25 Degrees Celsius in Dubai

Hell yeh !! This is the perfect time to be in Dubai. Unlike the 40 degrees you get at most times of the year, Dec to Jan have the perfect balance of cool and hot. You can get the perfect tan without feeling sticky or burnt etc.

Where have i been these months ? Sorry for the lack of updates. I took to another hobby and was spending vast amount of time on it. Drifting my Nissan S15 that is !

Had a little bit of time in Dubai, am glad that i did not forget to bring my trusty M240. Took a little while getting used to the manual focus, but once familiarity creeps in, it feels like love all over again. 🙂

Everything is man made over here….well most of, unless you consider the “natural” sandy deserts which covers most of the country 🙂 There’s the Burj Al Arab, the Burj Khalifa, the Burj this, Burj that, the palm islands, the world islands and lots of shopping malls. The best way to get around is to rent a car. I am serious, forget about the cabs, parking is easy as ABC.

We were at the Burj Al Arab, this sail-like hotel/building but was turned away because we did not make a reservation at one of the posh restaurants.

“You cannot go in unless you made a reservation or are staying in the hotel”

“What ???”” Is it a new rule or something ?……..*grumble…..

The Burj Khalifa is next, i don’t want to bore you with this. You have probably read or seen this on numerous magazines or on TV. But i had to visit and get it out of my system. Its after all the tallest building in the world at 828 meters !!  (Remember this number, they have some impromptu contests along the queue, you might win a souvenir.)

And how do i feel after being told that the highest i can go is at the 452m (level 124 Yikes !!)  look out point ?  Zzzzzzz……..

See the queue ? Its at least 30 mins. Its best that you make a reservation online and pay the 125 dirhams or end up like me.

“Sir, you cannot go in if you have no reservation tickets, its sold out”

“Whhhaaattt ? Again ??? ”

“But if you pay 400 dirhams now, you can take express queue and go up immediately”

ZZZZzzzzzz…i don’t get it and thats 3 times more….ok ok, i will do it…..

We went to the malls next. There’s the Dubai World Mall, Deira City Center Mall, Dubai Mall of the Emirates. Extremely huge but they were all selling the same thing……not only that…but same thing and brands that i can get at home.

Shall not bore you with that !! Have been look ing forward to get to the Souks instead, the little markets that sells things from gold, jewelry, spices, clothes to fish and vegetables !!!

This thing holds the record of being the largest gold ring in the world. Gold Prices are also displayed daily…..like it helps?….you should teach me how to identify real gold instead !

And if you ended up buying cartons of gold, you can hire these guys to carry them for you to your car. Really !!

Saffron Flowers. A little saffron smells nice but when its a whole shop of it,  i kind of  felt overwhelmed. Giddy. 🙂

I was expecting a lively market but it seems like its more for tourist now. Everyone seems to be selling the same things. Kind of disappointed. It better for you to just walk along the banks where the boats are docked and unloading their goods.

It is where i met this friendly fella.

“Hi there, what’s you name ?” I asked.

“Iran, go, from there. 5 days !”

“Ok, what’s your name? ”

“Yes, i am from Iran”

“how old is your boat ?

“Yes, 5 days from Iran”

I give up. But i wished i had a little more patience and talked to him more. This guy was genuinely friendly and looks like he has tons of stores to tell 🙂

The Abra Dock has all these little boats that takes you across to the other side. All from only 1 dirham, thats like USD0.30 !!! Couldn’t believe my eyes when he gave me change of 9 dirhams when i gave him a note of 10.

The fish and vegetables are next. Come to think of it. I have not been able to identify a local emirate. All i see are Filipinos, Bangladeshis, Pakistanis, Chinese, Europeans etc….. except at the immigration maybe…where the hell are they !!!??

The market was really crowded with many stalls and workers. I think there are more workers than buyers at this place…..and of course, everyone is shouting  in your face to get your attention. 🙂 They take pride in their work or rather i think this nice presentation of neatly arranged seafood helps in their sales.

“Can i take a picture of you with the seafood?”

“No sir, problem later for me.”

I had no more energy to pursue the story further, neither to go to another place. My legs were aching like crazy. Where’s the foot massage place when you need one ! At least, i felt good……….

………it felt good to be behind the camera again ……… 🙂