DUBAI!!

Dubai, UAE

Okay, we finally arrived in a city during midday and were able to watch as this fantastical city with its spires, man-made islands and obvious wealth came into view. Big, expensive German and American made vehicles came into view and wealth was spread everywhere.

Dubai was an overnight stop, the last of this grand adventure and a place we were anxious to see.

And so what did we do? We headed off to the desert within an hour for a 4×4 adventure drive over the dunes to a camp for camel rides, whirling dervish dancers, belly dancing, fire swallowers, henna tattoos and great bbq, hummus, bread, rice and sticky sweets, lol! A bbq under the stars! It was absolutely fun and hokey. The camel ride was great – but wow, you had better lean backwards when the camel is getting up or settling down! More than one guest went flying over a camel’s head into the sand.

One of the nice things about being in different arenas of the world is the lack of caution dictated by lawyers in the U.S. The risky dune ride, the camel you can fall from, the food preparation not monitored – all there. Very freeing!

We stayed in the desert until night and it was cool, bright, brilliant and quiet in the dunes with the stars overhead. I know how this sounds but it is a nice break from temples, government buildings, and constant on the move learning.

Driving to the desert was as modern as it gets – freeway heading out of the city, traffic jams and trucks, and huge power lines running into the distance. Toll plazas and gas stations just like home (kind of) and their cars are equipped with a beeping monitor that sounds if driver goes over the speed limit. I’d like to see that happen in the U.S., LOL! This is a big sprawling area. Driving back was quieter but the city sprawled and ahead we saw the lit up Martian looking buildings dominating the skyline.

Also on the drive out we saw walled off subdivisions. Our driver explained that these housing areas are only for citizens of the UAE. He himself was Bangladeshi but born in the UAE. Even if born in Dubai/UAE you can never become a citizen. Ever. That is true for anyone from any country. The wealthy families of the UAE have large acreage estates/homes well hidden behind walls too high to see over.

The next day we headed off to the gold souk to buy gifts. The gold souk is huge, covering several city blocks. Many little shops, again mostly run by Indian vendors (some Arabian), everywhere and with runners out looking for people like us to pull in to buy. Ken parked himself while I forayed out to find the best prices and barter like I meant it. Success! On to lunch.

We were guided by the gold vendor to a little hotel on the back side of the souk. There we had a great Mideastern meal, finished with a dessert so good we fought over and guarded our pieces. It was really a Pakistani dessert in a syrup but delicious.

Now, though, we had to find our way back. This hotel had no taxi availability! Leaving Ken at the hotel I walked about a mile to find that taxis did not want to leave the gold souk! After being shaken off by at least 7 or 8 drivers I found one who got directions to the hotel from a shop owner and we were off. Since the hotel was at the end of long, circling one way streets I was pretty nervous when it seemed to be taking too long to get where we needed to be. But just as I was getting nervous about my safety I saw something familiar, called Ken and told him to be ready to jump in. He was happy to do that, lol.

We taxied it back to safety! Enough Dubai adventure.