September 26, 2017

   The 7 a.m. temperature was cooler this morning, sunny and at 28C going to a high of 38C this afternoon.  By 9 a.m. the temperature had climbed to 32C.  There is still the humidity haze that has brownish due to the winds off the desert. At 2:30 p.m. when the group returned the temperature was 36C.

   This morning, most of the group took an optional tour to the Dubai Mall and Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world which with an observation deck on the 124^th floor that on a clear day you can see almost 50 kilometers in each direction. Afifi, our tour guide added the Dubai Fountains (http://www.burjkhalifa.ae/en/around-the-burj/the-dubai-fountain.aspx) and the manmade Jumeirah Palm Island (http://www.topdubaiattractions.com/palm-island/) with the magnificent Atlantis hotel to the optional itinerary.  We had not selected that option, the only couple in the group not going.  When we went down for breakfast, the tour bus was 20 minutes late, due to traffic and they had a six hour tour, before freshening up for our late afternoon and evening event. We elected to stay and catchup on journaling and walk in the air-conditioned comfort of the Mall of the Emirates.  We found in a toy store that had a Lego kit of Burj Khalifa.

   We achieved most of our goal steps at the Mall and returned to the hotel.  Steps to date 10763.  We stopped at the convenience store across from the hotel for bananas as a snack in Abu Dhabi and a one and a half liter of mineral water which was ws the equivalent of only 50 cents Canadian.  As a bonus on this hot day, we noticed that 95gram Magnum ice cream treats were in the freezer and bought two Double Caramel ones costing 8.95 dirhams or $3 Canadian each.  They were refreshing on this hot day.  Back at the room we each had a banana for lunch.

   The group met in the lobby at 3:30 for the Desert Safari.  We were split into groups of six and escorted to a Toyota Sequoia 4 x 4 SUV, which was white, had leather seats and a good A/C system. Outside, with the Humidex it felt like over 40C.  Our group includes Myra & Doris and Gary and his daughter Sara.  Gary’s wife’s parents were one of the original couples that moved into our life lease building back in 2008, but they moved across the courtyard a few years ago.  The location of the Desert Safari was an hour’s drive out of Dubai. When we arrived at the site there were 30 other similar vehicles stopped just off the road on the sand, releasing some air from their tires, in preparation for a ride over and around the reddish-brown sand dunes. Next it was fasten your seatbelts and we were off road crossing the desert, sometimes using a path and other times blazing a trail across the dunes. Everyone in our vehicle had strong stomachs for the vertical climbs and sudden turns and skids.  There was a break after 15 minutes to stop and watch the sun, not yet setting and enjoy the desert breeze.  It was a break for the drivers and a chance to check the tires.  The desert was not flat, it was full of small and large rolling sand dunes.  When we looked around from the highest dunes we could see other collections of 4 x 4 vehicles. There were over 70 racing around the desert.  We drove on for another 15 minutes over thrilling routes through the dunes.  At the second stop the sun was red as it began to set. On our final dune ride we passed about a dozen camel walking in a row with no one around in charge of them. Don’t know if they were wild or not.  All the drivers were experts.  There were no collisions. At the last stop, the drivers re-inflated their tires.  By the time our car arrived at the Bedouin “Village Camp” the red ball was almost below the horizon.  We entered the Royal Adventure Camp gates.  Outside there were camels and handlers giving free one minute rides or for a longer experience there was a fee.  Within the gates there was free roasted corn cobs or popcorn, free small henna tattoos or a fee for a larger henna tattoo. There was a place to have your fortune told, to dress in traditional Bedouin Robes, or try the hubbly-bubbly, experience sand surfing on a quad, or lay back on the pillows with a Shi Sha, the water pipe style of smoking.  In the center of the compound, were dozens of low tables of six, set with red patterned cloths placed on red patterns Arabic rugs and a one meter high stage about eight meters by ten meters.   The tables were numbered and each vehicle was assigned a number.  There were between 900 and 1,000 guests at this event.  After everyone had arrived and found the water and soft drinks kiosks, the entertainment started.  Muslims are not allowed to drink alcohol, but there was a bar for the guests. With the sun down, the temperature was still mid 30s and an occasional breeze was felt. The first act was a dancing man on two meter high stilts, followed by a belly dancer in a glittery costume who danced to three different non Arabic tunes, blasting from the nearby speakers. She did not have a great variety of classical belly dance routines.  Next came the invitation to join the dinner buffet. There were Middle Eastern specialties including chicken, lamb, Shish Kebab, hummus and tabouli, as well as Arabic salads.  Guests ate the meal sitting on cushions at the low tables, as might a Bedouin family a century ago. Although for the less agile of the group, one or two spare cushions were found to allow for a comfortable sitting height. The music playing during the dinner was quite loud, so as soon as we finished eating, we walked out to watch people having camel rides, about 200 meters from the speakers.  It was loud top 40 pop music, not Arabian tunes. There were more acts after dinner, which we watched through the large gate opening, as more of our group escaped to this quieter place.  One of the other vehicle parties had gathered their driver and passengers and were skipping the rest of the entertainment. There were two more dancers doing swirling dances, one wearing a costume decorated with tiny coloured lights. The finale was a fire dancer who nimbly threw and swung his flaming torches, at which point Sara spotted us, Myra and Doris and asked if we would like to leave since she knew where to find our driver.  We all said yes. Within a minute, she had the driver and Gary and we were traipsing through the sand to the car. Once on the highway we were back to the hotel in about 45 minutes.

    We organized our clothes a bit for packing in the morning since we are on the road to Abu Dhabi at 8:30 a.m. and leave in the evening to return to Canada.

  Final step count 14,193.

September 25, 2017

   There is just one big bus for our group of 42 here in Dubai. This morning the 6:30 a.m. temperature was 30C, sunny and there was a kind of mirage like a haze, caused by the humidity from the Persian Gulf.  The Dubai tour started at 9 a.m. Latitude of Dubai 25.27 North which is close to this degree in Nassau, Bahamas at 25.02 North and Monterrey, Mexico at 25.4 North. Dubai became a British colony in 1820.

  One United Arab Emirates Dirham equals about 0.33 of a Canadian Dollar or about 3 UAE Dirhams to one Canadian dollar. The UAE Dirham is valued against the American dollar and fluctuates when the American dollar changes value.  American dollars are accepted in the markets and at small businesses.  However, the change given is in Dirham.

    The ruler of Dubai is Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. He is also the Vice-President and the Prime Minister of UAE. He became ruler in 2006 after his older brother’s death.  He drives his own car with just one body guard accompanying him. He visits shopping centers and other public places without bodyguards.

   Our guide was Afifi and the driver was Sarfarus, both were the team that picked up the group at the airport last night. We all noticed that driving in Dubai looks like drivers stay in their proper lanes, the speeds are faster, very few motorcycles and nice new cars, with no dents or scrapes that were the norm in India. Afifi explained that to run a red-light costs 24 demerit points, $500 US fine, driving limitations and other deterrents. It is strongly encouraged in UAE to follow the rules. If a foreigner runs a red light, they are expelled from the country! Very few people receive their driver’s license on the first try. We have not even observed tailgating and there is hardly any honking, a nice change from India. The main road has six lanes in two directions with cars speeding by at 100 km per hour with at least two or three car length spaces between them. Most cars are white or a light gray.  Most of the city is very modern and clean.

  In the 1950s, the population was less than 50,000 in Dubai. However, once oil was discovered in the early 1970s, the fortunes of the emirates changed and seven emirates formed the federation known as the United Arab Emirates, with Abu Dhabi as the political capital and Dubai becoming the financial capital. Only a small percentage of the population is local Emiratis. The rest of the people come from all over the world. New buildings started to be erected in the late 1950s but, most of Dubai’s new buildings have been built since 2000.  There are still lots of cranes in the city center building high rise structures. Afifi said 25% of the world’s cranes are in the UAE, but that may not be accurate having seen the number of cranes there are in China last year. Dubai is hosting the World Trade Expo in 2020 and still needs to build more hotels for another 50,000 rooms.

   The original inhabitants of the region were migratory, staying in places until there was no more water then moving on.  They were called Bedouin, meaning of the desert.

  As we drove to the Dubai Museum, we passed lots of stores and restaurants bearing North American company names – Tim Hortons, Subway, Caribou Coffee, Applebees, GNC, Hardees, KFC, Starbucks, Tony Roma, Burger King, McDonalds, Seven Eleven as well as Tesla and Costa Coffee (which is British).  There is even a Lamborghini showroom in Dubai on Sheikh Zayed road! We saw a Second Cup café in the Mall of the Emirates later in the day.  We passed a new large steel structure known as “The Frame”.  There will be restaurants at the top and access through the two vertical columns supporting the structure.  There is not enough water from wells for the growing population so water is treated in desalination facilities to supply clean water.  That is not enough to keep the grass and bushes in public places green, so “gray water” is collected and used for watering plants.

   Being a desert country, the nomadic Bedouin tribes lived by water sources, oases, in tents and moved when the water dried up.  Camels can sense water from two kilometers away, so the camels would lead the people to water and falcons can sense animals.  If these elements combined then it would be a good place to camp for a while.  There were very few permanent settlements over the centuries in the desert area.

   First stop was the Dubai Museum.  It includes the original Al Fakaidi Fort that was an Arab fort built in 1787.  On ground level is a traditional wooden dhou (boat) and the entrance to the small fort.  Within the fort walls is a replica of a two-room hut. As you enter a covered porch you notice the sitting area has a “wind tower” above it, which shades and catches a breeze to keep the area cooler in the hot summer.  The sides are framed with date palm wood and loosely covered by a course woven fabric to provide shade. This summer house is known as Arish. The inner room is the living area with a bed and has sturdier mud and stone walls to provide a warm place in the winter. This winter house is known as Al Kaimah. Next you proceed via a gradually spiraling ramp, down to the actual museum which tells of life in the dessert and the culture of the Emirites region.

   The first boon in the Dubai/Deira area was in 1841. By 1908 in the Al Shindagha area there were 350 shops.  Pearl diving was a source of revenue for pearl traders who hired men who left their dhous, seasonally to dive down with just a nose clip, basket for collecting the pearls on a rope, leather finger protectors and a rope to follow back up. They could only stay down 2 or 3 minutes. It was dangerous work. The pay was 200 to 300 rupees annually compared to the 1500 rupees annually of the pearl traders.

By 1950 there was a boon in gold trade and then oil was discovered in Abu Dhabi in the 1960s and a few years later in Dubai, changing the fortunes of the Emirates.  Oil exports began in 1969. The United Arab Emirates was formed in 1971.  By 1990 the population of the federation was 550,000. The Dubai Museum was very interesting.  It had a lovely gift shop at the exit.  There are no hawkers of purses or jewelry or souvenirs here.

   When we returned to the bus, bottles of cold water were distributed and we proceeded to a canal side where12 to 15 of our group at a time boarded the little boats called Abras, which are the local water taxis.  The five minute ride across Dubai Creek took us to the Spice Market or Old Souk, in the Deira area of Dubai. There are many spice shops and the fragrance is enchanting. The spices come from India and China and other Asian countries. Some of the spices were: saffron, turmeric, star anise, ginger root, dried lemons and cinnamon sticks in several sizes.  Afifi also explained the medicinal properties of some of the spices. There are also places to buy traditional clothes and souvenirs.  The shopkeepers are eager to invite you into their air conditioned shops which are only 200 or 300 square feet. The shopkeepers are not nearly as aggressive as the Indian hawkers.   

   After a 30 minute wander here, we walked about 300 meters further and entered the covered open air Dubai City of Gold Souk. Here is the place to buy any kind of gold jewelry from about 400 little stores.  Here again the shopkeepers are eager to invite you into their shops.  Thirty minutes later we were being shepherded back to the bus for a drive along the street where the wealthy have their beachfront homes. These homes have modern wind towers built into them. There were several beautiful mosques and sometime during the tour we passed the Jumeirah Mosque, which is available for touring on Mondays.

   We were in the Al Ras area, driving along Sikkat Al Khail Road.  We passed the dry docks that were constructed between 1976 and 1983.  We saw the ship Queen Elizabeth 2 docked in Dubai Creek. It had been retired in November 2008 and docked in Dubai ever since waiting conversion to a hotel and conference center. We looked away from the water side and had a view of the Burj Khali built in 2010.  It is 160 storeys high spiraling up to a pointed top where there is an observation deck. Tickets need to be reserved in advance to get the view, on clear days, of almost 50 kilometers surrounding the structure. Currently Burj Khali is the tallest building in the world.  The beachfront homes are mostly two storeys as are the homes across the street. In the past the wealthy included more than one wind tower, called barjeel, into the design of their home in the Al Bastakiya area. The more barjeels, the wealthier the home owner.  Also the main doorways were tall, but the inner door was short so that when entering a house the men would be bending down and not face the women directly.

   The beautiful white sand beaches stretch along the coast for 72 kilometers.  The bus stopped by a public beach so that we could wade into the water of the Persian Gulf and enjoy the beach and water for half an hour. The brilliant white sand was quite warm against our bare feet.  The water was warm, perhaps 28C in the 1 p.m. sun. Even at the water’s edge, your feet sunk a bit into the sand, within two meters you were up to your knees in the warm water.  There was a paved walkway in the sand leading to a patio closer to the water to be used by wheelchairs or strollers. Close to the road there was a snack bar, with tables under umbrellas.  The unprotected concrete, baking in the sun, was hot enough to nearly burn your bare feet.  The sand was, relatively, much cooler.  There was a Turkish Marash Ice Cream cart selling vanilla, chocolate and strawberry flavours.  The seller gave a performance of ringing the overhead bells of the cart, then almost giving you your cone, but turning it upside down and “fumbling” it, before handing it over.  It was worth the $5 US for the delicious cone and performance.  The ice cream needed to be consume quickly due to the heat.

  It was almost 2 pm when we returned to the hotel.  The temperature was 36C and sunny.  We walked the 600 meters to the Mall of the Emirates. Here we found Ski Dubai, an indoor ski hill, complete with tow ropes and left chairs.  The temperature is -4C in the ski area.  People were downhill skiing on a gentle slope, bob sledding on a short course and visiting penguins. The mall has 560 stores many international, including from Louis Vuitton and Prada to H&M and Lego. There are more than seven dozen dining and cafe options. 

    When we left for the evening dinner cruise on the Dubai Creek, there was a notice that there will be a fire alarm system test tomorrow.  When we were in Agra, there also was a fire alarm system test.  We caught the end of rush hour traffic and took over an hour to get to the dhou (a traditional sailboat) for the cruise.  The trip back two hours later took less than 30 minutes.  Our group of 42 was the first to arrive. Everyone was chilled from the bus ride, even though most of the air conditioning vents were closed. We all headed to the upper covered open-air deck. The temperature was about 34C.  Within 10 minutes another group hurried on to the boat, not even pausing for the photographer to take pictures as they boarded the boat.  We leisurely cruised along the heritage shores where trading has happened for centuries, where tonight there were many dhous transporting people across the creek.  Here was where the diving villages were located.  We enjoyed a buffet of Arab foods including rice and lambs kebobs.  The breeze as we cruised along the creek made the evening heat comfortable.

   Total steps for the day  12761

September 24, 2017

   Our luggage needed to be out in the hall by 7 a.m., for our 8 a.m. departure.  Forgot to include the final steps from yesterday > 11,134.   Opening the drapes, from our seventh floor vista, we could see a light fog or smog hovering above the trees.  The weather websites varied for the current temperature from 24 to 26 at 6:30 am. There was a chance of thunderstorms.  We have been lucky so far that there has not been any rain.  In 2016, the World Health Organization declared Delhi the eleventh worst in the urban air quality database.

    Today’s agenda started with a tour of Old Delhi, the Mughal capital, which was established by Shah Jahan in 1638. Then we drove into Imperial Delhi and finally New Delhi, passing the India Gate, a memorial to the soldiers of World War I and II and other wars, which Indian soldiers have fought in, some palaces and the Supreme Court. India Gate was built in 1931 and the eternal flame, Amar Jawan Jyoti, was added to commemorate the soldiers who perished in the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War.

   We also passed the Iron Pillar of Delhi, thought to have been erected during the Gupta Dynasty around 400AD.  We drove through the narrower streets of the Old City and could see the tangle of electric and telephone wires hanging from poles just five meters above the roadways. We passed the Red Fort built of local red sandstone by Shah Jahan, which is not far from our first stop, Jama Masjid mosque. The Red Fort’s walls surrounded Shah Jahan’s city established in 1638. Red Fort, being a royal residence, it was plundered of its artwork and jewels in the late 18^th century, then the British destroyed most of its marble structures following an Indian mutiny in the mid 1800s.

   Jama Masjid is the largest mosque in India. It also was part of Shah Jahan’s construction of his city. It is a partially enclosed building on three sides, but the front has large arches, without doors, so a breeze blows through the red sandstone structure.  To enter the Jama Masjid mosque, there is a staircase of 36 sandstone steps.  Before entering, to conform to Muslim dress codes, women are given a light shoulder to ankle colourfully printed coat to wear to cover their body including arms and legs, and the men in shorts need to wear a waist to ankles wraparound cloth. You also had to remove your shoes to walk in the mosque, as we did at Taj Mahal. Close by is Chandni Chowk (meaning Moonlit Market), one of India’s oldest bazaars, covering several streets and extending into the narrow alleys off the main streets. It is a wholesale market where tourists find bargains from souvenirs to clothing to Indian food and spices. From the plaza of Jama Masjid, which can hold 25,000 people, you get a good view of the bazaar and, a few streets away, the walls of Red Fort, also constructed in the mid 17^th century.  On August 15, 1947 at Red Fort, the flag of the newly independent Union of India was unfurled by Jawaharlal Nehru, a tradition followed every Independence Day.

   Back on the bus, we drove through the streets of Old Delhi and New Delhi stopping to visit the site of Mahatma Gandhi’s cremation which has become the gardens known as Raj Ghat, sponsored by the Gandhi family.

   Next, we drove through Imperial Delhi, and stopped at the India Gate memorial and its gardens. Walking around the three stops easily accumulated steps so as we returned to our bus seats we had 7639. Although the sun appeared occasionally, a smog was settling over the city. It was noticeable when looking at distant views.

   Since we were ahead of schedule, after a drive past the circular Parliament House and the Royal Palace beside it, the bus went to the Lotus Temple of the Bahai faith. It was built between 1980 and 1986. The beautiful ivory coloured pieces are shaped into the leaves of a lotus. (Evoking a memory of the Sydney, Australia, Opera House.) Since it was Sunday and there is a Hindu temple also in the vicinity, the buses were stuck in traffic to get to the parking lot.  The guides advised us to leave the bus and walked almost shoulder to shoulder with tens of thousands of others, about 900 meters to the entrance of the gardens surrounding the Lotus Temple. Then another 200 meters to the best location for photos followed by a quick exit but then over a one kilometer walk back to where the bus had found a parking space. Besides the crowd, there were hawkers selling bangles, books of Delhi, toy tuk-tuks, sunglasses, Indian recorders, and food. There were also beggars, including women in colourful saris holding young babies, babbling to us as we hurried to the buses. The step count was 10674.

   We continued the journey to the airport with a quick drive around the square which surrounded Qutub Minar, the tallest (72.5 meters) free standing brick minaret in the world. This is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Built in 1199 by Qutub-Ud-Din Aibak, after the death of his master, the former Sultan, to commemorate his own ascent as Sultan of Delhi.

    Then the trip to the airport took about one hour. During the morning, envelopes had been passed around with suggested contributions for tips for the driver and his assistant, just like yesterday.  Today’s crew were different from the rural tour.  Also, an envelope for our guide of the past six days, Raj, was also circulated.  As we entered the airport property, Dale presented the tips to Raj with applause from the passengers. Once the luggage as claimed from the buses, we all paraded through the first security check to enter the airport, then went to the check-in lines of budget airline, IndiGo, then immigration for the stamp to leave India and on to the security check. It took about 90 minutes of standing in lines.  We stopped to browse in the duty-free shops and other shops before stopping for snack at the India coffee chain, Café Coffee Day.  Farewell to India and hello to United Arab Emirates.

   The flight to Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), left five minutes ahead of the 5:15p.m. scheduled departure and took almost four hours. The latitude of Dubai is 25.27 North which is close to the position of degree in Nassau, Bahamas at 25.02 North and Monterrey, Mexico at 25.4 North.  We needed to adjust our timepieces by 90 minutes earlier than Delhi time, so our gate departure was 3:40 p.m. in Dubai. The 3.5 hour flight passed quickly either reading or creating today’s blog entry.

  The plane landed in Dubai at 7:05 and taxied about six before arriving at the gate. Once off the plane, we walked through the corridors following signs for arriving passengers and were surprising when we arrived at the train station to take us to Terminal 1, in less than three minutes, to continue to the Immigration hall where we stood in line a mere 10 minutes for a passport check and processing which took less than two minutes for both of us. (Compared to India waiting almost two hours and the processing taking 4 or 5 minutes each.) The whole group was waiting by an exit for the Indus representative in less than 45 minutes from when we walked off the plane. We bought a bag of Lay’s potato chips to eat on the bus. There was a small glitch, there was no Indus representative to greet us. After a few minutes, Ellen was told that the representative was at the wrong terminal.  Within a few minutes we were walking to the bus which can hold 50 passengers.  The luggage was loaded and the trip to the Hilton Garden Inn – Mall of the Emirates took about 30 minutes.

   Check-in was the smoothest yet. As in India, we were reminded not to drink the tap water, but to use the bottled water provided. There was no security screening of the guests nor our luggage. We lined up at reception staffed by three staff members, who scanned the passports and handed us the already prepared room card envelope.  We collected the luggage that was already in the hotel and were in our room within 15 minutes of entering the hotel; a much smoother experience than yesterday afternoon in Delhi. Once in the room, we placed the passports in the room safe, as usual, made a cup of tea (made from bottled water) and each ate a 30gram bar of Guylian milk chocolate as our dinner desert.  It was 9 pm in Dubai, but 10:30 in Delhi.  With the finishing events for today’s blog completed, we chose photos, posted the blog and went to bed. Final step count 14,342.