Dubai, UAE | Dubai Creek ¦ #1 (Photo credit: Åndrey)

Dubai was a very pleasant surprise. We were expecting it to be hot and sunny but were still taken aback by day-time temperatures of forty degrees Celsius – we were quickly reminded that in Summer, temperatures can typically reach fifty degrees.

We had planned to break our journey to Shanghai, China, with a five night stop in Dubai, to visit Marilyn’s niece Martine and her family – husband Michael, daughters Ella and Freya. As expected, it was really lovely catching up with the family, and meeting the fun family dog called Rupert, a mixed breed desert dog who didn’t seem too put out by the extreme heat.

Martine and Michael made us very welcome and showed us more of Dubai than the average tourist sees. Some highlights for us included the:

•  Dubai Mall and its amazing and huge aquarium ,its…