Desert Safari

Hi, Everyone!

I spent most of the day today on a desert safari. Every tour book I've seen says, "if you're going to do one thing while in Dubai, book a desert safari."
It cost 235 dirhams. If my new $8 dollar Casio calculator watch is working correctly, that's about 65 dollars.
The driver picked us up in a 4x4 at 3:30 PM, and we set off for the desert. During the roughly half-hour drive, I met two really nice couples from Australia. When I told them I worked for FOX, they had some choice words to say about Rupert, and we quickly became friends. We spent the rest of the night hanging out together. (Hi guys if you're reading this!)
The first thing on the agenda was "dune bashing." After lowering the air on the tires, a convoy of trucks tackled - at full speed- the large desert dunes.
It was like the most intense roller coaster you can imagine. You constantly feel like you're going to flip over. The trucks were bouncing everywhere, sliding down the sides of dunes sideways, and going around hairpin turns. The drivers are UNBELIEVABLE. It's amazing that they don't flip, or crash into each other. It's hard to capture in a picture, but these two quick videos should give you an idea of how crazy it was.



At least one person in another truck got sick... we passed her standing next to her pulled-over vehicle, losing her lunch.
After a lot of bashing, the trucks pulled over so we could stop and enjoy the sunset...
Which was AMAZING...




Then we drove to a Bedouin-style campsite where all sorts of activities were available. (Uncle Owen! Aunt Beru!)
They had 4-wheelers, temporary henna body art... and, of course, camel rides...



Then a bunch of us sat around and smoked traditional shisha pipes.

I'm afraid to read the comments about this one...

After that, they treated us to a huge dinner with several kinds of meat cooked over the fire. It was great. Then the lights went out, and it was time for the belly dancer.


Here is a QUICK video of her. It's quick because, as you can clearly see, she's eyeing me up. I got scared and had to turn the camera off.

Of course... a few minutes later, when she pulled someone from the audience up on stage with her, just guess who she went to first. I pushed one of my new Australian friends up there instead.

That's it for today. Thanks again to everyone who's leaving comments. And, if you haven't checked out the comments for "Chilling Out", go there now. All I can say about the third one is:
OH. MY. GOD.

Chilling Out

Today I did part two of "The Big Bus Tour." I only did half of it yesterday because the heat was getting to me. The whole tour takes about 5 hours, and that doesn't count the time you spend at any of the stops when you hop off.

Everywhere you look here, you see amazing architecture and a lot of construction.





Here's Jumeirah Beach, a public beach that's very popular:


It's right next to the Burj Al Arab, which is THE landmark of Dubai. It calls itself the world's only 7-star hotel, and it's ridiculously expensive. I'll post more about it later, but here are a few pics:


Note the heliport at the top. You may have seen the pictures of Andre Agassi and Roger Federer playing tennis up there...

Or Tiger Woods teeing off from the same spot. Crazy.

I stopped at another mall, the Deira City Centre, which is the busiest mall in Dubai. It was packed.


It's more down-to-earth than the Mall of the Emirates. I noticed a lot more women here wearing Burqas, with only a slit for their eyes.

When you take a closer look at them, you realize the burqas are not all black... most of them have subtle designs, or patterns of beads.. little bits of individuality...

One store had key chains with a horoscope for each birthday. I laughed when I saw mine:


I got back on the bus and stopped at one of the places I really wanted to see - the recently-opened "Chill Out" bar.

I cannot explain how amazing this place is. After you pay about 17 bucks, they give you a parka, gloves, and insulated shoes. Then, basically, you walk into a freezer. The entire bar is made out of ice. Everything is ice - the tables, the chairs, the 7-foot high chandelier... everything. I took a lot of pictures, but they don't do it justice. (Click on any picture on this site for a larger version.)









The ice is made by a special process that makes it crystal-clear.


Look closely... that last one's a camel sculpture.

I'm going to try to post a couple of videos. Hit "play."




Anyway, your 17 bucks also includes one drink.

Picking up my glass made of ice...

Cheers!

Unfortunately, this being the UAE, that drink is non-alcoholic. Still, it was tasty.
The temperature in the bar is 21 degrees Fahrenheit, so you don't want to stay long. They do serve food, though. After I left, I went to a coffee shop and ordered a hot chocolate. And yesterday I thought I was going to pass out from the heat!

One last note- on the way back to the hotel, I passed a movie theater. I went inside to see what was playing, but the only thing about to start was Daddy Day Camp! Before leaving, I took a look at the concession area- and guess what they had? More corn in a cup! It was delicious.

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!