Dubai

Dubai, a world business hub, is one of the seven emirates or states that constitute the United Arab Emirates on the Persian Gulf.  The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a union of seven Sovereign Sheikhdoms (emirates) - six of which, Abu Dhabi (the capital), Dubai, Sharjah, Fujairah, Umm Al Quwain and Ajman - formed the present federation in 1971 when the British withdrew from the Gulf as part of the 'East of Suez' policy (in other words, there is strength in unity). Ras Al Khaimah joined a year later.  The UAE is ruled by an autocratic sheikdom.  The total population of the UAE is 12 million, of which one million are native emirates, and the rest are all immigrants.  The population of Dubai is 1.7 million.  You can never become a citizen unless you are born to one.  You can spend your whole life living and working here, but you will never become a citizen.

In the early 1900s, Dubai was a fishing village and important trading port.  It was also a leading supplier of natural pearls.  Due to competition in the 1930s from Japanese cultured pearls, and by the drop in trade in the Second World War, Dubai fell on hard times.  There was famine and hardship.  Life was tough here (the first hospital wasn’t built until 1963 and the majority of people were illiterate).  With the discovery of oil and its production came new riches.  Since 1958, Sheikh Rashid played a leading role in directing the state. He guided Dubai in its expansion from a small, old-world town to a modern state with excellent communication, and industrial infrastructure, and all the comforts of contemporary life. The first skyscraper was built in the middle of the desert in 1976.  Sheikh Rashid was benevolent and gave the suffering people who lived in huts new homes and made life easier for them.  Since 1980 Sheikh Rashid played a background role due to ill health but his four sons continued his policies in exactly the same mould.  He died in 2006 and is revered. 

                                       

The present ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, is committed to his father's dream of making Dubai one of the foremost cities in the world.  This fellow envisions a cruise port that can handle 35 ships – at one time!  These guys think BIG:  evidence the Burj Khalifa, the world tallest building and the Dubai Mall, the world’s largest shopping mall with over 1,400 stores. 

Oil revenues in Dubai have always been a fraction of those in Abu Dhabi, so the government's decision to diversify from a trade-based but oil-reliant economy to one that is service- and tourism-oriented has transformed this piece of the desert into a hub for service industries, financial centers, bio-tech companies, medical tourism (it’s a $5 billion industry for cosmetic surgery) and shopping.  Tourism matches trade and oil in importance to the emirate’s economy.  History can be boring to some, but in this case, it is amazing that in such a short time, a dusty old city has been transformed into a clean, modern and beautiful city. 

We approached the port and could barely see the city.  There had been sand and wind storms for the four days previous to our arrival and the air was filled with dust.  It was surprisingly cool, and the dust in the air blocked the sun making the air look very strange; it seemed dark even though it was the middle of the day.  At breakfast, we had plotted and planned the day.  Hanita and Morry were taking Adrian and Lillian to the cardio doctor, and we were going sightseeing with Christine and Barry.  We took the shuttle to the Dubai Mall and both Michael and I made an appointments for “personal grooming” for later in the day. 

We decided to take the metro to the Emirates Mall to see the indoor ski park. There was a metro station at the mall.  First of all, these malls are gigantic, so to get anywhere takes a long time and lots of walking.  #1 mistake I made:  don’t wear good walking shoes so you can look good – I paid dearly for this mistake.  We found the way to the metro and walked through a modern day souk and stopped to sample some Turkish delight (at $25/pound!!!!); we didn’t have time to dally around so we found the walkway to the metro.  Remember, that Dubai is a hot HOT place so this elevated walkway tube with moving sidewalks was enclosed and air-conditioned – and I felt like a hamster in a one of those rolling balls; you walk and walk and don’t seem to make any progress.  It was at least a mile to the train!   Remember that I said it was cool today; well it started to rain.  Rain in Dubai!?!  Yes indeed, real rain.  An event, a happening.  We were there to witness it. 

We bought our tickets, for first class mind you, and rode the train seated in airline-type seats with drop down tray. This is the longest automated transit system in the world.  Very quiet.  Very civilized!  It cost $1.9 billion to build, and is 45 miles long.  We enjoyed the ride as the metro is elevated and we could see the city whizzing by.  By now it was really raining hard. 

First class car on the metro

We arrived at the Mall of the Emirates, and this station was at least close by – we only had to hike about ¼ mile.  We entered the mall and here again, we had to negotiate great distances to get to the indoor ski area.  This is the only indoor ski slope in the world.   It is kept at 25°F and people were wearing ski parkas.  There was the chair lift, the T-bar lift, a bobsled run, and play areas for kids.  This is under one roof, in the desert where summer temperatures can reach 122°F.  Amazing!  We had lunch at TGI Fridays, and sat and watched the skiers navigate the slopes. 

Mall of the Emirates

Ski park

Downhill skiing

We retraced our steps and headed back to the Dubai Mall so Christine and Barry could get the shuttle back to the ship and we to make our appointments.  After getting off the train and making the mile trek back to the mall, I think that a tortoise could have gone faster than us.  There is so much walking today and all of us were thankful for the moving sidewalks.  I arrived at my nail appointment exactly on time, and Michael bummed around the mall until his haircut appointment.

After I was done with my three hour appointment, egads (I just had a regular pedicure and took off my acrylic nails and had gel nails put on), I joined Michael and we walked around the mall looking for new walking sandals for me as I have worn mine out.  At this mall, sensible is not a word they have ever heard of.  Yes, there is a Bloomingdales and all the regular mall stores we are used to, but there was nothing but ridiculous heels and flats or dressy sandals.  We went to the shoe section of the mall * OMG * that had one designer after another featuring shoes no human could possibly walk in.  We walked through the new souk, saw the aquarium and by this time I was bone tired.  We found the backside of the mall, and walked over a bridge to another mall where we were meeting everyone.  We arrived at the Mango Tree restaurant early, and were seated ringside overlooking the dancing fountains lake (this is like the one at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas).  Every half hour, the fountain erupted and put on quite a show.  From our perch over the lake, the Burj Khalifa was in the background.  The area around the Burj Kalifa cost $20 billion to develop.  What’s a few dollars?

Burj Khalifa

Area around the Burj Khalifa, the Dubai Mall.  This is the dancing fountains.

Speaking of the Burj Khalifa, this is the tallest building in the world at 2,723 feet high and is the showpiece of the Emirates.  It opened in 2009 and is named for the ruler of Abu Dhabi who made the loan possible for the building to get finished because Dubai, like the rest of the world, had run out of money.  We were supposed to go up to the top for a special world cruise event, but the entertainment staff got bumped due to limited space. 

We had a late dinner and ordered too much food.  Lillian and Adrian did not join us as Adrian was admitted to the hospital for treatment for congestive heart failure.  The doctors would not let him go home.  As of this writing, he is doing much better and should be able to go home in two days.  We are very glad for that. 

In driving around the city the next day on the tour I was escorting, I noticed that every American fast food and restaurant chain is here.  Starbucks is on every corner and KFC is too.  Sometimes you can forget that you are in a foreign country.  Almost everything is in English.  Anything built before 1980 is considered old.   That is how new this place is.  They knock down the old and put up new. 

Continuing with the tradition of making it bigger and better, we stopped at Jumeirah Beach to admire the Burj al Arab Hotel, the only 7-star hotel in the world that is shaped like the billowing sail on a dhow (a type of teak built boat used for moving goods).  It is built on a manmade island and has its own marina.  You can rent a suite for only $2,000 per night.  Lunch is cheap at only $75 per person.  You cannot go to the hotel unless you have a reason to be there.

Burj Al Arab Hotel

Jumeirah Beach

 We rode along the beach area and then cruised down nip and tuck alley.  You can get any medical procedure you want along this boulevard that has all new clinics.  We then stopped at a mosque, but did not enter.  That was OK with me as I do not want to remove my shoes and put a full head covering on.  This is one gal that would never welcome the dress restrictions that women endure here. 

We went to the Dubai Museum, which is housed in the Al-Fahdi Fort that was built in the late 18^th century and served to protect the Creek from foreign invaders. 

Fort Al Fahidi

Dubai museum is housed in this fort

Dubai is divided by a six mile long body of water called the Creek; it divides the Bur Dubai, the old town from Deira on the opposite bank.  We rode on an abra, or small water taxi, and had a marvelous view of the historic heart of the city. 

Abra sailing ship

Old city of Dubai as seen from the Creek

We then walked along the narrow corridors of various souks:  the textile, the spice, the kitchenware, and the famous gold.  This was quite an adventure and I am sorry we didn’t have enough time to explore the first two and had way too much time at the gold souk.  Walking through the textile souk, we saw small shop after shop displaying the most gorgeous fabrics I have ever seen.  Bolts of fabric flaunted beads and jewels, glittering threads and vibrant colors.  I am a yarn lover, but I could get excited about some of these fabrics for a beautiful flowing cocktail dress (I am drooling).  But I had to keep up with the tour, so I tore myself away from the textiles and then let my nose sample the aromas from the spice souk.  Frankincense filled the air.  Large bags of spices were displayed, all in lovely colors.  Spices here do not come in little bottles at ridiculous grocery store prices.  You purchase what you need by the bag.  I didn’t buy any because I wasn’t sure if I would be able to bring them back into the US.  And besides, who am I kidding – the cook here only uses the basics.  As we walked on, I found the kitchenware street.  Here you can go the the pot store, the tableware store, etc.  This is still the age of specialization here.

Textile souk

Beaded fabrics

Colorful fabrics

Spices

Spice souk

Preparing Frankincense

Now for the granddaddy of the souks here in Dubai – the gold souk.  There are so many little stores here that I wonder how one can decide which vendor to trust.  Some shops had more contemporary designs while others had elaborate hardware that would look good on Cleopatra.  It is said that there is $6 billion worth of gold here at any one time.  I did a little looking, but was not really interested in buying anything (OK, that’s a lie, but I have already exceeded my souvenir budget by a few dollars [wink wink]).   It was starting to get hot and one man in our group said he was feeling dizzy and was going to pass out.  I asked him if he had any water to drink and he said no.  I grabbed a bottle of water from a street vendor and told him to drink it, and he said he had some water on the bus.  I said, “DRINK!”  I wouldn’t let him move until he got some water in him.  After a few moments and plenty of water, he started to feel better.  Dehydration is a serious problem in this heat and people don’t know or forget to replenish lost fluids.  After we returned to the ship, his wife thanked me for saving his life.  Aw gee…..

Gold souk

Over $6 billion worth of gold

Beautiful braclets

 After returning to the ship, neither Michael nor I wanted to go back out even though sailway was at 11pm.  Now that we are in the part of the trip with more ports than sea days, it does get tiring and I for one need some relaxation time.  Some excursions are more physically taxing than others and the heat must also be taken into consideration.   After 91 days, I am starting to get tired.  I long for a whole day where I am not expected to do anything.  I have even gone out without make-up!  Life from home seems so long ago and shipboard life is my new reality.   

 ***

Michael

Join me to experience the wonders of the Arabian Desert.  Wow, did I have a unique experience today escorting the Desert Safari and Falcon Show.  Along with 31 others, we boarded one of eight four wheel drive vehicles.  These were new, air conditioned vehicles complete with roll bars.  More on that later.  After driving through the busy streets of Dubai we headed out about 25 miles to the desert.  And I mean real desert here, just like Lawrence of Arabia saw with huge undulating sand dunes, camels everywhere, ants about an inch long, lizards almost two feet long, bee hives hanging on bushes, black goats and did I mention camels?

Beehive

We stopped at a road side gas station/mini mart and were told to go pee as the next opportunity was quite a ways away.  So, 32 people lined up for one men’s room and one women’s room and this took fully 30 minutes.  Oh well; at least it was interesting to note that even the men’s rooms in Dubai come complete with bidets (read that as hoses, but it does accomplish the same thing!)  We proceed on the highway for another five miles or so and then went off road.  Did I mention they have state of the art highways in Dubai?

We came to a halt so that our eight drivers could deflate the tires on our 4X4’s.  That’s right, deflate the tires to give them greater traction in the sand, because we were going sand surfing!  This was better than any roller coaster ride I have ever been on.  Our car would rumble up to the top of one sand dune, crest the ridge and then slide down the other side part forwards and part sideways.  Do you remember the roll bars?  Because of recent rain (see Beverly’s blog from yesterday) the sand was particularly treacherous.  The guide said that normally it is like driving on snow but today it was more like ice.  We had several moments when we could easily have gone over; probably not but it seemed that way at the time.

Skiing down the sand dunes

We concluded the sand surfing and went next to a camel ranch.  Here they raise racing camels, which are very valuable animals in this part of the world, selling for up to $40,000 each.  Next we stopped at an Arabian campsite; not a real one but one set up to show us a number of wondrous things.  First was a falcon show, starring a young Peregrine falcon.  These are the fastest animals in the world, reaching speeds of 200 MPH. He explained how they were captured, trained and used, both historically (for hunting) and today (just a rich man’s sport).  He then demonstrated the bird’s skills, and it was quite amazing … except for the part where the bird started to chase its own shadow.  He was a youngster and would get off this embarrassing habit.

This is a good looking racing camel

Falcon handler

Next, we got to ride the camel.  That’s right; yours truly got on and rode the camel for maybe ten minutes which was long enough.  Riding a camel is fine; it’s the getting on and off part that is challenging.  We had a chance to smoke the water pipes called shisha’s (I passed) and ride little toboggans down another sand dune (this I also passed).  What I couldn’t pass up was the chance to get my first ever henna tattoo.  It’s a scorpion, and it will be with me for the next month or so.  This ended the tour and we headed back to the ship for lunch.

Henna tattoo of a scorpion

Michael riding a camel