Delhi, India and Dubai, United Arab Emirates
*a disclaimer, I mentally crashed last night while writing this, so I went to bed and I'm finishing the next day. Days 19 and 20 will be posted closer together than a day!
Today started early. We had to leave our apartment before 7:00 to get to the airport for our 10:30 flight to Dubai. We had alerted the porter the night before, so he just let us out and we were on our way. It felt safer to have a porter there. He managed the two apartments, getting us whatever we might need as well as fixing problems and controlling the gate. It's a big, heavy gate with a big metal bar that slides across to keep it locked. He lets you in and lets you out. There are three porters, one for most of the day, one overnight, and one mornings.
We got to the airport, no problems this time. For security, they had separate metal detectors for "gents" and "ladies". Then the ladies were led into a little room with walls and curtains and wanded by a woman (gents were done out in the open). It seemed kind of funny, but more private too. I could joke with the security person about my bra setting off the wand in the back. We were flying Emirates. Regular seats, but huge screens (yes, for a four-hour flight). We were even served a large meal. And tons of movies! Joshua slept the entire time, but I watched 1 1/2 movies. Five Feet Apart was a very good movie--it made me cry twice. I watched all but the last half hour of Who You Think I Am, with Juliette Binoche.
Then we arrived. The airport was very clean and orderly, although where to go for baggage wasn't clear. We found the line and had to go through immigration and security first. All of the male immigration officials wore kandouras or dishdasha (long, white robes) and ghitras (fabric) on their heads held in place by an iqal (a type of rope) and the women wore black abayas and hijabs. Many of the local men and women wear these as well, but not all, by any means.
Then, after getting our bags, we took a train to the Burj Khalifa stop and followed the people through a series of walkways until we realized that we were definitely not going the way we needed to go to get to our airbnb. We were currently in the Dubai Mall. Trying to find a door to the outside was proving impossible, so I asked one of the many men standing around in suits. I showed them the google map to our airbnb, but he couldn't figure out where we were and where we needed to go. Randy was getting pretty stressed out by this time, so I just asked him where the nearest door to outside was. We followed his directions and once outside tried to catch up with our Google map, but the map wasn't accurately reading our location. Eventually, we walked around and around in 108 degree heat and eventually found our building. It is a security building, so you need a card, but we don't have a card. We were supposed to meet the concierge, but we could see that the concierge's desk was empty. Eventually someone else let us in and the concierge had a note on his desk that he was helping someone and would be back soon. Finally he came back, had a record of us, but made us sit and wait in the lobby to wait for someone to come down. We waited a long time, but eventually were shown our apartment. We are in Ease by Emaar, tower 2. The name Emaar is on the majority of the buildings in the downtown, where we are staying. We are on the 25th floor of 46 floors. We have a bathroom with an en suite, a living/dining room, nice-sized kitchen, and powder room. One of the couches in the living room is a futon for Joshua. As I've read is common in Dubai, we have a water purifier in our apartment (kind of a fancy water cooler). The water in Dubai is desalinated, but then picks up a particular taste from the pipes that is not pleasant, so most people have water purifiers like we do.
Being that it was only about 3:00, we came up with a plan and did it. We took an Uber to the Gold Souk. A souk is a marketplace, and this area is by the wharves and is the oldest part of Dubai. As the name implies, the gold souk is full of gold. We were laughing at the extravagance of the jewelry available! And when the shop owners tried to lure us in to buy, I laughed and said that we didn't have any money. We were awed by the gold, diamonds, and other gem stones. There is no way we could buy any of these, and even if we did, where would we wear it?! A little out of place for a Target run! Or to work or the gym!
We continued walking around the area, looking at souvenirs and spice shops. They have huge bowls of saffron and barrels full of other spices. The hawkers make Joshua very uncomfortable so he and Randy ignore them. I just laugh at them and reply that I don't have money! I felt so much better afterward with that approach. One shopkeeper pantomimed tears by her eyes that I didn't have the money for her jewels, so I pantomimed tears running down my face and we both laughed!
Next, we took another Uber to the Frame of Dubai. It is what it sounds like, an enormous picture frame. You can pay to go inside. Outside the fountain was dancing in time to music which was fun. Then you enter and walk through a visual representation of the beginnings of Dubai from the empty desert. Next, up an elevator to the top, where you can see all around you. Great photo ops of the skylines. The floor in the center becomes transparent when you walk on it. There are interactive screens and messages about awards and what Dubai is currently trying to do (becoming more green, etc.). Then you take the elevator down and see the future that Dubai envisions. It is a wrap-around screen happening around you, both in buildings and technology, and under the water with improved desalinisation and marine life. The frame is just that, a frame of Dubai: past, present, and future. It was just around sunset and the frame was beginning to light up which was pretty.
We hadn't found anywhere to eat in the souk area, nor near the frame, so we took an Uber to the mall, figuring that we could find food there. Most of the restaurants we've seen in the city, including those in the mall are American chains. So, we ate at Pizza Hut. It turns out that it backs onto and opens onto the promenade around the lake. Not many pizza huts have al fresco dining! If it had been a cooler evening, we would have taken advantage of it! We had mojito drinks with our dinner which were fun.
We went out the back and walked along the promenade with all of the other tourists. It was beginning to cool off--around 90. The Burj Khalifa was sparkling with lights going on and off all over it, so we had to take some photos. The Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world. Then the lights went off and a light show began on it. I can't upload the 2-3 minute video I took with my phone, so I'll try to do it as a Facebook post. The light show was incredible and was timed to music. After that, we continued along the Promenade, even coming upon a water light show that we watched for a few minutes. We continued across a pedestrian bridge that crosses the lake. We ended up close to our apartment. Stopped at a grocery store across the street to get food for breakfast. (The two videos below are of the Burj Khalifa twinkling and the lights in the harbor twinkling to the music)
Dubai began as a small village (nomadic herders in 3000 BCE), then in1883, the Bani Yas tribe settled at the mouth of the creek. The creek formed a natural harbor and quickly became a center for the fishing, pearling, and seat trade. In the 1950s, the creek began to silt, probably because of all of the ships going in. The sheikh decided to dredge it which strengthened Dubai as a major trading and re-export hub. In 1966, they discovered oil. Sheikh Rashid took the oil revenues and poured them into the city, building hospitals, schools, roads, telecommunications networks, a new port and terminal for the airport, and a new harbor. The area quickly became a business and tourism hub. In 1970, the varied emirates of the area joined to become the UAE and it quickly became one of the richest countries in the world. In the 1980s and 90s, Dubai made a strategic decision to become a major international-quality tourism destination. Building new buildings became frantic. When the Burj Khalifa was built in 2004, they realized that it was strong enough to withstand several more floors, so they added them and it became the tallest building in the world. They are now preparing for Expo 2020 Dubai and building has picked up again. There are cranes everywhere and buildings being built. The Tower at Dubai Creek Harbour will be just "a notch" taller than the Burj Khalifa at 828 meters.
The city is very young and very clean and orderly. People are pleasant and friendly. The pictures we saw at the Frame of the future of Dubai, though, looked a lot like Singapore! There are not a lot of pedestrians in the city because it is too hot and the city is not pedestrian friendly or walkable. There are freeways going through the middle of it and the roads are all large and divide areas up. Every building has a circular entrance for cars. It is a very auto-centric city. Maybe that is what they should focus on for the future.
*a disclaimer, I mentally crashed last night while writing this, so I went to bed and I'm finishing the next day. Days 19 and 20 will be posted closer together than a day!
Today started early. We had to leave our apartment before 7:00 to get to the airport for our 10:30 flight to Dubai. We had alerted the porter the night before, so he just let us out and we were on our way. It felt safer to have a porter there. He managed the two apartments, getting us whatever we might need as well as fixing problems and controlling the gate. It's a big, heavy gate with a big metal bar that slides across to keep it locked. He lets you in and lets you out. There are three porters, one for most of the day, one overnight, and one mornings.
We got to the airport, no problems this time. For security, they had separate metal detectors for "gents" and "ladies". Then the ladies were led into a little room with walls and curtains and wanded by a woman (gents were done out in the open). It seemed kind of funny, but more private too. I could joke with the security person about my bra setting off the wand in the back. We were flying Emirates. Regular seats, but huge screens (yes, for a four-hour flight). We were even served a large meal. And tons of movies! Joshua slept the entire time, but I watched 1 1/2 movies. Five Feet Apart was a very good movie--it made me cry twice. I watched all but the last half hour of Who You Think I Am, with Juliette Binoche.
Then we arrived. The airport was very clean and orderly, although where to go for baggage wasn't clear. We found the line and had to go through immigration and security first. All of the male immigration officials wore kandouras or dishdasha (long, white robes) and ghitras (fabric) on their heads held in place by an iqal (a type of rope) and the women wore black abayas and hijabs. Many of the local men and women wear these as well, but not all, by any means.
Then, after getting our bags, we took a train to the Burj Khalifa stop and followed the people through a series of walkways until we realized that we were definitely not going the way we needed to go to get to our airbnb. We were currently in the Dubai Mall. Trying to find a door to the outside was proving impossible, so I asked one of the many men standing around in suits. I showed them the google map to our airbnb, but he couldn't figure out where we were and where we needed to go. Randy was getting pretty stressed out by this time, so I just asked him where the nearest door to outside was. We followed his directions and once outside tried to catch up with our Google map, but the map wasn't accurately reading our location. Eventually, we walked around and around in 108 degree heat and eventually found our building. It is a security building, so you need a card, but we don't have a card. We were supposed to meet the concierge, but we could see that the concierge's desk was empty. Eventually someone else let us in and the concierge had a note on his desk that he was helping someone and would be back soon. Finally he came back, had a record of us, but made us sit and wait in the lobby to wait for someone to come down. We waited a long time, but eventually were shown our apartment. We are in Ease by Emaar, tower 2. The name Emaar is on the majority of the buildings in the downtown, where we are staying. We are on the 25th floor of 46 floors. We have a bathroom with an en suite, a living/dining room, nice-sized kitchen, and powder room. One of the couches in the living room is a futon for Joshua. As I've read is common in Dubai, we have a water purifier in our apartment (kind of a fancy water cooler). The water in Dubai is desalinated, but then picks up a particular taste from the pipes that is not pleasant, so most people have water purifiers like we do.
Being that it was only about 3:00, we came up with a plan and did it. We took an Uber to the Gold Souk. A souk is a marketplace, and this area is by the wharves and is the oldest part of Dubai. As the name implies, the gold souk is full of gold. We were laughing at the extravagance of the jewelry available! And when the shop owners tried to lure us in to buy, I laughed and said that we didn't have any money. We were awed by the gold, diamonds, and other gem stones. There is no way we could buy any of these, and even if we did, where would we wear it?! A little out of place for a Target run! Or to work or the gym!
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| yeah, those are me! |
We continued walking around the area, looking at souvenirs and spice shops. They have huge bowls of saffron and barrels full of other spices. The hawkers make Joshua very uncomfortable so he and Randy ignore them. I just laugh at them and reply that I don't have money! I felt so much better afterward with that approach. One shopkeeper pantomimed tears by her eyes that I didn't have the money for her jewels, so I pantomimed tears running down my face and we both laughed!
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| spices |
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| The gold souk |
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| a mosque in the marketplace area |
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| Beautiful lamp store! |
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| The textile souk |
Next, we took another Uber to the Frame of Dubai. It is what it sounds like, an enormous picture frame. You can pay to go inside. Outside the fountain was dancing in time to music which was fun. Then you enter and walk through a visual representation of the beginnings of Dubai from the empty desert. Next, up an elevator to the top, where you can see all around you. Great photo ops of the skylines. The floor in the center becomes transparent when you walk on it. There are interactive screens and messages about awards and what Dubai is currently trying to do (becoming more green, etc.). Then you take the elevator down and see the future that Dubai envisions. It is a wrap-around screen happening around you, both in buildings and technology, and under the water with improved desalinisation and marine life. The frame is just that, a frame of Dubai: past, present, and future. It was just around sunset and the frame was beginning to light up which was pretty.
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| Joshua attracts all little cats; there are quite a few around--they all look pretty hungry! |
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| The fountain show |
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| Early Dubai |
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| Current Dubai, looking down |
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| Wonder how many buildings were in this competition? |
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| Joshua |
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| Randy |
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| Entering the future |
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| This talks about how the building is built upon the design concepts of the Fibonacci Sequence |
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| This is a photo of them lifting the entire top of the frame into place in one piece |
We hadn't found anywhere to eat in the souk area, nor near the frame, so we took an Uber to the mall, figuring that we could find food there. Most of the restaurants we've seen in the city, including those in the mall are American chains. So, we ate at Pizza Hut. It turns out that it backs onto and opens onto the promenade around the lake. Not many pizza huts have al fresco dining! If it had been a cooler evening, we would have taken advantage of it! We had mojito drinks with our dinner which were fun.
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| A model of the planned Tower at Dubai Creek Tower (see below for more information about that) |
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| A gigantic aquarium in the mall. |
We went out the back and walked along the promenade with all of the other tourists. It was beginning to cool off--around 90. The Burj Khalifa was sparkling with lights going on and off all over it, so we had to take some photos. The Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world. Then the lights went off and a light show began on it. I can't upload the 2-3 minute video I took with my phone, so I'll try to do it as a Facebook post. The light show was incredible and was timed to music. After that, we continued along the Promenade, even coming upon a water light show that we watched for a few minutes. We continued across a pedestrian bridge that crosses the lake. We ended up close to our apartment. Stopped at a grocery store across the street to get food for breakfast. (The two videos below are of the Burj Khalifa twinkling and the lights in the harbor twinkling to the music)
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| Burj Khalifa |
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| Light show |
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| Pretty statues that look like dandelions gone to seed |
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| The opera house. It looks like the prow of a ship |
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| Another light show |
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| A gigantic slide; Joshua loved it. It's metal, though--wonder what it's like during the day? |
Dubai began as a small village (nomadic herders in 3000 BCE), then in1883, the Bani Yas tribe settled at the mouth of the creek. The creek formed a natural harbor and quickly became a center for the fishing, pearling, and seat trade. In the 1950s, the creek began to silt, probably because of all of the ships going in. The sheikh decided to dredge it which strengthened Dubai as a major trading and re-export hub. In 1966, they discovered oil. Sheikh Rashid took the oil revenues and poured them into the city, building hospitals, schools, roads, telecommunications networks, a new port and terminal for the airport, and a new harbor. The area quickly became a business and tourism hub. In 1970, the varied emirates of the area joined to become the UAE and it quickly became one of the richest countries in the world. In the 1980s and 90s, Dubai made a strategic decision to become a major international-quality tourism destination. Building new buildings became frantic. When the Burj Khalifa was built in 2004, they realized that it was strong enough to withstand several more floors, so they added them and it became the tallest building in the world. They are now preparing for Expo 2020 Dubai and building has picked up again. There are cranes everywhere and buildings being built. The Tower at Dubai Creek Harbour will be just "a notch" taller than the Burj Khalifa at 828 meters.
The city is very young and very clean and orderly. People are pleasant and friendly. The pictures we saw at the Frame of the future of Dubai, though, looked a lot like Singapore! There are not a lot of pedestrians in the city because it is too hot and the city is not pedestrian friendly or walkable. There are freeways going through the middle of it and the roads are all large and divide areas up. Every building has a circular entrance for cars. It is a very auto-centric city. Maybe that is what they should focus on for the future.
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