UAE, United Arab Emirates

 

Exciting day driving over the massive dunes

The United Arab Emirates or the Emirates for short is an elective monarchy.  The 7 Sultans form a council an elect a leader amongst themselves.  In practice the largest Emirates rule the nation.  Each Sultan then rules his Emirate.  

The population is divided between locals with Emirate passports and a very large number of “Residents” who have obtained a work Visa.  Outsiders who wish to invest in the country must either partner with a local, who will control 51% or invest in one of the Free zones.   A free zone is limited to specific industries.  

Blue anchors are the ports we visited
Sailed through the Straight of Hormuz at top

Fujairah

Our first of three stops in the UAE: Fujairah.  It is on the tip of a peninsula that juts into the Gulf of Oman.  They are just starting to accept cruise ships, so the port was a shipping/cargo/oil port.  Having said that, it was very clean and they had set up a temporary building for an immigration site.  Fujairah is a seaport with a mountain range right in its back door - the Hagar Mountains.  Unfortunately, it was a quick stop so touring options were limited.  Jeff and I chose the tour that took us to a beach resort.  

We enjoyed our stay and were the last ones to get back on the bus and only then because Jeff had a sense of the time!  It was a Le Meridien hotel that was a high-rise with interesting architecture and quite nice inside (well what I saw as I walked through the lobby and out the back of the resort!).  There was a nice multi-faceted pool.  There were different levels, different shapes coming out from the main, large vaselike structures in it and lots of chairs and umbrellas around it.  The beachside was probably 3 to 5 acres so there was some grass and some outbuildings like a bar and changing facilities before you then made it to the beach.  The beach itself is where Jeff and I hung out for a couple of hours.  We had 2 chairs under a large beach umbrella.  We settled in and promptly went for a beach walk.  The sand was a nice light brown with just a few shells.  Interestingly, they had rock walls (large single width rocks) that separated some of the resorts on the beach.  On one side we had a local resort and on the other was the Intercontinental Hotel resort.  The water was very clear and a little cool which felt wonderful since it was around 100 degrees with 42 percent humidity.  They had a lifeguard and an area roped off with buoys for you to swim in.  The water was quite calm and we wished we had noodles to float on.  We struck up a conversation with a dad whose daughter did have a noodle, a Brit who had lived in the States for awhile.  He told us that the little fish we had seen jumping in swarms by the buoys were sardines and there were more swimming by the buoys.  We swam out there unfortunately we did not see any fish.  We sat around a little and enjoyed an alcholic drink each and then had to go.  Yeah I had to add the part that they served us a beer and a hard cider in a Muslim country.  Seems some of the hotels and a few bars are licensed to serve alcohol.

Le Meridian Al Aqah Beach Resort

Abu Dhabi

For our second port, we chose an Al Khatim Desert by Off Road excursion today.  Abu Dhabi is a cruise ship port unlike the last one that was a commercial port.  Right now it is a small port, but the terminal building is completed and pretty nice.  They are also working on getting some retail and entertainment at the port too.  During the day it did not look like much, but at night it was lit up and I could see food trucks open and people there.  Lots of construction in the port area (well lots of cranes off in all sorts of directions to be honest) so in a couple of years it will be very different and probably nice.

We could see some interesting looking buildings from the port.  Like one that is kind of an unusual upside-down platter with something happening on the roof – turned out to be their outpost of the Louvre.  We also saw lots of interesting skyscrapers - not many boring glass boxes here.  Happily, we passed many sites on our way to the desert and our driver was happy to tell us what we were seeing.  Many of the unusual, shaped buildings are actually residential property – condos.  Another thing they do to their buildings is cover a basic glass high-rise with metal work.  On one building nicknamed the pineapple building the metal has louvers built in so when the sun is shining on it the metal closes to keep the building cooler and when the side is in the shade the louvers open, and it is all automatic.

Louvre

We passed the Sheik Zayed Mosque which is a humongous white mosque.  It is an operating mosque but also quite touristy.  Our driver pointed out the ticket building.  He made a point of slowing down so we could take photos.  We have seen lots of construction on this cruise especially road construction but while driving we saw our first train track construction.  They are building a train route from Riyad, Saudi Arabia to Dubai via Abu Dhabi .  He explained how most of the land we were seeing was reclaimed from the sea.  While we were in town, there were flower beds in the medians and lots of greenery all on sprinkler systems.  They have water desalinization plants for water.  Our tour was in an area called desert safari – I know because there is English on all the signs underneath or next to the Arabic. 

Sheik Zayed Mosque

Once we got to the safari entrance area.  He deflated the tires of our Toyota LandRover so that we could drive around in the desert.  He said how much he deflated them was determined by the temperature outside.  Well, it is HOT there.  As in we started out at 42* Celsius and went up to 50* which means we hit 122* Fahrenheit while we were in the desert.  Very glad Toyota’s have a strong air conditioning system!  Our driver took the tires from 42psi down to 12psi.  The four of us in the SUV were wondering how you could drive at all with such little pressure in the tires!  Drive we did oh my did we drive.  A friend had said this is kind of a like a roller coaster which turned out to be a good description.  We went up, we went straight down, we went sideways down the dune, we went up and then sideways up and all sorts of variations. We were required to be buckled in, but still found ourselves up against each other at times.  Surprisingly there is the occasional tree in the desert.  Abu Dhabi officials have tagged all of them and water them regularly as needed.  We stopped by one for a photo break and to let the SUVs’ engine cool off some.  After the photo break we drove around a little more and then went to a “camp” they have for evening programs where we had refreshments and they re inflated the tires.  After that it was time to head back to the ship with our guide describing things along the way and pointing out photos of their Sheik and telling positive stories about the current leader and his father.

Top car ahead sliding over edge
Bottom - note our hood in relation to horizon

Click on brief video below

After a short break at the ship, Jeff and I headed out to the Marina Mall because we had more time in the city and we could get there for free.  The mall was by a marina, and it was in a slightly different direction, so we got to see more unique buildings so more building pictures!  The mall itself had large metal sculptures by the entrance doors including a large fish being caught by the one we used.  It was nice to wander around a well air-conditioned spot for a while and to window shop some.  We were pleasantly surprised to see a British Chain – Marks and Spencer there so we bought some salty snacks for our cabin – sweets are easy to find on the ship but not salty things.  Had to check out a department store a little bit and a Costco like store while we were there.  We even ate dinner there for a change of pace.  We went high quality – a fast food chain.  We had first seen it in Singapore and laughed at the name - Texas Chicken.  We could have eaten at McDonalds or Kentucky Fried Chicken since they too were there, but we went with the more local version.  It was pretty good and the first fried chicken we had in a while.  Time to head back to the ship and enjoy the skyline from it.

Dubai

Dubai is a major city.  We chose to do a hop on hop off tour that had the Dubai Mall as a central location.  We did the "modern Dubai' route of the bus plus we went up the Al Khalif tower and wandered around the mall a little.  We saw lots of unique buildings and lots and lots of traffic even though it was an 8 lane road.  This seems to be a city where people are always trying to outdo each other.  For instance, there is an area called the "tall block".  It is a block of residential towers but not just any residential towers.  When each one was completed, it was the tallest residential building in the world.  Have to admit what came to my mind was the negative stories I heard of a super tall condo building in New York and how it swayed so much it bothered the residents in the high floors.

We also saw the Dubai Marina area which is partially reclaimed from the sea and on the water.  It has a marina with lots of yachts and a nice shopping area called the Dubai Marina Walk.  Mind boggling to me is a series of high-rise condos on the water that are connected with a joint lobby type area that went on for like over a kilometer and the buildings are home to 25,000 people.  I sat there and stared thinking that is a whole town in those buildings!  And it is set up like a small town, I saw a nursery school, mosques and shops.  It was kind of mind blowing to me to think that is the equivalent of Kirkwood in front of me in such a small area!

Palm Island with Atlantis

As we were driving towards Palm Island, I saw people I thought parasailing.  Nope they were skydiving from a building.  Palm Island is a huge artificial island that has residential areas, commercial/shopping areas and the Atlantis Resort.  In the residential area, the further out on the palm frond your house is, the more expensive it was.  Atlantis Resort is basically at the end of the island and is quite impressive.  They have completed the construction of another palm shaped island that will be for recreational purposes.

Google Maps Satellite view

Atlantis in the distance

Rapid transit system

Being a city that is out to impress, the rapid transit system had to be special.  The stations we saw were impressive from the outside (did not go in) and were told that the trains are driverless.  We did see trains go by from the bus.

Metro Station

Museum of the Future

Khalif Tower is the tallest building in the world these days.  We went up to the 124 and 125 floors there are a couple of higher floors that you can visit too.  We got several good pictures and most people were doing selfies against the backdrop.  The unfortunate thing is it was a hazy day so we could not see as much as we had hoped from the observation deck.  

think that is the tall block

dancing fountain is the water in the picture - similar to Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas

Dubai Mall

We were now quite hungry, so we went into the adjoining mall in search of food.  Today we ended up in an Italian restaurant that showed fresh noodles at the front - we shared a nice pizza.  Then it was off to find the indoor Olympic Sized ice-skating rink so we could send Cierra a picture.  There is also an aquarium in the mall.  In one area, you can see part of one of the large tanks, so we stopped for a few minutes and saw a swordfish, and some large sting rays, and couple types of sharks.  In yet another area, there was a large waterfall fountain with sculptures of men pearl diving attached to it.  When I say large, I mean 2 story or so tall and twice as long as pictured below.  

Finally, we tried to do the old town Dubai tour only to find out we had just missed it, so we headed back to the ship for the day.

Dubai Mall Ice Rink

pictures from aquarium at mall

Two views of the Pearl Divers

Mumbai formerly Bombay

 

Left Taj Mahal Hotel, Right Gateway to India

We arrived in the morning of one day and departed the evening of the next, so we had time to really explore this city.  It is a huge city – population 22 million and growing.  Like New York it is the city many people from small towns go to “make it”.  It is also India’s commercial and entertainment center – Bollywood is based here.  Not many people come to Mumbai by cruise ship and the cruise terminal showed that lack of importance and I will just say it was not a great first impression of the town.  We learned that Mumbai was originally 7 islands.  There are still many smaller islands around it and lots and lots of various types of cargo ships.  It is in the state of Maharashtra which meant greatest or best something like that.

Tour of Mumbai

Jeff found a tour guide on “Tours by Locals” who is a local Lifestyle writer and Deputy Editor of Traveldine.com.  Priya Pathiyan,  was wonderful in combining a knowledge of the sites with knowing the pulse of the city.  We shared the tour with Tom and Linda.  Priya and her driver drove us around and pointed out many sites such as:  marine drive, St Thomas Cathedral, National Stock Exchange, an area where an Apple TV show is based including a local restaurant that Madonna ate at, spots where they are building their new rapid transit, and then we got out and walked around some neighborhoods too.

St Thomas's Cathedral            Top Right Pew Mother Teresa used
Middle Right one of many memorials to British officers who died

Fishing Fleet

Our first walking tour was of the black horse area or arts area.  The area is called the black horse because there is a statute of a black horse in the center of a traffic roundabout.  Priya pointed out an old hotel that used to be quite snobby and encouraged the building of the Taj Mahal Hotel and a place that was known for its vinyl records.  We then walked around the block and saw a synagogue that is now maintained by non-Jewish people since most of the Jews left when Israel was formed.  This area plus most of the above area is called the Fort Area.  There is no longer a fort here, rather it is where the British fort was at one time until the city outgrew it.  A tourism official had given me the names of a couple of shops to visit one of which was nearby – FabIndia so we all wandered in. We enjoyed the shopping, purchased a couple things and enjoyed the cool air conditioning.

Top - Black Horse
Top - Fancy Hotel left side of frame, synagogue on bottom right

FabIndia shop sign above Carol

Then it was back in the car for more exploring.  We went past the Taj Mahal Hotel and the Rajabai clock tower, cricket fields, the Chhatrapati Shivalji Terminus (Queen Victoria Train station), central building for the city and many other sites while heading for the Rajiv Gandhi Sea Link which is a long curved sea bridge linking the 2 edges of a bay (Mahim).  Our goal was the Portuguese fort or Bandra Fort.  It is a popular site for locals to visit since it has gardens, a beach and great views.  Directly across from it was another British Fort that is now surrounded by a fishing village.  We all enjoyed the view and then drove back across the bridge to the mainland.

Rajabai Tower

Looking down from Portuguese Fort

SeaLink

I had no idea what to expect when we headed for the world’s largest outdoor laundromat.  It was amazing.  Had to say that and leave it on its own.  The laundromat consists of lots of clotheslines, barrels with soap and water and people’s homes.  The laundromat is partitioned into numerical areas and each area is owned by a specific family.  Someone goes door to door in the neighboring areas of Mumbai to get people’s dirty clothes and put them in huge bundles to bring back to the laundromat.  The clothes are sorted by color and then the men in the family wash them.  Priya said it is amazing how accurate they are in getting the correct clothing back to the owners as in someone did a study and they are at the six sigma level of accuracy.  There are other outdoor laundromats in Mumbai but this was the largest.

Housing is on a second floor with no apparent stairs

Bottom - Bundles of clothes

Men washing clothes in barrels

After that we all agreed it was time for a tea break and Priya took us to a popular tea café.  While the menu was in English I really had no idea what I had ordered and I think Jeff was in the same way.  I knew I had ordered a cold bubble tea drink with blueberry in it.  I was thinking tea would be the prominent flavor but was mistaken since it was very sweet and fruity with nice big tea bubbles that tasted like tapioca.  The drink was nice but a little too sweet for me.  

The driver then dropped us at a dead end street with some small homes.   A broom was blocking a narrow alley.  Priya approached an old women and asked her something.   The women removed the barricade and we entered a small space with the Hindu Temple below on the left and a couple steps further on the right we saw a large water pool surrounded by what looked like grand stands, which is the Benganga Tank.  It is believed to be a tributary of the Ganga River which is sacred to Hindu.  People were swimming in the water and we could see where fresh water was flowing in.  There are large steps/benches leading down to the water.  Priya said that they used to set up stages in the middle of the water and have concerts there until it was realized that the vibrations were ruining the foundation of the area.  The tank was surrounded by at least 6 temples around it.  We saw various roof lines from our vantage point and wandered around one.

Benganga Tank

While driving around some more, we saw the hanging gardens which look like a nice park as you drive by but our called hanging because they are built over a body of water.  Priya then pointed out an unusual tall building that she said belonged to one of the wealthiest men in India.  The entire building below is occupied solely by him and his wife.  

We then headed for the neighborhood where Mahatma Ghandi lived 1917-1934.  While there he launched his “Civil Disobedience” in 1932 which led to Indian independence in 1947.  It was a nice area but nothing memorable.  Priya taught us a little about his life how he was from a well to do family and went to law school in London.  It was while he was in South Africa that he first ran into racism and started to develop his ideals of peaceful resistance and change.  The museum is his former house with a library on the first floor with books he read (he was well read) and his bedroom in the top of the house maintained as it was when he was living.  They had his correspondence back and forth with President Roosevelt and Tolstoy.   There was also a letter to Adolph Hitler requesting he end his nation's aggression.   It was quite interesting to see the stories of his marches and how the world transformed him into the man/legend we now think of as Mahatma Ghandi.  

He would speak to crowds from the balcony above

his bedroom as he left it

At the museum we learned about the meaning behind the Indian flag.  I have heard 2 different descriptions of the colors one being each represents one of the 3 main religions in the country and the other pointing out the traditional meaning of the colors themselves.  Here at the Ghandi museum, I learned that the symbol in the middle represents a spinning wheel.  The spinning wheel dates to one of the first protests against British rule.  After the American Revolutionary War, the British needed a new source of cotton and chose India.  So the cotton was being exported to Britain where it was being turned into fiber and then coming back at expensive prices.  Ghandi was part of the group that encouraged people to start making their own fiber and cloth from the raw cotton thus cutting out the British.  It became quite popular to burn your British made material and to move over to the less soft Indian material to show your alliance with India itself rather than Britain.

Dinner time – Priya had recently reviewed a new northern Indian restaurant, Nksha which we all agreed sounded interesting so off we went to it.  It is located on a street with several other restaurants. Seems it is rare for a nice Indian restaurant to open these days.   It was quite nice inside and with Priya ordering for us we had a great family style meal.  We drank a white and a red wine from an Indian winery.  We started with an amuse buche that included edamame wrapped in a dough and a sauce.  We also had little cracker/breads that we ate with various sauces/curries.  Then the real food started with our first dish being a pita bread like concoction with soft cheese stuffed in it – it was wonderful.  An order of 2 types of Naan one with onions in it.  We quickly moved on to our other dishes. Which I guess the wine kicked in because all I remember is the lamb that was too spicy for me, but that the others all enjoyed. Ending with a small dessert.

Jeff, Carol, Tom, Linda and Priya

After dinner, we went out to enjoy the city after dark.  The prettiest site was the Chhatrapati Shivaji train station and the neighboring city building they even have a little park/roundabout that you can stop at to take pictures.  The train station was built originally for Queen Victoria.  It is currently the train station for the central line of the city train system.  Between their 2 train lines 7 million people use the trains daily so it is a hopping place.  We never made it inside but are told it is quite impressive which makes sense since the outside is.  At night they shine different colored lights on different aspects of the building and of the neighboring city building.  It is rather magical.  Then it was time to return to our ship for the night.

Administrative Building

Train Station

Elephanta Island, UNESCO World Heritage Site

The next morning we took an excursion that took us by boat to Elephanta Island.  The boat ride originated at the Gateway of India which was originally built in honor of the visit of King George V.  It is a tall archway right at the entrance of a harbor which used to be the main entry to India.  

Gateway of India

From there we had an hour long boat ride out to the island.  Elephanta island got its name from the Portuguese who noticed the huge elephant sculpture at the entrance to the “cave”.  I put cave in quotation marks because it is not a natural cave rather it is a manmade cave carved out of solid rock at the top of a hill on this island.  It is impressive for the number of carvings in it and for the skill that was used in making them.  The entire structure and carved images is one solid piece of rock rather than individual items placed in a room.  Unfortunately, the site was damaged when the Portuguese arrived and objected to the Temple.   The statue of the Elephant for which it was named, now resides at the Mumbai City Museum.   Click here to see it and learn more.  

The cave is a tribute to the Hindu god Shiva who is one of the 3 main gods in that religion.  He is known as the destructor, but as our guide explained that is not necessarily a bad thing since everything must die and he sometimes protects people.  There were about 10 different carvings or areas of the cave honoring different aspects of the deity.  One was when he got married another showed him angry so he gets extra arms at that time, a happy one and the last was honoring the fact that he is the god of yoga.    I said this cave is up a hill.  There are 129 steps to be hiked to get up this hill to his cave.  On our way up we were told to keep drinking water, don’t feed the monkeys and not to stop at any of the shops along the way.  You see it is maybe a 6 foot wide path with little stalls along much of it that merchants have set up shop and are trying to entice you into buying something from them.  On our way back down we did peruse a little for the huge sum of a single US dollar we bought a key chain of Mumbai and a silver metal ring band for me.  

entrance to the cave

This was a very aggressive Monkey who scared someone into giving up their water.  

Then it was back to our boat ride to return to our ship.  Jeff and I took a side trip from the excursion to hit another shop with items exclusively made in India that I had been advised about from the tourism people.  It was a further walk then we had been led to believe partially because the Indian Navy has a large presence in the area so a block when it is a Navy institution is a big block!  Anyway we were proud of ourselves because we learned how to walk along like locals and not get killed crossing the streets.  It was worth it because it was another nice shop.  I got a Mumbai tee shirt, Jeff got a decorative tree he has been eyeing for awhile and a couple of presents.  After we made it back to the ship it was time to go through Indian immigration one last time (they were serious about immigration and checking our papers each time) and then hitting the high seas for a 2 day crossing on our way to the Gulf of Oman and United Arab Emirates.

Tour Boat returning to Mumbai