Dubai

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After enduring a 10 hour flight to Singapore (with a 2hr stopover)) then a further 6 hour we eventually touched down in Dubai. At this point for my readers who have a culinary bent (and watch master chef) I’m sure the food, although nice would not have past their panel testing. It didn’t tempt the palette and the plating was poor.

On reaching Dubai at 4:30 am and not leaving again till 3:30pm I had no other option but to forgo the comforts of the air terminal and trek out into the big wild yonder, The Dubai airport is almost a city with in a city. It has everything you need for the travel weary person but not wanting to miss the opportunity to see Dubai I girded my lions and at about 5ish I ventured forth. To my slight disappointment the Metro didn’t operate till 6:30 so I had to find other means of getting to the city. First mistake should have waited till 6:30. $40 Australian dollars later I find myself getting out of a 6 maybe at the most 10 minute taxi drive at the biggest shopping mall in the world (taxi driver’s quote but I do believe him). But at 5:30 was it open no. Didn’t open till 7:30. Fine I think gives me time to work out how to get to the famous Palm Mall. Second big mistake. I work out that that if I wander down to the Metro by the time I get there I may be able to get a ticket to a station close to this man made wonder of the world. Dubai is built along the coast in one line (similar in a fashion to the Tweed Heads Gold Coast but larger) so to travel you can pick up a train at the airport and ride it basically down the centre of Dubai and get of at the station closest to where you are going.

My first and only positive (travelling wise) for the day. I get a metro ticket. You buy the ticket, say the amount you want on it, pay for it and use it until you need to top it up again. I still have credit on mine and I had the minimal amount allowed. When I reached the station I need I make my next big mistake. Number 4. I am under the impression I am pretty fit and looking at the map decided that the distance is walkable. If you were able to walk a straight line in Dubai it most likely could have been walkable. It was however a torturous ordeal and the place I wanted to see so much, well lets just say I was a bit disappointed. However I must say that on the walk I saw some incredibly opulent buildings with grounds around them that where basically unbelievable and they were immaculately keep. Dubai is a hive of activity and you just have to wonder where all the money is coming from and how long it can last for.

To end this tale I walked for a minimum of three hours (in the blazing sun it got up into the middle to low high 30s by 10:30), stupidly no hat, no water (and there seems to be no such thing as a milk bar or Kiosk any where in the place) and very dehydrated. I eventually made it back to the Metro where I travelled back to the airport to collapse in a jibbering heap gulping down copious amounts of water thinking “gee that was fun”.

Apart from all that I still found Dubai an interesting and completely decedent place and would love to go back there for a longer visit,

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