my trip to dubai - sightseeing

(This post is the second in a series on my trip to Dubai)

I've finally gotten the photos uploaded to Flickr, and have grouped them into two albums--one for sightseeing, the other for the conference. In general, photos are a better way to talk about what you've seen, so for more narrative I suggest looking at those photosets and reading the descriptions.

I slept surprisingly well the first night (the Benadryl probably helped), and woke up just in time to shower and grab breakfast with Sabra before they closed down the buffet. We then had the hotel book us on a "Big Bus" tour of the city, which was an excellent way to see key sights quickly. We stopped for a while at the Dubai Museum, and then took the walking tour of the gold and spice souks, and an abra (water taxi) ride across Dubai Creek, the canal that runs through the city. It also offered stops at several of Dubai's 57+ shopping malls.(They're also constructing the largest mall ever, The Mall of the Emirates, a 2.4 million sf facility which will include indoor skiing along with other attractions--it's due to be completed by this September!)

I stopped at one of the malls on the way home, just to browse a bit, and to see if I could find a USB cord for my camera (I did, at Carrefour, for 15 dirhams...about $4). Prices are a mix--top label items and electronics didn't seem to be priced much lower than in the states, but there's a huge selection, and no sales tax or duties.

We returned to the hotel at about 5, and made reservations for a dinner cruise on a traditional dhow, which turned out to be a lovely way to spend the evening. For only 100 dirhams (less than $30 US), we had a multicourse dinner served to us on the upper deck of a lovely traditional boat, which spent over two hours cruising from near the airport to the mouth of the Creek and back. The food was wonderful, and it was a great experience. (It did get a little chilly out on the water, but they had ponchos available for anyone who needed them.)