Exploring

Today I went on a tour of the area, thanks to "The Big Bus Company." These double-decker buses pick you up and drop you off at about two dozen spots around Dubai. They even give you headsets, and you can listen to a tour guide in any language.

One of the stops was the Abra Station along Dubai creek. Abras are small, rickety-looking wooden water taxis that are primarily used by commuting workers.





I took a ride on a crowded one to the other side of the creek. I sat next to a couple from Australia, who were wrapping up a five month trip around the world. When I told them I was from Ohio, they said, "Ah... that's in the middle part, isn't it?"

Souks are large, open-air markets where you're expected to haggle for the best price.



The most famous is the "gold souk."




I also went to the nearby "spice souk." You can smell the powerful spices as you approach it.



That's our tour guide holding an alum crystal, which he says can be used as "aftershave or deodorant."
Many of the shops in the spice souk were closed while I was there, because of the weekend. But the shop owners leave the spices outside, with only a cover over them. The tour guide says, "no one steals."

A few more pictures of the shops in the area:






Nearby, I walked past some docks were workers were busy loading and unloading all sorts of merchandise. This is a key area for exporting goods as far away as India.




Even vehicles!


Then, I took a tour boat for an hour-long cruise up and down the creek...






It's a long way to Cleveland...

That tower on the left is the Burj Dubai. It's already the largest free-standing structure in the world (it took that title exactly one month ago) and they're still building it! Right now, it's 1,885 feet tall. The Sears Tower is 1,730. The final height of the Burj Dubai is being kept a secret, but the best guess is that it will end up being 2,684 feet. That's more than a half-mile tall!

It was right around now that I fell down the stairs on the boat. I'm OK, but it happened in front of everyone.

I finished the day off at the Dubai Museum, which is right across the street from my hotel. It's actually an old fort, built in 1787, and believed to be the oldest building in Dubai.




Goodbye, everyone!