(There are times it's still a bit surreal, about being here in the UAE. And to see sights like Dubai that we've all seen featured on documentaries and in the movies, there are times it seems perfectly normal, and then other times, the "wow" factor kicks in again.)
Our big splurge was a seaplane ride over Dubai ... a few posts on that coming up. (Multiple posts because I took many photos and quite a bit of video.)
We drove up on a Friday morning. We had an idea of where we needed to go, and wanted to get there early. Did not want to miss the plane ride, and we also wanted to figure out where our hotel was.
I had taken Thursday off, so I had to keep remembering that it was Friday (not Saturday). And once in awhile I forget that on Fridays, most places are not open until the afternoon. (Holy day of worship.) We had intentionally drawn up our plans to go to Dubai on Friday/Saturday, because we wanted to catch up with my colleague Ahmed; he and Tim hit if off his last trip, and lunch on a Saturday is going to work best for Ahmed.
We found the Park Hyatt and the Dubai Creek Golf Club where the seaplane departs. We parked, and grabbed a taxi to the old souk area. (Not a whole lot of parking there.)
The seaplane takes off from Dubai Creek, which is near the old part of Dubai, along Dubai Creek. Along the creek is the old souk. A traditional rabbit warren of walkways. As I mentioned, it was Friday and not open until later in the afternoon, but we thought it would be fun to check it out anyway ... if nothing else, we know where to find it at a later date. Also in the area is an old fort and a museum, and we know the area where we can find that during another trip (not on a Friday!).
We walked around the souk just a bit, to get a taste for it. It would be fun to check it out when it's in full swing.
Along Dubai Creek are Abras -- small wooden boats. They serve as water taxis, taking people back and forth from one side of the creek to the other, for something like 1 dirham a person. We found out that they also will take you on a 45 minute ride on the creek. We had time to spare and thought "why not". You can pile on as many people who can sit, for 120 dirhams an hour. (120 AED divided by 3.67 = about $33 USD)
Here are a couple of abras:
Riding in an abra is a casual affair, as is piloting the boat ...
It's a wood boat. The material on top of the sitting area is contact paper. Holds up to the weather and easy to wipe off and keep clean.
Life jackets are stored in plastic sleeves on the underside of the overhead wood canopy:
Pretty clever, actually. And glad to know there are some safety precautions. Not so sure about the fire retardant canister:
Tied up along the creek are larger dhows. Most carry cargo across the Persian Gulf, many traveling to and from Iran with goods. I think I'd be hoping for calm seas, as I think these would toss a bit in rough weather.
In addition to cargo dhows, there were some lovely yachts. I like the contrast of old and new in these next two photos:
As you go by on the Creek, you can see your little boat's reflection ... we are the brown smudge in the water, toward the right.
Some of the dhows are used for dinner cruises:
The tall spire in the background of the photo (above) is the Burj Khalifa, tallest building in the world at the moment.
A couple of side notes. There were two mosques right next to Dubai Creek, both on the same side of the Creek. At prayer time, you usually here the singing/chanting of the Quran. These two mosques caught my attention, because it wasn't singing/chanting that I heard at the noon-ish prayer time ... it was spoken, and honestly, it sounded like the two were shouting at each other. (The prayers are amplified.) And it went on for quite awhile. I will have to ask someone about that ... see what that is about.
The other side note -- the people of and the businesses in the UAE really like to honor their leaders with large banners. The gentleman on the left is Crown Prince Mohammed, and the gentleman on the right is His Royal Highness Sheikh Khalifa, President of the UAE.
And our bonus round photos ... I thought this photo with some of the Dubai skyline in the back was fun:
And, if you haven't seen him in awhile, here's Timothy:
So ... all in all, a nice unexpected diversion that afternoon, before our seaplane ride.
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