I enjoyed my 2nd day in Dubai even more than my first. my hotel is in Diera, the side of Dubai that is east of the 'creek' which provides the port activities for Dubai. The west side is Bur Dubai. The city tour goes up the west side and back down the east. I got off at the 'old souk' area for some shopping where I bought a few things for me and for others.
We also went by the old town area and a heritage village. Dubai started out as a pearl fishing village 3000 years ago. The UAE has only existed for about 40 years and if you look past the glitz and glamour there are the strong roots of an Islamic port town. Transportation of goods to other countries is still done by Dhow. When we drove down the creekside in Diera past the gold and spice souks we could see all the Dhows docked against the bank being manually loaded with appliances, electronics, etc. and in the background were the huge cruise ships visiting the port. What a contrast!
I had a great Chicken biryani at a creekside cafe full of workers on their lunch break while I waited for my Dhow Cruise. I enjoyed an hour seeing the port from the water.
The next day I took the morning off to read, check e-mail and blog. Then headed over to the pick up point for my sunset desert tour in time to stop for a light lunch and people watching.
The bus took us about 40 min out of town to a desert camp / restaurant where we could briefly ride a camel, interact with a falcon, get a henna design and then watch the sunset. This was included with my 2 day Big Bus pass, but I also opted to stay for the dinner & entertainment, as did 4 others. I had an enjoyable time with Anusha and Aaron at the table next to me.
I love making new friends. The dinner was fabulous, the entertainment was good especially the man who played a guitar-like instrument, the fire dancer and a man who spun around and made designs with large metal plates (almost like our native hoop dancers) and the atmosphere couldn't have been better. A wonderful way to wrap up my visit.
We also went by the old town area and a heritage village. Dubai started out as a pearl fishing village 3000 years ago. The UAE has only existed for about 40 years and if you look past the glitz and glamour there are the strong roots of an Islamic port town. Transportation of goods to other countries is still done by Dhow. When we drove down the creekside in Diera past the gold and spice souks we could see all the Dhows docked against the bank being manually loaded with appliances, electronics, etc. and in the background were the huge cruise ships visiting the port. What a contrast!
I had a great Chicken biryani at a creekside cafe full of workers on their lunch break while I waited for my Dhow Cruise. I enjoyed an hour seeing the port from the water.
The next day I took the morning off to read, check e-mail and blog. Then headed over to the pick up point for my sunset desert tour in time to stop for a light lunch and people watching.
The bus took us about 40 min out of town to a desert camp / restaurant where we could briefly ride a camel, interact with a falcon, get a henna design and then watch the sunset. This was included with my 2 day Big Bus pass, but I also opted to stay for the dinner & entertainment, as did 4 others. I had an enjoyable time with Anusha and Aaron at the table next to me.
I love making new friends. The dinner was fabulous, the entertainment was good especially the man who played a guitar-like instrument, the fire dancer and a man who spun around and made designs with large metal plates (almost like our native hoop dancers) and the atmosphere couldn't have been better. A wonderful way to wrap up my visit.
Great blog entries Karen. BTW Dad is printing your blogs and taking them over to Mom for her to catch up on your travels. Keep 'em coming
ReplyDeleteThanks, they've been more fun to create than I thought they'd be.
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