Day 56 - Dubai, United Arab Emirates

We started our day in the Princess Theater… waiting. 7:45a was our appointed time. About 8:15a, our number for the excursion was called. We proceeded to the line inching off the ship. However, it went much better than it did in Singapore. We were constantly moving in line so it went pretty fast. We had a face check and handed over our Passport to the culturally dressed local authorities. We are at a new cruise port that is efficient and modern. There are several convenient shops in the terminal itself where I was able to get postcards and stamps. Surprisingly, there is a small airport runway right next to the cruise port!

Off we left for our tour – Easy Dubai – and we had a nice time. Our first stop was the Burj Al Arab Hotel. This 321-meter building is famous for its sail-shaped tower and has often been described as the world's only "seven-star" hotel. It is the tallest all-suite hotel built over water, and the second tallest building in Dubai. After taking photographs we drove across the city to see the Jumeirah Mosque, a superb example of Middle Eastern architecture, and one of the most photographed sites in Dubai. We did not go in, which was fine with me. There was no time really and our group doesn’t seem to want to meet the times noted by the guide. We saw the baroque towers, minarets and an impressive dome so that was enough.

Our next stop was a photo stop outside Sheikh Saeed Al-Maktoum's House, which was built in 1896, from coral covered in lime and sand plaster. Sheikh Al-Maktoum was the ruler of Dubai from 1912, until his death in 1958, and his house was restored over two decades ago. It is now home to old photographs, coins, stamps and a collection of historic documents. As I said, this was a photo stop only.

Now to the real fun, the souks! The most fun for me was the spice souk. I bought a significant amount of very high grade saffron that I will share with everyone in the family. In a tightly sealed container in the fridge, it should be good for 7 years. In addition, I bought nutmegs, mint crystals (which clears the sinuses and supposedly disinfects your home for 24-hours), and chocolate covered dates. I passed up the beautiful pashminas that were soft and beautiful. It was a lovely tour.

On the way back to the ship we passed multiple sites including the Dubai Frame and I tried to take photos of most of them. The giant gold frame which teaches the history and culture of this area (we did not go inside). Dubai has grown since 2011. The guide said it is growing so rapidly when you get up in the morning there is always something new. They are still quite proud to be the biggest, best, etc. in so many areas. A drive along their “auto row” shows every “high class” car you can think of. Anyway, it was a lovely morning. Back to the ship for lunch, then a rest before we head out to our dinner on a Dhow on the river. 

Off we head to the Dhow, it was a long drive since traffic was bad. There was an accident or something so it took well over an hour. Once we got there we opted to sit downstairs because June's knee was buckling on her. The windows weren't very clean so photos didn't turn out too well. We sat with a couple; the man didn't talk and the woman fell asleep. The food was a buffet and about like the buffet on the ship. It was not at all as we had hoped. It was an expensive excursion as well, $159! Oh well. We made it safely back to the ship after an extensive walk going the wrong way, as instructed by the guide. We were exhausted and hit the bed about midnight! 

We don’t have a plan for tomorrow. We leave port at 2p so we have just a morning to do something if we choose to.