Today we reach land after 6 days at sea. We arrived in the port of Dubai at about 7am it is the largest natural harbor along the Emirates' coast. You will find out later it is not the largest natural harbor in the region. More about that tomorrow.
The United Arab Emirates, formed in 1971, is made up of 7 Emirates of which Abu Dhabi and Dubai are the best known. Abu Dhabi is the capital.
Most of the building has been completed in the last 15 years. The skyline is a combination of tall buildings, each with a unique architecture. The tallest building in the world is here, the Burj Khalifa, over 800 meters tall. Our tour includes a visit to the tower and a trip to the 124th observation floor.
Our tour began with a drive from the port to the Mall of the Emirates, the largest shopping mall in the middle east. It has a ski slop inside ( Ski Dubai), with a chair lift, and there is a large play area for children, including a sled run. The temperature is kept at about 32 degrees and after paying an admission you get parkas and gloves along with what ever equipment you need for your chosen snow activity.
Our first stop was Starbucks so Evelyn could get a mug that has the name UAE to add to here collection. I missed getting one in Egypt by disobeying the first rule of vacation shopping. If you like it get it, because you won't see it again. If they won't bargain, buy the damn thing if you want it. I checked on eBay later and the mug I could have purchased for $25.00 ( which I thought was high), was $50.00 on eBay...
We then walked through part of the mall, to find Starbucks. We found one of the 3 and I purchased a mug. This mall HAS every store you would ever need or want, all of the best top end designers and shops, and all the chains like H&M and Forever 21. The food court and there were at least 2 had every American fast food provider and then some. Every one takes dollars with out a problem. The exchange rate is 3.65 AED to the $1.
After we left the mall are next stop was the Mall of Dubai, where the Burj Khalifa is located. It is the biggest mall in the world and it features an aquarium and all of the same stores of the Mall of the Emeritus and if you can imagine more.
The elevator ride to the observation floor of the Burj Khalifa took exactly 60 seconds. There was no sensation of speed, but your ear did pop. Half of the observation floor is outside and the view is of course outstanding. We stayed about 25 minutes and the took the ride back down. While we we waiting for our group I bought a "light" coke for 6 UAE. Which was not a surprise, but what was a surprise was the "pop top lid", haven't seen one of those in years. We had to wait a while for our bus due to a flat tire.
Our next stop was for pictures of the Burj Al Arab, the only 7-star hotel in the world, built on an artificial island, the hotel is built in the design of a sail of a boat. You can not go into the hotel unless you are a guest or have a reservation for lunch, dinner, or high tea. It has approximately 220 two story suites. Ranging from about 300 square feet to over 2000. Next time I will make reservations for high tea, at about $120.00 per person and get a better look. Nothing like keeping out the riffraff.
Our last stop was a Mosque that although closed to us did have a women's prayer room. It was one of the largest in the area.
Dubai is very interesting, oil rich, but trying to build an economy that will be able to maintain itself once the oil is depleted. Over 75% of the population is expats who are here on work visas. The locals are taken care of with free housing and medical and education. There is very little crime and the streets are very clean. Nothing is old, even the old souk is new.
Dubai has become a haven for the very wealthy as there is no income tax and no sales tax. However in order to do business you must have a 51 percent partner who is native born and there appear to be fees and licensing costs for just about every thing.
We got back to the ship around 2:30pm and stopped by the stores in the cruise terminal, I bought two keychains to get rid of my UAEs.l
We were hungry so we headed to the buffet, which means we won't be eating much for dinner.
After our naps we sat on the balcony as the ship set sailed for Oman. We saw the pilot get off which was interesting. The sun was setting and the reflexion of the sun on the buildings made the sky line look like a fairy tale city, which just maybe what Dubai is.
We played bridge until 9pm and then decided to go to the buffet for a snack. We found that the buffet was closed and the bistro was open. The problem was the menu was the same as are last visit (Don and Myrna's third time with same menu). It seems that they have three different menus which they rotate. We just haven't been with the right rotation.
Today is halloween and many of the passengers and crew were dressed in costumes, Evelyn worn her witches hat, which she never leaves home without.
Sent from my iPad
Hal
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