Ramadan is finally over. Bob and I had been earnestly watching for the new moon to appear at sundown, signaling the new month. I'm sure it's tough being Islamic and not being able to eat or drink during daylight hours. Most restaurants complied by not being opened during the appointed time. The only thing worst than NOT having a Starbucks down the street is having a Starbucks down the street that isn't open until the sun sets.
We should move into our apt. by the end of the month. We'll be living in the Hilton Baynuna Tower on the 16th floor with a mesmerizing view of the Persian Gulf or what the Arabs like to call the Arabian Sea (much more romantic). Our apartment is the same size as our Houston house but it seems much smaller to me. I hope I can get all the furniture I shipped over into it.
Bob and I drove to Dubai last week-end (that's Friday & Saturday here; Sundays a work day) and saw a surrealistic city. It appeared to be a futuristic Hollywoodesc idea of a completely different planet. Huge, TALL skyscrapers with a crane on top of each one, all emanating out of a desert like some strange monster; each new building trying to outdo the next in unusual architecture and height. There is construction going on for the tallest building in the world here and the actual height is top secret - the Sheik, apparently, does not want to be outdone. With all the new building going on there seems to be a permanent dust bowl lingering overhead only relived by the breezes coming from the Arabian Sea and blowing the brown inland.
To escape the dust and heat we went to the gargantuan Emirates Mall in Dubai where, on one end of it, there is a huge indoor ski slope with everything from the bunny slopes to the black (difficult) slopes, to a kiddy sledding area, and a real loge run. . .Oh, and of course a ski lift. So while it might be 105 degrees outside it's a freezing 30 degrees inside. All the haute fashion names had their stores here. Basically it made the Houston Galleria look like K-mart. They've got money to burn here.
We also caught a glimpse of the 7-star (I didn't know they gave out that many stars) Burj Al Arab Hotel. That's the one that's shaped like a sail and situated on it's own little man-made island just off the mainland. Rooms are only $1500 a night. Like I said they've got money to burn here. It was a bit over our budget so we stayed in the 3-star, St. George Hotel, built just after the British occupation, - large rooms, worn carpets but a great view of Dubai Creek and right next to the old souk and gold souk. (souk=open air market area) After 2-3 hours exploring the souks and getting great offers for Rolex watches, we realized we were becoming quite dehydrated from not being able to drink water in public with temperature in the 90's. I don't know how the Muslims do it. We, of course did the tourist thing, and hired a private dhow to take us along the creek and while we sat snuck drinks from our bottled water.
The desert oasis of Al Ain coming up next.