More sore feet and more retail therapy!
Trip Start
Jan 08, 2012
1
11
13
Trip End
Jan 19, 2012
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Bit of a restless night – no real reason. Slow getting up, but still got down to breakfast by 7. Had scrambled eggs again, and as the kitchen is open you can watch them preparing it. One chef was preparing a huge pan of mushrooms for the salad bar, fried with herbs and balsamic vinegar and parsley and a thickish sauce that he didn't know the English name for. He asked me would I like to try some – so I did – delicious! Wish I knew what the other sauce was! Probably ground camel dung or something equally disgusting!
After shower and ablutions, set off on another adventure, courtesy of Mr Bellman, who is turning out to be my personal Tour Guide Advisor! I bought a second one day pass, at the reduced price – now less than 2 singles and I can hop on and off the Metro or buses as I wish – all for under £3!
Got off at the Metro stop closest to the Old Gold Souk, and wandered down through the trading areas to get to the Gold Souk. Streets lined with little shops selling everything from car accessories to carpets, commercial packs of tissues and one shop just selling packs of chewing gum – wholesale packs, but still a shop only selling chewing gum!
The closer I got to the Souk, the shops became all jewellers, with displays full of the most outrageous gold creations I have ever seen. Much of it the very yellow 24 carat kind much loved by Asians and especially Indians, for weddings and celebrations. See photos! They weren’t the most extravagant – there were some humdingers!
Went into one shop (just for a laugh!) and tried on a couple of rings – just plain white gold ones – the first was £1200 and the second a snip at £456! I said I would have to think about it and beat a hasty retreat!
The lanes off the main souk are where the Silver shops are, and found a nice one run by 2 men from Bangladesh. They sell exclusively Italian Silver as it is the best quality – which is interesting as that is what we found in the Cayman Islands as well. (Good name dropping eh?!) Succumbed to a silver ring and bracelet – at considerably less than £1200. Had a nice cup of coffee with them as well – they are so hospitable and friendly without being OTT like the Egyptians. They said that some people just come in for a haggle with no intention of buying, and they say they can spot them a mile off and soon fob them off. The Germans are worst, followed by the English apparently!
Then wandered into the Textile Souk looking for a tablecloth to replace my now battered Austrian one. Bought what I think is a nice embroidered one from a charming Afghan lad – who is the one smiling broadly in the photo! Still got the price down though, good looking or not! They won’t sell if they don’t want to, so it was very good natured.
Then realised that it was 12.45 and I was starving – time flies when you are enjoying yourself. Made my way back to the Metro up a street lined on both sides with perfume and incense shops – each one packed full of little bottles and vials and concoctions to be worn, sprayed, burnt and everything in between. The air of the street was humming with all the different scents. Margaret, you would have a ball! They made Bath and Body Works seem like amateurs! You name a smell and they can replicate it. The women on the Metro obviously frequent the shops – they all smell delightfully, as do the men – in fact there are always men in these shops, as well as the International Perfume shops in the malls, trying perfumes – first of all I though for their wives, but some of them smell so fragrant that it may be for them! Bought 2 little empty bottles from one shop where the man didn’t come off his mobile the whole time – so I left less than he asked, and beat a speedy retreat! Didn’t like any of the perfumes he offered to fill them with anyway!
In between the perfume shops were kiosks selling diamante cases for mobiles – decorated so garishly they were beautiful! They kept trying to sell me one till I showed them my £15 Samsung Mobile which is what I use when travelling – most just shrugged their shoulders, but one laughed out loud and went to get his staff from the back to look at this antiquity! All in good nature though, and offered me a dingly dangly ornament to hang from my Samsung, saying that if I walked down the street waving it, everyone would think I looked so young! I don’t know who was laughing more, me or him, or his staff once he had translated for them. Then his mobile went off, and I told him he’d better answer it as it was probably his wife – he roared, and said it was and that I was a good woman. Exit time for Eryl I think!
Jumped on the Metro down to the Mall of the Emirates for a late lunch and some last minute shopping. Treated myself to some Etienne Aigner perfume, which I had never heard of, but the head waiter on the cruise told me to look out for it. His wife loves it, and whenever she wears it people ask what it is. It doesn’t appeal to Americans, so is difficult to get in Europe – lots of the one they make called Starlight, but this is just called Etienne Aigner, like the name of the designer. It is really nice so will remind me of Dubai. Someone will now tell me you can buy it in Boots, but I don’t care – it was a good story. Because I turn some perfumes sour, I had sprayed one perfume on my left arm and one on the right on Monday, and made a note which was which, much to the surprise of the sales girl. I think she thought I wouldn’t be back. When I walked in today, she came running out of the back room and nearly hugged me – she had recognised me walking along and realised that some tourists mean what they said (ok I have told some porkie pies, but I can be truthful as well!)
Flagging a bit by 3.30 so made my way back – just in time as the rush hour starts at 4 – as it was the Metro was packed, had to stand most of the way, and was glad to get back. Lovely sight on the sandy patch outside the hotel – Indian workers playing an improvised game of cricket and being supported by a small group of their acquaintances. Lovely! Will have lots of nice memories of Dubai even though have only been here 3 days.
Getting this written up in case there is wifi at the airport tomorrow, then I can amuse myself uploading whilst waiting.
Will start packing shortly – mostly done on ship, just need to reorganise a little and sort hand luggage, and get purchases in!
May not get any more written now – next update from Swansea hopefully
Erylxx
