Sunday was a bit of a slow day. We got up late in the day, struggling to get back in sync with the time zone. We ate brunch and then headed out to run some errands with Dad and Sheila. In the afternoon, Dad left for a business trip to Qatar, while me, Daryl, and Sheila went to check out nearby Jumeirah Beach. We continued on to a restaurant near the beach front to try some so-called Napoli pizza. It actually wasn't a bad attempt, but didn't quite match the pizza nirvana that we achieved in Naples. We grabbed a nightcap at the nearby Hilton Hotel and continued home for a late night swim. All in all, a nice day, and one that was very necessary in allowing us to regroup and reenergize after our very draining excursion through Europe.
*At Jumierah Beach
*Sheila's picture of us swimming (Daryl on bottom, me in lane above)
Monday was a horse of a different colour. We got started pretty early in the day and went from sight to sight to sight. We started at the Dubai Cultural Center where we had breakfast and a cultural lesson from two local Emirati. It was very informative and they were open about their roots, religion, food, and clothing. There was a group of about 30 participants, including Expats and visitors.
*Cultural Center breakfast group
*Breakfast, including chickpeas, rice, and yummy fried dough
*Participant dressed in traditional clothing
After the cultural center, we walked around a bit through the Bastakiya area of Dubai, an old historic district of the city that contains many old residential buildings. Today, most have been converted into art studios and shops. We stopped into a spice shop and purchased some locally made perfumes.
Next, we continued along the Dubai Creek to the Textile Souk (or market), a grouping of stores selling textile materials, scarves, shoes, etc. Sheila and I both purchased tops. The shopkeepers are very pushy, with workers standing on the street trying to convince you to come into their particular shop. Bartering on price is expected, of course.
*Sheila at the Textile Souk admiring some shoes
We wanted to continue onto the Gold and Spice Souks, which lay across the Dubai Creek. Luckily, there are water taxis that continually ferry locals and tourists between the two sides of the creek. These boats, called abras, are made of wood and hold about 20 people. Each ride only costs 1 Dirham, or about $0.30.
*Getting ready to depart on the abra
*Another abra in the Dubai Creek
*The three of us on the abra
*Gold Souk
We took an abra back across the creek to enjoy a lunch of hummus, tabbouleh (an Arab salad made of parsley, bulger, tomatoes, and a few other ingredients), pitas, and noodles. It was just what we needed to get our energy up.
*Enjoying lunch at a creekside restaurant
On the way back to the apartment, Sheila drove us out to the Palm Jumeirah, a manmade island in the Persian Gulf. I think this is one instance where seeing the view is better than being the view. The island itself was cool, but living on it would be a nightmare. We did get some nice photos with the Burj Al Arab in the background, the self-proclaimed only 7-star hotel in the world. It is designed to look like a boat sail. It really is a stunning building.
*Us in front of the Burj Al Arab
In the evening, we tucked in for some leftovers and watched a locally-produced movie, called City of Life. It was actually quite good...we would recommend watching it to see some nice shots of the city, at the very least.
Daryl and I finished the night by sitting on Dad and Sheila's patio and enjoying the weather and bustle of the Dubai Marina. We also captured some nice pictures of the buildings across the marina. While the day was not as relaxing as the previous day, it was highly enjoyable. In addition, we ticked off a lot of our to-dos in Dubai. Tomorrow, we plan to have another day of relaxation, followed by a desert safari tour on Wednesday, which will include sandboarding and riding dune buggies. Should be awesome.
*View 1 of Dubai Marina at night from balcony
*View 2 of Dubai Marina at night from balcony
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