Welcome to Dubai.
Flights arrived Saturday night ahead of schedule, due to strong tailwinds across the Atlantic. Strong winds complicated things for us in Dubai on Sunday, as we awoke to a raging sandstorm! The famous skyscrapers were barely visible, but we proceeded on our tour of modern Dubai. We were hoping the wind would die down so we could do our desert safari in the afternoon, but it was not to be. So, in the late afternoon we boarded our coach and drove up to the neighboring Emirate, Sharjah. There is a fantastic, huge souk (market) in Sharjah with lower prices than in Dubai. We had no problem spending a couple hours there and then on the way home we all enjoyed a shewarma, a pita pocket filled with chicken, lettuce and vegetables. Yum.
The Atlantis Hotel out a the end of the Jumeirah Palm was inspired by the one in the Bahamas.
Believe it or not, in the hotel they had a 'Gold to Go' vending machine. You could buy Krugerrands and other types of gold investment pieces and pay with either cash or credit card! What was really amazing is that the actual price is updated every 60 seconds automatically as the world gold price fluctuates!
Inside the hotel is a fantastic aquarium with over 3,000 species and over 66,000 fish!
Atlantis Aquarium
In the Dubai Marina, this 2/3 finished skyscraper twists as it rises.
In the Madinat Souk, Ingrid poses with glass candle burners and water pipes.
The Burj al Arab over the canals of Madinat Souk
Ski Dubai in the Mall of the Emirates
Ski Dubai
This is not a palace! This is the Sharjah Chamer of Commerce!
Sharjah Cultural Palace
Sharjah Library
The entire two rows of buildings, first and second floors, comprise the Central Souk (Market)
Bargaining over pashmina scraves and shawls
Preparing our shewarmas for supper.
The Sharjah man-made lagoon, and the beautifully-lit mosque.
Sharjah new business center on the lagoon
Back at our hotel, the view out over the 'Creek'!
I need a pic with andrew in it
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