Dubai Pics

Finally posted, enjoy!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/katymcc/sets/72157620966206754/

Day 8 - The Last Day

It's my final day in Dubai - resting a bit to get the energy to go out and buy some souvineirs at the Souk, then out for some yummy Thai food, then hoping I can cram everything in my suitcase to catch a very early flight tomorrow.

We didn't get to see or ride any camels on our trip, but have seen plenty in everything from plush toys to notepads to tshirts. Maybe if you're luckly I'll bring one of these lovely gold camels home for you :)

Day 7 - No Gymnastics on the Toilet

I HAD to break out my iphone and take a pic while I was in the ladies room today. Okay, so I've heard of squatting over the toilet, but climbing on it performing gymnastics? I don't get it.

Headed over to the Dubai Mall today, it's very close the hotel and one of the largest in this region. Walked through The Palace Hotel on the way over, very cool hotel, with a lot of cool architectural elements.

There's a fountain in front of it, done by the same guys that did the one at the Bellagio in Vegas. Every 20 minutes there's a show to music, this pic doesn't give it justice. I forgot my camera in the hotel, and only had my IPhone. Which is really only been useful as a camera on this trip since I refuse to pay $2.50 a minute to use it as a phone.

My only significant purchase so far has been medicine. I went to the pharmacy to get some ibuprofin thinking that was about all I could get here for my cold and sore throat and the pharmacist gave me antibiotics! I usually try to avoid medicine and tough it out, but when you're sick and traveling you'll do anything to feel better. Something about not being able to sleep in your own bed makes you feel even more miserable.

But if I was going to buy something, I'm thinking of getting this shirt. I mean, who doesn't love was$ta? There was another one I saw earlier in the week with a button of liza manneli on it, what? I was as confused by that shirt as the gymnastics sign.

Day 5 and 6 - Hot Outside, Cold Inside

Have you ever reached out to shake someone's hand and then immidiately regretted it because you realized that they've got a terrible cold? Seriously, I won't take offense if you don't shake my hand when you've got a cold.

So when we went on our tour of the tower one of our guides had a cold, and I had a horrible feeling that I would catch it. Sure enough my throat started hurting last night, and with every hour it gets worse.

On a positive note we moved to a beautiful new hotel in downtown Burj Dubai - hotel Qamardeen. In my room was an assortment of tiny shot glasses with sweets, pistachios and olives (which i thought were dates, that was a surprise). The hotel is very modern, but has some cool middle eastern looking elements.

Can't wait to check out the pool and the surrounding area. There are a lot of shops and restaurants nearby.

Day 4 - American Pie

Okay, maybe not American Pie, but American ice cream, American fast food, American coffee. It's difficult to find a restaurant that's not an American chain in Dubai.

We've had some pretty good meals so far, but it definitely hasn't been easy to find "authentic" food. The other night our taxi dropped us off in front of an "On the Border". Seems strange to come halfway around the world to find a restaurant that's named for the place I live and that I would never eat at when I'm home. We walked a bit further and luckily found a "middle eastern" restaurant, that I'm sure the locals consider to be their equivalent of our "El Torito". But the hummus and bread was super tasty. I'm in search of good falafel, but haven't found it yet.
There's also an odd mix of American tv shows. The other day I was waiting in the lobby of the hotel and Tyra Banks was on, I'm so Raven is on now, complete with Arabic subtitles. I've found myself watching a lot of BBC News.

I knew it would be very westernized here, I guess I'm just surprised at their western choices. Don't get me wrong, I love America but I guess I was looking for a little...

Day 3 - Tall Tales

Had a tour of the Burj Dubai today, it was very cool to get a behind the scenes look of the building and the construction. It's so tall, I took a pic and didn't even realize that I cut off the top of the building!

It was a bit hazy out so the we couldn't see very far but that didn't detract from what an amazing architectural feat this building is.

Day Two - Double Decker Bus Tour

Today we took a double decker bus tour around the entire city. It was great because not only was it air conditioned there were over 30 stops that where you could get off the bus and tour around. The buses run every 30 minutes so you only had to wait a few minutes in the sweltering heat for the next bus to come around. Did I mention it's hot here? About 101 today.

We got off at the Wafi mall because I was starving. That was a disappointment, just a standard mall that you'd see anywhere. But next we stopped at the Dubai Old Souk which is a traditional market.

My friends would have been very disappointed, because all I bought was a magnet with a camel on it. They had a ton of fabric, and tunics and shoes like these, nothing that screamed out at me to spend money. But it was cool to see a more tradional market.

The bus tour had headsets with a tour guide that told us all about the history of the region and facts about what we were seeing along the way. I know it sounds super cheesy and touristy, but this city is so spread out, it would be impossible to have seen so much or learned as much on our own. This is most definitely not a walkable city. The amount of construction is insane. Every block is building or tearing something down.

We passed by the Dubai Creek and I was suprised to learn that in this modern city they still pack goods onto these traditional boats and ship them to surrounding countries.

Our second to last stop was the Palm, which is a manmade set of islands shapped to look like a palm tree. Measuring 5 kilometers across it's a pretty amazing sight. Can't wait to see the aerial view from the Burj Dubai tomorrow! Best get off to bed, play time is over, tomorrow is a work day.

Toto we're not in Kansas anymore...

Arrived in Dubai this evening after a great flight on Emirates Airlines. I never want to fly another airline again, or fly coach.

We were surprised with an upgrade when we got to the airport and pampered for the entire 16 hour flight. My favorite part was seeing the wide expanses of floating ice that we were flying over about mid-way through the flight from a camera they have mounted under the plan. Oh and the champagne they give you as soon as you sit down, oh and the 1000 channels on your personal tv, and the fully reclining sit. That's all.
Once we arrived the airport was pretty empty, not many flights coming in at that time, we walked right through customs and outside to the 99 degree heat at 9pm. Reminded me of summers in the san joaquin valley.

It was about a half hour cab ride to our corporate residences, and on the way here we spotted a TGI Fridays, at least 3 starbucks, and all of the other american fast food places. Authenticity is not an easy thing to come by these days. At night Dubai just looked like most other big cities, lots of concrete, big freeways and buildings. along side the freeway is the metro rail that will be opening later this year.

We did pass by the burjdubai the tallest building in the world on our way from the airport. Yup, that's a dang big building. We'll be getting a private tour on Sunday. (their workweek here is Sunday to Thursday).

Tomorrow is a day of rest, we're thinking of going to on the Big Bus tour, apparently this city isn't really walkable and the tour is highly recommended. Apparently the shopping is great here, so we'll probably give that a try, it can't hurt to look right?

Best get off to bed, even though it's only 11am back home, I'm going to attempt to sleep to get on their schedule.

Thanks for following my travels, more tomorrow!