Dubai, Under construction, come back in 5 years

Having a quiet lunch at our local restaurant
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Day 5 Wednesday 9 May 4.00am (118 hours down 770 to go)

Up at 4.00am to catch flight to Dubai, Delhi Airport is still a shambles, we get access to a Lounge of some sorts for 10 minutes before flight is called. Get onboard Gulf Air flight, 1A & 1C, which was delayed for 1 hour, heavy traffic & strong winds. Quick stop at Muscat Oman then off to Dubai.

What a difference between Delhi Airport and the brand new Dubai Airport, no problems getting through Immigration, no entry forms, bags off first, straight through customs with the Hyatt pickup waiting for us. Traffic in Dubai is very heavy due to roadworks for new Metro train system, so trip to hotel is slow which gives us time to have a good look at sights along the Dubai Creek, Deira area.

The Amazing sight of Dubai
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Hyatt is close to the market (souk) area and overlooks the Arabian Gulf, first impressions are very good and then they take us up to the Club floor area for check in and it just gets better and on to our room and it again gets better, but we can handle it.

We decide to check out the creek area in the afternoon and hire a boat to take us for a 1 hour cruise up the creek to get a feel for the place. As we approach the Dubai Creek Golf Club, I convince the boat driver to dock in so that I can check out the Pro Shop for a couple of souvenirs, he’s not happy, but the offer of a bit more cash does the trick.

Under construction
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Walked back to the Hotel through the streets that are filled with thousands of small shops, but is very organized in a way that one area will only sell spices, then it is shoes or clothing or electronics. Checked out all the restaurants and decide on the buffet in the revolving restaurant on the 25^th floor, which provided a fantastic view of Dubai and provided a very good feed as well. After our early start it was off to our very comfortable bed at 9.00pm

Pedometer reading 17808

More construction
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Day 6 Thursday 10 May (148 hours down 740 to go)

Not a good idea to go to bed early, awake at 5.00am, wait until breakfast is available in Club floor where they greet you like long lost relatives, have a great breakfast and get advice from one of Club managers regarding Big Bus Tour of Dubai. Book tickets over internet and walk down to pick up point at Gold Souk. Tour is very good and takes you through city and out along the beach area where all the huge hotels are and close to where all the new building developments are. The level of development is vast and it is hard to comprehend where all the people to fill these developments will come from. We stopped off at the Souk Madinat Jumeira which is a shopping centre attached to a huge hotel development where the guests travel to their rooms by boat. Caught the next Big Bus to the Mall of the Emerates and Ski Dubai which is another huge place that has every expensive brand store known to man or woman and is very flash.

The view from our room in Cairo
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Julie resisted buying anything but I decided on a new pair of Geox walking shoes at the last minute and ran to catch next bus back to city where we found our way to a market area that specializes in brand knockoff goods. It took us a while to find it and after a couple of attempts to negotiate prices on watches without success we decided that it was a poxy area and found a cab to take us back to the hotel.  After a drink at the hotel bar looking out over the sea followed by evening drinks and canapés at the Club floor watching the sun going down we had dinner at a swanky Italian restaurant in the hotel, Focaccia.

Pedometer reading 10105

Day7 Friday 11 May (172 Hours down 716 to go)

Early breakfast, Julie decides to miss as she is holding off for lunch, then go for a walk down to Fish and Vegetable market which is an eye opener and a surprise for your senses. We asked for directions and we were told to “just follow your nose”. Friday is the day of prayer and most shops are closed until late in afternoon so not much activity around. We put on our best gear and catch a taxi down to the famous Burj Al Arab hotel where we have a booking for lunch. As you drive up to the hotel there are check points where your reservation is checked, barriers dropped and then you arrive at the entrance with the Rolls Royces, Ferrari, Lamborgini, Maybachs and a Camry taxi.

Inside the hotel is just magnificent and luxurious everywhere you look. After a good look around we take the elevator up to the 45^th floor restaurant which looks out over the Gulf and over the first Palm island development on which there is a fair bit of housing built already.

But we are there for the food and it is just a feast, oysters, prawns, lobster, bug tails, smoked salmon, Alaskan crab claws. There was a vast selection of meat dishes, salads, etc. and a selection of caviars with all condiments. A Kenyan chef talked me into fried goose liver (fois gras) with a sauce, didn’t taste a bit like pate on toast, never trust a Kenyan. A pommy chef was wheeling around a roast cart and was serving slow roasted wagu beef with yorkeshire pud and roast potatoes, bloody magnificent.

Desserts were a feast for the eyes and Julie was pretty happy with the taste as well, I settled for a scoop of chocolate icecream. Overall it was magnificent and a great to have experienced the Burj Al Arab which is such a symbol of Dubai.

Our Mercedes limo had broken down so we opted for the trusty Camry taxi back into Dubai, dropped us off at the Gold Souk where we had a look around and tried to negotiate a deal on some earrings with a couple of shops but they were definitely not cheap, or maybe we were.

Walked back to Hotel for a rest and an early night after a big day out, no dinner required.

Pedometer reading 13023

Saturday 12 May (196 hours down 692 to go)

Up at 5.00am to catch flight to Cairo. Hotel limo to airport, no worries anywhere and relaxed in Gulf Air lounge. Got on board and waited for nearly an hour for some camel herders whose connecting flight was delayed. Two hour stop in Bahrain, very modern airport and very flash lounge then on to Cairo where we breezed through the whole process in record time. Got to the area where the hotel greeters are lined up and you wouldn’t believe it but there are two guys there with signs for Huppatz, one from the Hotel which we hadn’t arranged and the one that we had who we took. Drive from airport to Hotel in Giza took about 45 minutes, traffic was crazy all the way. Some parts of Cairo look fantastic with wide tree lined avenues, but most of it looks like a bomb site and the closer we got to our hotel the worst it looked.

Got to Hotel, Le Meridien, greeted by guards, retracting bollards and a sniffer dog that checks our vehicle prior to getting access to the hotel, then you have to go through a metal detector as you enter the hotel. Hello, what is this all about?

Shown to our room on the top floor and the view of the Pyramids is just fantastic, you feel as if you could reach out and touch them, very happy with choice. Checked out hotel restaurants which all look good, prices are so cheap we had to go back and check the conversion rate to make sure we had not stuffed up.

Time to hit the Club Lounge happy hour.

Pedometer Reading 7211 (Slack day)