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Tue, 19.11.2013: Dubai, cloudy/sunny, 31°C
In the morning we worked on our website writing about our time in Canada and left at 11am. We took the metro and then two different buses heading for the Palm Jumeirah Island. The second bus given for our route on the internet turned out to be a night bus, so we caught another one which didn't go where it was supposed to go, due to construction.
We got off and then had quite a walk which even went over a grass area at the front of a hotel - there was no pedestrian pavement due to the aforementioned construction. Not an easy route but we made it to the monorail station to get us to the Atlantis Hotel.
The Palm Jumeirah is an artificial archipelago extending out into the Persian Gulf. It is the smallest of three planned islands and the only one open at present even though it is still under construction. It is in the shape of a palm tree with a trunk, a crown with 17 fronds, and a surrounding crescent island. It's total area is larger than 800 football pitches. The island doubled the length of the Dubai coastline!
We took the 5.4km long monorail to get to the Atlantis Hotel at the foot of the island. The return journey cost under $10 and gave us a good view of the approaching hotel. The resort includes a water park, underwater exhibits, even underwater suites and a dolphin education and conservation centre.
We were only allowed in to see a small part of the resort as we are not guests - we didn't even bother to find out just how much it would cost as the answer would be "too much!" There were a few shops and we had a burger and chips at one of the small restaurants. Then we walked out to see the Persian Gulf and take some photos.
It wasn't really worth getting the monorail seeing as we weren't allowed to look around so we returned and then walked back the same way and tried to find the bus stop for the way back. We got off and went to take a look at the Madinat Jumeirah Hotel which is the largest resort in Dubai, designed to resemble a traditional Arabian town.
There are two hotels, 29 summer houses, and 5.4km of waterways connecting the various parts of the resort with water taxis and a souk. We weren't allowed into the hotel but could walk around the souk and got some good shots of the Burj al Arab Hotel.
Dubai: Day 2
The Burj al Arab is famous for being the world's only 7 star hotel and stands on an artificial island connected to the mainland by a private curving bridge. It was built to resemble the sail of a dhow, a type of Arabian vessel, opened in 1999 and became an iconic symbol of Dubai.
There is a great YouTube video about the construction of the Burj Al Arab: Click here
There are 28 double-story floors which accommodate 202 bedroom suites ranging from 169 m2 to 780 m2 - the Royal Suite will knock you back $20,000 per night. Needless to say we weren't allowed in. A friend of ours made a reservation at one of the restaurants inside the hotel so she could get inside and take photos. Then she feigned illness before eating and mounting up a huge bill for food and drinks.
She gave us the tip but she is young and beautiful and wore a slinky black dress for the occasion. She had on an old pair of sandals but that didn't matter because no one was looking at her feet! Anyway, we weren't going to buy new clothes which meant we didn't even get past the front barrier and had a difficult job trying to get photos without the security guards being in the picture.
Back in our apartment we watched the World Cup qualifier matches on our computer. We are 3 hours ahead so we didn't get to bed until 1 am.
Wed, 20.11.2013: Dubai, sunny, 29°C
I made myself some porridge for breakfast, wrote the diary and then we got the metro back to the Burj Khalifa to take some daytime photos. The building is so big it was quite a walk. We even saw the window cleaners - oh boy, what a job! It takes one month to clean all the windows!
Here are some great YouTube videos about the Burj Khalifa:
Window cleaning the world's tallest building
Burj Khalifa, Dubai [National Geographic]
We got back on the metro and went down to the Dubai Marina - an artificial two mile long canal city surrounded by skyscrapers. It is entirely man-made and one of the few places where Europeans are in the majority.
Dubai Marina Walk is a 7km long pedestrian walkway with cafés and restaurants along the waterfront, and boats moored up alongside. Another long walk for us so we went for a Chinese meal in between all the photos.
Afterwards we went to the Mall of the Emirates to see the indoor skiing area. It is kept at -3 degrees inside and the pass includes clothing hire, sticks and skis, use of the chair lifts and access to toboggan runs and a ride inside a large rolling ball. It must cost a fortune to keep cold in the middle of the desert!
We didn't get back until after 10pm and were really tired. Kirsten opened a cupboard door and one of the hinges broke so we used a ladle to put through the door handles to keep it in place until we could call reception and let them know!
Dubai: Day 3
Thu, 21.11.2013: Dubai, rain/cloudy, then sunny, 25°C
We had an early start to get to the Jumeirah Mosque which offers tours for tourists at 10am. We caught the bus at 8-25am, got stuck in traffic, and thought we would miss the tour completely. Fortunately we just made it and got in the queue.
We paid 10 Dhs each ($2-70), had to take our shoes off and were given scarves to cover our heads. The talk was given by a woman who is English and has been married to a Muslim from Dubai for 22 years. She had a typical British sense of humour and explained everything very well.
The mosque was built in 1976 and we were told that Islam is a non-violent religion but there are "bad people" who preach hatred. There are 5 pillars of Islam which are followed and there are 5 prayers each day based on the lunar cycle - sunrise, around noon, mid-afternoon, sunset and evening. The times for the prayers are listed on an electronic board and work places provided prayer rooms. They must pray towards Mecca and must visit Mecca at least once in their lifetimes unless they cannot afford it or are physically unable to do so.
Men and women must dress modestly. The UAE is different from other Islamic countries by regulating preaching themes (the same theme is preached on each Friday throughout the country) and giving women the choice of whether to cover their faces or not. Also, they do not have "arranged" marriages as such, they are just arranged through the family - i.e. a man goes to his mother and tells her who he would like to marry. The mother then goes to the mother of the prospective future wife to ask.
Dubai: Day 4
It was a very good talk that lasted over an hour and included a great deal more than I have written here. We thanked our hostess and handed in our scarves on our way out. Our bus ride back took less than half the time as it was no longer rush hour. Then I used our washing machine again and hung things out on the balcony to dry and then spent a few hours writing our website.
Fri, 22.11.2013: Dubai, rain/cloudy, 25°C
We spent most of the day doing more washing and working on the website. At 5pm we got the metro to Wafi Mall and were actually allowed inside Raffles Dubai - a large 5 star hotel! It's ironic that Raffles Singapore wouldn't let us in 17 years ago and we had to go to the very down market Raffles café instead. At least we could take some photos of the far more modern Dubai version of the hotel.
Wafi Mall has an Egyptian theme and style with pyramids as part of the roof. It seemed far more exclusive and up market and we felt as though we had the whole place to ourselves - there was hardly anyone there.
The shops were all spacious and well laid out and even included a Marks and Spencer's! We also went to the Khan Murjan Souk which is on the ground floor. We shared a chicken wrap, a large tea and a strawberry cheesecake at Starbucks and then went to watch the Light and Sound show - a kaleidoscope of patterns projected onto the outside walls of the mall called "The return of the Pharaohs."
An enjoyable final evening in Dubai.
Dubai: Day 5
