I get comments, hot, sticky and pretty apt comments

Regarding this It's summer post, from a reader bound for the UAE:

I'm moving to Abu Dhabi in September insha'Allah - and I'm having recurring attacks of joy and terror!

It's hot. Summer survival guides are a joke. Except in the UAE, now, when you must have one

I have said it before and I'll say it again: August in the UAE is not that different from the depths of a harsh Canadian winter. I am as pale as a cadaver, my clothes are all too tight and all I feel like doing is laying around watching repeat episodes of all those shows that keep up with the Kardashians.

But while I never felt going outside when I lived in Canada's capital of Ottawa, where it gets seriously cold, the bottom line was that I could and if I did, I would be better for it. Much better. Once I realised that if I put on snowpants and braved it through 45 minutes, no matter how biting the wind or driving the snow, sometime in the last 30 seconds or so I would begin to feel more alive than I had ever thought possible. Once home and in my jammies I would feel so cosy, so happy and warm and lucky, that I would fall into the sleep of the dead and wake up the next morning a new, un-Seasonal Affective Disorder-ed woman.

It's summer, here's a nice thing to do: Visit the fish market at Mina Zayed Port

The fish market is due to move near Saddiyat Island at some point (yes, it doesn't make any sense to me either - and yes everything good is moving too far out) so get there while you can. We bought an entire tuna and a ridiculous amount of shrimp for about Dh200. There are men on hand to clean and chop the seafood, and outside you can even have it, or at least some of it,  seasoned grilled up for you! Plus, I like how they spell tuna.

It's summer, here's a nice thing to do: High tea at Emirates Palace

When my friend Bethany was here we took in high tea at Emirates Palace and it was amazing. I wanted to do it because I was worried she wouldn't get to see the hotel – which is about 100 times more amazing than that pale substitute in Sex and the City 2 – as sometimes you can't just rock up and take a look inside. So a reservation for tea was made, and it was a good thing. I had to show the security guard the confirmation text message before he would let our taxi proceed through the gates.

The service was impeccable and the treats delish. I chose China Smoke, a tea that smelled much like a campfire (and tasted of one too, as I recall). There were napkins draped in laps, strainers, warmed milk – the whole shebang. In addition to the two trays of treats, one traditional and the other Arabian-themed, we were each given four tiny scones. I cannot express to you how good they were. The waiter even asked if we wanted more, which we did, but would have been too stuffed to eat.

All told the whole thing, with water, cost more than Dh500 (Cdn$132). Steep, sure. But for a friend who travelled all the way from Canada, shelling out Cdn$250 for a visa plus plane fare, and me with my weirdly British love of tea and scones? Well worth it.

This is wheeled over to your table.

You can't see the best part: the scones.

That is real gold leaf.