Dubai second time

This time for a training I headed my way to Dubai. Stayed 6 days totally and the great thing was I spared one day for some things that I could not have chance to do last time. One was doing jeep Safari in the desert and second one swimming in the Basra gulf which is part of the Indian ocean. So among the three oceans in the world only Atlantic would be left where I had not put my feet in yet.

During the training we were taken out for a dinner by our hosts to Dubai Creek. The sea made its way to the inland like 1-2 km's and like Golden Horn of Istanbul nature created a river like water way inside the city. This place is called "Dhow" in Arabic and old city called "Deira" is also around this creek. Many bridges pass over the creek and many boats cruise up and down the creek during the night time. The dinner we were taken was on one of these boats. It was open buffet and the cruise took about two hours. Also there was a singer who played his "ud", a guitar like traditional instrument in middle eastern countries, and sang us Arabic songs during the cruise. Later on we learnt the price of such a cruise is about 50 US $'s. I expected that would be much more for a city which does her best to sell luxury. Maybe we are ripped of very badly in Istanbul. When mentioned about Istanbul, one of our hosts originally from Egypt asked us how did we find this cruise when compared with the one in Bosphorus. He did not wait for our answer and replied himself "This is nothing".

During our rides from the city center to Jebel Ali where our training happened, I was astonished to see how fast is Dubai growing. The tallest building of the world "Burj Dubai" seemed at the latest levels of its construction. Next year it will be totally finished. And all around skyscapers were raising, dozens of them. The rail system of Dubai is also almost finished. Like Burj Dubai it will be opened next year. While driving in terrible Dubai traffic back and forth to Jebel Ali one can see all sort of luxury cars, 4x4's and busses with iron bars on their windows carrying only dark people of Indian sub-continent who became darker while working in these constructions. From what I read their conditions are terrible, mostly they are paid less then what they were promised, their passports were taken from them by their employers within hours they arrive in Dubai and they sign under some debts which will take them to a few years slavery in these constructions. Babylon towers of the modern times are raising with this exploited, cheap labour and government of Dubai is putting a big blind eye for these sort of issues. As their priority right now is to create the Hong Kong of Middle East.

In our free day with a Turkish colleague we went to Jumeirah Beach Park which is between the city and famous Burj Al Arab hotel. You pay a 5 dirhems of entrance fee that is about 1-2 US $'s. The park has facilities like showers, dressing rooms and beach cafes. These cafes also sell stuff you may need in the beach like flippers, swimming suits etc. At first I could not give meaning to the googles they were selling but as I put my head down the water I understood why. The sea is so salty that it burns your eyes badly. The beach is crowded with mostly Philipino and Indian laborers who came to spend their weekend. This high laborer populatoin put down the female ratio to % 20's in the whole and after 6 days in Dubai I find myself looking at the tourist women in 40's with hungry eyes. Shame, shame !

Behind the beach the park has a grass land where some people doing their barbecues and male grops of Indians sitting in circles eating their rice with their hands, taking photos meanwhile.

After our time in the beach we went to our hotel and started waiting for an agency to pick us up for a tour in the desert. Many agencies operate these sort of tours under the name of "Desert Safari". You drive in the desert with 4x4's for a while then have your dinner in a bedouin style settlement and there is also a belly dance show during the dinner. One of my friend who is rarely content of anything advised me this event and said this is the best thing to do in Dubai. Then it should be really good.

The agency turned up at the time they promised. These tours start at 3-3.30 pm from your hotel. The jeep we had was Toyota Land Cruiser had 6 seats except the driver. 1 was next to the driver, 3 were behind him and there were 2 seats in the 3rd row. Even the jeep was empty, the driver asked us to sit in that last row where is supposed to be the place of a baggage and my collegue got a clastrophobia feeling and asked to sit in the front rows. So we take our place in front seats and head on. When we arrived a 5 stared hotel, we saw our would be share mates. 2 boys and 2 girls from an Arabic country. The boys did actually ask for a private jeep and were not happy to see us in that jeep. After many phone calls our driver said he will transfer us to another jeep in a meeting point and two couples would continue with the jeep we were in. In the following 20 km's the atmosphere in the jeep was like between the diplomats of two countries whose countries would start a war in a few hours. Ok in the morning I looked at the + 40 women at the beach but I was not a pervert who will hassle the gf's of other people in a few hours event. The guys tried to socialize with us at a minute but were repeled by our cold attitude. At that moment they told they were Kuwaitis. I knew from the begining Saddam was actually a good man.

In the meeting point there was really a jeep which we could transfer to but the seats left for us were the ones in the baggage place which we refused to sit at first. We told them we would not change our place unless they arrange us a place in the front seats. The crises went on for a while then in the jeep they asked us to transfer, two ladies accepted to take the last row and we sat in the middle row. It was an Indian family with and elder couple and 2 younger females probably the daughters of the couple. We never learnt as there was another cold atmosphere here as well after we got on. As I sat in the middle seat I felt like the employer who got the passport of his Indian workers.

Anyways the jeep safari was really good. What human mind can do is amazing. In the sand dunes which one can hardly walk these 4x4's stand in all angles, we jumped over the dunes dived into valleys and so on. So I understood what these 4x4's were really for. They simply don't need a road at all. And desert is a place worth to see. Desert sand shows many colours as the sun sets. Desert seemed to me a place which is life threatening, wild but at the same time peaceful.

We arrived at the dinner place, a settlement with some tents in the middle of the desert. These tents were designed as shops and make a semi circle. Inside this circle there are low tables which you sit on the ground over a cushion to eat, same as in Turkish rural areas. The jeep drivers made the barbecue for us and served the meal. These guys are like swiss knifes. After the meal I really wished to sleep over those cushions. It was excellent tempertaure not hot enough to disturb you and not cold at tall that you need a blanket or anything to sleep. Staying in the desert one night is something I will definitely do one day.

After patting the camels around the camp we took our jeeps and headed back to Dubai. But during the dinner it seemed the Indian family planned a sinister revenge for us. First they asked us to sit in the back this time, to comfort our conscience we did not only accept we jumped to those seats merrily. Then they arranged the route with the driver in Indian language. First we were taken to their shopping mall then spent another 40 minutes back to our hotel. Anyways our solace was to have a ride in Dubai in the night time.

Before we took the plane we looked for some electronics stuff in the duty free. The prices were even more than in Turkey. Desert is seen and electronics is no more cheap. I guess I lived everything I should live in Dubai.

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