Although Lesley did not sleep too well, I had several hours and awoke to sunshine and blue skies but the safe would not open and the bathroom flooded if you tried to let the water out of the bath! But, the breakfast buffet was enormous and good quality and we fed ourselves well then waited to get our safe opened and to see the Alpha Travel rep to confirm time for picking us up for the Dune Safari and Dinner on Friday and our transfer to the airport on Saturday.
Having bought Dubai Big Bus Tour tickets we took a taxi to the nearest stop several miles away and began with the Blue Route which takes on much of the modern city with numerous shopping malls, miles of beaches and some quite spectacular hotels and resorts. I was quite taken aback by the sheer range of building styles and the opulence of it all and wondered whether all citizens of the UAE lived like this? We lunched in Café Martinez in the Wafi Mall then took part of the Red Route around the old town to the Dubai Creek where we boarded a pleasure Dhow for an hour's guided cruise which was interesting.
Walking along the creek side towards the Bastakia Quarter we stumbled upon a Bedouin Festival with members of a wide range of tribes many dressed in traditional costumes, camping out in their varied styles of tents and shelters and all cooking traditional food on open fires. Some were also singing and dancing and all were very friendly and open to talking to folk about their culture and lifestyle.
Walking on we entered one of the many souks, Lesley was constantly harassed to look at a multitude of scarves and stall holders tried to insist I would look good in a traditional Arab head covering - actually, I didn't and we left the souk but I have a few photos which will get posted later as we have no wifi in the hotel, well not free that is!
We then ventured onto the Dubai Metro which is clean, fast and efficient with announcements in Arabic and English. I do not think I have ever been in a country where the culture and lifestyle is so different to mine and yet almost everyone seems to understand and speak English!
We travelled to the Dubai Mall to view the famous fountain and have some dinner in another strange fusion restaurant, this time primarily Asian and French with the odd twist of American and some wonderful juices.
We managed to find our way back to the hotel but noted that Dubai is not very pedestrian friendly in the suburbs. Lots of lanes on every highway but an absence of pavements in places and hardly any crossings!
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