Our guide Marshal (Indian Expat, here for 20 years) picks us up and we are off and running for a full day of touring...
BURJ AL ARAB: 7 STAR HOTEL
Hey Marshal, what is a 7 star hotel? Ah Bocahita, this is a made up rating after the Burj was built- due to it being over the top- we came up with the new rating number-like most everything else in Dubai.
And BUBBA, WE ARE NOT STAYING THERE BECAUSE!?
Annie is over there having tea so let's go crash the party...surely Bocahita can get past the security entrance to the Burj. Unless you are staying there or have a reservation at one of the restaurants you won't be allowed in....Ol'Bocahita had to be very cleaver with figuring out a way in as all reservations were booked well in advance.
Mr. Collins, your wife had mentioned she is related to the Sheiks....just to be sure can you show some ID? SHE SAID WHAT!!!
I can imagine the rack rate here...the last word in luxury with a predictably extravagant price tag I am sure. Rooms start at $1500- basement level!
Buddha Bubs is the master of finding not only the Bocahita but also the loo...
Where is the Bocahita? Please dear God tell me she is not having our luggage moved over here.
Ah, appeased her with a little shopping in the gift shop. Whewwwwww. That's what he thinks- wait till he sees the bill!
and around the corner, MADINAT JUMEIRAH
A touch of Hollywood over at the enormous MJ leisure complex- one of Dubai's most spectacular landmarks just down the road from the Burj. It really looks like a gigantic and slightly outlandish film-set, framed by palm trees and topped by hundreds of wind towers, like the ultimate desert mirage.
The Madinat is designed as a miniature, self-contained Arabian city- complete with two top notch hotels and its own souk of course. Hard not to take your breath away....walkways and miniature bridges weave confusingly throughout the complex.
Loaded with fun shops and lots of places to eat- this complex is oh so fab. Modern day version of a "Souk". Yes hopelessly tacky in a way but on the other hand fun and extravagant-narrow alleyways topped with ornate wooden roofs decorated with Arabian and Indian artifacts. Lovin the faux Emirati architecture!
And what hotels!
Mina A'Salam
This Arabian-themed beach side hotel is part of the complex...very very nice.
Buddha Bubs loved the greeter.
more Burj view and part of the water way complex.
Middle East meets Hollywood bling...acres of marble and gargantuan chandeliers.
And we are staying at the Hyatt because? whined the Bocahita.
DUBAILAND
Started in 2003, put on hold in 2008 and still on hold. We checked out the "sales office" and model of this super colossal venue. 2x the size of Disney World- 107 sq miles. This entertainment complex will feature 45 mega projects....and I bet it will eventually get done! Lots of Russians walking around with the idea of investing...Nazdravilla!
The model of the site...to entice those investors.
The German tour guide told the Bubs- keep your money! Bocahita bets this will all be built within the next 10 years in spite of world economic situation. Time will tell.
PALM ISLAND: ATLANTIS RESORT
Southern Dubai's landmark, the gargantuan Atlantis resort, sitting at the far end of the huge new Palm Jumeirah island- adding a bizarre splash of architectural whimsy to the ultra modern skyline of the modern city. Styled after its sister resort in the Bahamas, Atlantis looks like an overblown set form some outlandish fantasy film raised to the nth level of size and absurdity....home to 2000 rooms.
We stop in to see the aquarium and have a little lunch.
Bubs enjoyed the variety and well trained fish...ha ha.
I hope you like your small bottle flat water Bocahita. You just paid $6 for it.
MORE SITE SEEING
The Big Sheiks place...with peacocks everywhere. Bubbs got a kick out of the "security"....Marshal told us the Sheik had to put one there as too many of the Arab locals were knocking on the ol'Palace door to ask him for favors. And he told Bocahita in no uncertain terms, "don't even think about it". She is so wanted to be invited to a Palace...hmmm.
Oh no Bubs thought....knowing Bocahita loves peacocks. Now she'll be wanting some on Golden Harbour...
We do a drive by, by the Shiek's brothers new digs...wow wow wow...
Of course the old mosque won't do ...so step up to a new one for the hood. There are no nursing homes in the country. The families take care of the elderly in their homes. Gas is $1.75 a gallon. And don't even think about giving the finger or you will be arrested!
Keep in mind this was THE palace in the 60's...certainly humble and today used for an administrative building. Remember it wasn't that long ago that the Sheiks grandparents were Bedouins roaming around the desert...
Nothing like some oil to transform your life and history!
OLD DUBAI
Bubs meets a new friend at The Sheik Mohammad Centre for Cultural Understanding. Yes, they had heard about the American Redneck and wanted the Bubs to do a little cultural bonding and sharing. Old Dubai will never be the same. Mohammed explains to the Bubs that Dubai may seem completely westernized and liberal but ANYTHING DOES NOT GO either or elsewhere in the UAE...as was proved by the much-publicized ares of a UK couple in 2008 for having sex on a beach....the city is anxious to preserve its Islamic traditions. And don't forget to stop at the emirate of Sharjah just 10 km down the road where a total prohibition on alcohol is the rule as well as strict rules concerning relations between unmarried couples. No alcohol? Isn't wine considered medicinal?
Bubba checks out the brick work and comments that the upside of all this is that Dubai and all of the UAE remains exceptionally safe with extremely low crime levels. We saw hundreds of thousands of dollars of TVs and various electronics stacked by the water without a lock, or guard just out there on the street and there it was the next day. Can you imagine that happening anywhere else in the world? Marshal told us: no beeping, no spitting, no throwing garbage on the ground, no swearing (oh no yelped Boca), no harassment, no staring at women (oh no yelped Bubba)....lot's of rules that are needed in India!
EVENING CRUISE ON THE CREEK
Bocahita, are you sure this is what you signed us up for? Well, ok then.
The weather was lovely but the boat was loaded with Russians...none spoke English, none smiled and they brought their kids. Hello- all smoking up on top please. We were very amused by the fashions....of course at the end of our tour we were ones to laugh at others....
Bocahita and Annie enjoyed getting their hands henna'd...convincing Bubbs it was perm ink.
We made a pact....NO MORE DINNER CRUISES FOR THE COLLINS. Way too hokey....mediocre food, boring view and even more boring guests. A good thing we were exhausted as we slept through the lame entertainment and barely held back from jumping ship. Good night!
BURJ AL ARAB: 7 STAR HOTEL
Hey Marshal, what is a 7 star hotel? Ah Bocahita, this is a made up rating after the Burj was built- due to it being over the top- we came up with the new rating number-like most everything else in Dubai.
And BUBBA, WE ARE NOT STAYING THERE BECAUSE!?
Annie is over there having tea so let's go crash the party...surely Bocahita can get past the security entrance to the Burj. Unless you are staying there or have a reservation at one of the restaurants you won't be allowed in....Ol'Bocahita had to be very cleaver with figuring out a way in as all reservations were booked well in advance.
Mr. Collins, your wife had mentioned she is related to the Sheiks....just to be sure can you show some ID? SHE SAID WHAT!!!
Ah, appeased her with a little shopping in the gift shop. Whewwwwww. That's what he thinks- wait till he sees the bill!
and around the corner, MADINAT JUMEIRAHA touch of Hollywood over at the enormous MJ leisure complex- one of Dubai's most spectacular landmarks just down the road from the Burj. It really looks like a gigantic and slightly outlandish film-set, framed by palm trees and topped by hundreds of wind towers, like the ultimate desert mirage.
The Madinat is designed as a miniature, self-contained Arabian city- complete with two top notch hotels and its own souk of course. Hard not to take your breath away....walkways and miniature bridges weave confusingly throughout the complex.
Loaded with fun shops and lots of places to eat- this complex is oh so fab. Modern day version of a "Souk". Yes hopelessly tacky in a way but on the other hand fun and extravagant-narrow alleyways topped with ornate wooden roofs decorated with Arabian and Indian artifacts. Lovin the faux Emirati architecture!
And what hotels!Mina A'Salam
This Arabian-themed beach side hotel is part of the complex...very very nice.
Buddha Bubs loved the greeter.
more Burj view and part of the water way complex.
Middle East meets Hollywood bling...acres of marble and gargantuan chandeliers.
And we are staying at the Hyatt because? whined the Bocahita.
DUBAILAND
Started in 2003, put on hold in 2008 and still on hold. We checked out the "sales office" and model of this super colossal venue. 2x the size of Disney World- 107 sq miles. This entertainment complex will feature 45 mega projects....and I bet it will eventually get done! Lots of Russians walking around with the idea of investing...Nazdravilla!
The model of the site...to entice those investors.
The German tour guide told the Bubs- keep your money! Bocahita bets this will all be built within the next 10 years in spite of world economic situation. Time will tell.
PALM ISLAND: ATLANTIS RESORT
Southern Dubai's landmark, the gargantuan Atlantis resort, sitting at the far end of the huge new Palm Jumeirah island- adding a bizarre splash of architectural whimsy to the ultra modern skyline of the modern city. Styled after its sister resort in the Bahamas, Atlantis looks like an overblown set form some outlandish fantasy film raised to the nth level of size and absurdity....home to 2000 rooms.
We stop in to see the aquarium and have a little lunch.
I hope you like your small bottle flat water Bocahita. You just paid $6 for it.
MORE SITE SEEING
Nothing like some oil to transform your life and history!
OLD DUBAI
EVENING CRUISE ON THE CREEK
We made a pact....NO MORE DINNER CRUISES FOR THE COLLINS. Way too hokey....mediocre food, boring view and even more boring guests. A good thing we were exhausted as we slept through the lame entertainment and barely held back from jumping ship. Good night!
