It is Feb 14, 2013. Day 2 of the journey. A long day with many activities lined up.Enjoying the nice breeze and oblique sun rays falling on the body is a good start to the day.Time to get ready and get set and head out.
There is a saying "Have breakfast like a KING!". Well, I did realise what it really meant at Kaleidoscope restaurant. Yes, the same one where I had dinner last night. Once you enter and its a mela of food - from Indian to Italian to continental, you name it and it is there. neatly arranged in different sections with name boards which made easy to choose our food.
I being a vegetarian chose some fruit juices and some Indian dishes which I was fond of. Surprisingly that day I found Idli-Sambar in the offerings and what more, I just could not resist.
Fruits, juices, savouries.. mmmmmmm too much for a small tummy. But I managed to fill my stomach and get on with the tour ahead.
After breakfast, another city tour was to be completed. A journey to the transport service through the glowing hallways was another experience to savour for a long time. The image on the left is the proof of how awesome the hallways are!
Well, it was a time to go on a tour around the city of Dubai and not around the hallways for now.
A journey through the DownTown again and it is a new view every time I see.
Destination: Dubai Museum.
Usually, museums at different places depict the local cultural heritage, its history etc. Dubai Museum was no different. Right from the entrance which was surrounded by a sea of sand. Once entered, the first section is of the ancient boat types that the people in the olden days used while on a fishing expedition or for trade, the huts that they lived in all in one place.
The museum was a good learning experience which gave me a good knowledge of Dubai which even Wikipedia also would not provide.Starting from the start of civilization when people used to go fishing to earn a living, their lifestyles- then & now, the way people used to trade, their shops all in a very interactive and a fun way in which it is easily understood than reading about it. But one thing that was quite less - how the city of Dubai started to transform into a world favourite tourist destination. Though I have seen it on TV on the boom in Dubai tourism, it would have been awesome if it was also in the museum.
Next Stop: The Herbs market and Gold Souk.
Even if Dubai has 6-8 lanes roads, metros etc, they still have their old way of transport which they used since the beginning of trade here. I am speaking of the water taxi service. An open boat with seating facility and also space for goods.
A journey on a water taxi is a great experience as it is totally open without any barriers etc. It does make you a little afraid as it sways you back and forth while travelling but it is just super fun to be in it.
They say all that glitters is not gold. But at this place, it is not true because this is the Gold Souk or The Dubai Premier Gold Market. About 100 metres in length, this market has only gold shops that spoil you with enormous no.of varieties to choose from. This place will make women go mad as it is said that half of the world's god is in this place. It may be true.. as there are tons of retailers and one notable thing is that the gold prices are uniform throughout the market and a board at the entrance notifies the current prices.
There is one shop which has made a gigantic ring which weighs about 59kg and has set a Guinness world record for being the biggest and the heaviest Gold ring ever made.
It was about lunchtime and we headed to Nasimi Beach restaurant at Atlantis, The Palm.
After a small gap post lunch, we headed over to the desert, on a safari.
We were taken to the desert safari start point in a bus and Toyota Land Cruisers were waiting to take on a ride that we will never forget.
It was a windy day and as the cold wind blew, the sun was setting which indicated that it was time for some entertainment and we headed to a Bedouin camp in the middle of the desert.
The Camp all lighted up, colourful and very vibrant atmosphere. The tents were set up for visitors for seating and gentle music was being played all along. Once all the people were in, the show begins.
At first, a few fire acts by trained professionals. It indeed was exhilarating to watch it and I had not seen a few of the acts back in India. Next was some fun activities for the visitors, the DJ plays the music and the dance floor was on FIRE!!!! From kids to senior citizens, age was no bar as everyone enjoyed the moment.It was followed by dance numbers by a group, colourful with lights and beat thumping music.
The icing on the cake was when the show had reached its climax, the Belly dance. A Brazilian Belly Dancer was called on the floor to perform for us. This was the first LIVE belly dance performance I had been to. The performance lasted for about 30 minutes and each minute was worth the watch. It was that moment when the announcer had told that this is it and the show is over, we had actually moved from our seats, until then our body still in one position and eyes glued onto the performers.Once it was over, there was a huge line to get a snap with the performers. It was 7 PM local time when we had been to the camp and it was 11 PM by the time we left, 4 hours of pure entertainment and fun-filled moments to cherish. As we head back to the hotel, instead of having a view of the night sky, I was just rewinding those 4 hours and replaying them in my mind. Didn't notice that we had reached hotel till my thoughts were interrupted by the sudden braking of the bus.Time to go and sleep as the body needs some rest so that the next day I don't feel tired...
End of Day 2.
Read:
Day 1
Day 3
I being a vegetarian chose some fruit juices and some Indian dishes which I was fond of. Surprisingly that day I found Idli-Sambar in the offerings and what more, I just could not resist.
Fruits, juices, savouries.. mmmmmmm too much for a small tummy. But I managed to fill my stomach and get on with the tour ahead.
After breakfast, another city tour was to be completed. A journey to the transport service through the glowing hallways was another experience to savour for a long time. The image on the left is the proof of how awesome the hallways are!
Well, it was a time to go on a tour around the city of Dubai and not around the hallways for now.
A journey through the DownTown again and it is a new view every time I see.
Destination: Dubai Museum.
Usually, museums at different places depict the local cultural heritage, its history etc. Dubai Museum was no different. Right from the entrance which was surrounded by a sea of sand. Once entered, the first section is of the ancient boat types that the people in the olden days used while on a fishing expedition or for trade, the huts that they lived in all in one place.
 |
| The Huts |
 |
| The Boat |
The museum was a good learning experience which gave me a good knowledge of Dubai which even Wikipedia also would not provide.Starting from the start of civilization when people used to go fishing to earn a living, their lifestyles- then & now, the way people used to trade, their shops all in a very interactive and a fun way in which it is easily understood than reading about it. But one thing that was quite less - how the city of Dubai started to transform into a world favourite tourist destination. Though I have seen it on TV on the boom in Dubai tourism, it would have been awesome if it was also in the museum.
Next Stop: The Herbs market and Gold Souk.
Even if Dubai has 6-8 lanes roads, metros etc, they still have their old way of transport which they used since the beginning of trade here. I am speaking of the water taxi service. An open boat with seating facility and also space for goods.
 |
| The water taxi. |
A journey on a water taxi is a great experience as it is totally open without any barriers etc. It does make you a little afraid as it sways you back and forth while travelling but it is just super fun to be in it.
The next stop was the herbs and condiments market. I smelled the spices from quite a distance as they were too many varieties of spices some of which I have not even heard of!! All the spices in huge containers and sacks line-up along the road and along the path through the market. There were quite a few shops which offered memorabilia like the genie lamp, the Burj Khalifa model etc in different sizes, shapes and colours.
They say all that glitters is not gold. But at this place, it is not true because this is the Gold Souk or The Dubai Premier Gold Market. About 100 metres in length, this market has only gold shops that spoil you with enormous no.of varieties to choose from. This place will make women go mad as it is said that half of the world's god is in this place. It may be true.. as there are tons of retailers and one notable thing is that the gold prices are uniform throughout the market and a board at the entrance notifies the current prices.
There is one shop which has made a gigantic ring which weighs about 59kg and has set a Guinness world record for being the biggest and the heaviest Gold ring ever made.
It was about lunchtime and we headed to Nasimi Beach restaurant at Atlantis, The Palm.
 |
| must be the ones who did all the cooking. |
After a small gap post lunch, we headed over to the desert, on a safari.
We were taken to the desert safari start point in a bus and Toyota Land Cruisers were waiting to take on a ride that we will never forget.
It was a windy day and as the cold wind blew, the sun was setting which indicated that it was time for some entertainment and we headed to a Bedouin camp in the middle of the desert.
The icing on the cake was when the show had reached its climax, the Belly dance. A Brazilian Belly Dancer was called on the floor to perform for us. This was the first LIVE belly dance performance I had been to. The performance lasted for about 30 minutes and each minute was worth the watch. It was that moment when the announcer had told that this is it and the show is over, we had actually moved from our seats, until then our body still in one position and eyes glued onto the performers.Once it was over, there was a huge line to get a snap with the performers. It was 7 PM local time when we had been to the camp and it was 11 PM by the time we left, 4 hours of pure entertainment and fun-filled moments to cherish. As we head back to the hotel, instead of having a view of the night sky, I was just rewinding those 4 hours and replaying them in my mind. Didn't notice that we had reached hotel till my thoughts were interrupted by the sudden braking of the bus.Time to go and sleep as the body needs some rest so that the next day I don't feel tired...
Read:
Day 1
Day 3
