I took my iPad with me and was recording our every day activities, as well as answering questions on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire game and playing sudoku.
We left PDX at 1pm on Wednesday, and arrived to Dubai at 9pm on Thursday. 12 hours difference between the 2 places. So, if it was 9am Friday morning in Dubai, it was 9pm Thursday evening in Portland. Fun, huh?
So here are my notes:
Wednesday- Thursday, Jan.7-8
Watched "Shark Tank" episodes on the plane; watched "Julie and Julia" and "Boyhood" movies. 4 hrs flying from PDX to Atlanta, then 13 hrs to Dubai. Our seats didn't recline, and we were very tired. It was good to finally lie down and sleep at the hotel.
Friday, Jan.9
Had breakfast at the hotel, took taxi to the Jumeirah Beach, aka The Walk. It is a new area with shopping and restaurants on the beach. A lot is still under construction. Not very impressive. Sat in Starbucks, checked emails, FB, then caught a taxi to the Dubai Mall - very impressive and big. On the outside, it has access to the "singing" fountains, a copy of the Bellagio's in Las Vegas, and the access to Burj Dubai (aka Burj Khalifa). Walked several miles to get on a train to go to our hotel to pick up our luggage, but ended up taking a taxi. We walked approximately 16+ miles that day (Mike has an iPhone app with this data).
At 6pm we took a taxi to the sea terminal and got on our Cruise Ship, Costa Serena. The biggest ship Costa owns.
Saturday, Jan.10
Sailing all day
Sunday - Monday, Jan.11-12: Muscat
Muscat is the capital of Oman, and it dates back to the 2nd century. It used to be the hub of the frankincense trade between Southern Arabia and Greece, Rome and the Mediterranean. The first foreigner to reach it was Portugese explorer Vasco de Gama, who landed in Oman on his way to India. The Portugese conquered the area in 1507 and ruled for 2 centuries.
The Sultanate of Oman borders the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. It is lapped by the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf. It has its own Sea of Oman. "Oman" is the only country that starts with an "O". When you meet someone for the first time, you say "Salam Aleykum", and the response should be "Aleykum Salam".
The Sultanate is a monarchy and the head of state and government is Sltan Qaboos, who came to power in 1970.
Took the Mystical Muscat bus tour. Visited the Grand Mosque - very impressive with marble floors, golden and Svarovski crystal massive chandeliers; went to souk ("market") full of silverware, gold, fabrics and various spices; proceeded to the museum of Omani heritage and to the outside of Al Alam Palace.
Monday, Jan.12
Leaving Muscat at 2pm and sailing to Khasab, also in Oman.
Tuesday, Jan.13
Took a traditional Omani dhow ("boat") to the fjord which is known as a "Norway of Arabia". Sailed to the Telegraph Island where the British laid the first telegraph cable in 1864 and which ran from India to Iraq. Mike and others swam in the fjord while I enjoyed the view. On the way back we talked to the tourists from Bulgaria and Holland.
Took Traditional Gala Night pictures.
Left Oman at 6pm to arrive in Abu Dhabi early Wednesday morning.
Wednesday, Jan.14: Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi is the capital of UAE. It was founded in 1761 and named after a breed of gazelle by a sheikh. UAE is one of the richest countries in the world. It became independent in 1971 and composed of 7 emirates: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Qaiwain, Ras al-Khaimah and Fujairah. The union is governed by a Supreme Council formed by the 7 Rulers ("Sheikhs"). Before 1971 they were known as the Trucial States, referring to a 19th c. truce between the British and some Arab sheikhs. Up until last century, the region was a simple land, with a tribal society based on sheep and goat farming and fishing. After large deposits of oil were discovered in 1959, the mud huts were quickly replaced with banks and luxury shops. The recent addition of Abu Dhabi Ferrari World and the Yas Marina F1 Circuit shifted the region towards motor sport and entertainment. There are models for the future development of the Guggenheim, the Louvre and Sheikh Zayed National Museum.
The Abu Dhabi tour took us to the Marina Cafe for the skyline pictures, then Heritage Village with houses and museum showing the daily life of the Arabs before the oil was discovered. There we took a picture by the camel. Then we were taken to the Marina Mall that looks just like any U.S. mall, and got coffee at Starbucks. On the way to the ship we stopped at the Abu Dhabi cultural center and drove by the Corniche ("Promenade"). On this tour we talked to a couple from Odessa who now live in NY. Our tour guide was Serbian who did the tour in both English and and French. He was very knowledgeable and easily answered any questions. He said that "Abu Dhabi" is translated as "Father of gazelle" (?). At the end I thanked him in Serbian saying "Hvala". I think he was surprised to hear that :)
Thursday, Jan.15: Dubai
Dubai is considered the pearl of the UAE. It is also the name of one of the 7 emirates. The main source of income are economic free zones and tourism. The first written evidence of city of Dubai dates back to 1799. In 1892 Dubai became a British protectorate. Over the years the city grew as a financial center. Despite its luxury today, it remains a Muslim city with modern Islamic architecture. The futuristic projects include the Palm Islands, Dubai International City, Burj Khalifa, Dubai Marina, Jumeirah Island, Dubai Festival City, Dubailand and the Mall of the Emirates with the ski-slop. There are 3 things one can do in Dubai in 1 day: go to the beach, to the Safari in a desert, and ski.
Today on a tour the shuttle bus took us past Burj Al Arab, then Jumeirah Mosque, Al Fahidi fort with a museum inside showing the life before A/C. Then we crossed the creek on the Abraham boat and visited the spice and gold souks ("markets").
All in all we enjoyed the tour except for the markets where every seller was "jumping" at us trying to sell spices, pashmina scarves, watches or gold. We also did not like the old part of the town which was extremely poor :(
Friday, Jan.16
It was time to leave the boat. We stayed till 2pm, had breakfast, checked the free and slow internet at the cruise terminal, read books, caught tan, had lunch and took a taxi to our Holiday Inn hotel. We checked in, surfed a much faster internet (!), and then walked to the Festival City Mall. Huge Mall with lots of stores, including Ikea, Ace Hardware, many other European and local stores. We planned on having dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe (since we didn't locate the food court at the time), but accidentally walked by an interesting local food place. The decision was made, and the food was delicious! First, they served chickpeas in a broth, then salad and shush kebabs with rice that we shared. I also drank a lot of "red" tea, and it was so strong that I couldn't fall asleep that night :(. We also walked on the boardwalk that was still under construction. There were dhow dinner cruises and regular abras waiting to take guests on the river ride. We took the taxi back to the hotel, walking back would be too dangerous.
Saturday, Jan.17
We had breakfast at the hotel and then called home before heading out to explore the city. We visited the beautiful Dubai Miracle Gardens with multi colored flowers growing on top of various structures. Very beautiful! Then we took a taxi to the Atlantis hotel at the Palm Jumeirah. There was not much to see until we took the elevated monorail back to the beginning of the palm island. We were able to see Burj Al Arab (the "sail" building) and all the rich hotels and residences on the island. We then took the taxi to Medinat Jumeirah which is situated around the canal, a small copy of Venice. There both local and foreign stores in there, as well as the restaurants. We wondered around and then had lunch at the Noodle House, and it was delicious! Our server was from... Kiev!
For dinner we went back to the Festival City Mall and this time we found the food court. We ate Chinese food, and it was ok..
Sunday, Jan.18
First thing in the morning, we went to see the top of Burj Khalifa. The tickets were $35 each (!) to go on the 124th floor, and double that to go on the 142nd floor. Too expensive. We were able to see the whole city from where we were. The Burj Khalifa is attached to the huge Dubai Mall, so we wondered around, had coffee, walked some more and then had lunch at Baja Fresh - the best choice in the food court.
We asked for the extended hotel check-out time, and Mike being a "golden member" (ha-ha!) got till 3pm, so we could lounge in comfort before going to the hotel lobby and sitting there till 7pm to go to the airport.
Our flight is scheduled to leave at 11pm, and land in Atlanta 16 hours later... Then 4 hours layover and another 5 hours to Portland. Ohhh, it makes me tired just thinking about it!
So, if I were to recommend sightseeing Dubai to anybody, here is what I would include:
Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall
Take monorail to the end of The Palm and back
Visit Medinat Jumeirah Mall
Take a dhow dinner cruise on the river
Visit Dubai Miracle Gardens
Visit the Mall of the Emirates and the Ski Dubai
Go to Jumeirah Mosque
Go on desert safari with dinner
The Walk at Dubai Marina /JBR
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