The first day and a half so far has been a blast. We arrived from our 14 hour flight at 11am. Funny how the 14 hours didn't seem nearly as bad when I was in business class. Fully reclining bed seats, greeted with champagne, fabulous food and wine served with full cutlery. Best flight ever! Emirates even has cameras below and in front of the plane so you can watch below even if you don't have a window! We flew right over Svalbard which is way up on my to see list, but it was cloudy there and I couldn't see anything. I am hopeful it will happen again on the return but with clear skies.
For our first day in Dubai we went to explore the hotel first. The Fairmont Palm is a gorgeous place. Wonderful service and right on the beach. I was surprised at just how warm the water was. Even hot. When I've been this far south before it has always been on the ocean so the water stays cooler. There are little spiral shells all around, and though the sand is by no means soft and fine, it was perfect for walking along.
After this we went to the Dubai Mall to explore before we had out "Mother's Day Tea" at the Palace Hotel. After getting lost (We would follow signs that would suddenly stop not at the destination) we stumbled our way in. Fabulous experience! The tea was delightful, as was the food. Camels milk pistachio creme brûlée and clotted cream for our scones. Yummo! Sadly I was getting overtired and didn't get to enjoy it as fully as I could. The downside to being so excited for a trip that you don't sleep much the two days leading in. We came down to find we had a lovely turn down service in our room with plenty of bottled water which we very much needed.
Woke up early this morning and went for a quick walk in the park. While still very hot, it was enjoyable at that time of day. Came back to grab a delicious iced coffee and some snacks for breakfast before going on our first tour, a day trip of new and old Dubai. While the driver was nice enough, he was not very friendly. He also didn't know any of the history of the city, couldn't answer any of our questions, and often didn't seem to understand us. This was a problem when it is a tour marketed for English speakers.
Even with this disappointment, Deb and I still had a great time. We got some photo opportunities at the more well known hotels here, enjoyed the history of the Dubai museum (which answered the questions our guide did not) and did a quick visit to the souks. Unfortunately a quick talking sales man got us to hand over more money than we realized for Deb's purchase. Fortunately, I realized this as he started giving me my cost. I was able to get mine way under so that they balanced out to a good price. Probably the only reason I got away with the price I did, but it made it so Debbie and I could split the cost reasonably.
After we finished shopping, we went back to the mall for a delicious Lebanese lunch, perused the souk around it, and then left to go up the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. Thankfully we left very early, as we ended up completely lapping the building before realizing the entrance was though the bottom floor of the mall, not from the outside. Once we got this sorted out we hopped into the fastest elevator in tthe world and went up to the observation deck of the tower. Sadly not one of the top floors which are not open to the general public. From here we were able to see the World Islands and enjoy the fountain show from above. It was incredible how quickly the city turns into desert from that perspective, when it seems so far away at street level.
We came back down planning to go to take the metro back to the hotel but got distracted by a cute little shop with turbans and scarves. The lady helped show us how to wrap our heads in the traditional fashion, which I will probably never be able to recreate, and take pictures with them. They had great little women's style turbans, but they looked awful on us unfortunately. Took enough time though that we were able to catch the shuttle back to the hotel. We spent the last of the evening wandering on the beach and property and enjoying the beautiful view of the city lights. Looking forward to tomorrow and our trip to Abu Dhabi!
