The second leg of a long summer trip. The day after I returned from Alaska I left for a Dubai business trip. I was very excited to see Dubai as it promotes itself as a high-end glamour destination. The world's tallest building, the world's largest airport, the world's largest shopping mall, the world's only seven star hotel and the man-made world islands can all be found in Dubai.
I left Seattle at 12:55pm on Monday and checked in to the Grand Hyatt Dubai hotel at 11:00pm Tuesday evening. I had spent the entire time on the various airplanes and airline lounges working in Photoshop editing the over 3000 images from Alaska. I had stayed awake the entire trip so that I would be tired enough to sleep through the first night in Dubai. It worked. I woke up the next morning pretty refreshed and ready to explore the city.
I was traveling with a business associate, Jason. We made plans at the consigner's desk to spend the day traveling through the city on a double decker city tour bus ride and on a desert safari that evening. Upon exiting the hotel to walk to the bus pickup stop we were immediately hit with a wall of heat. At 9:00 that morning the temperature was already 96 degrees. Once aboard the bus we had our choice of seating, a section of the bus had air-conditioning, but you had to photograph through windows or you could sit upstairs towards the back without air-conditioning and have unobstructed views. I chose upstairs without the windows.
We listened through our head phones about the history of the city, why there were more construction sites and cranes than there are Starbucks, how Dubai earned it's reputation of a glamour destination and who occupied many of the large office buildings. Included in the tour was a boat cruise up Dubai Creek. The Creek, a natural sea-water inlet which cuts through the center of the city, is the historic focal point of life in Dubai. We were captivated by the color and bustle of the loading and unloading of dhows which still ply ancient trade routes to places as distant as India and East Africa. It looked as though there was no method to the madness. Piles and piles of boxes were stacked on one another with no apparent way to distinguish what went where and when. It was a unique trip and I'd recommend it.
That evening we were picked up by an Adventure companies driver to be taken out to the desert to start our safari. The safari included being driven in new Chevy Tahoe's across and over the endless supply of sand dunes. Our destination was a camp where camel rides were available and dinner would be served. We enjoyed the local food, the unlimited supply of red wine and beer, the belly dancer and the Hubblee Bubblee (shisha). Again, I would recommend this trip.
Unfortunately, the next day was work and we were tied up in meetings. However, we did have some time late that afternoon to relax next to one of the many luxurious pools and enjoy a couple of $9 dollar beers.
All in all, Dubai was an interesting place, the people were extremely friendly, I didn't have any problems communicating as most people spoke English and I'd like to go back if I ever have the chance.
I left Seattle at 12:55pm on Monday and checked in to the Grand Hyatt Dubai hotel at 11:00pm Tuesday evening. I had spent the entire time on the various airplanes and airline lounges working in Photoshop editing the over 3000 images from Alaska. I had stayed awake the entire trip so that I would be tired enough to sleep through the first night in Dubai. It worked. I woke up the next morning pretty refreshed and ready to explore the city.
I was traveling with a business associate, Jason. We made plans at the consigner's desk to spend the day traveling through the city on a double decker city tour bus ride and on a desert safari that evening. Upon exiting the hotel to walk to the bus pickup stop we were immediately hit with a wall of heat. At 9:00 that morning the temperature was already 96 degrees. Once aboard the bus we had our choice of seating, a section of the bus had air-conditioning, but you had to photograph through windows or you could sit upstairs towards the back without air-conditioning and have unobstructed views. I chose upstairs without the windows.
We listened through our head phones about the history of the city, why there were more construction sites and cranes than there are Starbucks, how Dubai earned it's reputation of a glamour destination and who occupied many of the large office buildings. Included in the tour was a boat cruise up Dubai Creek. The Creek, a natural sea-water inlet which cuts through the center of the city, is the historic focal point of life in Dubai. We were captivated by the color and bustle of the loading and unloading of dhows which still ply ancient trade routes to places as distant as India and East Africa. It looked as though there was no method to the madness. Piles and piles of boxes were stacked on one another with no apparent way to distinguish what went where and when. It was a unique trip and I'd recommend it.
That evening we were picked up by an Adventure companies driver to be taken out to the desert to start our safari. The safari included being driven in new Chevy Tahoe's across and over the endless supply of sand dunes. Our destination was a camp where camel rides were available and dinner would be served. We enjoyed the local food, the unlimited supply of red wine and beer, the belly dancer and the Hubblee Bubblee (shisha). Again, I would recommend this trip.
Unfortunately, the next day was work and we were tied up in meetings. However, we did have some time late that afternoon to relax next to one of the many luxurious pools and enjoy a couple of $9 dollar beers.
All in all, Dubai was an interesting place, the people were extremely friendly, I didn't have any problems communicating as most people spoke English and I'd like to go back if I ever have the chance.
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