I must start by saying that Greg has not been exaggerating when he speaks of the comforts of flying Emirates airline. It was a mini vacation in the sky! For 15 hrs. I played video games and watched movies on the seat back in front of me ( I'm recommending everyone watch Africa United) I slept, read (Cutting Stone) and when the pilot came on to announce we were landing my first thought was "not yet!"
We did land in Dubai, where Greg and I had decided to stay 2 nights on an extended layover.
Today we explored the city. I am just amazed at how clean Dubai is, and at how empty it feels.
We began our day exploring the Souks in the old part of the city. There are little shops lining the streets and men outside trying to entice you in. We explored the gold souk, the textile souk, the perfume souk, and the spice souk. The spice souk was by far my favorite. Baskets lined the streets filled with brightly colored herbs and spices and the sellers were friendly, readily explaining what everything was.
We then took a rickety old water taxi across Dubai Creek to the old part of town where I got to ride a camel!! I was so excited (Ella can you believe it!) It was so cool! After that we took a long walk by the creek to the metro line and traveled to the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. Unfortunately it would cost $150 to go the top of the building so we opted for photos at the bottom and then exploring the opulent mall of Dubai which houses pretty much every high end store you can imagine as well as an aquarium and ice skating rink. By 4pm we were at the amazing Burj Al Arab Hotel, which is on a man made island in the Arabian Gulf and is shaped like a huge sail. We'd made reservations for tea at the restaurant at the top of the hotel. The view was amazing, we could see the man made islands in the shape of a palm tree and had a great view of the city. The tea lasted 2.5 hrs and I was so full that at the end I couldn't even eat the delicious chocolates they brought as a last course.
We finished our day at the mall of the Emirates where we watched but didn't participate in Ski Dubai, the indoor ski slope.
Tomorrow morning we continue our journey to Ethiopia, we are so excited to meet "M" and experience the sweet personality others have told us about for ourselves.
We did land in Dubai, where Greg and I had decided to stay 2 nights on an extended layover.
Today we explored the city. I am just amazed at how clean Dubai is, and at how empty it feels.
We began our day exploring the Souks in the old part of the city. There are little shops lining the streets and men outside trying to entice you in. We explored the gold souk, the textile souk, the perfume souk, and the spice souk. The spice souk was by far my favorite. Baskets lined the streets filled with brightly colored herbs and spices and the sellers were friendly, readily explaining what everything was.
We then took a rickety old water taxi across Dubai Creek to the old part of town where I got to ride a camel!! I was so excited (Ella can you believe it!) It was so cool! After that we took a long walk by the creek to the metro line and traveled to the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. Unfortunately it would cost $150 to go the top of the building so we opted for photos at the bottom and then exploring the opulent mall of Dubai which houses pretty much every high end store you can imagine as well as an aquarium and ice skating rink. By 4pm we were at the amazing Burj Al Arab Hotel, which is on a man made island in the Arabian Gulf and is shaped like a huge sail. We'd made reservations for tea at the restaurant at the top of the hotel. The view was amazing, we could see the man made islands in the shape of a palm tree and had a great view of the city. The tea lasted 2.5 hrs and I was so full that at the end I couldn't even eat the delicious chocolates they brought as a last course.
We finished our day at the mall of the Emirates where we watched but didn't participate in Ski Dubai, the indoor ski slope.
Tomorrow morning we continue our journey to Ethiopia, we are so excited to meet "M" and experience the sweet personality others have told us about for ourselves.
1 comment:
How much were "lift tickets"? Lol
Christina
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