Day 98 - Dubai

Day 98 – Friday 18^th April 2014 – Dubai

Dubai is the second-largest of the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).  It is on the southern shore of the Arabian Gulf in the south eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula.  Dubai city is the main commercial centre of the UAE, the rest of the emirate is desert with very few inhabitants.

This morning we say goodbye to Elizabeth and David who have been with us on our dinner table since Singapore, on their way home to Yorkshire, and Goran our wine waiter going on leave to Croatia.

We arrived in Dubai on a Friday morning and being a Muslim country, they have their Sunday on a Friday.  Once again it is roasting hot outside, as we head for the taxi to take us underneath the Dubai Creek to the Gold and Spice Souks (markets).

    

Gold Souk

   

Spice Souk

Although most of the shops are closed there are still plenty of the owners trying to tempt you into their premises.  The gold souk was amazing, as I have never seen so much precious metal and jewellery; gold is sold by weight not necessary by the design or craftsmanship.  If you are enticed into any shop, the haggling is intense and you or may not walk away with a bargain.

The spice souk is just around the corner, and it is worth a visit just to savour the exquisite fragrances and to marvel at the almost endless choices of spices.

Creek with water Taxis

 From the souks, we moved to the river, Dubai Creek (Khor Dubai) splits the city in two: Bur Dubai (often just called Dubia) in the west, and Deira in the east.  The creek is crossed by abras (water taxis), a cheap form of local transport.  One way costs one dirham equivalent to fifteen pence and we crossed the creek on a water taxi back to the Dubai side.

The local shops were closing down around 12.30 and mosques were calling the people to prayer.  We watched as they made their way to their respective mosque, and one we passed; obviously was full and the faithful were lined up outside in the street. 

Creek side Restaurant

We took this opportunity to go onto the veranda of this creek side restaurant for lunch, as we watched the ferries, and the dhows after prayers making their way out to sea.

From the restaurant we walked along to the nearby metro station at Al Ghubaiba on caught the train on the green line.  We went one stop and changed over to the red line for a six stop journey to the Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall.  The metro system is very similar to the one in Singapore, with driverless trains and very efficient.

Burj Khalifa

Burj Khalifa is the highest and most spectacular building in Dubai and towers over everything else, and it is also part of the Dubai Mall which boasts 1200 retail outlets.

We were told it was best to book to go up to the observation tower of the Burj Khalifa and the booking office was on the lower floor of the Mall. Informed the bookings were fully booked for the next ten days, but if we paid quadruple the price, we could go up express delivery and decided to leave it for another time.

Dubai Mall

  

The mall itself in incredible and must be the ultimate as a shopper’s paradise; you could spend a week in here and still not covered everything.

  

Waterfall

   

Ice Rink

Two of the unusual features within the mall are the waterfall and an ice rink; you have to remember it is thirty degrees centigrade outside.

Outside the Mall

Outside one of the Mall entrances is a lake with water features, a promenade with the drop off of yet another wonderful skyscraper.

We were running to a tight schedule and had to head back to the ship and found the main taxi rank situated in the underground car park.  The drive through the city to the ship along these wide highways was very quick, considering the amount of traffic.

It is a special occasion tonight, as Cunard are throwing a party.