too big, I had nothing active in my ready bag of tricks.

DUBAI you MOFO! Seriously, of all THE years, this is the one to play up to your SAFETY CONCERNS!!!

...And so our night of magnificence, of monumental glory, fell the same way as our NYE in Belgrade, petering out to a whimper, nothing more than a forgotten puff in the night sky. 2018 had arrived and our mood had been halved and then halved again,

We felt cheated, we felt unfairly done by.

And so we walked back to our hotel, disgruntled, vanquished and trampled.

postscript

I did get in touch with the Shangri La for falsely advertising their event and the 'view of the fireworks' when they knew that for this year it would not be happening. The fact that their staff were completely aware of this meant that they were not caught unaware and thus advertised falsely.

For calling them out on the false advertising I received two nights complimentary accommodation, a meal at iKandy and a bottle of wine. It took more than 18 months to be able to take them up on the offer but it's going to be happening, 11th & 12th of September, 2019. Watch this space.

Cape Town (South Africa) - The surprise packet

CAPE TOWN (South Africa)
12 December  - 13 December 2017

South Africa is not Argentina, but it didn't have to be.

South Africa did however become our surprise packet.

As a completely unlikely occurrence, a destination conjured up out of inspired inquisitiveness, we were fortunate enough to discover a remarkable country. A place with so much beauty, with an abundance of everything you could possibly want. I can only imagine that it's due to its geographic isolation that this country is not being raved about in the manner that I believe it should.

Likewise, Cape Town has it in spades. A city of stunning beauty, it engages you from the get go. There's so much here to like, so many ways that you can take part in what the city has to offer, from the outdoors, to nightlife, cultural attractions, sporting pursuits, etc. The city is captivating, dynamic and engaging.

Thank you Cape Town, thank you South Africa, we won't forget you in a hurry.

Mbabne (Eswatini, formerly Swaziland) - We've got you surrounded

MBABNE (Eswatini, formerly Swaziland)
11 December - 12 December 2017

When we arrived in Eswatini it was known as Swaziland, so in actual fact, we went to Swaziland. Why you ask?

Because we could!

A 3.5hr drive east of Johannesburg and you arrive at the frontier of a relatively unknown landlocked country, Eswatini. Being a British protectorate for a number of years, it regained its independence in 1968.  Knowing absolutely nothing about the country we thought that we might as well go find out a little bit about it on our own.

Literally the only photo we took of Mbabne - Eswatini 

This was taken near our hotel, so practically this photo is meaningless.

As a city, in all honesty, Mbabne is highly unremarkable. With a population just under 95,000 it would rank 20th on the list of largest cities in Australia, if of course it could be included on that list, but hey, anything can happen these days. With Australia in its 5th year in Eurovision and Japan constantly playing in the Copa America, why can't we adopt little Mbabne as our very own!? If we did it would nicelty sit between Bendigo (97,000) and Albury-Wadonga (91,000). Something to think about (or not).

Sitting on the Mbabne river and supported by the Mdzimba mountains, what Mbabne lacks in lustre and spark it kind of makes up for in aesthetic beauty. The mountains surrounding the town are quite appealing and I could easily imagine undertaking a few hikes in the area, with a bit more time to spare of course.

Still, Mbabne in Eswatini, whilst you're nothing more than an also-ran in the endless list of cities and towns on this planet, you are in fact a capital city, and that in itself can distinguish you into an elite group. Not even New York, Sydney or Rio de Janeiro can claim that.

Johannesburg (South Africa) - Administrative purposes

JOHANNESBURG (South Africa)
10 December - 11 December 2017

Back in Johannesburg for the night and not a lot to write home about other than another visit to Emperor's Palace Casino as that's where we located a Hooter's in Johannesburg. Why Hooter's? Well, Inga likes the curly fries there and I like their Cadillac margaritas, so why not!?

Zanzibar (Tanzania) - Mercury Rising

STONE TOWN - ZANZIBAR (Tanzania)
06 December - 10 December 2017

How cool a name is Zanzibar!? How cool a name for a country would that have been? Actually, even when it became part of the United Republic of Tanganyika, it was still pretty cool sounding. It was one of those places on my global map that would always jump out at me as the mysterious named conjured up images of something exotic & unreachable.

Also, for those that aren’t aware of their rock history, Freddie Bulsara was born here in 1946, part of the baby boomer era, and if that name is still confusing you then just have a look at Live Aide from 1985 and spot the front man for Queen, that’ll give you some sort of clue as to the most well known export from the Sultanate of Zanzibar.

On the tarmac in Dar es Salaam - Tanzania

We were told that we couldn't bring our drinks onto the plane.

So we asked security to take our photo whilst we finished them - it was a WIN-WIN

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

In the middle of an afternoon downpour 

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Considering the proximity for Johannesburg the idea of making it to Zanzibar was influenced primarily by dreams of turquoise waters, exotic heritage mix, spice trading and all things Stone Town related, which to me felt akin to being a version of Fez or Marrakech on the Indian Ocean.

In part that what Zanzibar felt like when we arrived. Certainly a tropical feel, but then you get hit instantly by the obvious mix of cultures, African, Arabic, Indian and a dash of European. That type of fusion always makes for a fascinating and engaging environment, one where the ebbs and flows of dominant cultures can be seen in the architecture, culinary offerings and social etiquette.

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

We had this guy make us up a painting exactly like that - it now has pride of place in the Inga's mum's living room

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

To me, more than anything, I had the feel that Stone Town was more Arabic than anything else, although my readings stipulate Swahili, which is a unique mix of Arab, Persian, Indian and European elements.  Still, when you walk through the narrow alleyways of the centre of Stone Town, lined with shops, bazaars, mosques and boutique hotels, I can’t help but thing of Morocco, which in itself is a mixture of Berber & Arabic.

The name of the town itself comes from the ubiquitous use of coral stone as the main construction material, which gives the town a characteristic, reddish warm colour. For me, both the warmth and the entanglement of passage ways/alleyways it what makes this a place of mystery and discovery. For me there feels like there’s always something new to discover behind every door, up every obscured staircase, in the back of every bazaar.

Slightly dishevelled and a little gritty in part, there has been a concerted effort in the last 20 years to undertake restoration work which will bring the true feel of Stone Town back to life.  From my perspective it’s working. Historically however, what I didn’t know before arriving was that Stone Town was the host to one of the world’s last open slave markets, presided over by Arab traders, until being shut down by the British in 1873.

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

This is what happens when your team gets beaten - you drink to forget

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Slaves were shipped in dhows from the mainland, crammed so tightly in confined spaces that many fell ill and died, being thrown overboard on their journey to the island. Again, its one of those things that you understand that happened but can’t in any real way put your mind to the sheer cruelty of action from one set of human beings to another. How there could be no understanding to the extent of human suffering, to the mental torment, to the total eradication of any freedoms.

Kendwa - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Kendwa - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Kendwa - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Kendwa - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Kendwa - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Love this photo - just managed to catch that bird in-flight to the right of the photo

All I tend to feel in situation such as this is overwhelming pity, and also, fury and rage for those that simply treated humans as a business transaction. How could you ever think this was the right thing to do? Where is the compassion?

Markets - Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Outside of Stone Town, we took some time out to head up to the north of the island and spent a glorious afternoon on the beach in Kendwa.  A beautiful area on the calm Western side, this area has a number of stylish beach bars where you can laze out in the sun, order drinks, have a spot of lunch, and even indulge in some sheesha, which was quite an easy thing for us to do.

Getting on the water is also quite a pleasurable thing to do here, although options are still kind of primitive, we did manage to take a boat ride out to some of the nearby islands and spend a glorious afternoon on the water, doing not much really other than admiring the view.

Zanzibar is a marvellous place. I feel that on this occasion we didn’t quite get the most of it in that we spent a lot of our time in Stone Town without exploring the island entirely, but one day, one day we’ll be back, and its beaches will come under attack!