Dubai, U.A.E.: wretched excess in the desert…

Please do not be put off by the title of this post. We really enjoyed our first look at Dubai; however, most of what we saw was really over the top: architecturally; the infrastructure; the souks; everything!

The Burj Kalifa, the world's tallest building at almost one-half mile high, as seen by my telephoto lens from about ten miles out to sea - our first glimpse of Dubai.

Dubai is one of the seven sheikdoms making up the UAE. It is the only one not oil-dependent for its continuing success. The yellow star is about where we were docked and where most of the action is located.

 

Our port call began in early evening, so we really had no time to go off the ship and begin to look around. Although there were several evening activities scheduled, we chose to eat aboard ship and get ready for what we hoped would be an interesting day the next morning.

Dubai has a somewhat fairyland quality about it, but it is also a thriving center of commerce in the middle east. They no longer have any oil, so they rely on a combination of tourism, international banking and business, and trade-free zones to entice companies and visitors. It is working: unemployment is almost non-existent; the standard of living is among the highest in the world; everyone we met seemed to like their lot in life. Of the 2 million population only about 11% are native. The majority are ex-pats and guest workers. If a guest worker loses or quits their job, they have 30 days to find another or their visa is canceled and they are sent back to their home country. The government provides education and health care for all. The individual companies provide worker housing. It appears to work.

Good idea to take it easy the first evening… We were up fairly early and out to a bus for a trip planned by the travel network that we have joined and that has sponsored several special events for us: Signature Travel Network. We stumbled upon Signature last year for our first World Cruise and we have been very pleased with how they handle their offerings. One of the special treats for World Cruisers was to be a sightseeing tour of Dubai followed by a luncheon at the Burj Al Arab, the world’s only “Seven Star” hotel. Yeah, a little hokey, but wait and see…

Our sightseeing tour began with a short trip from the pier to the main canal, actually called a “creek”: Diera Creek. Keep in mind that just about everything in Dubai is man-made (including the world’s largest mall with an indoor ski slope…). At the creek, we left the bus and got into the local water taxis. The taxi took us on a short ride along the creek to a landing near the old city and the souks.

The three circles denote where we were docked (on the left) and the location of the two souks we visited.

Our water taxi. Not the most comfortable of rides. The platform upon which you sit is only about 8" to 10" high and it makes for a tough way to get back up again...

I must explain that this port stop is on a Friday, the Muslim Sabbath. Nothing much happens until after 3:00 PM. Fortunately, in Dubai, many shops know that they need to be open to try to snare whatever traffic might come in – including cruise ship passengers. There were several ships in along with the Silver Whisper (mostly German and Oriental tourists), so most of the shops in the souks were open, although not all.

The first souk we visited was the spice market and it certainly lives up to its name. Shop after shop filled with delicate and aromatic spices, herbs, and the obligatory trinkets and clothing. We only had a few minutes to shop and we were able to snag our required refrigerator magnet. We then walked several blocks to the gold souk. Yes, a souk devoted to gold, silver, precious and semi-precious stones, trinkets and clothing. Every one was willing to make a deal, but we again had to cut our visit short. So, no gold or silver or precious stone baubles this time.

The above four shots will give an idea of what we saw at the souks. The top two are at the spice market and the bottom two at the gold market. Yes, that is Bonnie checking out the merchandise at the gold market...

Back on the bus and a tour of the newer parts of Dubai. You may be surprised to realize that outside of the small old city we just left that had a population of less than 100,000 in 1990, Dubai is now a “new” city of about 2 million!

The Dubai skyline as we traveled toward the Burj Al Arab. That needle-like building is the dominating Burj Kalifa tower. It is hard to look up anywhere in Dubai without seeing it...

Talk about that wretched excess: a hotel consisting of two towers that look like palm trees (the Dubai Marriott); a 79-story apartment building that is exactly square, but twisted so that the bottom corner is 90 degrees apart from the top corner of the same side; the world’s tallest building at about one-half mile high (the Burj Kalafia); the only “seven-star” hotel in the world (the Burj Al Arab); a mini-city on artificial islands that, from the air, look like they form a palm tree (Palm Island); another mini-city on artificial islands that, when viewed from the air, look like a map of the world (The World Islands); the world’s largest enclosed shopping mall boasting an indoor ski slope (the Mall of the Emirates); a water theme park with a water slide over one-quarter mile long (Wild Wadi Waterpark); and more and more and more… All of this in a desert that was nothing but sand 25 years ago!

Finally, we wound our way to the Burj Al Arab, that seven-star wonder I mentioned earlier, for a luncheon on the 27th floor (opposite the helipad that occasionally doubles as a tennis court).

The Burj Al Arab sits about ten miles out of the center of Dubai on a magnificent stretch of beach.

The Burj Al Arab: the world's only "seven-star" hotel. All the "rooms" are two-story suites. They are the glassy looking areas to the sides of the big white thing. That big white thing is a specially treated canvas - just like a big tent (this is, after all, the Arab world), thus forming the world's largest open-air atrium inside the lobby of the hotel - 26 stories high. The smaller glassed in area at the top is where we had our lunch.

First, one must have a reason and a reservation to merely get on the grounds of the Burj. The hotel sits on an artificial island about 1000 yards offshore that can only be reached by a causeway with a double guard gate at the end. Once verified that you do, indeed, have a valid reason to be there, you are ushered into a setting so opulent that it is difficult even for me to describe it. Think Arabian Nights on steroids…

After wondering our way through the entrance, the multi-story lobby (complete with full wall aquaria), we escalated up to the main reception area and the elevators that whisked us up to the 27th floor. Stepping out of the elevators into a rather low-lit corridor makes the entrance to the restaurant another moment to think about wretched excess. The view over the skyline, the palm islands, the world islands, the beaches, etc. is breath-taking.

The lobby entrance at the ground floor. The marble terraces contain fountains that are programmed to the background music. The escalators take you up to the main lobby and you have an aquarium show on the way up.

 I could not get a direct upshot of the atrium without lying on my back.

 This is a closer view of one of the twin aquariums on either side of the terraced fountains.

More fountains (set to music) on the main lobby floor above the entry lobby floor...

This is the view from our restaurant lunch spot.

Finally, we sat down to a four-course lunch served by a flock of silken-clad wait staff. Food, paired wines, service – all of this coupled with the views made for a memorable meal. Rather than try to describe each dish, I have included a shot of the menu and a few shots of our food porn lunch:

Le Menu

 Starter

 Intermediate

 Main course

Dessert

 Oh yes, it wouldn't be complete without a shot of the happy pair!

One last little treat - including a 3-D white chocolate Burj Al Arab logo mini-sculpture!

After almost two hours of this pampering, we returned to earth and to the bus for the trip back to the ship. Once on board again we just crashed.

We leave very early in the morning for our next port of call: Muscat, Oman. We expect to see a more traditional Arab culture. Stay tuned…