Yabba Dabba Dubai!!!

Last night we joined all the passengers on deck for the sail-in to Dubai - although the city was covered in a sand haze - we could pick out the Burj al Arab and the Burj Kalifa on the skyline immediately. The QE2 is also docked beside our ship - it was originally bought to be converted to a 7 star hotel - before the GFC hit. Dubai has been hit very hard as property prices have dropped by around 40% in the last two years. 

We arrived in Dubai at about 7.30pm and immediately a long red carpet was rolled out from the modern terminal, and we were given the clearance to disembark - we wanted to get off the ship to explore. A group of about 14 of us, took three taxis and went to the largest shopping centre in the world - Dubai Mall. As we were driving, I felt like we were in ‘Disneyland on steroids’, row after row of the most stunning architectural masterpieces that I have ever seen - I felt quite overwhelmed and unable to take it all in. After some confusion caused when the taxi drivers let us off at different doors to the centre, we finally all met up and watched the “Dancing Waters” at the Dubai Fountain. 

We went into the Dubai Mall after the show and wandered around a bit, got local currency (Dirhams) from the ATM’s and went to a Lebanese restaurant for a bit of supper and drinks. Most of the group ordered fabulous juice concoctions, while we had a mezze plate with coffees - delicious. After our drinks, the group broke up and some went back to the ship, while others took the time to explore the centre - most of the world’s major retailers are located here - over 1200 shops, including aquarium, Olympic sized ice rink and zoo.

The next day, we had a city highlights tour booked with the same group as we have had in India. Our guide, Shehnaaz, who was originally from Johannesburg, did a wonderful job of showing us around the city - she is so knowledgable and enthusiastic about Dubai, that it is hard not to be caught up in her excitement. She was happy to answer all our questions - some were quite personal - as we genuinely wanted to understand the culture and religion of Dubai. Unfortunately, we are in Dubai on a Friday, the holy day of the week - so many places were closed, with the markets opening after afternoon prayers, about 4.30pm.

Firstly, we went to the Jumeirah Grand Mosque, which also houses the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for cultural understanding - which is designed to give non-moslems an insight to the real traditions and beliefs of Islam. In my opinion, she did more to advance our understanding of Islam in half an hour, than I had learned in my lifetime.  She was adamant that terrorists etc are in no way representative of the mainstream Islam, and are not supported by other moslems or their leaders. Killing and suicide were absolutely the actions of ‘bad people’, who act against Islam - not for it. Those who die by suicide are not able to be buried in Moslem tradition. She said that the basic premise of all religions is to live a good, peaceful life - how true!! 

There are more than 200 different races co-existing in Dubai - and about 94% are moslem. Only 20% are Emiraties, the rest are expats. Dubai is a tax free state - and native Dubai citizens get free housing, medical and education. To live in Dubai, as an expat, you must be employed - if you lose your job you have only 30days to get a new one - or leave the country. The only way to become an Emiratie and enjoy the benefits is to marry a local man - expat men can never become citizens!! Our Indian taxi driver told us that he can save enough money in three years in Dubai to be able to go back and buy a house in India - so it is a sacrifice that he makes for the future of his family and the education of his children - he is living in a small one bedroom apartment with four other men!!

One of the most striking first impressions of Dubai is the range of dress - from the full black Abuyah of the women to denim shorts - from men in flowing white robes and head pieces of bedouin dress to modern suits and everything in between. She was wonderful at answering questions about the dress of the men and women - explaining those aspects which were a requirement of Islam, those which are traditional Arabic and bedouin styles, and the levels of choice that are available. 

Shehnaaz told us that she was moslem, but was dressed in modern western capri pants, and t-shirt - ‘too hot to wear the Abuyah today’. From what she said, it is only an Islamic requirement that women are covered to the wrists and ankles, with headscarf when entering the mosques - everything else is personal choice, and family tradition. Arnold and a number of the men bought a traditional bedouin headdress from the markets - they look like a tribe from Lawrence of Arabia!!

Our tour continued along the beachside road of the ‘Beverley Hills’ of Dubai where Dubai residents were given a home by the Sheikh - to the Miraj Islamic Arts Centre - an amazing collection of middle eastern art - unfortunately photos weren’t allowed - they are worried about their valuable art works being copied. 

We spent a very full day visiting all the usual highlights - Souk Madinat Jumeirah (Many places have ‘Jumeirah in their name - it means ‘paradise’), Palm Jumeirah (the man made islands shaped like Palm trees), Atlantis Hotel aquarium and water park, Burj Al Arab, Mall of the Emirates and its indoor snow fields, the Old City (anything older than three years is considered old), a traditional ABRA ride on Dubai creek, the gold and spice souks, markets, and Old Dubai Al-Fahaidi Fort which has been converted into an excellent museum. 

The museum was a wonderful representation of the changes in Dubai over the past 30 years from fishing and pearling village to the fastest growing modern city on earth. The Dubai airport is only three years old but is being replaced by a new one which will be the largest in the world - it is amazing what money can do!! We had lunch in a delightful little cafe Basta Arts Cafe near the museum with a fabulous salad and wraps with salmon and avocado. The local drink is an icy fresh mint and lemon concoction - just what the doctor ordered to refresh in the heat.

We finished the day back at the Dubai Mall - had to drag Arnold past the largest lolly shop in the world - Candylicious!!  Along one side of the Mall is the Dubai Fountain and behind it is the tallest building in the world - Burj Kalifa at over 180 floors - there is apparently provision for another 20 floors to be built at the top. Shehnaaz had ordered our tickets to go to the top about three weeks ago - they are 100 DHS when pre-ordered or 400DHS if purchased on the day. We heard later that other passengers had tried to get tickets on the day, but they were all sold out - thanks Shehnaaz!!

Although we had the tickets, we hadn’t made a definite decision about whether or not we would face the fear and go to the top. Remember that Arnold stayed at the bottom of the Tower in KL and didn’t venture up the gondola in Langkawi!!! All day he kept asking me if I would mind if he didn’t go up - I said of course not, it was his choice. As we were walking into the entrance he said that he didn’t want to go and offered his ticket to Shehnaaz. She wouldn’t take it and told him he would regret it if he didn’t go - so - surprise, surprise - he came along!!! The lift ride is over 40 kms per minute so we were up in less than a minute - you didn’t feel like you were moving until the ears popped at the 80th floor - the inside of the lift is like a disco with flashing lights and TV screens - before we knew it, the doors opened on the 124th floor - and what a fabulous view!!!  - just like a miniature village laid out in front of us. 

Another fear conquered!! Yahh!! We even ventured outside to the open air viewing deck - although the haze made it difficult to get a good view of the city area - I was struck by the absence of greenery on the vista - large expanses of desert sprinkled with the turquoise blue of swimming pools, spaghetti style freeway systems and a couple of golf courses - true desert landscape. I didn’t feel nervous at any time - just enjoyed the experience - now to get back to the coast and venture to the top of the Q1 building - 88 floors will be nothing after this!!

After visiting the top of the Burj, Shehnaaz made an appointment for Arnold to have a massage at the Dubai Mall - his back is still giving him trouble. There was two sections - one for men and one for women - completely separate. I was going to have a look around the shops while he was there - but we had done so much walking in the heat that my feet were swollen and had blisters, so I just sat and waited. Before returning to the ship, we wanted to try middle eastern food, so found a restaurant and had a sampler platter - delicious lamb, raisin and pine nut meatballs, spinach pastries, salads, tabbouleh, dips and breads - although the food on the ship is excellent - we really enjoyed a local meal. The city really comes alive at night - the mall and surrounds were full of families enjoying themselves even at 10.00pm. Most stores are opened at 10.00am and don’t close until around midnight. 

On the wall inside the Burj Kalifa is a quote from the current Sheikh Mohammed- 

“The word impossible is not in the leader’s dictionary. No matter how big the challenges, strong faith, determination and resolve will overcome them.” 

This seems to be the philosophy of Dubai -  “build it and they will come”! A modern map of Dubai has large areas of land marked for development - various activities are confined to developments areas - there is Knowledge Village, Healthcare City, Motor City, Golf City, Flower city, Sports City, Media Production City, Business City and International Finance City to name a few - beside each title on the map in brackets are either - proposed or under construction. 

Because it is the middle of summer and is very hot, (today was 45 degrees and very humid) we saw a large number of cranes working at night. We were struck by the differences with India - perhaps it can be summed up by our taxi driver from Cochin who said that the rulers in Dubai are motivated to make life better for the people while the rulers in India want to make life better for themselves.

We crammed so much into a short time in Dubai - had a wonderful time - faced fears and we will definitely be back. We would highly recommend Shehnaaz if you are looking to do some independent touring in Dubai Her contact is by email: oceancalm@yahoo.com.

Wow, this has been a bit of a rave -sorry, but I was impressed  by Dubai - the more we are able to travel - the more we realise what a fabulous diverse world we live in - if only everyone could get on with each other!! I will put up another post with more photos. 

Our next port is Salalah in Oman - the captain has just informed that we will be late getting into Salalah - hope we don’t miss our tour here - this is becoming a very common refrain!! 

Cheers