Dubai. United Arab Emirates

After a long hiatus of three eventful years, which included a global pandemic and creating an offspring, the Captain and his new crew return to the open waters of the world for a new adventure.

The time had come for the Captain and his lifelong sidekick Admiral, to go on another adventure, this time with the challenges amplified, the introduction of a new crew member Cadet Recruit Rami. A petite 2 year old male, his height and brain deficits make up in heart, big personality and cuteness. Often a liability, this crew member was going to make some big memories, ones that he personally may not remember but ones that the Captain and Admiral will laugh and cry about for a lifetime ahead.

This trip was going to be more than just the usual vacation. It was going to be a test of courage, a complete baptism of fire, a rude awakening for the young Cadet as he entered the family of explorers. This expedition was to be a pilgrimage to the holy lands of sports, the largest sporting event in the world, the most viewed and followed event globally, one that occurs like every leap year, every 4 years. This expedition was to the FIFA Football World Cup in Doha, Qatar.

After months of planning, coordination and research, the Captain and Admiral felt as ready as they would ever be to set out on this new venture into lands far away. Cadet Rami had no idea what he was in for. The Captain and Admiral were frightened, overwhelmed and worried about how this trip would go, but in the words of Joshua J. Marine “Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.”

The first challenge was going to be the flight and the duration in which they were all confined like eggs in a carton. Heading directly from Melbourne to Dubai, a flight time of 14 hours, they were terrified of the ramifications this would have on the Cadet’s all important schedule and routine. Captain and Admiral had prayed to all the Gods, organised inflatables to convert the plane seats into beds, stocked up on snacks and activities and made sure that they were to set off on their journey at night. It seemed that the Gods may have listened. The Cadet was able to sleep through about 10 hours of the flight, in a constructed cocoon like structure, waking only to have some inflight meals and enjoy some inflight entertainment.

With some mental relief and physical exhaustion the crew disembarked in their destination and cleared the immigration checks strolling out to meet their host for their desert stay, Colonel Nathan, who had come to the Airport to surprise them. The reunion felt like he had never left Australia, without a break in conversation they all chatted. As they walked outside their faces instantly shrivelled up like raisins in the heat, so they rushed to the the car and It was not long before they were in Colonel Nathan’s rocket ship zooming past the early morning traffic heading towards the barracks, where they were greeted by partner in crime Jo and the two little kids companions for our Cadet. The arrangements they had made in their lovely home was nothing short of amazing, every little detail had been looked after and it instantly felt like home. The residence was extremely well furnished with beautiful decor and reminded the Captain of his time Morocco a few years ago.

The following few hours are a bit of a blur but that could be due to the espresso martinis, beers and Gin and Tonics that were served alongside an Arabic breakfast of Labneh and Zataar.

The Captain’s brother, General Nuj in older adventures and his fiance were also visiting Dubai at the same time as he was so in amongst the blur of breakfast, cocktails and reliving old memories, they also joined Colonel Nathan’s platoon.

After some brief introductions they started to think of things to do, it was here that the Captain realised his ticket to the Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix included entrance on Saturday for qualifying. He had three tickets and it was decided that Colonel Nathan, General Nuj and the Captain would set off for Abu Dhabi to enjoy the race, meanwhile the Admiral and Cadet would stay back and visit the local Markets.

With that the party split up, the Captain and his entourage headed to Yas Marina Circuit for the final race of the F1 calendar, whilst Jo, Rani and the Admiral tackled three young spawn in the desert heat at the Markets. Both forks come with fun times as well as tough ones.

The drive to Abu Dhabi was intense, the Colonel hitting speeds of up to 190 kmph on a vast spanning highway, the General and Captain fearing for their lives and saying their hail marys several times during the journey. They were able to live more of the F1 speed on the journey up to the F1 as they watched it, dodging traffic and other drivers. Only to be slowed down at the end in which it was very hard to find parking and the whole area around the circuit being closed or congested. It took a good 20 minutes to eventually find parking at the nearest Mall and they took an uber to the race, arriving 30 minutes into qualifying.

The track was huge, and very different to the Grand Prix the Captain had been to before, it could have been the twilight, or the restriction of alcohol or the lack of picnic spaces, it just felt like a completely different race. The Vibe however felt electrifying, the hustle and bustle felt like a music festival. The hard part however was… actually finding the track and where the race was happening, it was very hard to find a good vantage point to watch the race at. The track being so far away from the viewing points, it was not as exhilarating as the Melbourne Grand Prix.

Once the qualifying was over, getting up to the car was much more difficult than getting in, we had to cross mulch, a field and dodge thousands of people leaving the circuit, and so the trio trekked all the way back to the car.

Once there they headed into the mall to freshen up, besides it being a twilight race the mercury was still soaring at 30 degrees celsius even at 7 pm at night. Here they decided to grab a meal at the infamous Shake Shack (which was and still is amazing) and headed home, once again zig zagging through hundreds of cars, as the General passed out in the back seat.

The parallel mission with Admiral and the ladies was not as successful, being outnumbered by children, they faced intense heat and crowds only to return promptly from the markets, cars covered in ice cream remnants and their spirits broken. The mission report did not read too well.

The next day started off with a visit to a very unusual Cafe, the ambience was amazing, the place was immaculate and looked extremely fancy and the menu was very appropriate, however what made it quite unique was the display of Amazonian birds right in the centre of the restaurant. Besides the wildlife in the middle of the cafe, it was also unusual that there was a large play area with toys for children and the Admiral made haste to drop Rami off there. Soon a fairly large platter and several breakfast items arrived and the Captain and Admiral stuffed their faces as the extremely large parrots watched on. Following the oversized and overindulgent meal, they headed to the central enclosure where the large parrots were caged, where a bird handler brought out the birds for brave patrons to hold. One of the winged creatures had formed a disliking towards the Captain, probably because he had stared at it earlier whilst slowly devouring halloumi and other cheeses. As the bird came out it started glaring and cawing at the Captain, finally thrusting its head towards the Captain to bite him. He barely escaped by the tip of his beak. Cadet Rami found this interesting and continued to laugh, as the bird piqued his curiosity and wonder.

Finishing up at breakfast, a private vehicle arrived to take the Captain, Admiral and Cadet to the F1 race in Abu Dhabi, the final race of the year, the one in which destiny was made just 12 months prior with the crowning of Max Vestappan as the F1 champion. This was going to be a ‘childhood dream comes reality moment’ for the Captain as he braced himself for an electrifying race. That was not the only thing he was bracing for, he was ready for tears, tantrums and general child mayhem as he anticipated the needs of the Cadet.

The journey up to Abu Dhabi this time around was far calmer than the one the Captain had taken the day before, the driver maxing out his speed at 120 kmph. The fact that this was a 4×4 rather than a hatch may have also had a lot to do with the absence of life ending fear.

The Captain sat and watched the nothingness pass him, sand dunes as far as the eye could see and the windows radiating heat from the outside sun.

They soon arrived and were dropped off at Ferrari world at Yas Mall, the Admiral and Captain had always been suckers for thrill rides and fought the temptation to jump on the fastest roller coaster in the world, and despite all the contemplation without a guardian for the Cadet, they could not find a means to ride it. They stared at the ride and watched part of their soul die. To make up for it they visited the gift shop and took photos in an old F1 car and a Ferrari. After the modelling shoot and dream of driving an F1 car was over the team was feeling peckish and wanting the Cadet to eat before the next adventure, the Captain took the Admiral to the same Shake Shack that he had smashed the day before. She had never tasted it before and was as impressed as the Cap, the highlight however was watching the Cadet finish up a big serving of Fries and a whole Ice Cream.

There was still ample time before the race and with their stomachs full of food and their hearts clogged with the grease, the Captain had a brilliant idea to burn off some of those delicious calories. Right next door to the mall and the F1 circuit, there was Warner Brothers Movie world theme park. Although they only had 2 hours to spend, it would have been silly not to go. The Captain could hardly contain his excitement.

The theme park did not fail to impress, the largest indoor theme park in the world was able to play out a kaleidoscope of memories for the Captain, from the old school classics like Bugs, Tom and Jerry, Flintstones etc to the much more recent touches, like Batman and Justice league. They were able to meet and greet some childhood icons and even pitch the Cadet as a contender to join the Joker – who complimented him on his grip. It was not all good news for the Cadet who fell short to go on most rides by a few centimetres (stuffing tissues in his shoes did not help). This bad run of events was amplified when the little recruit got stuck in a slide and had to be rescued by the staff member, who climbed up trying to calm the crying little man down. Time ran out much faster than the crew had expected, but they also managed to get a glimpse of a spectacular theatrical show as they rushed out of the park. Finally they called the driver for a swift pick up – it was Race Time!

They scurried to the track, entering just on time and like fish swimming upstream, hurried to the track position that the Captain had scoped out the day earlier.

Race day felt electrifying, the atmosphere from the previous day had been turned up a few notches – the buzz going on was thrilling. Weaving in and out, and hoping to find a prime position to watch the race they dodged people and piloted the stroller like war plane pilots, finally reaching a place they could watch the race. Just as they sat down – it was Lights out at Abu Dhabi for the Final race of the season. Also the final race for D-Ric, Latifi, Vettel and Mick Schumacher! There was not any more iconic race to be at this year than this final one.

The Captain had to be sent on a sustenance mission to deliver some food for a hungry Cadet. He left at lap 3 and with lines etc only could return by lap 28 missing half of the race – but on the way he had made some friends and had no regrets, he still was able to watch some exciting overtakes and finish the race.

As the cars lined up for the final few laps the squadron rushed back to miss the thousands of people leaving, reaching the entry gates just as the epic fireworks display was let off, with a backdrop of smoke from the burnouts happening on the track, the Captain took a moment to soak it all in before jumping in the car and heading back towards Dubai.

The following day the Captain and Admiral awoke exhausted from the previous day’s activities, it was hard to believe that they accomplished so much on the first few days in Dubai. It was now however time to hit the tourist landmarks and to explore some of the iconic buildings and places that Dubai had to offer.

They jumped in the car and faced the blaring sun, and headed towards the Dubai frame, an iconic structure that ‘frames’ old Dubai and new Dubai. The Frame is a building which allows you to go up to the top where you can have panoramic views of both sides of the city. The frame also has a glass floor so you can see below from 150 metres.

The views were amazing. The Cadet was hesitant as he walked along the glass floor fearing imminent death. It was quite humorous to watch.

They then headed to the newest landmark in Dubai, the Museum of the Future. Housed in a beautiful and iconic building, the museum showcases technological developments and innovations, especially in the fields of robotics and artificial intelligence (AI). Heavily impressed by the exterior, as they entered they marvelled at the inside lobby of the building. It was something straight out of the future, including a hovering mechanical seal that drifted around the lobby. They lined up to get tickets only to find that the entrance has been booked out and the earliest date to visit is two weeks in the future. The Captain explained how they were only in town for a few more days and was able to convince the attendant to allow them entry. She asked them to wait and 20 minutes later were able to source a ticket to go in.

The Museum was impressive. It was structurally very well built and the exhibits were interactive and very cool. The elevator ride up was like a rocket ship to a space station and then as you went through each floor the displays were all themed towards one common idea. One of the exhibits did invoke a reaction in the captain, and this was the exhibit on sustainability and environmental impacts that are contributing to the destruction of the planet, considering the UAE are a major contributor to the environmental impact this felt like a bit of hypocrisy and propaganda. The Captain walked over to the attendant who was preaching about the destruction of the Amazon and asked them about the carbon neutrality of the building itself, he mentioned that the building was 60% carbon neutral with the intention to 100% by the end of the year. The other part that really invoked emotion was the display of the creatures that will be extinct in the coming years. It really hit home that the species that we saw today would not exist by the time the Cadet was older. The last floor displayed some technological advancements that were coming into production over the next few years and they were pretty impressive things like sustainable farming and medical advancements. It was impressive but the deep feeling of hypocrisy was quite evident; it felt like a little bit of a propaganda machine.

With mixed emotions Squadron headed to Burger King for a quick snack which ended up being an order of almost every item that did not contain beef on the menu. #eatingouremotions.

They headed home to meet the Colonel’s brother who had just joined them all the way from Sydney. Brigadier Stephan had flown to Dubai and was joining the crew on their adventures for the next few days. The platoon had grown and it was now Colonel Nathan, Jo, the two kids, Brigadier Stephan, the Captain, Admiral and Cadet. To celebrate reunions they all went out to the Dubai Mall for dinner at the Time Out Market Dubai.

Time Out Market Dubai was a pop up food court featuring food pop ups from the best around Dubai. Here you could trial select iconic dishes from all the best places around town, without paying an arm and a leg. The crew was able to down a few drinks and try a few dishes. Still stuffed from a binge at Burger King earlier in the day, the Captain ordered Banh Mi (which was amazing) and Ceviche Pani Puri (also a stand out). Filled and slightly drunk they headed back to the base. It was somewhere between leaving and the drive home that Colonel Nathan had reached out to another crazy friend Major Tony and organised some drinks with the Lads.

Dropping off the Children and the Ladies, the Captain joined by Colonel and Brigadier headed out to the Jumeirah Palms area for some drinks. Heading first to an upmarket restaurant and bar that makes the best caipirinhas in the city – Tamoka Dubai. Here they had their first rendezvous with Major Tony. They did not know what they were getting into.

Major Tony and Colonel Nathan were friends and worked together, he had been pretty much a local in Dubai, having been born there but of English descent. Arriving at the Bar, without any questions asked, two drinks had already been ordered. We started to get to know each other, sitting and chatting, the Captain assumed that this would be the night, chilling and chatting. Little did he know they had other plans unfolding. They decided to pay the bill and head off to the next location, which was a beach bar called Barasti Beach which was about 3 km away from where they were at. So along with other friends they decided to grab some scooters. Since there were a few of them they found two at first which fit the first four people and then the others, then they went and found more until all 6 people had a scooter each.

From here they acted like hoons, riding all the way down.