When I ended yesterday I said we were going to the italian
restaurant in our hotel. It was
unlike any italian place we’ve been.
There was pounding techno music playing and not a word of Italian
spoken. Fortunately the food was
actually very good and had sort of an Italian or Mediterranean flair. We decided it was a winner despite the
music.
This morning after breakfast we went back to Dubai Mall to
use the second day of our HO-HO tickets.
The driver from the hotel left us off on the other side of the Burj
Khalifa and we got a little lost.
There’s a lake next to the building and the mall and at night there is a
light and fountain show. We have
reservations for a restaurant next to it tomorrow night so hopefully we’ll get
to see the show and perhaps get some photos worth sharing.
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| The lake next to the Burj Khalifa and the Dubai Mall |
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| Burj Khalifa from the lake |
To get to the bus stop we had to walk through the mall to
the other side. Believe me, it’s
easy to get lost in a place with 12 million square feet. Eventually we made it and took the bus
down to Dubai Creek. Our intention
was to go to the gold and spice souks, but as we exited the bus they told us
that the dhow cruise (included in our ticket) was about to leave. We’ve never been on a dhow so why not?
We boarded right next to the dhows we saw yesterday being loaded
with all sorts of stuff. The
commentary on our cruise told us these rickety, run-down vessels go to places
like Iran, Yemen and Somalia with their various cargoes. I love traveling but none of
those are on my bucket list.
Seeing them from the water side and reasonably close convinced me that I
wouldn’t set forth across Dubai Creek in one.
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| A lovely ship on her way to who knows where |
Once again the contrast between old and new was stark. On one side is an area built to look
like buildings of old Dubai. These
have what is the earliest form of air-conditioning, a tower on the roof open on
all four sides to catch any wind and allow it to funnel down to the building
below. We’ve seen the same kind of
structures in Tuscany and the south of France On the other side of the creek are towers of steel and
glass. Along the way we could see
downtown new Dubai, but it’s very hazy so we got no good photos. Crossing back and forth are little
water taxis that carry about 20 people on benches. These make a much faster way to get to the other side than
contending with the bridges and tunnel one has to take in a vehicle.
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| Al was more interested in the yacht but you can get a glimpse of two of the towers for funneling air |
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| One of the many water taxis |
By the time we finished the cruise it was very hot and we
decided to forego the souks. I can
only imagine the temperature in the narrow streets and alleyways. There will be other souks to see in
days to come. Tonight we’re eating in the Indian restaurant in our hotel. It’s supposed to be the best one in the
Middle East, the equivalent of three Michelin stars. I have to say we’ve never been fans of Indian food, probably because we don’t understand
it or know how to eat the various dishes.
We had that problem several years ago when we were in India. However, we’re going to try again. Maybe I’ll be smart enough this time to ask the server
questions.
Tomorrow we have a car and driver/guide taking us to
Sharjah, another of the emirates.
We’ll see some different sights since that emirate is the cultural
center of the UAE. Tomorrow is
also the beginning of Ramadan. I’m
not sure how that will impact our visit.
I’ll report more later.
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