As Sabkhah

Hot! As soon as we came out of the airport you noticed it. At 6am it was 31 degrees. We arrived at the Radisson Blu Deira Creek Hotel and enjoyed a light breakfast before heading out to explore. Accross the road was the wharf for the floating restaurants and further along the creek were the working dhow, loading all manner of goods. Fridges, tyres and textiles were being man handled on and off. We crossed over the road and found ourselves in the souks. It was still early and most of the shops were closed so we wandered through the narrow lanes taking in the sights and sounds of the area waking up. Finally we stumbled upon the Gold Souk. It was a sleepy covered area with a range of jewelry shops which spread out over a couple of hundred meters. The heat and sore feet were starting to get to us so we made our way back to the hotel to the comfort of air conditioning, cold drinks and a lie down.
After a short break we decided to head out again. We found the closest metro stop and made our way to the Dubai Mall, the largest shopping centre in the world. 1200 shops, a 3 story tall waterfall, an ice skating rink and an aquarium. There was even a dinosaur skeleton? We braved the heat again to watch the fountain show which was a little underwhelming. However the view of the world's tallest building, the Burg Kalifa was certainly impressive.

Back to the hotel for a well earned rest and then dinner on one of the floating restaurants. What a difference night time makes. All the boats are lit up like Xmas trees and people outside them touting for your business. We chose the Rustar, which we discovered once aboard had 3 levels and could hold 400 people. Nowhere near that many on board tonight. The food was great and the views of the other boats and the world going by certainly made a great finish to our first day.

Cooler today, just. We headed of to Jumeirah Mosque this morning to learn about the Muslim faith. It was a great visit and very interesting, especially when you realize that it is very similar to Christianity. Leaving there we jumped back in a cab and headed back to the souks. What a difference being there in the middle of the day. What had been a sleepy place yesterday morning had turned into a bustling loud vibrant area. People touting for business, haggling and moving goods everywhere. The Gold Souk was alive with tourists and every alleyway there was someone wanting you to come and look at there silver or there fake Rolex.Read more