Easter came and went. It was a 12 hour workday for me at the office. I really didn't have time to think much on it, but it made me realize how hard the next holidays here could be.
On Friday, we drove out to Jebel Ali (towards Abu Dhabi, past some camel herds) to spend a day on the beach. You need an SUV to make it to the water, but that isn't a guarantee that you'll make it all the way there. Here is a picture of our crew and car (stuck in the sand).
The weather was perfect, the water clear, our sense of humor was going strong, and we had so much food left over. There were a lot of kite-surfers and beach parties going on around the shoreside barastis, but it was still rather secluded. Here is a group shot of all those that made it to sunset.
I met Rob and a few others that night at Madinat Jumeirah again, which I see as becoming one of my favorite places. The exciting thing was that, despite how crowded it was, I walked into one of the restaraunts and ran into some people I knew through work folks. Suprising familiarity is really an amazing feeling, and it was heart-warming to have them join up with us.
On Saturday, we went to Dubai Creek to see a marina we have been working on, and after observing the contractor's progress, we boarded an abra (a dhow-like water taxi) and headed down the Creek towards the Spice Souk and the Gold Souk (Souk = Market).
The Spice Souk is a system of crowded alleys packed with eager vendors anxious for you to taste from their giant bags of teas, peppers, beans, dried fruits, and of course, spices. Apparently it is mainly kept up for the tourists, but it does give a taste for what Dubai once was.
We also went to the Gold Souk- I've never seen so many diamonds or so much gold- and there seemed to be about 50 shops selling the most beautiful and the most senseless jewelry you would ever see. It is definitely a sight to see. Here is one shot that doesn't give the place any justice (Chad, I thought of you the whole time - "ooh, these are pretty..."). A guy we were with bought a golden Burj al Arab for his wife.
The exciting thing to me now is that I realize I've only written out the highlights.
A few other interesting notes about Dubai: Dubailand is under construction out at International City (aka the desert)- they are going to build an even bigger indoor snow skiing park, and they have plans to rebuild the wonders of the world TO SCALE. Of course, that claim isn't exactly accurate- indeed, they are planning to rebuild the pyramid of Giza even bigger than it actually is. The Burj Dubai is under construction as the tallest building in the world (goes up at about 2 floors per week, now)- and they are secretive about how tall it will actually be. Plans are in the works for an even taller building. I consider it the Babel Tower of all Babel Towers. As for the malls, there's the Mall of the Emirates, IBN Battuta, Karama ("the flea market") and Dragon Mart- all of which are enormous and elaborately themed. Dragon Mart is basically all products from China, and it is so big that they have taxi's inside the mall. I'm not sure I'll make it out there this trip.
I'm sure there will be more to come...
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