Abu Dhabi Day

Our time in UAE is almost over. Monday we arose bright and early for an all day excursion to Abu Dhabi. Located 100 kilometers away from Dubai, it took about 2 hours to get there by bus. We traveled on a well maintained multi-lane highway all the way, often times with some construction. Our guide, Tony kept us well informed along the way with interesting facts about Abu Dhabi and the UAE as well as history about the Sheik Zayed Mosque we would be visiting.



The building of the mosque began in 1996 and even though construction is completed, they are still working on the landscaping. Some statistics about the mosque that I learned were: there are 80 domes, 1097 pillars in total, wit 97 of those pillars directly inside the main prayer room. These 97 pillars were made of marble and inlaid with mother of pearl. All of the marble used in the mosque was imported from Macedonia. The main dome of the mosque measures 35 meters in diameter on the outside. The turrets around the mosque are each 107 meters tall. The walls of the outer room are marble with beautiful inlaid mosaic floral design. Inside the main prayer room a handwoven Persian rug spreads from one end of the room to the other and is the largest handwoven Persian rug in the world. The large Swarovski crystal chandelier hanging in the center of the prayer room is reportedly the largest of its kind. There are two other smaller Swarovski chandeliers in the side rooms as well. The 99 names for Allah are calligraphed on a Kibbah wall inside the mosque. The Kibbah wall points in the direction of Mecca. In our hotel room there is an arrow on the ceiling which also points in the direction of Mecca. Sheik Zayed Mosque is the largest machine made mosque built is comparison to the Taj Mahal which was man-made. The mosque was built at a cost of 3.6 billion US dollars.

Quite a sight to see! The rest of the day we spent driving past Presidential palaces, and the Emirates Palace Hotel. The Emirates Palace is a 7 star hotel and a lot of the rich and famous put in frequent visits to this hotel. Abu Dhabi was a fascinating city, even larger than Dubai, and with even more construction cranes than Dubai. We made a quick stop at a date market as well where we made some purchases.

Later that evening was our OSSN farewell dinner, which we followed up with a walk to the Old Souk. This was a very authentic feeling souk and we got some unbelievable deals. The little pathways we took back to the hotel were crowded with people, adults and children even at the late hour of 10PM. The shops were still open and the area seemed more alive than during the day. One thing for sure... we have felt TOTALLY safe walking around Dubai. With a 1.5% crime rate who wouldn't feel safe. This has been a wonderful experience and we are so glad that we had the opportunity to make this trip. Tomorrow we pack up and head home, but not before going to visit the Palm Jumeirah island and take a tour through the Atlantis Hotel.

Stayed tuned for our next adventure....

Our Day in the Desert

Saturday started off with a 1/2 day to ourselves, so we walked down to the creek and took an Abra (water taxi) over to the gold and spice souks on the other side. Wandering around on our own gave us more time to take in the whole flavor of the area. We didn't feel so rushed in looking for some special souvenirs and practicing our bartering skills. After lunch in our hotel lobby restaurant we gathered up our Safari gear and met everybody in the lobby.

There were sixteen 4x4 SUV's lined up outside our hotel waiting to take all of us out to the desert for our Safari. They had warned those with back or heart problems that this desert safari could be too rigorous for them. We decided to just ask our driver to take it easy at first so we could see how rough it really was. The SUV's caravaned about an hour outside of Dubai to one of a handful of "businesses" that offer these Safari tours with a Bedouin camp experience. Upon arrival to the desert base camp we were given an opportunity to souvenir shop and use the restrooms while our drivers deflated the air pressure in the tires.

The time had come--we piled into the Land Rover, made sure our seatbelts were tight and our stomach's settled before Ishmael took off. We were 12th in a caravan of 16. This is the sort of dune ride that you WILL NOT experience on the Lake Michigan sand dunes. This was dune bashing at its best--sand flying, tires spinning, rocking back and forth as Ishmael skillfully took us up one dune then spun into the next dune all while avoiding the other SUV's that were so close by or worse yet not rolling our vehicle. Gary looked a little nervous at times. I would not really compare this to a roller coaster as it wasn't as steep or as fast. And it was NOT as rough or bouncy as one of those simulator rides at Disney. A couple of times we would see a vehicle stopped and were told - oops, somebody got sick to their stomach. The Safari made two stops, one for pictures and scenery, the other a beverage stop (no it wasn't a McDonald's in the middle of the desert) before arriving at the faux Bedouin camp.


We arrived just prior to sunset and we were anxious to try riding a camel. This was a real camel ride, starting with climbing onto the camel while it was kneeling on the ground, having it stand up while you're seated, being led on a short stroll around the camp and then back to starting point. To be honest, when the camel starts to kneel down, you had better be holding on for dear life because you are not expecting it to lunge forward and down all at the same time. This part of the camel ride was more jostling than the dune buggy ride and actually a bit scarier.

Afterwards we went into the camp where they had low tables with cushions to sit on set up in a square around a Persian carpeted performance area. We had a choice of having our fortune told, smoking a Hookah, having our picture taken in traditional garb or getting a henna tattoo. I opted for the tattoo. Then it was time to enjoy the Arabian style meal that had been prepared for us...fresh breads, lentil soup, rice, stewed vegetables, kabobs, a local fish, chicken sausage and an array of desserts. They make a very tasty version of bread pudding and we have had it served at almost every meal since arriving here.


Once our belly's were filled it was time to watch some belly dancers. The performance was on the Persian carpeted area and we were all mesmerized by 2 belly dancers as they moved in ways I could never dream of moving. They even got some audience involved which was fun to see how much we didn't know about moving our belly's. It was great fun, but soon it was time to get back in our SUV's and head out of the desert. A short 5 minute ride brought us to the air refill station where Ishmael reinflated the tires so we could get back on the road to Dubai. All in all I would rate this as an A-1 excursion for the entertainment, adventure and dining value it provided.

Next time we're off to visit Abu Dhabi....

The City-Sites, Sounds & Smells

Friday afternoon our group of 66 climbed onboard two coaches and had a 4 1/2 hour tour of Dubai. The origin of Dubai goes back to 1830 when traders from Oman came here to make a life for themselves. At that time the city was called Al Wasl. It is fascinating to ssee how the old and the new Dubai live side by side (or across the creek) from each other. Our first stop on the tour was to Jumeirah Beach. Jumeirah means "Land of the Moonlight". Along this stretch of beach is where the luxury hotels and resorts are built up as well as palatial size homes and villas. Along this same stretch of Jumeirah Road stands the Jumeirah Mosque. This mosque is one of the few places where they have on display a copy of the Koran translated into English. As we headed towards the Dubai Creek, which is 14.5 km long, you can see the obvious difference between old and new Dubai and its way of life. Our guide pointed out the large blue Dhows which still ply international waters, sailing to far off ports with their wares. In contrast luxury yachts are moored near by. Our Dhow Dinner cruise in the evening was a great way to experience the culture from the creek all while enjoying traditional Indian and Arab cuisine.


Another stop in our city tour was the Dubai Museum and fort. This structure was built in 1785 originally as a residence for the ruling family, then it became a dungeon, a place of refuge during the was and eventually this museum. It was interesting walking thru the gallery and seeing displays of what used to be the way of life in old Dubai. After the museum we were off to visit the Souks, or markets. A note of explanation is necessary-Friday and Saturday is the "weekend" for the people here in Dubai which means that it is a day for all the Indian people to be bussed into town for shopping, visiting with relatives, eating and just congregating in LARGE numbers. Therefore, the Gold Souk was exceptionally crowded today, with people bartering, buying, selling and telling you anything to get you separated from your dollars. All the gold was pretty to look at, lovely to touch, but definitely not in our budget at this time. Upon leaving the Gold Souk we walked over to the Spice Souk where our guide took us into one shop to complete our purchases and get us all back on the bus in a timely manner. The bus literally crawled through the hundreds of Indians milling about in the streets, on the sidewalks and everywhere! Unbelievable to witness!


Some interesting facts I learned about Dubai:

Population of Dubai Emirate is approximately 2 million, of which 80% are Ex-Patriots. Of those 80%, 43% are from India, and one particular province within India. The other 20% of the population are domestic residents.

UAE is the 5th richest oil producing nation in the world

The tallest building in Dubai iis the Burj (means tower) Dubai at 818 meters. It is not totally completed yet due to the building slowdown here.

The Burj Al Arab hotel is 321 meters tall which makes it 1 meter taller than the Eiffel Tower.

Residents of UAE pay NO taxes. Dubai is a duty free shopping zone.

Ex Pats are treated with more respect and hospitality in Dubai than they would be in their home countries.

Dubai is 98.5% crime free, and in Dubai women enjoy equal rightswith men.

Just thought I'd share those tidbits with you all. More about our Desert Safari tomorrow.

Flight-Fantasy-Food

Flight-

We arrived in Dubai after a 13 1/2 hour flight on one of the new Delta 777 aircraft. This flight, though long, was smooth and uneventful. The two meals & snacks that were served were better than many we have eaten on airplanes. There was a long list of movies to select from if one chose to stay up and view them. Fortunately, we had exit row, bulkhead seats so we had plenty of room to stretch out and sleep. We actually got more sleep than anticipated so once we got to Dubai, cleared customs and reached our hotel at 8:30PM, we went out for a walk. Our body clocks didn't seem to be too off kilter.


Fantasy-

We pinched ourselves the next morningto make sure we really had woken up in the "City of Sunshine". After breakfast we took off walking and exploring the area around the Radisson Hotel. It was located right across from Dubai Creek, so we strolled along the creek and looked at all the Dhow's. We will be taking a Dhow Dinner Cruise on the Creek during our time here. It was fascinating seeing all the fishing boats at the wharf-watching the men hose down the boats and hang their laundry out to dry. I love visiting new places and experiencing new adventures, so being able to visit Dubai is a fantasy dream come true.


Food-

An early highlight of our trip was being able to partake in an afternoon High Tea at the Burj Al Arab hotel. I had reserved it prior to our departure from home. We arrived early so we could explore this famous hotel before taking the express elevator to the 27th floor to the Skyview Bar where they served High Tea. The view from the top was breathtaking, looking off in one direction to see the Jumeirah Palm Island where the Atlantis Palm Hotel is, then off in the other direction to see the coastline which boasts an expanding number of luxury hotels and high rise buildings.

To say that High Tea was an indulgence is an understatement but one SO well worth every calorie eaten and every dollar spent. From the fresh berries and cream, the Salmon Wellington, a variety of finger sandwiches, chocolate Cream Brulee' and other sweets, to the fresh scones with clotted cream and jams, it was 2 hours well spent enjoying every morsel and crumb. Our server even packaged up some petit fours for us to enjoy later in the evening.


After Tea we decided to take a taxi over to the Mall of the Emirates seeing as how we were so close at this point. Plus, we wanted to walk off some of the calories we had just enjoyed. This gave us the chance to see Ski Dubai - the indoor ski mountain inside the Mall. Quite something to witness, snow, chair lifts, ski runs, tubing slopes etc. After a couple of hours of walking the 3 levels of this Mall, we were ready to head back to the Royal Ascot Hotel, our host hotel for this OSSN Conference.



More to come as the conference activities begin later today (Friday)....

Off to Dubai

Well, tomorrow is the big day! When I first heard about this opportunity to visit Dubai with OSSN, I told Gary that I wanted to be on that bandwagon. That was almost a year ago and so when the conference registration opened in December of 2008, we began our plans to attend. From compiling frequent flyer miles into one account to finding a hotel to stay in for our early arrival, all things came together nicely.

We fly out Tuesday from Detroit to Atlanta and then a 14 hour flight from Atlanta straight over to Dubai. That is a LONGGGG time to be on a plane, so sleep aids, reading material, snacks and more sleep aids are all part of our packing list. We are supposed to arrive in Dubai on Wednesday, April 15th at 7:50 PM, so our body clocks should be totally confused. However, that is not stopping us from jumping right into exploring this fascinating city. Thursday afternoon we are scheduled to go to the infamous Burj Al Arab hotel for High Tea. Having a reservation of some sort at the hotel is the only way of gaining entry into the property. Even our scheduled city tour the next day is just a drive by of the Burj. I will try and post some pics from our view from the Skyview at the top of the Burj.

More from Dubai....