We woke up sailing into Dubai, first the skyline was minute
but still impressive and within an hour the ship was making those very
impressive circling and sideways manoeuvres to get into the port and berth
between the Costa Serena and a Celebrity ship whose name escapes me., but good
job! Warm but not too warm, promises of 25-29C today. The port building is unbelievable – instead
of makeshift buildings that look like aircraft hangars, or even marquees Dubai
boasts something more luxurious than the average international airport with
marble everywhere, VIP lounges, prayer rooms, currency exchanges, stores, free
wi-fi and coffee shops. This is the way
to go for countries with an essential tourist industry. It is so welcoming and comfortable.
Breakfast at 9, gym again at 10 and then a leisurely morning
preparing for the excursion Dubai, The Golden City, which included ancient, old
and new lifestyles and buildings, took us over the Dubai Creek in a water
taxi. We finished up in the Spice and
Gold Souks. We were actually both still really tired and when, we got to the
gold souk, passed on any window shopping in favour of sitting on a park bench
and letting the feet recover. Nevertheless there was a lot to learn, smells to
smell and museums to see, and our tour guide was very willing to let us have
all the information and history we could get into a 4.5 hour trip. Who knew all
about the impact of discovering oil had in the 1960’s, and how a pearl diving,
fishing and farming economy could change to such a wealthy oil producing
nation. I hadn’t even considered the age
of the UAE, and definitely didn’t appreciate that it began in the year that I
started at Manchester University.
It was good to get back into the terminal, and to eat, Skype and sleep (and in Khachik’s case to watch a good portion of the match between MUFC and Aston Villa, thankfully won 3:1 by MUFC. BTW he would have had room service and watched the lot with a bit of forethought!)
It was good to get back into the terminal, and to eat, Skype and sleep (and in Khachik’s case to watch a good portion of the match between MUFC and Aston Villa, thankfully won 3:1 by MUFC. BTW he would have had room service and watched the lot with a bit of forethought!)
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