Day in Dubai

Our Charlotte arrival was late, and we had to run through the airport to make our connecting flight to London. Can't really blame American Airlines for this since it was the weather that delayed us. We arrived in London and had a few hours layover before our Quantus flight to Dubai. Seats with more legroom made this flight more comfortable plus the crew worked constantly serving meals and treats making our first Quantus experience a good one. We arrived in Dubai at almost midnight.

Arabian Adventure people hired by Royal Caribbean greeted us and directed us through customs. There was a delay there at the ordinarily fast smart gates due to technical breakdown, but we checked into our hotel by 1:00 AM Dubai time. Sue and Ray had arrived earlier and had been out for a walk and Ray had even gotten a haircut in the hotel neighborhood around midnight. Lots of businesses were open and traffic was heavy in even these wee hours.

Our hotel accommodations were nice with a good restaurant. Breakfast was great with omelets made-to-order with every imaginable side. Royal Caribbean does a good job selecting places for their pre-cruise stays. 

Sunday was our day to tour Dubai, and it was quite a delightful day in Dubai, an impressive, cosmopolitan city and second largest of the seven Emirates of the United Arab Emirates. We chose the Hop On-Hop Off Big Red Bus as our mode of transportation and touring since we had enjoyed it in London. We followed three of its routes transferring from bus to bus allowing us great views of the new and old city.

The city's futuristic skyline and iconic landmarks were impressive particularly the Burj Khalifa, 2716 feet (the tallest building in the world) that dominated our view. Architecture was absolutely dramatic. Mosques were on every corner standing ready for the five times a day call to prayer. We missed the time for tours at one of the mosques open to the public but walked about the grounds. 

Dubai is a retail paradise. I don't believe I have ever seen so many stores and malls. The Dubai mall was so large and had a massive aquarium built into the walls with 350,000 species of fish. There was also a zoo, but we were searching for the entrance to the Burj Khalifa so missed the animals. When we did find the Burj, we decided not to go up. There were different prices to go to different levels and then to the top for exorbitantly expensive prices. We headed for the famous fountains instead. They were designed by the same people who designed the ones in Las Vegas at the Bellagio.

There were escalators everywhere as well as at the airports. I had to put aside my escalator phobias and just go with the flow of the crowds. After the mall we viewed chic boutiques, traditional souks, and quaint stores along the way. We decided to get off at one souk (a marketplace) which was a replica of a traditional, old souk. Amidst the shops were many cafes and restaurants. We chose Brewster's for our lunch. Loved the Arabic atmosphere of this old village souk.

Our next route on the bus took us by The Palm, a high end residential area interspersed with businesses, the Dubai Marina and Jumeirah Beach residence area. We were disappointed that we could not see the water because of the beachfront development. There were spots of beachfront where we could see the fabulous aquamarine waters. 

All in all it was an interesting day seeing this outstanding city that has sprung out of the dessert proving that money can indeed buy anything.  The discovery of oil led to this largesse, but tourism is more and more profitable. Date palms are throughout the landscape and are an industry of the area with harvest of dates once a year. Pearls once were a lucrative product but with competition from Asia became an obsolete industry. We passed a historical home of a pearl merchant.

In addition to all the retail shops, construction was everywhere for more and more stores and malls. When we returned to the hotel, we took a short walk to a neighborhood dollar store. Remarkable, store hours lasted until 3 a.m.

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DUBAI visit comes to an end. We feel we had a good overview of this amazing city. So much to see and do in this ultramodern global city, but it would take another trip.

      from the bus window, above and below

                  BYE BYE DUBAI