Top Ten Reasons to be Cheerful – Back to Dubai

Top 10 reasons to be cheerful - back to Dubai

Wherever I have been, however great the holiday, I am always, always happy to get back to Dubai! So as the poster girl for positivity, understanding not everyone returns with maybe quite the same level of enthusiasm, here are the Top Ten things that do it for me. If your holiday is drawing to a close and you’re not looking forward to saying goodbye to friends and family, then hopefully this will cheer you up a little....

1. Back with Dad! Well that has to be number one. Mums may take the family away for extended breaks, but you’re lucky if both partners have the same option. We came back armed with a “Things to do with Dad” book and he’s been strongly in demand for father and son activities ;-)

2. I love my bed! I love my bed, my sheets, my bedroom, looking out the window; everything about being back in my own room. And I know I’m not alone in this as friends report back on a variety of night-time manoeuvres from camp beds with relatives to camping to hotels that they’re happy to put behind them.... if you’re not delighted to be back in your own space, then it’s time to brighten it up and make it more comfortable. Make that a September project!


3. The kids are delighted to be reunited with their own stuff. Kept them quiet for the first two weeks at least!

4. Back to having me-time! When we’re away we do lots of great stuff – the experience of taking a pack(?) of llamas for a walk this summer with stay with me forever.... but from getting up to going to bed, there’s not a lot of downtime. I am sure other mums will relate.


5. Every year I get back to Dubai it gives me great pleasure to get back into my car and onto Dubai roads. Now I know they have a certain reputation, and I’d seen moments of madness within the first couple of days back, but somehow, I’m used to the driving style and I’m ok with it. I like the familiarity of a city I know well and the wide open roads – very open this month with so many people away.

6. Slow starts at the weekend with the paper, the puzzle pages and my morning coffee – perfect!

7. Maties! We were about three weeks ahead of the influx of friends returning but they’ve been slowly coming back and good to catch up.


8. Familiar watering holes..... it’s a bit steamy to sit out at night still – some nights better than others – but plenty of bars and restaurants to (re)discover. The hotels have great Iftar offers, and it’s just good to be back on our own stomping ground.

9. I’ve stopped looking like a bag lady! Living out of cases, I never seem to have the right clothes with me, end up layering to cope with the British weather and we only seem to catch up with washing machines, dryers and ironing boards every few days, or worse. I don’t know what it is but the whole lot seems to go downhill. Call me shallow but a week back in Dubai I’d had my hair and nails done and was feeling much more myself! Still got to get round to booking that facial though....


10. Back to routine! It means different things to all of us and as much as a break can be just what you need, I really miss that structure to daily/weekly life and, more than getting back to Dubai, I’m also quite looking forward to the boys getting back to school!

Okay that all said, if you’re still feeling a little sad as the holidays draw to a close, you could draw a leaf out of our graphic designer, Lynn’s book and book your next holiday the weekend you get back from the last; always good to have something to look forward to! There’s a long weekend coming for Eid around September 9th and National Day on December 2nd and plenty of options for local and international breaks. If you’re looking for ideas, Al Arabi Travel & Chic Collection will be attending ExpatWoman’s Living in Dubai Morning & our Burj Al Arab Breakfast respectively, and I’m sure they’ll be more than happy to inspire you!