Souks + Mall + Beach = Long Day

I don't even know how to start this post. This was an absolutely crazy day--from the souks to the Dubai Mall to the beach. I'll do my best to describe it, but I'll have to leave some blanks in there so I don't give away any gifts I got people :)

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We went back to the Gold Souk because we wanted to find cheap gifts for people back home. We left around 10am in a Uber (Uber is honestly one of the best things ever). Everything was fine and dandy while shopping in the souk. We found "mock" Gucci, Prada, and other expensive designer brands bags, wallets, sunglasses, etc. The way we found it was kind of sketchy (it was in a building where we had to take an elevator to the third floor), but we're fine, it was fine, it was a real establishment--don't worry. Also found out they don't like it when you call the fake products a "knock-off" (just a heads up).

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At about 1pm, we called another Uber to take us to Dubai Mall. We ate the food court (which in itself is bigger than the Ames Mall), and walked around for a bit window shopping. At about 3pm, we started the process of finding an Uber. When we finally got one, we walked the entire mall to get to the Uber pick up point. After almost jogging to that spot, we found out that our Uber picked a different location to pick us up at. So we had to back track the entire mall, ask for help about three times, before we got to our pick up point. It was absolutely nuts. We were close to tears from being super tired, walking the entire mall (which again is HUGE!), and one girl lost one of her bags which had a cute jumpsuit in it :( We finally arrived at the pick up location for our Uber, which was outside a fancy hotel connected to the mall. We waited for the Uber who said he was twelve minutes away for about forty-five minutes. It got to the point where the hotel asked if we needed a private taxi. We ended up taking the private taxi because we were not going to wait for the Uber. That was probably one of the best decisions we made because our driver let us jam out to Mama Mia (his favorite), Michael Jackson, and Whitney Houston (you can see videos on my Dubai highlight on my personal Instagram @healthyhappyfaithful).

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We finally arrived at La Mer Beach as the sun was almost done setting. I got myself a milkshake from a cute shop and sat on the beach to watch the sunset. Afterwards, we met up with the rest of our group at Sugar Factory, who ordered some drinks there. After that we ordered another Uber to take us back to our hotel, after the longest day ever it seemed like. After a while of waiting and running around for the right pick up point (again,*sigh), we FINALLY got back to our hotel. As we were getting out of the Uber, a girl in our group realized she didn't have her purse on her. Which held her money. Cards. PASSPORT. After calling La Mer Security, her and a teacher took an Uber back to the beach to try to find it. LUCKILY it was in their security office with nothing stolen. Thank God.

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It's days like this that God just reminds me that it's not my plans, but his. I had the plan of going to the souk, the Dubai Mall to eat, then back to the hotel to change into my swimsuit, then the beach to watch the sunset and chill on the beach. That is obviously not exactly what happened. BUT I made lots of memories with friends. This is a day I definitely will not forget. God looked out of us when in the souk, traveling place to place, and making sure we got home safe. He kept the purse safe with nothing stolen. I know things like this are going to happen when I'm in Scotland, by myself, so it's nice to get a "trial run" while with familiar people around me. I can only pray that the rest of the trip goes smoother, with less stress!