Morning tour of the city. Went to outskirts of city to see Madinat Jumeirah, a mini-city . Five star hotels , ornate souks(shops), and old fashioned air conditioning on the buildings. Basically, towers on buildings that let the hot air escape and cool air come in. Next stop was Burj Al Katlifa, or Burj Al Arab. The world’s largest tallest building. There was really a fantastic view. It seems it is popular to have strange shaped tall buildings. Some lean, some twist, some have spaces in the middle or in various places. One is a giant picture frame just waiting for the picture to arrive. Off to the large(est?) shopping center. It has the world’s largest aquarium. If you were interested, you could sign up for a scuba diving experience I got some chocolate at a See’s Candy shop!!! At one pm, we watched the world’s largest water fountain show outside the center. It beat the one in Las Vegas. (Dubai,you did it again!)Back in the bus to pass palaces on the way to old town. We got in an abra, an old fashioned wooden boat, to cross over a canal to see how people lived before oil was discovered. Buildings made of rock and stucco and a tent set up to show how Bedouin’s lived. Had a camel there. This turned out to be camel day, but more of that later on.
Back to hotel for a rest before the evening excursion. Went by bus for a desert adventure. Stopped by the camel racing grounds to see camels being taken to the track for training. It is just like horse racing. Pedigree and everything except the camel jockey is a mechanical jockey that is handled by a human who has the control and tells the “jockey” what to do. I really want to see a camel race sometime. Got to the parking lot and everyone got into Range Rovers to go to the Dubai Conservation Reserve for an Arabian themed evening. Colinda stayed in the rover when the air was being let out of the tires for the sand dune riding. I waited at the dinner site. She also rode a camel and rolled off when the camel was kneeling to let her off. No injury. Soft sand. So that is what the more about camels I mentioned was all about We ate an Arabian BBQ under tents with rugs under the stars. There were three entertainers. A whirling dervish, a belly dancer, and a fire dancer who twirled and “ate”fire. What a day!
Where in the world is Dalna 