Dubai Marina

At street level in Dubai it can feel a bit like being on a film set. Pretty and clean and big. I get the feeling that nothing here is "real" and that it wouldn't take much for it to return to desert. The view from the Observatory is a bit different. In one direction you look out over the Palm (man made and a bit like a Disney creation) but in the other you overlook the Marina. The motor yachts in it are very real, very big and very expensive. Also the height of the viewpoint, not excessive by Dubai standards, is impressive. Here the noise of the boy racers on the streets below is lost and you could be anywhere in the western world.
We had dinner on the 52nd floor overlooking the Marina and the Palm with Laura and Matt, Josh and his brother Chris and mother Jill. Great food, sparking water, minimal alcohol, a slow relaxed meal with plenty of time to chat and laugh. Dining with family and friends, the way it should be.