When I was planning my trip to Sri Lanka and South India I knew I would be flying with Emirates airlines. I had heard nothing but good things about this airline and I must say it exceeded my expectations. The food (with the choices available on a printed menu no less - it's been a while since I've seen one of those) was excellent and the entertainment system was the best ever. The staff was attentive and friendly and hailed from countries all over the world. I just hope I get to fly with them again someday. Instead of sleeping which would have been the sensible thing to do I caught up on my movie watching..."Victoria and Abdul", "Goodbye Christopher Robin" and most of "Hampstead". Nonstop complimentary drinks (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic) were offered - it was such an enjoyable experience.
Arriving...not so much..... Our plane parked away from a jetway which happens often in busy airports. We had to wait twenty minutes or more for a bus to take us to the terminal building. We were standing in the aisle as the buses filled up and first, we were going to the back of the plane, nope then it was the front. As if that wasn't enough our packed bus got stuck in a traffic jam on the way to the terminal. Yes, a traffic jam on the runway - someone said that one of the Royal princes was coming in so we had to wait for him to pass. How true that was I don't know.
Passport control was done quickly and soon I was on the metro bound for the Jumeirah Lake Towers stop - a direct trip on the Red Line. The metro, which opened in 2009 is very modern and user-friendly. The fun started once I left the metro station and tried to find my way to my hotel, the Jannah Marina Bay Suites. First of all, I left from the wrong end of the metro station although being as I am not a man I asked directions immediately once I realized I was lost so quickly headed back to the other side. I wandered a few blocks in vaguely the right direction but to make a long story short I ended up taking a taxi the rest of the way to my hotel. I never did figure out how to get between the metro station and my hotel!
Being as my flight arrived at 7 a.m. my room was not ready of course. The hotel was right by the Marina which was beautiful.
I was extraordinarily tired - I have never been able to sleep on overnight flights so while I am groggy upon arrival I had never experienced this severe exhaustion. It was all part of the lethargy and tiredness that plagued the first month or so of my trip. I sat on a bench like the one shown in the picture above before heading up to an outdoor patio just outside the hotel. I nodded off and woke up to the sight of two women sitting opposite me giving me a look of horror. Okay, guess you were snoring Laurie! I was lucky that they had a room ready for me by 11 a.m. and I gratefully fell into bed immediately. This is definitely not something I recommend for overnight flights as I've been there, done that and it makes it harder to adapt to the current time zone. However there was just no alternative for me that day.
After a four or five hour rest I had a shower and headed down to find something to eat...there was a Greek restaurant on the main floor of the hotel so that was as good as any. I had the best hummus of my life - guess it helped that it had honey added to it. The Greek salad was fantastic.
And the view wasn't bad either!!
The Marina was beautifully lit up at night. Don't worry, you will see more of this. There was a mosque nearby and the man who did the Call to Prayer had a beautiful voice. It was mesmerizing and I would sit and listen to it if I was nearby every evening. Although I must say that my hotel room was on the OTHER side of the mosque so at least it didn't wake me up in the morning.
A little bit of background on Dubai is in order I think. Dubai is one of the seven states of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and faces Iran with Oman on its eastern side. It has a population of over 9 million of which over 80% are expats from over 200 countries. These immigrants can never become citizens of Dubai - you have to be born there to qualify. If you are a citizen then you are in luck. Emirati citizens receive a house (at least 6 bedrooms) as well as $30,000 US from the government upon their marriage.No bad, eh? The city is over 20 km long and before the metro was constructed was difficult to get around without a vehicle. Over the last thirty plus years the ruling Sheikhs have been very forward thinking and decided to focus on tourism which has made Dubai one of the most modern cities in the world. The architecture (which you will see) is breathtaking. Of course, this comes at a cost and that is what is pretty much slave labour. People from all over Asia are recruited to come to Dubai with promises of high wages. In most cases it seems the agents take most of the money and they are left working for next to nothing with not enough money to send back to their family let alone return home. Others live here happily with a lifestyle they could only dream of in their own country and enjoying all that Dubai has to offer. The country's religion is Islam so while there you are expected to abide by their rules such as no public displays of affection between couples of any persuasion and only married heterosexual couples may hold hands. Liquor is available in hotels and bars although not available to purchase to take back to your hotel. Being intoxicated in a public place could land you in jail and don't even think about drinking and driving. That said, there are some great clubs to go dancing in apparently - I wouldn't know! As far as clothes go...no provocative clothing such as short shorts, crop tops or bathing suits are allowed unless you are at the beach. Those are the rules. Respect them and you will be just fine.
The next morning I woke with a sore throat which plagued me for most of my stay in Dubai...yes that first month or so of my trip was really rough and I had doubts that I would make the whole four and a half month journey. but hell, I was in Dubai and decided to do as much as I could do without running myself down totally as I still had Sri Lanka and India to explore.
I had bought myself a five-day pass on the Hop On/Hop Off bus which was a good thing to do for a first timer especially as some of the places I wanted to see were awkward to get to with public transit.
The next morning I wandered along the marina promenade and sat on the patio of a restaurant where I had a pastry and a coffee. I watched people zip line across the Marina right over top of me. At first I wondered where the screeching and yelling was coming from and then I looked up!! I never did get a picture as you didn't get much notice and they were moving pretty darn quickly. I have "been there, done that" when it comes to zip lining - did it in Costa Rica and loved it but now I think I am too protective of Thelma (my knee replacement) to do that now.
I headed over to the Marina Mall to pick up the Hop on/Hop off bus. I couldn't find the stop at first but let's not go into that. There were three bus routes and I did all of them as an overview of the city with my one of my only stops being Bur Dubai which is one of the oldest parts of the city. The bus stopped outside the Dubai Museum which I visited and enjoyed. (admission was included in my package) The museum is housed inside the Al Fahidi Fort.
It was interesting to learn how the residents lived here before it became the glitzy "Vegas with camels" it is now.
I then walked over to the Bur Dubai Souk and had a quick look around before purchasing myself a scarf with camels on.
I then walked out to the Bur Dubai Abra station and watched the boats on the water. Why I didn't go on one is beyond me but at the time I was happy to just watch and take pictures. I was pretty tired and did not feel like trying to figure out where I wanted to go...sadly I never got back to this area on the trip. Oh well, next time...if there is one.
Back on the hop on/hop off bus only to get off a couple of stops later and take a boat trip along Dubai creek. (included in the package deal)
How cool is the building on the left? I love it!
Time to get back on the hop on/hop off. The main meeting point of two of the routes was the Dubai Mall so I got on the Marina bus but not before snapping a few photos out of the window.
Above is the Dubai Frame which is a recent addition to the Dubai skyline.
I am not sure where this was but thought it was rather pretty.
I took a quick snap of the Burj al Arab ("Tower of the Arabs") out the window as the sun was starting to descend. I would get a little closer to this another day although access to this beauty of a building is strictly prohibited unless of course you are very very rich and have a reservation at the hotel or one of the restaurants. The 7 star hotel is comprised of 202 two storey suites, each with their own butler.
Back to the Marina Mall and this was what awaited me. Stunning!!!
And that's a wrap for my first 36 hours in Dubai!
Arriving...not so much..... Our plane parked away from a jetway which happens often in busy airports. We had to wait twenty minutes or more for a bus to take us to the terminal building. We were standing in the aisle as the buses filled up and first, we were going to the back of the plane, nope then it was the front. As if that wasn't enough our packed bus got stuck in a traffic jam on the way to the terminal. Yes, a traffic jam on the runway - someone said that one of the Royal princes was coming in so we had to wait for him to pass. How true that was I don't know.
Passport control was done quickly and soon I was on the metro bound for the Jumeirah Lake Towers stop - a direct trip on the Red Line. The metro, which opened in 2009 is very modern and user-friendly. The fun started once I left the metro station and tried to find my way to my hotel, the Jannah Marina Bay Suites. First of all, I left from the wrong end of the metro station although being as I am not a man I asked directions immediately once I realized I was lost so quickly headed back to the other side. I wandered a few blocks in vaguely the right direction but to make a long story short I ended up taking a taxi the rest of the way to my hotel. I never did figure out how to get between the metro station and my hotel!
Being as my flight arrived at 7 a.m. my room was not ready of course. The hotel was right by the Marina which was beautiful.
I was extraordinarily tired - I have never been able to sleep on overnight flights so while I am groggy upon arrival I had never experienced this severe exhaustion. It was all part of the lethargy and tiredness that plagued the first month or so of my trip. I sat on a bench like the one shown in the picture above before heading up to an outdoor patio just outside the hotel. I nodded off and woke up to the sight of two women sitting opposite me giving me a look of horror. Okay, guess you were snoring Laurie! I was lucky that they had a room ready for me by 11 a.m. and I gratefully fell into bed immediately. This is definitely not something I recommend for overnight flights as I've been there, done that and it makes it harder to adapt to the current time zone. However there was just no alternative for me that day.
After a four or five hour rest I had a shower and headed down to find something to eat...there was a Greek restaurant on the main floor of the hotel so that was as good as any. I had the best hummus of my life - guess it helped that it had honey added to it. The Greek salad was fantastic.
And the view wasn't bad either!!
The Marina was beautifully lit up at night. Don't worry, you will see more of this. There was a mosque nearby and the man who did the Call to Prayer had a beautiful voice. It was mesmerizing and I would sit and listen to it if I was nearby every evening. Although I must say that my hotel room was on the OTHER side of the mosque so at least it didn't wake me up in the morning.
A little bit of background on Dubai is in order I think. Dubai is one of the seven states of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and faces Iran with Oman on its eastern side. It has a population of over 9 million of which over 80% are expats from over 200 countries. These immigrants can never become citizens of Dubai - you have to be born there to qualify. If you are a citizen then you are in luck. Emirati citizens receive a house (at least 6 bedrooms) as well as $30,000 US from the government upon their marriage.No bad, eh? The city is over 20 km long and before the metro was constructed was difficult to get around without a vehicle. Over the last thirty plus years the ruling Sheikhs have been very forward thinking and decided to focus on tourism which has made Dubai one of the most modern cities in the world. The architecture (which you will see) is breathtaking. Of course, this comes at a cost and that is what is pretty much slave labour. People from all over Asia are recruited to come to Dubai with promises of high wages. In most cases it seems the agents take most of the money and they are left working for next to nothing with not enough money to send back to their family let alone return home. Others live here happily with a lifestyle they could only dream of in their own country and enjoying all that Dubai has to offer. The country's religion is Islam so while there you are expected to abide by their rules such as no public displays of affection between couples of any persuasion and only married heterosexual couples may hold hands. Liquor is available in hotels and bars although not available to purchase to take back to your hotel. Being intoxicated in a public place could land you in jail and don't even think about drinking and driving. That said, there are some great clubs to go dancing in apparently - I wouldn't know! As far as clothes go...no provocative clothing such as short shorts, crop tops or bathing suits are allowed unless you are at the beach. Those are the rules. Respect them and you will be just fine.
The next morning I woke with a sore throat which plagued me for most of my stay in Dubai...yes that first month or so of my trip was really rough and I had doubts that I would make the whole four and a half month journey. but hell, I was in Dubai and decided to do as much as I could do without running myself down totally as I still had Sri Lanka and India to explore.
I had bought myself a five-day pass on the Hop On/Hop Off bus which was a good thing to do for a first timer especially as some of the places I wanted to see were awkward to get to with public transit.
The next morning I wandered along the marina promenade and sat on the patio of a restaurant where I had a pastry and a coffee. I watched people zip line across the Marina right over top of me. At first I wondered where the screeching and yelling was coming from and then I looked up!! I never did get a picture as you didn't get much notice and they were moving pretty darn quickly. I have "been there, done that" when it comes to zip lining - did it in Costa Rica and loved it but now I think I am too protective of Thelma (my knee replacement) to do that now.
I headed over to the Marina Mall to pick up the Hop on/Hop off bus. I couldn't find the stop at first but let's not go into that. There were three bus routes and I did all of them as an overview of the city with my one of my only stops being Bur Dubai which is one of the oldest parts of the city. The bus stopped outside the Dubai Museum which I visited and enjoyed. (admission was included in my package) The museum is housed inside the Al Fahidi Fort.
It was interesting to learn how the residents lived here before it became the glitzy "Vegas with camels" it is now.
I then walked over to the Bur Dubai Souk and had a quick look around before purchasing myself a scarf with camels on.
I then walked out to the Bur Dubai Abra station and watched the boats on the water. Why I didn't go on one is beyond me but at the time I was happy to just watch and take pictures. I was pretty tired and did not feel like trying to figure out where I wanted to go...sadly I never got back to this area on the trip. Oh well, next time...if there is one.
Back on the hop on/hop off bus only to get off a couple of stops later and take a boat trip along Dubai creek. (included in the package deal)
How cool is the building on the left? I love it!
Above is the Dubai Frame which is a recent addition to the Dubai skyline.
I am not sure where this was but thought it was rather pretty.
I took a quick snap of the Burj al Arab ("Tower of the Arabs") out the window as the sun was starting to descend. I would get a little closer to this another day although access to this beauty of a building is strictly prohibited unless of course you are very very rich and have a reservation at the hotel or one of the restaurants. The 7 star hotel is comprised of 202 two storey suites, each with their own butler.
Back to the Marina Mall and this was what awaited me. Stunning!!!
And that's a wrap for my first 36 hours in Dubai!
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