Dubai is an amazing place. It is very modern clean and safe. The city looks as if someone gave a bunch of architects a blank piece of paper, and said " go for it, you draw it and we will build it" ; and they did. More on that later.
We started our day with a lovely breakfast, although I decided to give the Foul Mademmoisel a miss. Then we went to investigate a wharf across the road. It was packed with dhows moored next to each other about 5 deep. Every so often a wagon with a container would pull up. The container would be emptied onto the quay and the contents literally manhandled into the open holds of the little ships. There was everything from car tyres to push chairs, to twin tubs, to computers and 40 inch LED TVs. They were all arranged in neat piles waiting to be loaded. Oddly there was no obvious security. We just wandered around. It was the neatest, cleanest dock you can imagine.
We were then picked up for a city tour. When we had been on a bus for 2 hours before we joined another bus for the tour proper, I was beginning to wish I had gone for a desert trip. We did get to see lots of Dubai. The tour as it turned out was OK. We had a look at some very expensive hotels, from the outside. Including the Sail shaped one, the Jameriah . It costs between € 3000 to €18000 a night!
According to the guide the population is about 7 million. Less than 1 million are Dubai citizens. They are all millionaires as the sheik gives them gifts of money, houses and furniture when they get married. Certainly it was very rare to see an Arab doing ordinary work. Most workers are Asian. There are strong links with India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, also the Philippines I think. Our guide was Egyptian.
We visited the Dubai Museum which is in an old fort. It was worth the visit just to see hundreds of swifts darting around before roosting in the mud brick walls of the fort. It was a good little museum charting the rise of Dubai from two small settlements on either side of the Dubai creek to the sprawling place it is now. The stuffed seagulls on the way in were a tad odd.
The sheik who is responsible for everything that happens in the emirate is highly influenced by America and Europe. You can see it in all the amazing skyscrapers I mentioned earlier. The road signs have a very British feel, and even the plugs are the proper three pin variety.
After the museum it was a water taxi across the creek to the spice and gold souk. The spice market was interesting. I did not impress when I asked for some ras hanut. When I asked where I could get some, I was told Morocco ! The gold souk is something else. I have never seen anything like it. They literally had shirts of gold. Which brings me back to crime, or the lack thereof. It seems the local police force have very little to do. Commit a crime here and it is deportation straight away.
The streets are very clean, as are the cars. There is a £100 fine for having a dirty car.
After the tour we had a dhow ride while we ate dinner. Then we caught a taxi to the Dubai Mall, the largest in the world I believe, beside the Burj Khalifa an amazing 2,700ft tall building. We went to watch the fountain show which happens every half hour between 6 and 11 pm. The fountains were dancing to The Big Country music. And very impressive it was too. After that we went to look at the aquarium and the ice skating rink inside the mall. Yes they don't do things by half here.
What did I think of Dubai? To be honest I am not sure. It is a city as modern as you could hope to find. It is cleaner and safer than most. If you are looking for heritage and local colour, you won't find it here. It is a shoppers paradise. I understand why people come here for winter sun. It certainly made for an interresting stop over. Would I come back? Maybe, I would like to see the desert. But for now onward to Melbourne.
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