OTT Dubai

Trip Start Dec 27, 2011

Trip End Jan 18, 2012

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Flag of United Arab Emirates Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Monday, January 16, 2012

Last night we went on a Dinner Cruise on the Al Mansour which is run by the Radisson Blu where we are staying. This is a large traditional Dhow which is very comfortable and had a great buffet dinner. As it is the Dubai Shopping Festival there are fireworks each night for 5 minutes at 8-30pm. We watched them from the boat and they were ignited very close to where we were. Very Speccy. We had a great night with a very tasty buffet and a good Italian Pinot Griglio to acompany it. The cruise was excellent going, right to the sea end of the creek and back. A very pleasant evening . As we were walking back to the hotel Fletcher pointed out flames that were rising from a balcony of the building adjacent to our hotel. When we got back to Reception it was obvious they had noticed it too and were on the phone. We returned to our room and sat out on our balcony observing procedures. Finally there was a great whoosh and the flames were extinguished in one blow. There was a follow up by the Fire Brigade vehicles that arrived with hoses being used

Burj Khalifa

. Quite an entertaing end to the night.

Today we had a late start. I was suprised that I had slept in till 9 am. We had breakfast about 10-15 and then set out about 10-30. We caught the Big Bus to the City Mall and decided to look around there first. This was a real Mall where we bought a head dress for Fletcher's head scarf and then bought a handbag for me and a document case for Fletcher at good prices. We then went on the bus to Burjaman. There we transferred to the Beach Route to see the huge buildings and the development along the coast.
We drove out to Jumeira stopping at Jumeirah mosque. We the went on to the beach. We got off there to see the public beach at Jumeira and get a good view of the Burj Al Arab, the sail boat hotel. The beach would be a great place to swim with white sand and gentle waves. At least I dipped my toes in the Gulf of Arabia..We then drove out onto the Palm development. This man made development is shaped like a palm tree. At the peak of the Palm Tree is the very gauche and ugly Atlantis Resort. We had seen the original in Nassau in 2002. This is similar in style and has a dolphinarium with 28 bottle nosed dolphins bought from the Solomon Islands.
This is a massiv development with numerous hotels and apartments and housing complexes. The sheer size of all this is mindblowing. Where all the people to buy these or come to stay are going to come from I can't imagine..We stopped at the Mall of the Emirates. This is a massive complex which houses an indoor Ski slope as well as the shops and restaurants a Mall usually has. We wandered through and bought some books and other things and then looked for somewhere to eat. The only licensed places in Dubai are restaurants in the major hotels.

Fletcher on board the Al Mansour Dhow

We ate at the Biella Ristorante , an Italian restaurant which had excellent food. By this time it was nearly 3pm. We reboarded the bus at 3-50pm and then went past the tallest buiding in the world, the Burj Khalifa. This is very impressive up close and is very high.
We took the bus around to our stop and returned to the hotel. After a short rest we had a couple of drinks in The Pub and then had dinner in the Fish market restaurant. This is different in that you select the fresh fish or seafood you want, specify the way you want it cooked and pay for it by weight. Fletcher had a whole red snapper, grilled while I had a sea perch done in a Butter, lemon and garlic sauce. Both were excellent. We had an Italian Pinot Griglio to accompany it. We watched the fireworks from the restaurant. To top our final day we went up to the Tenth floor where there is a Jazz bar and had a glass of Villa Maria Sauv Blanc overlooking the creek and listening to the live music. A good way to end the trip.
Tomorrow we catch the plane at 10-10am for the flight home and our return to reality. It has been both en educationally interesting and a very relaxed holiday.

Dubai hotels Slideshow