DUBAI

Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMERITES   SATURDAY 12TH TO 14TH July 2014

36 hours in Dubai.

Since we booked this flight the time has changed about 5 times. We are now scheduled to arrive at 3.45 AM.  Should be at the hotel by 5am. Bloody hell.  So we get to pay for a hotel for a few hours!

Accomm-  Dubai Premier Inn, not to far from the airport.

Our flight was relatively painless and we arrived about 40 minutes early so was nice to be in bed by 4 am. 
The hotel is quiet nice. The public areas are wonderful with big marble bathrooms. 

Today we did a private car tour. We were picked up at the hotel and did a four hour tour of the main attractions.  

The temperature was fine - in our air conditioned car!!  Outside not so much.  

We would step out at an attraction and our sunnies would fog up totally leaving us blind!  

Dubai is covered in what looks like the usual smog to be found in a city of over 2 million people. A heavy grey cloud blocking out the sun totally. But it is not smog. It is fog. Generated by the high humidity. Even poor Dubai is sweating. It is not just us. 

The traffic seemed very heavy - until we found out that a Sunday is not actually Sunday.  Friday is actually Sunday.  As in the weekend is Friday and Saturday. Make a lot of sense. Sunday being the sabbath and all. So Sunday traffic was actually a normal working day. 

We went to Dubai Creek. It is not a small muddy creek. It is a major river with the port mouth and a large tourist centre. We saw air conditioned ATMs. The machines were in glass boxes bigger than an old phone box!

And of course the air conditioned bus shelters. 

We then went to the Dubai museum in Old Down Town. They had some really nice displays. 

And then the very exciting Markets visit. We went to the Fish, Meat and the Fruit Markets. So wonderful. Such awesome sights and smells. 

The fruit was very similar to home. Probably as almost all of it it imported. The big difference was the dates. Who knew that there were so many different kinds of dates. 

The guys in the fish markets loved us. Especially when we started talking about money. When we showed then an Aussie $50 note they went mad. Especially when we said to try and tear it. They all passed it around and had a go. Then more 
would come. Not sure if they loved the money or Sarah best. "Take our photo".   The fish market had a huge section of cured and/or dried fish. 

The meat markets were also great. Heads, feet, tongues, intestines etc. A great visit. Everyone should always go to local 
markets. 

We then drove along the beach a bit.  We saw a number of public beaches – open beaches – where bachelors can go, family beaches where men can only go with a family, but most were private beaches.

Although humans have lived in Dubai for over 5000 years the city as we now know it didn’t develop until 1971 when the British left the Persian Gulf. Dubai joined with six other Sheikdoms and formed the United Arab Emirates.

Dubai had the straightest coastline of any city.  And not enough of it to cope with the demand for luxury houses. So they build a stack of islands and added 70 kms of beach front.

The nationals, know as Emitatis, make up 15% of the population. They get free Education, free medical, free housing.  You cannot become an Emiratis. Citizenship is not given out.  

Dubai is the fasters growing city in the world.  In 1991 it had one tall building.  Now……. 

There is no standard address system in Dubai, making delivery services a challenge. Instead of a line for address, there is a space to draw a map or leave instructions such as this: “I live on the street after the airport road, but before the roundabout, Go past the mosque and make a U-turn. It’s the second house on the left.”  

In 2009 they opened the Dubai metro system. It serves most of the city including stations at the main hotels.  The whole system was built in under two years.  Longer than it had taken Canberra to build one stupid corner on the Cotter Road in Weston Creek.  

We went to the Burj Al Arab, the most luxurious hotel in the world.  7 Stars.  They didn’t let us is.  It is built on an island (that was built) and you need a reservation to be able to drive over the bridge.

We then visited the Palms. A collection of man made islands in the shape of a palm tree.  We were able to drive out to the ‘top of the palm’ and see the hotel.  Access to the fronds is through boom gates to residents only.  They are not called streets they are called Fronds, as in Smith Frond. 

Then the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. It has 164 floors! And is 829.8 meters high.  That higher than Mount Ainslie is ABOVE SEA LEVEL. 

The top 15 floors are empty. No one can live there. But it still has the record for the highest occupied floor in the world.  Too tall for good photos.  

A quick visit to a Mosque then home to the hotel for some food.  It is Ramadan and you cannot eat in public.  Not even take a sip of water.

Next....The Desert Safari.

We booked with a company called Platinum Heritage tours and were not disappointed.  When the guy came to collect us in our very swish van he told us that we had been upgraded to the Platinum tour. The drive from the city to the Dubai Wildlife Conservation park was great -fast but great. About one kilometre from the worlds tallest building is the desert. Makes you realise that this whole city is built on sand!

On the way we went past the camel area. Camel racing is UAE national sport. And it is massive. The winner of a race receives over $1,000,000, yes dollars, as well as prizes like luxury cars. We expressed an interest in the racing so we detoured through the camel area. 

And just like driving past any race track in the afternoon we saw people out 'ponying' the teams. But it was hundreds and hundreds of camels out for slow exercise. Most of them looked like yearlings. One guy riding then leading four or five others. They were all done up in bright rugs "for protection", "from the heat?"

The race track is massive. Over 8kms long and twisty not straight. There is a track running parallel. The camels are not ridden by people. They are ridden by 'mechanical jockeys' a fact the Raina gained great kudos on the Circumnavigation cruise for being the only one in trivia to know.

We then went around to what looked like 'Camel land'.  The stable complexes, retail shops selling feed, tack and of course jockeys. There were rows and rows of trucks carting round bales of what looked like meadow hay.  This is one of the only non indigenous plants grown in the UAE - grown with massive amounts of irrigation in the desert.

We so want to go and see camel racing!

Some more fast driving then we arrived at the conservation park in the true desert. 

We then transfered to our 1950's vintage Land Rovers. After donning the appropriate headwear of course.

The drive was lovely. We saw gazelle 

and Oryx 

as well as a number of lizards, including the PXXX, a good sized lizard that is a delicacy but only the Sheik is allowed to eat them. Too fast for a photo, but nice photos of following/ trying to find him.

The Hawk display was next. We arrived at our 'sundowners' spot for sunset and the hawk display. Turkish rugs, cushions and as the sun disappeared fruit and drinks.  All the staff then got to break their fast while we watched the hawk display. 

And it was very interesting. It really is the sport of the rich and famous. Hawks only travel through the area in September October. The rest of the year is too hot for them. So the Sheiks catch them during that period. They catch them by catching quail, pigeons etc, plucking out the flight feathers, strapping a 'backpack' onto them containing a tangle of string and then throwing them out at passing hawks. The hawk goes for the struggling bird and as it hits it the well pack backpack pops open and tangles the bird. He then spends around two months 'training' the bird.

Now Hawks...to quote Forrest Gump "I may not be a smart .." and smart they are not. They may be the fastest creature in the world, reaching speeds of over 350 kph when descending but they are not smart. They have no bond with the trainer/handler. It is all about food. The guy waves a quail on a string around until the hawk grabs it them he pulls it in. It takes about 5 weeks to train them.

The Hawk are only kept for one year then released the following September and another one is caught. (Traditionally they would be released by November - or they would have died). Like all the Sheiks toys they live in absolute luxury. Pens around 100 x 30 meters and 10 metres high - fully air conditioned - or they would die. It was great.

It was them onto our 'ships of the desert' for our 30 minute camel trek. It was great, plodding along through the desert as the night got darker.

We then arrived at the dinner spot. Stunning tables set up around an oasis with lanterns, music, henna tattoos, a shisha pipe AND SO MUCH FOOD. The food was amazing but what was given to us would have feed six people a banquet. The bread was the best thing - thin (like 1mm thin) crispy golden bread. Lentil soup, tabouli, salads, falafel, five different meats, babaganosh, the best humas ever, samosa and on and on.

We then drove back to the entrance, got back into the luxury car and speed home. A fantastic night.

And introducing THE PHOTO OF THE TRIP!!!!!!!

Day 3.
Leisurely start then off for another tour.  We got a taxi and negotiated a price. 

Taxis here are owned by the government. The drivers work for a wage.  They are all friendly and happy and have clean cars.

We went to the Gold Souks. Not as wonderful as we thought. The driver kept asking how many kilos we were going to buy. Cause people obviously buy by the kilo.  This is where the locals go to buy things for the dowry of their daughters. 

Then the spice markets and bought a few things. One guy was very entertaining. We shall declare what we bought and see if we can bring the home.

Right in the middle of town, next to the banks etc, is the lowest tech dock you have every seen. Really old timber boats being loaded by hand. Loaded with fridges and washing machines and food and all sorts. Off to Oman and other places. Ocean voyages! And porters loading it all with wheel barrows and on their backs.

We drove over 'The Floating Bridge'. This is a perfectly normal looking bridge. Only thing is at 8 pm the bridge goes DOWN. Not up, to allow the ships through at night.  In the morning it is winched back up from the floor of the large river, is washed off and the cars go back over it. Bizarre.

We were then kidnapped for a while and taken for drives over everything -but we did get to see the golf course in the middle of town.  Guess it's not cheap to play there.
Tip - when negotiating a price per hour tell him how long you want first!!! 

We then went back to the hotel, picked up our gear and went to the airport.

The Emirates Club is amazing.  OMG. After a shower, a lovely meal and a few Moets and Voss water we are feeling great.  Then a 5 hr economy seat flight to Vienna.  

We are in Austria now!!!!  Click on the next tab!