Sunday March 24^th

Exploring Dubai

We decided to spend the day exploring old and new Dubai using the Hop on Hop off bus. The QE2 hotel is lovely, but not convenient, so we had to take a taxi to the nearest bus stop.

One of our friends really liked my Dubai T shirt from our previous visit, so our first task was to go to the Creek and try to buy a similar one. We found the stall where I had bought it, and yes he still had the shirt, but only in a small size. That simply would not fit our friend; so feeling we had failed in our mission we went to the nearby Spice Souk in case they had souvenir shops there.

They didn’t. Once in the Souk we were accosted on all sides by vendors eager to offload their merchandise on us, and who were not prepared to take no for an answer. Finally after one particularly over zealous store keeper got me tangled up in the scarf he was insisting I buy despite my protestations, we decided that this simply wasn’t working and managed to extricate ourselves from their clutches and head for the exit. I’m not going there again.

We decided to try new Dubai, and took the bus to the Dubai Mall in search of biltong. Gert, our guide had told us we could purchase biltong there. We couldn’t (the shop turned out to be in the Emirates Mall) but we had a good time exploring the mall which comes complete with an aquarium, an ice rink, waterfall, and a ski slope. It even has its very own souk where you can shop without being attacked, but it too didn’t have souvenir shops with the T-shirt we were looking for.

We found a great Indian restaurant for lunch, and lingered there far too long, leaving us insufficient time to complete all of the tasks on our agenda.

Our next stop was at the Old Souk where we were left alone by the vendors, and managed to find the T-shirt, and a whole lot of other interesting items. It was great fun, and I really enjoyed it.

Our final stop was at the beautiful Iranian Mosque, and then it was time to return to the ship to get ready for dinner.

In our taxi back to the QE2 we both agreed that staying here was just like being on a cruise, and the best part was not having to worry about getting back to the ship too late. She would still be there waiting for us.

We dressed for dinner, and had a wonderful meal in the Queens Grill Restaurant. It wasn’t cheap, but it was well worth it. The atmosphere was perfect, the service impeccable, and the food delicious. The whole evening was a huge success. I really felt like I was back on board the old QE2 again. Except, we didn’t have to rush to our cabin to put out our suitcases in good time as we are disembarking in the morning.