May 6-9, 2012 DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
(2 days and 3 nights daytime temperature 108 degrees F, 97F in the shade!)
Sunday May 6, 2012 - Addis Ababa to Dubai, United Arab Emirates
We arrived at 8:38 pm into DUBAI after a smooth flight with Emirates AIRLINES from ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia. We could hardly believe it was only 16 nights since we had spent the night here while flying through from Seattle on our way to Addis Ababa Ethiopia. Tonight it was 30 degrees Celcius - and the forecast for close to 40 tomorrow! The process was the same - checkin with the “eye” people on arrival (Canadians require a Visa and before going through Immigration we have to get our eyes scanned - one line for the men and a different line for the women).
Then the immigration line up - I got there before Terry and held a spot since his eye scanning line was longer than mine. For some reason the immigration takes a long time - there were only about 15 people in the line in front of us (more than that behind us) and it took about 40 minutes to get through (no problems). Then we picked up our 2 bags and and a couple of items in the Arrival Duty Free at the Dubai Airport (sales were 1.12 billion dollars in 2009! They claim it is the highest Duty Free spending in the world by 3 or 4 times, average $45 USD per passenger), before passing through the “nothing to declare” customs line and on to the Arabian Adventures office who were looking after our transfers (about 30 minutes on a major highway with lots of traffic and many vehicles with aggressive drivers cutting each other off) to the Millennium Plaza Hotel (Arabian Adventures is owned by Emirates Airlines) arriving at 10:25 pm.
The Millennium is a brand new hotel, in modern contemporary design, opened in 2012 and we were given a beautiful room on the 40th floor - sheer luxury after the last 2 weeks in Ethiopia. We have an extra large room with king size bed, large soaker bath tube and separate shower, toilet with BD, flat screen TV with coffee table and 2 easy chairs, and a desk and chair (where I am currently sitting). Room Service brought us ice and it was 12 midnight when the light was switched off and we crashed!
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| CAMEL RIDE ANYONE? |
Monday May 7, 2012 - DUBAI City Tour and Sundowners in the Desert
We had prebooked a very busy day with Arabian Adventures in order to take advantage of our time in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). United Arab Emirates is a young country, only 41 years old. It used to be a British Protectorate and was called Trucial State. The British left UAE on December 1, 1971 (just before oil was discovered!) and the UAE started Dec 2, 1971. The UAE consist of 7 emirates (or monarchies):Abu Dhabi, the richest producing 2 million barrels of oil every day and holding gas reserves as well; DUBAI, the second richest country with 3% of their GDP attributed to oil but their reserves are almost gone. They also are trading partners with Asia, Africa, China and Europe and they are perfectly situated in the centre of all of 4 of them. Their third contributor at 20% of GDP is Tourism, then Real Estate which is still important even after the real estate collapse in 2008, and Banking. The remaining 5 emirates are: Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah, Umm Al Quawain, Fujairah, and Ajman.
The UAE flag is red, green, white and black, and their currency is the AED Arab Emirates Dirham - known as the dirham. Currently the exchange rate is 3.66 dirham per USA dollar. The gas (petrol) here is probably cheapest in the world - it costs $1.72 dirham per litre, about 50 cents per litre! This means oil is cheaper than water here, it costs $1 liter for bottled water.
Dubai is located on the Gulf of Arabia so Dubai has beautiful beaches with white sand - the public beaches are free, to go to a beach where a hotel is located costs you about $100 per person. The population of UAE is 8.2 million, consisting of 88% foreigners or expatriates, and 2 million of these are in Dubai, 66% are male and only 33% are female! This is because many foreigners (especially from India and Pakistan) move to Dubai for work (especially in construction) and send money home to their families who they leave in India and Pakistan. We met, and talked to, several of these foreign workers - by the way, they hate being called foreigners - but that’s what the Saudi’s call them and they do not get permanent residency just a work permit. We met a 28 year old from Pakistan living with 6 other Pakistanis in a 1 bedroom apartment working 12 hour shifts 7 days a week to send money home to his mother and sister (father dead). Another guy was from Bangladesh working on a contract basis (i.e. paid by the hour when required so his elapsed time would be 12 hours each day even though he wouldn’t have 12 hours work) again living with 3 other men in a 1 bedroom apartment. There are also many Asians (Thais, Chinese, Vietnamese, etc) and the same story - no one likes the heat, they find it very expensive and impossible to save money but are there just for the jobs. DUBAI is very multi cultural and open minded with all religions: Catholics, Hindu, Muslim, Protestant and others, and every country’s restaurants as well!
This is the desert - unbelievably hot - today it went from 97F (36C) in the shade to 108F in the shade! They use water from the ocean after being processed through a desalination plant which is outside the city. They also have lots of trees and flowering shrubs in Dubai - but the watering system is all from recycled waste water - when you pass by new buildings under construction, and new gardens being laid - you see the miles and miles of thin black piping all for the waste water to keep the desert green and looking like an oasis!
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| BUEJ AL ARAB HOTEL, DUBAI |
The story behind Dubai is that it used to be a small oasis, in fact we visited here 20 years ago and even though Dubai was a city then - it was a small city. For us, this was like going to a brand new country! There is nothing about Dubai today that resembles Dubai 20 years ago. Dubai was the centre for trading as mentioned before, and at the end of the 19th century the Shah of Iran wanted to introduce taxes on the traders. The traders had no desire to pay taxes, so the Dubai Sheik invited the traders from Iran to move to Dubai and told then that he would not charge them taxes - so they moved to Dubai. As a result, much of the old traditional architecture in Dubai was very much influenced by the Iranians.
Our driver arrived at 8:35 am (after a very tasty buffet breakfast in the METRO restaurant on the 5th floor included in our package) and transferred us to JUMEIRA where we transferred to a large luxury 48 passenger bus - there were in total maybe 16 of us on this tour. Now you may be aware of JUMEIRA and that is because where some of the most luxurious and amazing architectural hotels have been built including the Jumeira Beach Hotel (shaped like a wave), the Wild Wadi water park, and the amazing Burj Al Arab hotel 321 metres tall which is the hotel you would recognise being the one which is shaped like a sailboat right on the beach. The Burj (as it is known) was opened on December 1, 1999 and was reported as that it could be called a 7 star hotel. There is no 7 star hotel classification but you understand what they mean. The price per night per 2 floor suite, ranges from $3,000 to $20,000 USD per night (from 140 sq metres to 700+ sq metres) - oh, by the way, that doesn’t include breakfast! You cannot enter without a reservation but apparently you can go for dinner or a cocktail with a reservation - they have the most expensive cocktail in the world, just one drink in a cocktail glass, $7,000 USD each! (You do get to keep the glass!)
Located very close to the Burj is a new development called the Souk Madina Jumeira - with 3 hotels, 44 restaurants and gets rave reviews for a great place to go in the evenings when everywhere is lit up and delightful to eat at and look at. It is built in the Arabian style so very attractive to look at.
We then drove from Jumeira through the area known as “Beverly Hills” the expensive part of the city and through to the old part of the city. The city of Dubai is known to be clean (graffiti is almost non existent) and safe - no pick pockets and very little crime. We were warned about crossing the road which can be dangerous (coincides with my thoughts driving in from the airport last night!). There are 4,000 taxis in Dubai (all beige with various coloured roofs) and they are all metered, so no bartering for taxi fares - save your bartering for the Souk (or market).
It was only 9:15 am when we transferred from van than picked us up to the tour bus and already you would not stand anywhere in the sun, you took a photo and looked for shade and hopped back on the bus - around 87F already! As it got hotter during the day and went over 100F I’m not sure it felt any hotter, because when it feels like your skin is frying and someone is blowing hot air on you with a massive hair dryer - it just feels unbearably hot with no escape at any temperature!
Jean Francois was our Tour Guide (from France) and everything he told us was repeated in German and English - they run different tours for different Nationalities (languages), the driver Shafi was from the UK. Our first stop was really the origin of Dubai the Majlis Ghorfat Um Al-Sheef (majlis means “meeting place”). Today the traditional homes still have a majlis in their home - and it is still the custom to visit with your guests in the majlis which is just inside your front door - there is a majlis to the right for the men and to the left for the women, They are a very private people and it is not usual to go inside their home just to do the visiting in the majlis.
This Majlis that we were visiting was built in 1955 and it was in the desert at that time, far outside of the city boundary, by Sheikh Rasheed bin Saeed El Makhtoum to meet with the nomadic desert Bedouins. The creek that runs from the Gulf Of Arabia into Dubai kept getting silted up and Sheikh Saeed El Makthoum needed help to dredge it and keep it clear for the trading with China, Europe, Asia, Africa, so he negotiated with the Bedouins to help him. The lower storey is an airy verandah and the top a large meeting room with cushions on the floor all around the sides, and it was amazingly cool and comfortable. In the garden there was also an irrigation system - the same system used for the past 3000 years, bringing water from a well via small channels to where it is needed, then blocking the channel to send it to a different direction if required.
So in the 1950’s it was trading - importing rice and spices from India and Iran, and exporting pearls from Saudi because there was a very large natural pearl diving industry based out of Saudi. Then in 1966 they discovered oil in Saudi Arabia and that was the start of the wealth and the huge glitzy city in the middle of the desert sands today that is the modern Dubai!
After the Majlis, we took a photo stop at the Jumeira Mosque surrounded by grass and large trees - you can visit 4 mornings each week at 10 am and be taken inside, it is apparently beautiful. This was inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth in 1979, built in the modern fatimat? style (from 9-10th century when Cairo was built).
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| THE ABRA - FERRY ACROSS THE DUBAI CREEK |
The main road / highway in Dubai is the Sheikh Zayed Rd and many of the hotels and stores are on this road, or set back from it. The buildings are just tower after tower after tower - many modern designs, and an unbelievable number of them There is also the Metro (train) that runs down Sheikh Zayed Rd and you can travel from one end to the other quickly and at reasonable cost. Unfortunately several of the places you like to visit are a few blocks from the train and believe me, at this time of the year (and progressively hotter through the end of September) it is too hot to walk those few blocks! We ended up taking taxis which are quite reasonable - the max we paid was $14 for a 30 minute ride.
There is now a new building higher than the Burj Al Arab - it is 828 metres tall, located next to the Dubai Mall, called the Burj Khalifta tower. There is an unbelievable amount of shopping in Dubai and the highest end stores you can imagine with brand names from everywhere in the world having a location here. In fact as we drove down the Sheikh Zayed we passed names we see every day at home like McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Circle K, and Tim Hortons - can you believe it!? Anyway, also at the Dubai Mall is a large lake with fountains just like the Bellagio in Las Vegas - only twice as big! The fountains dance every night with music each 30 minutes starting at 6:30 pm.
We continued driving around the city and seeing the Palaces - and the continued construction in progress everywhere - as well as construction that had been started and then ground to a halt when the recession hit the skids starting in 2008. The creek that runs into Dubai is where the old city of Bastakiyo was built at the end of the 19th Century - these have been restored (20 houses, Art Galleries and restaurants) and show the architecture from that period which actually came from Iran. There are no windows on the outside (remember I said they are very private people) so the home has a courtyard inside for relaxing and enjoying the fresh air. They are built from coral and the architecture is that no front door faces (or can see) any other front door - so that each family cannot see the other family’s comings and goings. Each house has a tower in the corner with wooden poles sticking out in all directions to give them air conditioning - you ask how?. Each tower is built to get the wind from all 4 directions - they used to (and still do) hang wet sheets on the wooden poles so that when the wind blows the hot air will cool as it passes through the sheets and then blow into the home. The coral (for the walls) was collected and dried for 1 year before they used it for building, and all the wood was imported from India - so it was only the richest people who could afford to build this type of home.
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| THE OLD FORT - DUBAI |
The 18th century Fort built in 1787 next to the old city (all located on the creek) has now been converted into a really nice museum with a huge wooden traditional dhow (sailing boat) out the front, and underground the museum has a large number of diorama showing the daily life as it used to be - excellent life size models and setups with a description next to each of the activities being portrayed. By the way, when someone is a Sheikh it just means the elder or wise old man - it’s not a title like a Prince or anything like that. There used to be 1 Sheikh per tribe who gave advice to the rest of the tribe or family. When the Sheikh died the next ruler is decided by the family - it is NOT necessarily the eldest son who becomes the next Sheikh.
After the Fort (which I might mention is in the textile district - we were on a pretty tight schedule so I did not get chance to check out the stores and buy fabric but I saw some wonderful patterns in the windows!) we headed to the creek to take an ABRA (or water taxi) which is a wooden dhow across the creek to the other side where the SPICE and GOLD SOUKs can be found! The Abra costs 1 AED per person (about 30 cents) - you just get on the ABRA (they are at the dock and there are lots of them there) and pay the Captain your 1 AED then as soon as the Captain feels he has enough people on board then he crosses the creek to the other side. 20,000 passengers per day cross the creek on the ABRA’s.
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| SPICE MARKET SOUK |
First we walked around the old Souk, (the DEIRA Spice Souk) and oogled at the massive sacks of every spice that you could imagine, and the dates - they were so fresh and so good! There are also booths there selling hardware, clothing, shoes, sandals, and all sorts of things. The gold Souk is a short walk away - imagine a big cross with an open centre and on each length of the cross both sides are just loaded with gold, silver and diamond jewellery - something for everyone at every price point - the top point being very high! We were in Dubai 20 years ago, and not only does it now seem like a completely different city, it has also become very cosmopolitan. The jewellry 20 years ago was very local - lots of very fancy, very yellow, 22 and 24 carat filigreed jewellry - very indian and Arabic and not the styles we would typically wear in the Western world. Now there is jewellry in the Gold Souk for every taste and pocket book.
By now we were all very hot and sticky and were so glad to get back into the air conditioned bus - it was now 108 F in the shade! I should mention that all the stores in the Gold Souk are air conditioned so you have to go inside and shop to feel comfortable! You could also buy camel burgers and chocolate (expensive fine chocolate) made from camel’s milk at some stores and restaurants as we drove along. This was the end of the tour - a very full 5 1/2 hours from pick up to drop off at our hotel.
We went up to our room and were so happy to kick off our shoes and just relax for a couple of hours - we were getting picked up again at 4:30 pm for our Sand Dune and Sundowner 4 wheel drive into the desert! We had again booked this with Arabian Adventures (owned by Emirates) about $120 USD each. Our driver Habib arrived and there were 4 Aussies in the Land Cruiser already (max 6 passengers plus driver) - on their way from Perth to Europe for a river cruise on the AVALON, this was a stop over in Dubai to break up the long flights.
After reading and signing the Liability Release Form we drove out on the highway into the desert, passing the Dubai Outlet Mall and the Margham Race Track - camel racing and horse racing are huge sports here. Our first stop was outside the gates of the Dubai Desert Conservancy - where each driver got out and had to let air out of all 4 tires so that the Land Cruiser would steer correctly as soon as we got into the sand dunes. Next stop was for the falconry display. There has always been a connection between the Bedouins and the falcons, who spend all Winter in the desert and then migrate back to Europe and other cooler climates during the hot Saudi summers (April - October).
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| CLIMBING THE SAND DUNES |
The falcons they now keep for the demonstration are kept in the air conditioning when they are not performing in the summer and just come out for the display - they start panting pretty quickly when they are outside in the heat (and so do we! never go anywhere without a bottle of water). This stop had a couple of hundred palm trees planted to provide shade, and there were also 3 camels here with their owners for those who wanted a photo with a camel - there were professional photographers taking photos for pick up at the end of the tour. There were lots of Arabian Adventures Land Cruisers - Habib told us they have about 60 vehicles - this is now getting into low season and we counted 36!
After the falcon display, it was back into the Land Cruiser again (Terry and I were in the back seat) and we were off again - this was now a crazy but very fun ride! The land cruisers are in excellent condition, and there are roll bars covered in upholstery fabric inside the vehicle. The land cruisers all follow one after the other - hopefully with enough room between each other not to run into the back of the one in front. We went screaming up one side of the sand dune so that at the top you could only see the blue sky, then over we would go sliding down the opposite side - and this went on for maybe 30 minutes - it was a hoot! All the Land Cruisers follow the same tracks but it is absolutely in the dunes, no man made road or anything like that.
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| FABULOUS SUNSET |
Then we all stop next to each other and get out to take photos of the sun just above the sand dunes - people and land cruisers everywhere. When you start off again - there is a boss directing everyone and sending the land cruisers out one after the other. When we got back in this time I went in the front and took some video while Terry sat behind me - just too much fun although the first drive was the best dunes I think. Then we parked again and got out behind a large dune that was so hard to run up to the top to take the sunset photos - if you stopped on the way up the sand just started sliding down and burying your feet and shoes completely in sand! After about 30 minutes we changed into the back seat again (a good seat for getting car sick really fast) and by now we were starting to level out a little as we drove into the area where the Bedouin tents were set up for dinner. When we arrived there were about 18 camels and several handlers ready for anyone who wanted to go for a camel ride. There was a walkway in the sand lit by exotic lanterns and this opened up to the inside where there were hundreds of pillows set up on the floor, which was covered in huge persian carpets - each being about 30 feet by 30 feet - lots and lots of them all overlapping so that you were walking on carpets everywhere. Soft drinks, beer and wine were all included in the price as was dinner - starting with Arabic appetizers with tabouleh and hummus, then a little later the main course of lamb, meatballs, chicken, bean salads, buns, potatoes, green salad and fresh fruit for dessert.
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| TERRY ARRIVING FOR DINNER IN THE DUNES |
There was also an artist making incredibly fine sand art in bottles - how he managed to make these desert scenes complete with palm trees and camels - all perfectly detailed - was amazing to watch. In another area you could dress up in traditional Saudi dress and have your photos taken - again all the photos ready for you to take home with you, The area they have set up is large - perhaps 500 feet by 300 feet and behind are several massive sand dunes and they have some lights up in the dunes so as it gets dark, they are subtly lit up - just beautiful! And this was the night of the super moon as well, so it was huge. Music was playing while we ate and drank, followed by a lone belly dancer who performed for maybe 6 different songs - she was very agile and looked spectacular in her gauzy pantaloons and scarf . Afterwards, they turned out all the lights and you just lay back and looked into the sky - what a great way to finish the evening. We were back at our hotel shortly after 10pm and were ready for bed after a spectacular day!
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| DINNER IN THE DUNES, DUBAI |
We had decided that we wouldn’t put the alarm on last night, but we still woke up and were showered and eating breakfast by 730 am in the METRO at the Millenium Plaza hotel. The Millenium Plaza is a pick up location for the shuttle to the Dubai Outlet Mall - so we decided to give that a shot. We were picked up at 9:35 and caught the shuttle back at 12:30 - so it gave us just over 2 hours there. The mall is huge and 2 levels - essentially we walked around window shopping and looked into a coupe of stores - my favourite (non purchase) was a pair of turquoise blue very high heeled peep toe shoes covered in Swarovski crystals - on sale for $500 after a 60% discount! I saw so many incredible Italian shoes and sandals, I could have bought several - but even window shopping was a lot of fun!
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| TERRY IN HIS OWN BEDOUIN TENT |
We did find a “Beyond the Beach” store with a few Tommy Bahama items too good to pass up and if we had more time before the bus departed we could have found more, but we took the shuttle at 12:30pm and got off the bus when we hit the Al Karama area and took a taxi the few blocks to the market area. This is where the market is for the knock off handbags and purses, wallets, etc - which you should be aware is illegal in Dubai to buy! We started at the Blue Marine store, then store after store after store was selling the knockoffs - brands like Mulberry, Jimmy Choo, Bugatti, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, etc and ROLEX watches. We went into several but I didn’t find anything I had to have so we left holding a single teeshirt! In these stores many of these items are on display when you walk in (think of small market stores) but some very nicely displayed. Many vendors try to harass you to enter, others just stay put and let you browse with no sell job. Most of these purses are leather and the pricing starts at 380 AED and up (so from $100 USD and up). I addition, many of the stores will take you “upstairs” up creaky old narrow stairs where they have another showroom where they keep a lot of Chanel and Louis Vuitton goods.
Next we were off to the ATLANTIS hotel built right on the edge of PALM Island in the Arabian Gulf. This was quite a way but cost 65 AED (less than $20) and it was air conditioned comfort! We walked into the lobby and down through to where you can buy your ticket (abut $100) for the day to use the Atlantis Waterpark, or buy your ticket to go inside and see the massive aquarium full of sharks, rays, fish and other sea creatures - beautiful! You don’t get into the hotel unless you are staying there - there are security guards everywhere asking for ID. By now it was after 2pm so we sat at TBJ (the Burger Joint) and shared a burger, fries and milk shake (oh so good!) for 100AED (almost $30).
The Atlantis sits at the end of the causeway called the Palms - I know you will have seen this in pictures or on TV - it is a large man made island that looks like a palm tree with a circle around it. Each frond of the palm tree is a subdivision with expensive private homes on them (most of the Manchester United Soccer Team bought a home there a few years ago). Anyway - there is a mono rail that you can take (15AED) from Atlantis to the other end - essentially back to the Sheikh Zayed Rd. When we went up to the monorail station at Atlantis - it was perfect - we could see the entire waterpark at Atlantis, waterfalls, pools, etc and in addition we got great views of The Palm as the mono rail went back to the Sheik Zayed Road perfect!
Then it was a taxi to the Jumeira Madina we had seen the previous morning - this is really a nice SOUK built in the old Arabic style with lots of restaurants and tiny stores -really fun to walk around. lots of places to sit outside and enjoy - there is even a great photo opportunity for the Burj Al Arab hotel (looks like the sailboat). We had been wanting to take a boat ride to see everything from the water, and in the Madina we saw a Tour Company desk - sure enough we could take the Yellow Boat (200AED about $60 each) at 5 pm from the Dubai Marina and it would take us out past the Atlantis, the Palm and the Burj Al Arab - perfect!
WE caught a taxi back at 4:35 to the Marina and there were just 4 of us on the Yellow Boat - like a big zodiac with proper seats - the same as we use in Victoria BC for whale watching. It was wonderful to be out on the warm aquamarine water, and our Captain stopped to let us take photos, as well as giving us information about what we were seeing - it was a fun ride and cooler on the water when we were moving! Stuart and Sylvia from the UK were the other two passengers. We even passed the beach houses (think Palaces) for the Royal Family.
WE returned about 6:20 and then walked the 1 block to the Radisson Hotel and up to the 53rd floor where they had Happy Hour while overlooking the Arabian Gulf, Atlantis, the Palm and the Burj Al Arab - it was wonderful. We ordered calamari and a plate of Arabic appetizers, along with a bottle of cold Pinto Grigio all at Happy Hour prices - total 200AED about $60USD. It was a very pleasant couple of hours watching the sun set and enjoying the view. In the harbour there are an amazing number of large and beautiful yachts - this is definitely life style of the rich and famous. On the other side of the Dubai Harbour is the area known as New Dubai - this is 39 sky scraper buildings, all looking very similar, all sand yellow in colour, and all built by the same developer in the last 5 years. Just beyond New Dubai are oil storage tanks and plants.
But we were not done yet! When the wine and appies were finished it was back in a taxi (55AED $17 USD) to the Dubai Mall - we wanted to see the fountains! The Dubai Mall area is nicely done and when you arrive after dark, as we did, there are twinkling lights everywhere - and everything is a big production - there are men getting you out of the taxis quickly into the semi circular drop off zone and telling the taxi drivers to leave quickly! There is a large lake here with a bridge across the middle, and we found a perfect spot with two comfortable chairs and a footstool / table in front right next to the lake. We ordered a date shake and a 7 Up Light (55AED $17) and enjoyed every ice cold sip as we watched 2 fountain displays.
Then it was another taxi from the Dubai Mall back to our hotel and believe me, we crashed as soon as we could. Our alarm was set for 5am Wednesday morning - we had to finish packing and have a quick bite to eat before our transfer arrived at 6:50am to take us to the airport for our flight from Dubai to Seattle.
We had spent two very enjoyable, busy and full days in Dubai and also two very hot days. The heat is hard to manage, and it gets hotter over the next 3 months as high as 45 to 50 degrees Celcius! I can’t imagine anyone living in that heat unless you are in air conditioning or hanging out in a traditional cooled home. Almost without exception the people we met don’t like the heat, and are only in Dubai for the money - they would rather go home to where they come from if their was work available for them at home. There is a lot of money and a lot of rich folk in Dubai, it is expensive to eat. It is a big concrete city with some fascinating architecture and lots to do for a stop over but for a destination vacation I think there are nicer places to go with much better value, and much more comfortable environments!
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