Dubai, United Arab Emirates

This is part of a series called Seabourn Half-World cruise

Well, our sojourn around India finally came to an end. Unfortunately, during our last day in Jaipur, Glen developed an unpleasant case of “Delhi Belly” and, as a consequence,

Two vehicles got stuck and had to be pulled out.

An interesting sticker set -- iCamel?? — An interesting sticker set — iCamel??

Deb and Glen enjoying a camel ride... — Deb and Glen enjoying a camel ride…

... until it was time to get off! — … until it was time to get off!

his day in Mumbai was mostly spent in bed. Our friends enjoyed the day and we enjoyed the ocean views from our hotel. The next day, we left to meet our ship again in Dubai. As fate would have it, our flight came in just at the end of a sand storm and in the middle of a hard rainstorm. Visibility was drastically reduced and things were a bit bumpy, but we made it safe and sound.

We really didn’t get to spend a lot of time in Dubai, but enjoyed what little time we did have. Our one regret was that there wasn’t time to visit our friends Ana and Steve – so I guess we will have to go back again soon! While Dubai became a Sheikdom in the late 1800s and then came under British protection until their independence in 1971, there really wasn’t much development until the mid 1960s when oil was discovered. Relative to its neighbors, however, Dubai doesn’t really have that much oil and they (correctly) decided to diversify by becoming a free trade zone and a center of tourism. And, in that regard, they have become very successful.

In a lot of respects, Dubai reminded us of Las Vegas – a city of dreams, created from nothing, in the middle of the desert. Everything is larger than life, including a stunning array of architectural marvels (including the tallest building in the world – the Burj Khalifa) and over 70 shopping malls. As an example, the Mall of Dubai is the largest shopping mall in the world. It has pretty much every high-end chain or boutique in the world there, along with a giant aquarium, massive fountains and a waterfall, and a skating rink. And, if you bring the little ones, you can push them along in carts shaped like cars – equipped with LED video screens where they can watch Barney. Amazing!

Contrasting the shopping mall experience, we visited the traditional markets (souks), down by the Dubai Creek. These are densely packed shopping bazaars that are organized around what they sell – spices, utensils, textiles, and gold. In the gold souk alone, there are over 250 shops just dripping with 22 carat (and even 24 carat) gold! Souks were traditionally built on the waterfront so that boats from as far away as China could easily offload their goods and the bartering would begin. In many respects, it is no different today. We ended buying some saffron and traditional wear and had a great time.

We also took a desert safari – a trip over the desert dunes in 4WD vehicles. It was great to get out into the desert and we got our adrenaline rush zooming up and down rather steep dunes. We saw a large number of camels that seem to be used mostly for tourism (e.g., camel rides) that, of course, we partook in. Riding a camel is a lot of fun, but the getting up/getting down part can be a bit jarring when you aren’t expecting it!

All in all, it was a short, intense, and enjoyable time. Now, off to Oman!

This entry was posted in Cruising, Travel, UAE

Glen Bruels

I am a traveler and sometimes clay sculptor, following a long career working in consulting. My work allowed me to travel the world extensively and I was hooked. Today, I travel with my wife/best friend to explore new places, meet new people, and learn new things.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

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Glen Bruels

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