Despite promises to myself to be conscientious about writing a little each month “no matter what”, close to two months have passed – and I was writing about December. One of the excuses is that I like to add photos and in the days of the photo chip instead of film, so it’s taken a while to sift through the hundreds of photos taken during our trip to Japan and the visits of family and friends during the past few weeks – it is also because I’m too lazy to figure out how to post even fewer well chosen illustrative photos directly on the blog page.
I will get back to the trip to Japan, but not today. We are just through our first visitor season – the weather in the UAE is lovely, the sun is out (but for the two-day sand and wind storm and a couple of VERY windy days last week) and people are taking us up on the open invitation to “come see us in Dubai”!
Sarah falls somewhere between resident and visitor. She can’t officially be included on Richard’s resident visa, but home is where the stuff is and aside from her portion of the stuff in storage around the world, she has as many things here as in her dorm room in Portland. So after our trip to Japan we were back in the UAE on the morning of 30 December.
One of her good friends from Belgium arrived on the morning of 2 January, so we had to think of things to make her visit worthwhile – work in new things for Sarah who has only been here once before and still allow “alone and beach time”. So what to do with two twenty-year olds who are used to being able to drink (legally) and not be too much of a “hanger-on” – we were picking up the tab for much it, after all.
First stop was dinner at the Rivington Grill, at the Souk Al Bahar, a footbridge away from the Dubai Mall. You can get there by taxi or through the Mall, just follow the signs for the “Dubai Fountain”, and go outside and across said footbridge. A friend has told me that there is a restaurant inside the Mall that allows a better view – especially for us shorter people. This restaurant, however, doesn’t take reservations, and as our visits to the Burj Khalifa involved a timed entry, it seemed prudent to book the restaurant that takes reservations and stand up to take photos. The Dubai Fountain has three “shows” around the lunch hour and then starts up again – every half hour – until 9 or 9:30 pm – I think. Always best to look up times.
Is it worth going up the Burj Khalifa? We can say we’ve done it, which is about the only reason anyone goes up. I’ll no doubt go up again, but certainly only with visitors. Just so you know NO ONE goes to the “real” top of the building. The top 40 stores are unoccupied as the wind causes this part of the building to sway – and you don’t want to experience that. You can, however, get to the 148 Floor – where there is a nice gift shop, soft sofas, a welcome soft drink and cookies, seats near the windows and a small terrace where you can take photos. Most of the terrace is glassed in, but there is an open space so you can take clear photos. The top floor also has the photographers who will pose you so when the pictures are processed; it appears you are dancing on balconies, about to fall off, etc. The “At the Top” option is quite expensive (400 dh), but you get in right at your indicated time. The “falcon eye view” from the 124 Floor is cheaper, but you may be stuck in line – up to 30-40 minutes, I’m told. If you go to the higher floor, you are only expected to stay there about half an hour and then go down to the 124th floor where you can stay as long as you want
Another expensive “Is it worth it?” stop is the Burj Al Arab, the sail-shaped hotel that is also on the Gulf. This is truly the “high priced spread”. I treated Sarah and Nat to (non-alcoholic) High Tea and we went for dinner and drinks, on separate visits, with Charlotte and our friends, Dorie and Neil. Last year, the “Culinary Flight” dinner was our celebration of my completion of another decade. So this is definitely a special occasion stop – if you want to spend a LOT of money. As the Burj Al Arab is the most famous “landmark” apart from the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, you can decide. We’ll probably only go with visitors and/or for very special occasions. I like it, Richard isn’t sure it’s worth the money, but has enjoyed going there.
We went to the Dubai Museum quite early in our stay here. The most significant thing about it is that is it housed in the oldest fort in Dubai, complete with an original “wind tower”, early air-conditioning. What we try to book for guests is a visit to the Sheik Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding (SMCCU), also in “Old Dubai”. This is part of a reconstructed building complex with a small souk/market (the real textile market is a short walk away and there are calligraphy museums and our latest (and for the caffeine addict in us) a great find – the Coffee Museum. This is a small unassuming place where Arab style coffee and Ethiopian coffee are served on the first floor and upstairs is more coffee paraphernalia and a coffee bar where an accommodating young man makes you a cup of (really great) coffee in one of about a dozen different coffee makers. There is also a small art gallery and a couple of restaurants – one is a Tea House and the other offers camel meat meals.
The SMCCU, for us, is worth a visit for the breakfast, lunch, dinner or brunch meals – the different meal depends on the day of the week. While you eat traditional Emirati food, there is a question and answer session with an Emirati. So far, we have only heard one woman, but she is very interesting. Clearly, Emiratis who deal with the public go on the offensive as far as distancing themselves from the Muslim extremists. This woman does a very good job of distinguishing the teachings of the religion and tradition/customs. She also spends the last half-hour of the 90-minute talk on clothing. It is a rare opportunity to talk to an Emirati and ask questions. They also offer Arabic language classes; tours of the mosque in Dubai and other cultural events.
The gold and spice markets are across the Dubai Creek if you take one of the abras (small boats) – luckily, it’s a short ride, you get great views of the dhows, larger boats, both the brown ones for the tourist dinner cruises and the blue ones that go out to large cargo ships.
The ferry ride from the Marina to the Dubai Creek (or vice versa) runs more often during the tourist season. It runs at least twice a day in each direction all-year-round. Charlotte and I were the only passengers in the “gold class” section and were invited to meet the captain! Such fun! It is a good way to actually get out on the Gulf and also see the city from the water. You also pass by Sheik Mohammed’s yacht, the 7th largest in the world, and see construction going on in the Gulf. Please check my entry from 9 June 2014 for photos.
The Atlantis resort, for me, has mixed reviews. If you stay there, I think it would be hard to remember that you can get off of the Palm, the man-made building development that extends out into the Arabian/Persian Gulf. There are scads of things to do – aquarium, opportunities to swim with dolphins, a water park, etc. For those of us who take people out to “see” it’s a bit different. The good news is that despite the somewhat hokey “Atlantis” theme to the aquarium, it is a nice facility where you can lounge on floor pillows in front of the larger tanks for as long as you want. Also up to four tickets are half-price if you can show that you are a resident. Sarah and I agree that it is more enjoyable than the big aquarium at the Dubai Mall, although going by for a look at the public side of that aquarium is definitely worth the time. The restaurants at the Atlantis are relatively reasonably priced for a big hotel and the service and food quality are good. On the “okay” list is the shopping at “The Avenues” – really not worth a trip out there to do. Also what is disappointing is that unlike the other big fancy hotels which allow people who eat at one of the restaurants in to see the lobby area (there is a big blown glass sculpture); only guests of the hotel are allowed to go into the lobby – really? To make a long story short, I had some back and forth with the public relations office about this, but to no avail, so I missed the photo op.
We had better luck at the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi where we walked around the lobby and the public grounds (and didn’t have to have a meal there). It’s quite impressive and was designed by an architect known for his designs of palaces in the region and saw this as an opportunity to give those so inclined to build a palace an idea of what they might get. The only area where we couldn’t go was the beach area and of course the rooms. There is a vending machine in the lobby that sells gold ingots – where else but in the UAE? They have these at the Atlantis and the Madinat Jumeirah (both in Dubai) – there might be others but these are the ones that I’ve seen.
Photos from Sarah and Natacha’s visit:
The Falcon Hospital in is a working hospital that cares for the much prized birds of prey. I know that there is one in Qatar, but I’m not sure that it is as publically accessible. There are tours twice a day most days. A brief explanation of the need for the facility, some history of the use of falcons (originally migratory birds captured by the Bedouins for a few months every year for hunting as they migrated over the region) to the “sport” birds they are today. Hunting is prohibited in the UAE because the native wildlife is considered endangered. Falcons are the only type of animal allowed to ride in the cabin into or out of the UAE. Do not be surprised if you see bird in First or Business Class with its own seat – really. After the general introduction, we were escorted to the clinic – there were a number of birds who had been groomed and were waiting (hoods on – they can hear, but seeing other birds makes them nervous). The veterinarian put one of the birds out and then showed us how the beaks and talons are trimmed, the wing-span of the bird, etc. He also showed how they used feathers of the birds from previous molting to replace damaged feathers for a season. There is also an operating theatre and separate areas where birds are kept (without hoods) to molt and sometimes stay during the hot months. This is not easy to find and we missed our first scheduled tour. It’s interesting and worth one visit as this type of experience (including a photo opportunity with a falcon on your arm) is unique.
Masdar City, near the Abu Dhabi Airport, is a work in progress. The idea is a sustainable environmentally friendly city. The modern wind tower was interesting, the building materials as well. The particular highlight was the electric cars that take you around the city. Currently there are only a few residents and offices, but interesting nevertheless.
We also have discovered that one of the very nice resorts, Al-Maha, near Abu Dhabi, has a non-guest package that allows people to book a lunch and if available one or two activities on the resort. We have opted for the “Wild Life Ride” which allow for some up close viewing of the native gazelles and Oryx that are living on the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve, where the resort is located. Lunch fees include the entrance to the preserve that is government owned. The resort uses only a portion of it.
We took Richard’s mom to a Camel Festival (although the ceremonies were not on when we went), but she did get to meet a few camels up close and personal. We then went to Al Ain to see the oasis filled with date palms, Sheik Zayed’s palace and the Al Ain Museum – places we think ARE worth a visit if you have time and transportation. I’ll write more on the once a year events in a later entry.
We also made visits to the Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque, one of my favorite places in the area. Really wonderful for photographs. This isn’t a comprehensive list of things to do and this only covers the things that are year-round. Hopefully it will give you an idea of what is available.
Photos from Richard’s mother’s visit:
Judy and Richard - 1001 Arabian Nights 