As I was thinking about what to write, I was reminded of my family trip to Dubai back in 2016 which was ages ago! This was before I was into photography so everything was shot in jpg (meaning I wasn’t able to edit the pictures so these came straight out of camera) and not raw which is such a shame! But you live and you learn. All of these were taken on my Olympus EM-5 Mark II which was the second camera I’ve owned. I remember saving up all my money whilst working at H&M in Sydney to invest in a better camera than my first which was the Sony NEX 5R (this was the OG line of today’s A6000 mirrorless cameras). But I didn’t keep that camera for long nor did I shoot on in much. This was because I was only just starting to get into videography and photography wasn’t quite an interest of mine then.

My dad loves Dubai a lot for some reason so we will probably make a trip back when travel restrictions are lifted.

I come from a really big family of six children so travelling as a whole gang is expensive and also tricky to coordinate now that we’re all older with careers and uni but I really appreciate the times we get to spend exploring a new city together. We figured that cities don’t really work that well for such a big group as we would tend to break off to do our own things (since some of us have interests in photography, others in shopping etc) so adventure trips make for better bonding and memories together.

I remember that this was one of the two expensive trips (the other being visiting Los Angeles in 2008) and it was unfortunate that most of us we still studying at this time so we couldn’t undertake part of the expenses so God bless my parents especially my dad for footing the bill on this one. I still can’t wrap my head around how my parents can afford to raise all of us.. All I can say that it’s really by the grace of God that we are taken care of!

It was my second time visiting Dubai, the first time being in 2014 and this trip was equally as memorable. The highlights of the trip were taking a day trip to Oman to snorkel and doing a desert tour. We had hired a chauffeur and a boat to take us out on the waters and we were pleasantly surprised that our family was the only one on board the tour. This was a charter boat from the dock that would then join a bigger boat on the waters. I loved how the charter boat was decorated with beautiful tapestry, pillows and carpets. It was cosy and my family had a blast on our privacy fleet!

It was breathtaking to be cruising on the Arabian and take in all the mountain ranges that surround it. It was a truly glorious morning and what topped it all was that we were greeted by wild dolphins! I remember my mum praying to see witness and what followed soon after were the squeals of delight that echoed from my family as we witnessed amazing sight! Definitely felt the tangible expression of the love of God there and then!

I can’t remember what was the tour company that my dad engaged in for our desert tour but we had a lot of fun riding camels, boarding down sand dunes, 4WD surfing on the sands and ending it all with a scrumptious middle eastern feast of charcoal grills as we star gazed out on the desert. If I ever come across that company again, I would be sure to recommend it!

I remember that the rest of the trip was exploring the city, old Dubai (the souks) and hotel hopping (being nosy and checking out what they are like). We were blown away by how bougee and grand these hotels were. I guess it’s a known fact that Dubai has luxurious hotels. Definitely not gracious on your pocket!

I thought I had taken a lot more photos than these but this is all I’ve got for now.

I look forward to visiting Dubai again and it will be interesting to see how my photography game has changed :)