Dubai is one
of seven states that comprise the United Arab Emirates, a country formed in
1971 from individual sheikdoms. An
emirate is simply a political territory ruled by a dynastic Muslim monarch. Dubai rests on the southern end of the
Arabian Peninsula in the Persian Gulf.
Its
population is about 2 million and temperatures range from 75 degrees F from
November to March to as high as 118 degrees F in the summer inland. We had lovely weather when we visited.
Like Hong
Kong, I have a lot to say about Dubai so if you’re planning to read all this in
one sitting, grab a cup of whatever and enjoy.
If you’ve
read my previous reports, you know that we had to make a detour to Mumbai
because of a terrible accident aboard ship and had to miss our stop in Oman
altogether. Because of the extra time
expended, we didn’t arrive in Dubai until about 6 p.m., rather than 1 p.m. on
Friday, the 18th. Our
excursions were re-arranged because of the delay and we found ourselves
arriving in Dubai with nothing to do on Friday night, so we decided to venture
out on our own.
Our first
sight of Dubai was from our balcony and the absence of humidity since we left
Honolulu! According to the navigation
channel on tv, we were five miles away and I kept asking Michael, “where’s the
tallest building?” What we were seeing
from our balcony was “old Dubai” and it wasn’t until we went down to Deck 5 and
the ship started moving to the right that we saw Burj Khalifa, the largest
building in the world at 168 floors! It
dwarfed every other building in the magnificent and eclectic skyline.
I have to
say we’re not always the best “on-our-own” because we’re never quite sure how
to get here or there and, although we were told about places to shop for
clothing, we never got very specific information and the information desk at
the terminal was closed when we arrived.
We were told
that we wanted to go to a “souk” which is a market or shopping area. We didn’t think that would be that difficult
to find. We also didn’t think that
clothing would be available in the “gold souk,” “spice souk,” or “textile
souk.” (Turned out that clothing was
sold at or near the gold souk. Oh well.)
After
dinner, we disembarked our ship and entered the Terminal. What an incredible terminal. It’s nowhere near as big as the one in Hong
Kong but this was magnificent and everything a cruiser would ask for, except,
of course, an information desk
person.
Besides
that, there was a money exchange booth which charged us only 2 UAE Dirhams –
which amounts to about $.67 no matter how much money you exchanged. Good deal.
There was a
post office, two wonderful souvenir shops which didn’t charge much more than
outside the terminal in the city, and an electronics store. Free wi-fi was available based on the number
of crew members we saw at all hours of the day on their devices. Very easy access to and from the ship.
We were
advised that the UAE has traditions of conservative dress which means that
shoulders and knees should be covered when in public so I was prepared wearing
black pants, black long-sleeve shirt and black sweater – my standard dress code
anyway as most of you know.
We were told
by our port lecturer not to let the cab driver take us off the meter because
the actual fare will be lower than they quote. Well, after trying to explain to the taxi
driver that we wanted to buy clothing, and losing something in the translation
along the way, we got in the cab and he immediately wanted to take us off the
meter for 65 Dirham or about $20. We
said “No! Meter!” and he put us on the meter.
Even with Friday traffic, we should not have had to spend the 65 Dirham
we ended up spending anyway (I think he was teaching us foreigners a lesson)
but we paid the fare. Unfortunately, the
place we were dropped off didn’t look or feel like what had been described to
us but without a specific name or location, we really couldn’t have expected
much. (At the terminal, a charge of 25
Dirham is automatically added to the fare before the taxi moves one foot.)
(This
reminded me of when I was in Venice back in 1980. My friend and I got off the train at Venezia
Maestro and immediately knew we were not in the right “Venice.” There was no water! This train stop was actually a suburb.)
Anyway,
where we ended up was an area in Old Dubai that had streets and streets of
clothing stores which sold primarily shoes and handbags (knock offs all of
them). This is not what we wanted, but
what could we do at this point?
While some
stores faced the street, stores behind those stores faced open corridors within
the city blocks with just as many stores.
The sellers were quite aggressive asking if I wanted designer handbags,
shoes, or watches. They were big on
watches. Michael went into one of the
stores and the man had an entire inventory on his iPad but didn’t have the
watch Michael asked about.
Although all
the sellers standing outside each store were young men, I as a Western woman,
didn’t feel threatened in any way, I was not groped or touched, and it probably
had something to do with what I was wearing.
We did see women by themselves shopping but those wearing the
traditional “abaya,” a long black robe with a “hijab,” the head scarf which
covers the neck and part of the head or the additional “niqab” which covers the
mouth and nose, were also with men. You
hear stories from people on the ship about unfortunate situations they
encounter, but we haven’t experienced any of that – except situations created
by the rudeness of the passengers on our own ship!
I bought 12
postcards and a really great magnet for a mere $6.00 and one of the funniest
things I saw in the souvenir shops were salt and pepper shakers which depicted
a woman in her full traditional dress and a man in a long white robe
(“kandurah” or “dishdasha” or “thawb”) and a “ghotrah,” a white headscarf held
in place by an accessory which resembles a sort of black chord called a
“egal.” When I think of salt shakers, I
think of cartoon or movie characters, animals, buildings, etc., but I wouldn’t
have thought two traditionally-dressed Muslims would be salt and pepper
shakers. I only wish I knew someone who
actually had a S&P collection – I would’ve bought this unique set from the
Middle East.
We ended up
back in a cab which cost us less than $5.00 and realized then how we were taken
advantage of back at the terminal. But,
the way I look at it, ripping off unfamiliar tourists is on him.
We had a big
day on Saturday with two excursions to look forward to.
Michael’s Observations: We definitely felt we
were in the wrong location for clothing.
The clothing area had some of the strangest looking mannequins I’ve ever
seen. Apparently, they were aimed at the
exotic dancer trade judging from the overly endowed bosoms and extremely
exaggerated nipples displaying the shortest skin-tight dresses with very long
blonde, red or brunette wigs. These
mannequins were in window after window, block after block, all dressed in what
Leona refers to as “sausage dresses” and I had to wonder, “Who’s buying this
stuff?” Someone later mentioned that
many of the traditionally-dressed women wear designer clothing under their
black garments and I can only wonder how many were buying this exotic dancer
line of clothing. I still have no idea
who their intended market was.
Leona’s Observations: I had gone into several of these stores and looked at the
various dresses (not intending to buy any of them) and found them to be made up
of an extremely thick spandex-type material almost like girdles from the 60s,
but thicker. First of all, the women
buying in these stores must be teeny tiny because the sizes were so small. The material was so tight that I can’t
imagine how comfortable someone would be wearing these in 80, 90 and 100 degree
temperatures.
* * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The following
day, we booked an excursion to the Burj Khalifa, Jumeirah Mosque, Burj Al Arab
Hotel, Dubai Mall and the Mall of the Emirates.
As you know by now, Michael hates heights but, again, he was a real
trooper signing up for this tour.
Our guide
was Nabil (pronounced Na-beel) and it’s hard to describe him. Simply put, he was a benevolent
dictator. He expected punctuality and
“laser-like attention” but had such a lovely way about him, it was a pleasure
being in his company. (I remember taking
a tour of Highgate Cemetery outside of London and we had a tour guide who was
also a task master but was not pleasant at all.) I noted many of the comments Nabil made which
I will include here because they were so charming and warm. Because of his manner, I felt very welcomed
in his country.
Although
from Syria, Nabil’s nationality is “dynamic humanity” and his religion is
“love.” He believes in three
doctors: Dr. Diet – be aware of what
you’re eating; Dr. Quiet – listen to and reflect upon what people say; and Dr.
Merriment – laugh throughout the day. He
believes in being happy, healthy with an attitude of gratitude. He gave us access to his wi-fi connection and
his password was “lovelife3.” He also
permitted each passenger three 5-minute long distance calls if they wanted to
call home.
Immediately
upon getting settled into the bus, Nabil said we were going to see “the whole
enchilada of Dubai.” In his opinion, the
United States was a God-made paradise with its beaches, mountains, deserts,
etc. and Dubai was a man-made paradise.
Dubai is the fastest growing city in the world. In 1900, the population was 5,000, by 1970,
70,000 and today it has 3.3 million during the work day.
Dubai is a
city of “S”: skyline, souk, sheik, sun,
smile, smart, superlative, safe, scrumptious, etc.
The Queen
Elizabeth II is now in port here and is a hotel. The Marriott has the Marquis which is the
tallest hotel in the world. It has a
driver-less Metro system and in the pictures taken by our port lecturer, the
subway has humungous chandeliers. Rose-colored
taxis are driven by women because women prefer being driven by other
women. It has air-conditioned bus stops
which enable you to press a button in the enclosure and the bus will stop
without the need to go out into the heat and flag it down. It also boasts the only solar energy wi-fi
recharging station in the world.
According to Nabil, the best dentists in the world are from the United
States, and we saw many dental and plastic surgery offices throughout the
day. Measuring two miles by two miles, the Palm
Jumeirah is the world’s largest artificial island, shaped like a palm tree that
sits off the coast of Dubai and is home to luxury hotels, villas and
restaurants and shopping malls and can even be seen from space. The Fountain at the Burj Khalifa is the most
powerful and biggest automated fountain in the world and can shoot water 426
feet high – the height of a 50-story building.
Obviously needing to out-do NYC, Dubai has two “Chrysler Buildings.” As you can see, Dubai has many “-est” descriptions.
Our first
stop would be the Dubai Mall which is next to the Burj Khalifa. It also provided us with a toilet stop “to
make our bladder gladder.”
Dubai Mall
is the world’s biggest shopping mall – it boasts over 1,200 shops, an ice rink,
an aquarium and a vast cinema and entertainment complex spread across four
floors covering a total area of 12 million sq. ft. Most of the stores weren’t open when we
arrived at 9 a.m., but as we walked through it towards the entrance to the Burj
Khalifa, our meeting place was the “Star Atrium” which looked like a bas relief
on the ceiling and was exquisite. In
addition to the usual lighting in a mall, dozens of strands of white lights
(what we use to decorate our houses at Christmas) were hung above us which
created a lovely ambiance, different from the high intensity lights we normally
experience at malls.
Nabil kept
us on a short leash and after making “our bladders gladder,” we proceeded
through the mall to the entrance to the observation deck of the Burj Khalifa. Of course, our photo was taken in front of a
green screen and I would expect nothing less here at the tallest building in
the world. We were told that a high
speed elevator would take us to the observation deck on level 124, where glass
walls provided panoramic views of the city, desert and ocean. Nabil assured us this was the fastest and
safest elevator in the world, by Otis and made in the United States. The Burj Khalifa is 168 stories tall, 164 of
which are habitable with apartments, corporate offices and other types of
residences. It opened on January 4,
2010, and can accommodate 35,000 people.
I still would like to know who lives on the 164th floor. (I forgot to ask Nabil.)
We arrived
quite early to the Mall and had no wait whatsoever for our trip into the
sky. Honestly, I didn’t even feel the
elevator moving until my ears popped and had to swallow. The entire trip took one minute to get to the
observation deck and we enjoyed flashing lights and Arabic music during our
ascent. Knowing I was in charge of
photo-taking, Michael made sure the camera was fully charged and I left him
happily in the gift shop while I entered the observation deck and snapped
away. Michael’s a much better photographer than I am
but I did my best and he assured me that I got some great shots and, yes, from
the top, I could see the ocean, the desert and the city. Joining him in the gift shop, I, of course,
wanted to see the photo taken of us and after declining a much more expensive
photo in a lovely leather-ette frame, I settled on the photo enclosed in a
paper folder. Probably still too
expensive, but, hey, when am I coming back to Dubai?
Meeting back
at the Star Atrium, we joined the rest of the tour and headed to the Mall of
the Emirates – smaller than Dubai Mall but still amazing. We entered the Mall at Gate #3 near the
“fountain” (yes, a fountain inside a Mall) and decided upon our meeting place
and time. I happened to look up and
hanging from the ceiling were three huge Chopard clocks. (I couldn’t tell how large they were because
of the distance from floor to ceiling but Michael said they were about 15’ in
diameter.) Chopard is my second favorite
watch (I don’t own one because the “ice cube,” the model I really, really love
cost $37,000 back in 1988.) Anyway,
Chopard is known for its floating diamonds and yes, indeed, there were floating
“diamonds” (maybe Swarovski crystals; I’m not sure) in the face of the
suspended clocks that dropped down at certain times – perhaps every 30 seconds
or something like that. Absolutely
awesome.
The Mall of
the Emirates is home to Ski Dubai, the first indoor ski resort in the Middle
East. Yes, the enclosed area in the Mall
had ski lifts, ice skating rink, and slopes and, of course, lots of snow. The temperature inside the enclosed resort
was 32 degrees F. There were many shops
that rented/sold ski boots, helmets, skis, clothing – everything you would need
to ski. I really hoped to see some
ladies in their traditional Muslim dress, or the skiing alternative, but didn’t
see any.
We didn’t
have much “free time” at the Mall, but did manage to get to a tie store to buy
Michael suspenders for his tuxedo. He’s
losing weight and his tuxedo pants were getting too loose. (“Sonofa……” as he refers to himself when he
tells me these things. J)
Back towards
the city, street after street were lined with lovely flowers and everything
looked neat and clean. Some of the main
highways had 6-8 lanes in each direction.
The UAE is a tax-free country. No
income tax but a VAT will be enacted by the end of the year, according to
Nabil.
Next
stop: the Burj Al Arab Hotel, which is
commonly described as the world’s only “seven-star” hotel. It’s a beautiful hotel and can be googled and
is easily recognizable because of its towering (1,053 foot) sail
shaped-design. It is also the tallest
all-suite hotel in the world over water.
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, it is the place to have
sold the most expensive cocktail in the world – to an American who paid 27,321
AED – the price representing 27 floors and 321 meters high. We could’ve booked an excursion to this hotel
(some of our fellow passengers did) to enjoy and experience of “high tea” for a
mere $299.95 pp. It isn’t open to the
public without a reservation. We could
only take pictures of it from the beach where we actually saw one of the local
ladies at a distance dressed in full Muslim attire sitting on a chair in the
sand. Crazy, no?
To give you
a sense of how elaborate and extravagant things can get in Dubai, and,
particularly, at the Burj Al Arab Hotel, here’s a partial description of
another excursion that was available to us in the evening:
“Culinary
Flight is a pure gastronomic decadence.
Your journey begins at the Sky View Bar on the 27th floor
where you enjoy your pre-dinner drinks and watch the sunset. Sumptuous appetizers follow next door in Al
Muntaha which offers equally breathtaking views of the Dubai skyline. Your journey continues as the restaurant
manager escorts you to Al Iwan with opulent surroundings that complement the
second course you are to savor. For the
next course, you are escorted to Junsui which offers Far East Asian cuisine and
12 live cooking stations. Make room for
the main course which is served in Al Mahara – Burj Al Arab’s signature
restaurant that offers the freshest ocean’s harvest. Al Mahara will not only mesmerize you with
its gigantic aquarium and delicious seafood but also serves up delectable Wagyu
beef if tender meat is your preference.
Your journey concludes with a scrumptious dessert served in Sahn Eddar
which will take you to another world just by looking at the colorful atrium or
watching the water fountain that shoots up to 32 meters high” – all this for
only $1,199.95 pp. (I have no idea how
many, if any, of our fellow passengers opted for this experience.)
We ended our
tour at the Jumeirah Mosque which is one of the most photographed sites in
Dubai and an example of Islamic architecture.
It features baroque towers, minarets and an impressive dome. It is only 35 years old, holds up to 1,200
worshippers, and is the only mosque that’s open to non-Muslims. Time did not permit a look inside.
We said
good-bye to our guide and bought a few things I had seen the night before in
the Terminal, and returned to the ship to prepare for our night-time safari
into the desert. SPOILER ALERT: Although we
opted not to visit five different restaurants as we would’ve had we booked the
Burj Al Arab Hotel excursion, we had an unforgettable time.
Michael’s Observations: Aside from the opulence that
surrounds the entire city, there is also a sense of safety. Someone on our bus asked Nabil about police
and he said that they were present, but seldom necessary, because people were
very well disciplined and behaved as a civilized society. Speaking to my fellow passengers later, they
indicated that justice is very swift in Dubai, and it is unlikely that anyone
is going to risk severe punishment by breaking the law and committing crimes in
Dubai. That’s a real plus for me. Because it’s a very new city, their roadways
were in tip-top shape and I enjoyed traveling on a luxurious motor coach as we
moved from place to place.
******************************************************************
At 3:40, we
gathered in the Cabaret Lounge to start our 4WD Desert Safari described as
follows: At Port Rashid, you will board
your 4-wheel drive vehicle for the exciting journey to the Dubai Desert
Conservation Reserve. In the 1990s, the
ruler of Dubai became concerned about the disappearance of the country’s
wildlife, particularly the Arabian oryx (a type of antelope) and established
this reserve. Your driver will stop
frequently so that you can take photographs as you head to the lively Arabian
campsite. You will first enjoy a
memorable camel ride before relaxing over a delicious barbeque. Your entertainment continues with a
traditional belly dancing performance.
Afterwards, you will return to your 4WD vehicle for the captivating
return journey across this spectacular landscape, before arriving back to your
ship.”
Sounds good,
right? It wasn’t just good -- it was
AWESOME!!!
Our driver,
Shahzad, was from Pakistan. He began
playing one of his CDs and I noticed that he repeated the same song over and
over. I loved the Arabic music and asked
him about it. He said he loved “heartbroken”
songs. (This reminded me of my cousin,
Marco, in Germany, who taught me about “schlager music” – although I didn’t
understand the Arabic song being played, I’m sure if I read the lyrics, they
would be labeled “Arabic schlager music.”)
Nonetheless, I absolutely loved the song and didn’t tire of it during the
entire trip out to the desert.
Michael and
I agreed that it took about two hours to get out of the city and to the
Reserve. Along the way, on a beautiful
freeway, we passed lots of different sections of Dubai. Wherever we went, there is so much
architectural detail on the buildings, bridges, tunnels, everywhere. Nothing is just a slab of concrete. Everything has scrolling or geometric patterns.
At one point
on the highway, pyramid-shaped bushes lined the median. There was lots of different shrubbery and
palm trees. Even buildings that were
clearly for “regular folks” have style and detailed unlike, for example, the
rectangular boxes we saw in Hong Kong designated for working people. We passed a Universal Studios, the Mercato
Mall, Outlet Malls and indoor and outdoor skydiving. We actually saw someone landing alongside the
road; I didn’t see or hear an airplane but I’m sure he jumped out of
something.
As we
entered the Reserve, the patterns in the sand were beautifully symmetrical
waves, caused by the wind in the desert and probably changes from hour to hour
sometimes and from day to day.
Our first
stop was to watch falcon training.
Falcons were used centuries ago by Bedouins to catch food during certain
times of the year but released to return to Asia for the cooler climate. The falcons also wear headgear that covers
their head and eyes to remain calm.
Otherwise, they would get very excited.
When it was time for hunting, the headgear would be removed and the
falcon would fly looking for prey. We
watched how the trainer lassoed a long cord with quail feathers and meat over
his head preparing the falcon for the “kill.”
After making the falcon fly several times around our heads for exercise,
the trainer allowed the bird to catch the meat.
Of course, that would’ve been the Bedouin’s meal, so the headgear would’ve
been replaced to calm the bird (otherwise the Bedouin probably would’ve lost a
finger); the food would’ve been taken from the falcon and replaced with
something for the bird to eat. We did
see a few oryx in the desert nearby.
We then
proceeded to a beautiful site where we watched a sunset. If we wanted to see the sun set, we had to
climb up what was easily a 30-foot sand dune.
That was not particularly easy and, at one point, my feet kept sinking
into the sand and I didn’t think I would make it. With a little prompting and “hold my hand”
from Michael, I managed to reach the top and stood with dozens of other
passengers waiting for the sun to set. It
was a beautiful evening, the temperature was very comfortable and there was a
gentle breeze as we all stood watching the sun set over the Arabian Desert. We watched the video (all these events are
videotaped by our ship’s videographer) and it was quite something to see the
silhouettes of dozens of people lined up on the sand dune, backs to the camera,
silently watching an extraordinary sight.
It isn’t every day that you’re in the Arabian Desert at sunset.
Now for the
fun ride – I can only describe the drive to the campsite as a roller coaster in
the sand. I’m not a fan of roller
coasters, but this was amazing. First of
all, our driver, Shahzad, could’ve been from Italy or England – in other words,
he probably could’ve been a world-class racing driver. The sand dunes are so large that when one of
the 24 cars, that we caravanned with, went over one of the dunes, you couldn’t
see it anymore. Like a roller coaster
climbing to its highest peak and seeing nothing but sky, in a flash, the car
dipped down and the next thing we saw was sand – no horizon – just sand. This type of zigzagging back and forth, up
and down, climbing and dipping, lasted about twenty minutes. It’s a good thing the cars had a roll cage
and grab bars. (Our tour order form
actually said that passengers over 65 may be required to sign a waiver to
participate (no one asked us to sign one) but that gives you some idea how crazy
this ride was.)
We
eventually arrived at our campsite and this is where I thought I dropped into
the movie set of one of my favorite comedies, Ishtar. When you think of such an exotic locale, it’s
easy to imagine sitting on large pillows which rested on huge Oriental rugs, at
very low tables under the night sky or sheltered under a fabric covered awning. This is exactly what we experienced.
Beyond the
camp on one side was a huge sand dune that was back lit with accent
lighting. Arabic music was playing. There was a souvenir shop where I ordered a
sand painting of the desert with palm trees and camels inscribed “Leona and
Michael – Dubai 2016” and the making of which appears in the videographer’s
footage. There was a barbeque pit where
some of the food was being prepared, an open bar, a booth where you can get
henna paintings, and a hookah section which I found out, too late to try, was
the smoking of different vapors.
There were
camel rides which neither Michael nor I took.
We had ridden a camel at a zoo in Washington and, although it wasn’t
quite the same, we had the luxury of climbing up steps, getting on the camel,
and walking back down the stairs, as compared to the “real thing” which meant
the camel was sitting on the ground, you got on, he got up back legs first and
then lifted himself with his front legs and the ride began. When it was over, the camel would kneel first
and then lower his hind legs. A little
too dangerous and scary-looking to me.
I did,
however, take a photo holding Mali, a falcon, and that was really neat. He was much lighter than he looked and, of
course, was wearing his little headgear, so remained very calm and we all took
turns holding him and snapping photos.
Michael
tried some of the offered Arabica coffee which, in his opinion, was very
weak. We enjoyed appetizers of cheese
bread, falafel and pita bread with various fillings. After a half hour or so, the main course
consisting of tabbouleh, hummus, salad, beef, lamb and chicken kabobs and rice
was served. Everything was freshly
cooked and tasted wonderful.
After
dinner, we enjoyed watching an exquisite young woman belly dance. In the center of the campsite were many rugs
piled together to form a mound where she danced. I love belly dancing and enjoyed lessons on a
cruise we took to Tahiti a few years ago.
I would love to take lessons again.
She began her
performance by wearing a layer of pastel-colored silk fabrics as she danced to
the music. It was as if her movements
gave life to her costume as the fabric flowed around her body. For her next few songs, she removed the silk
and unveiled a heavily sequined two-piece purple costume. She
then donned a red sequined robe which covered her entire body and which she
used, during her performance, to sensually cover her face except her eyes. Finally, during her last song, she balanced
what looked like a 4’ sword on her head, with the blade on her scalp, on her
chest and on her hip. Even when she lowered
herself to the ground and went from sitting to rolling onto her stomach and
back to sitting several times, the sword never moved. Amazing coordination and balance.
The lights
were then turned off in the campsite and we enjoyed five minutes of complete
darkness to experience the night sky in the desert. It was a beautifully clear star-lit night.
The ride
back to the city was much shorter – maybe about 40 minutes – and we returned to
our ship having this once-in-a-lifetime experience to savor.
P.S. For a number of reasons, I never got to ask
Shahzad the name of the song I (and he) liked so much. Michael suggested I email Arabian Adventures
and ask if they could contact Shahzad, etc.
Well, on Tuesday, I actually wrote to the company, explained the
situation, and in about two hours, I actually received an email with a link to
the song on youtube. This company is
absolutely the best.
Michael’s Observations: I was somewhat
reluctant to begin this tour because my experience has always been that the
adventure is not much of an adventure and the food is pretty mediocre. But not this one. This was absolutely the best tour of my world
cruise to date.
As Leona
described above, our driver was world class and before the sand dune drive
began, all the cars lowered their tire pressure in order to increase maneuverability
because the sand dunes move as the vehicles pass over them. That was one of the most amazing parts of the
adventure. You have to realize that
these dunes move with the winds blowing and after a severe sandstorm, their
locations can completely change. It’s
really hard to believe that something so solid looking can move like the waves
of the ocean. The tour information
suggested you travel on an empty stomach;
I would highly recommend that caution.
Luckily, they used a different road on the journey back.
The campsite
was wonderful. The air was filled with
the smell of barbeque and the campsite was alive with the movement of the many
tourists as they walked around looking at the different displays, grabbing
drinks and choosing their favorite pillow to enjoy the much anticipated
feast. We met a lovely couple who were
not part of our cruise, Kim and Trevor, but were traveling in the Far East and
here in Dubai and enjoyed their company that evening. After
the appetizers were served and the dinner began, all I can say is the food was
fabulous. I really enjoyed the whole
experience and highly recommend this adventure to anyone who plans on traveling
to Dubai.
When we
returned to the ship, well fed and tired from our adventure, we didn’t even
notice our departure at 3 a.m. the next morning.
