Having arrived at Al Maha from the south it felt like it was in the middle of nowhere. In fact, it was only 45min from Dubai to the north so, after checking out, it didn’t take us long to get to the city of Dubai. It was like entering a DisneyLand / Las Vegas World. It was hard to comprehend we were in the same country as the night before.
First stop was the Dubai Mall - the World’s largest shopping mall (12 million sq ft). Fortunately we only got to spend an hour there otherwise serious financial damage would have been done.
Next stop was the Burj Khalifa, the World’s tallest building (2,722 ft). Luckily we had VIP tickets since it was really crowded. We were swiftly transported up to the 158th floor for a nice view of Dubai.
We then set off to explore the old part of Dubai called the Bastakakiya Quarter, a merchant street reminiscent of the early days of Dubai’s International commerce. very multi-cultural - Indian, Pakistani as well as Arab. To cap of the day, we boarded a boat for a dinner cruise around the Marina district of Dubai.
Since it was Friday, it was the equivlent of our Saturday and definitely party-time on the water. (Strict Muslim country?)
We got a great sunset.
And a spectacular view of the city, all lit up.
As a photography group we had promised ourselves a photo of a Mosque, lit up at night. So, se set off in the bus to find one. Half way across town later we finally captured our image.
Forgetting it was the weekend, the traffic was gridlock and it took forever to get back to our hotel (Ritz Carlton). We checked in around 9pm, exhausted, frustrated by the traffic (we eventually abandoned the bus and walked to the hotel, backpacks and all)., and crashed.
This is what I would call a full day. Not sure about Dubai. This is a wild and crazy place, totally designed for tourists and about as far removed from the fishing village in Oman as you could get. Worth seeing, however. Briefly.