R. and I spent the last week in Dubai, to attend the wedding of a friend of ours. R.'s first time, it's been more than 6 years for me, so definitely was curious to see how much has changed. This building, Burj al Arab, had only just been completed when I was here last, and it's been full speed ahead since.
Since were flying BA - "bad airline" - we made the most of it and made a stopover in London to see some friends - it was a non-stop food and wine fest - Malaysian food, pub drinks, mulled wine in Covent Garden, and then helping R. thin the wine cellar (in preparation for his move to join his bride in Shanghai.)
Knowing full well that we would be spending ample time in Dubai's hotel amusement park area of Jumeirah, I wanted to make sure we spent some time in Bur Dubai's Bastakiyah area.
The XVA Gallery was just the ticket, an art gallery / boutique hotel / vegetarian restaurant. Ok, not so thrilled about the last bit, but the mint lemonades were very good, and eggs were allowed.
As it happened, friends of ours from Phoenix were also in Dubai visiting family, so we caught up with them for a drink before joining the wedding party. The itinerary started with an evening out in the desert - dune bashing in "eco-friendly" jeeps. Not sure what that means, but it was a lot of fun.
Our man G. was in fine form, jumped right in. You can sort of tell he's Swedish. Here he's saying "ok, Mr. Falconeer, you can take this back. Ok? Hello?!"
It was very beautiful in the isolation of the desert.
As the sun set, we took light refreshments and were serenaded by a Khayali musician, who perhaps unwisely encouraged us to join in with the percussion.
We then moved to a desert camp where we would spend the rest of the evening.
Plenty of delicious food...
...and entertainments, such as fortune-telling, dancing, and yes, sheesha. Which is a good thing, because I would later have to deal with the ship of the desert...
Ever since my run-in with a sniffly camel in Egypt, I've not had a fond relationship with these beasts.
A group of us took a relaxing cruise on an abra up the Dubai Creek
We were impressed by the captain's steering skills. The traditional Emirati architecture? Well, maybe not so much.
Dubai's bazaar's are a very much sanitised version of the souks one sees elsewhere in North Africa and the Middle East.
Dubai Creek at night. Surprisingly, there are some good, inexpensive places to eat in this area. Back in Jumeirah? Well, good, but not inexpensive.
The view at Vu's Bar at Jumeirah Emirates Towers
After the wedding, R. and I checked into the One & Only Royal Mirage, in Jumeirah.
It is evident that Jumeirah is not Bur Dubai.
A view of Palm Island from Jumeirah beach. That afternoon, we all gathered at the Jumeirah Beach Club for a post-wedding brunch, and in a very unusual instance, it rained!
On our last evening in Dubai, we planned to have a group dinner at Nina, the very swish "modern" Indian restaurant at our hotel, followed by drinks until the wee hours at the Rooftop Bar. R. had gone for a treatment at the spa earlier in the afternoon, and her rave reviews meant that G. and I had to go and get ourselves rubbed down at the Turkish Hammam. Excellent stuff. I will definitely be back!
G. says "It's time to go!" - the hotel rings the bell whenever new guests arrive. Nice touch.
And back to the airport for our post-midnight flight... and a peek a the Dubai Airport duty free... the Aston Martin would clearly have exceeded my luggage allowance, so I just picked up a couple of extra boxes of Bateel dates. Next time.
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