In my home town it snows six months long. So having come to The Emirates I was not so keen on going to Ski Dubai.

Visiting The Mall of the Emirates with this huge ski resort and passing it by hundreds of times I sometimes stopped and was looking through a glass wall at sanguine faces of the people playing snowballs and moved on.

Of cause the ides of visiting Ski Dubai started up once in a while. But anyway my intentions didn't want to proceed into action until Dubai summer - the most stimulating factor to go skiing - came.

In fact, first two months of summer heat are very easy to sand. But the degree is going up and August has come, it's boiling, +40. Even the shortest distance under the scorching sunshine troubles. There is a feeling of oxygen deficiency. Aboriginal birds are on the lawns with their nibs open. It's hard to stand.

You are getting to be awake to this climate severity. You are almost tempted to find some cold or shade to stay in and it renders true beauty to the Ski Dubai snowdrifts.

Tickets, gifts, warm clothes and some winter sports equipment are available for purchasing in a big hall in front of the ski resort main entrance. As far as the eye can see there are penguins everywhere as stuffed toys and promotional products pictures and they are on plasmas as well. It goes without saying I wished to see these birds alive and to have a photo made with them.

A manager explained me that a photo with my arms around a penguin was possible but I was not allowed to use my own camera.

All the pictures are made by Ski Dubai photographers only. You are able to purchase the stills you like in a photo stand later.

A face-to-face meeting with eleven penguin-friends seemed very attractive to me but the 500 dirham price scared away. Finally I decided upon 300 dirham ticket allowing a face-to-face meeting with two penguins and one day unlimited in time Ski Dubai visit.

My contact with the penguins was very sweet and pleasant. Our small group was told there were two penguin species in Ski Dubai: the king penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) and gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis papua) (the second and the third biggest in comparison with the emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) accordingly).

The females have hoops on their right wing, the males - on the left. These hops are of different colours - they have names written on them.

Penguins being extremely busy, curious and fearless creatures, circulate calmly among people. They are so clever that it is a shade uncomfortable to call them birds.

To reduce the risk of penguin contamination with any mycotic infection everybody meeting them face-to-face are suggested having their hands sterilized with special soap and having their sunglasses off - the penguins respond to them a bit nervous. After all the requirements are made you are allowed to give them a stroke or hug an emperor penguin a little (a gentoo penguin is not recommended for touching, they say he can't stand familiarities).

By the way penguins are as cold as fish to the touch. All the warmth is inside under a thick depot fat.

Having met the penguins I ran like winking to the locker room for my camera and came back to the main territory of the ski resort. Near the entrance there is a huge interactive "Snowy park" with a snow cave, a bobsleigh track, different ice-hills and amusement rides in it.

It was the one we decided to start with. To experience slalom baby-like delight we had to queue a little. But it was worth doing! On a snow saucer down an ice-hill - such a Dubaian style!

One slope was followed by the second one, then by the third one. There is fuzzbuzz, happy and joyful children and looking years younger parents everywhere! Wahey!

I was keen to zorb riding down the mountain - in a big polyurethanes sphere but the queue made me feel rather mean so I put this entertainment away for later.

Having reached the top of the complex in an open chair lift I made some general photos. The size is impressive!

There is a cozy coffee bar on the top to make yourself warm and to enjoy a cup of hot tea.

Due to the fact that I am not good at mountain skiing and snowboarding I was going down using a two-tyrelike device (tubing). I could use the chairlift but ... " we don't take easy ways".