Dubai Part 1

Our trip to Dubai was

amazing!

I'll be honest..

I didn't think I was going to like it.

The newness of it..

The racy cars..

the shiny skyscrapers..

the desert.

But, 

I did.

I truly loved it.

It was so very different than anywhere

I've ever traveled.

And boy was it HOT!

We stayed at the Marriott on the marina..

this was our view from our balcony.

We arrived late Saturday night..

after a 6 1/2 hour flight on Emirates!

Our view at night.

Sunday morning we walked

along the marina.

Dubai is one of the 7 emirates in the 

U.A.E. ..

the United Arab Emirates.

About 85% of it's population

are expats. 

Mainly Indian, Pakistani, Filipino and 

Bangladeshi.

We met so many interesting people.

And some of the friendliest!

The culture here revolves around

the Islamic religion and traditional 

Arab activities..

like shisha smoking.

This is a social activity..

similar to Westerners meeting

at a pub or cafe for a glass of wine or beer

as there is not alcohol served.

I loved the smell of the shisha!

It's nothing like cigar or cigarette smoke.

I tried it when we were on safari in 

the desert!

And five times a day,

Muslims are called to prayer.

We would hear the beautiful music

coming from the mosques.

This was a cool looking outdoor 

cafe..

at night filled with people smoking

shisha!

Sunday afternoon

we took the hotel shuttle 

to a Souk.

This was a touristy Souk..

filled with shops and places to eat.

(visiting the traditional Gold souk and the spice market

was one of the things we didn't get to do..

hopefully on another visit!)

We bought a shisha pipe

to bring home for decoration!

Sunday night Steve and I made

reservations at the SkyView Bar

at the Burg Al Arab!

(pictured above)

This was the coolest building

I've ever been in!

I took a picture of this from

the menu..

We did NOT order this

$4,000 drink.

Maybe next time

:)

Monday we drove out to Atlantis

on the Palm Island.

We spent the day at the water park.

Hannah swam with the dolphins!

Not many pictures to share

as we were in the water all day!

Monday night we went out 

for Middle Eastern food...

Delicious hummus,

grape leaves, tabbouleh, 

chicken tagine...

So good!

I will share the rest of the week

later..

Will and Griffin and I are off

to London for a few days

to see the Lion King!

Steve and Stephen flew to the States

yesterday to visit colleges

and Hannah is flying to 

Romania tomorrow with

her volunteer group!