Dubai: It's a a Miracle...- flowers in the desert!! (Aah!! now all becomes clear!!)

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As stated in the previous post, we have been to the Emirates several time before so won’t be sharing some of the country’s most iconic feature such as the Jumeirah Palm, the Burj Khalifa or the Burj al Arab. They can be found along with photos in previous journals:

https://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/United-Arab-Emirates/Dubai/blog-983452.html

https://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/United-Arab-Emirates/Dubai/blog-983271.html

Today we are off to visit the Miracle Gardens. This is somewhere that has been on our ‘to do’ list for a while. As we have woken up to a temperature that is not much more than that of a balmy English summer’s day, we decided to travel a little further afield. The Miracle Gardens is about 18 miles from our hotel. That equates to a metro to the Mall of the Emirates then a bus for the remainder of the journey. The Miracle gardens was launched on Valentine’s day in 2013. It’s 72,000 square metres of space encapsulates 150 million flowers and plants arranged in creations from simple arches to more complex sculptures. The myriad of shapes and colour is supposed to be truly magnificent.

The metro didn’t start running until 2pm on account that today was Friday and therefore considered the holiest day of the week in the Muslim calendar. That explains why the club in our hotel was in full swing last night. I thought it was a funny day to be clubbing but I suppose Thursday is really like a Saturday. Makes sense??! We had a few hours before the metro opened so, as it was a pleasant enough day, decided to walk a few miles to the Dubai promenade. As we strolled up the Avenue and approached our nearest Metro station – Burjuman, we noticed comings and goings from the entrance so went to investigate. Things have changed since we were last here two years ago. No longer do Metros start at 2pm on Fridays. This has been reduced to 10am. However, (there is always a ‘however’) today the Green line started at 10am but, due to testing a new metro line scheduled to open later in 2020, the red line won’t start operating until 2pm. As the mall of the Emirates operates on this line, our original plan stood!! But why walk a few miles when a perfectly good metro was running. When in Dubai, it is much more convenient (and slightly cheaper) to purchase a prepayment card known as a ‘Nol’. This is a smart card that can be used for all forms of public transport whilst in Dubai, from the metro and buses to water buses and trams. We took the Green line indicating ‘Etisalat’ for our two-stop trip to Al Ghubaiba.

The promenade is a wide pedestrianised area that runs alongside the Dubai Creek; a saltwater, waterway (resembling a river?) that separates the old more traditional part of Dubai - Deira- from the more modern and contemporary districts. There are several road tunnels that connect both parts of the city but a more adventurous way to cross is by paying the ferryman!! The abra is a small craft that seats about thirty or so passengers at a time. There are two narrow benches that run the length of the small vessel. You sit back to back facing outwards, the water seemingly inches away, and no safety bar or railings to offer reassurance!! You pay the pilot a one dirham coin (20p) as you leave the abra. The reason you don’t pay as you board is that if they don’t get you across, there is no charge!! Not what you really want to hear as you step on to, in some cases, a very rickety deck!! They are great fun though!! And very characteristic to the area. Alas, this was not on our agenda today, much to Roisin’s relief!!!

We had a very pleasant stroll along the water front, passing the heritage centre. Despite this facility being closed, as are most public amenities on Fridays in the UAE, we we’re relieved (in more ways than one!!) to see the public toilets remained open!! These are much more refined and well maintained that some of the public conveniences in the UK. I put it down to the handy sized placard adjacent to the entrance reminding one of the etiquette in using said WC. For example, one of the ‘do not’ red bordered circle with a diagonal red line symbols simply said ‘Do not wash clothes or dishes’. DISHES?? When was the last time you thought you’d save on the washing up and took all your dishes to the local public toilets??

The journey to the Mall of the Emirates took 30 minutes. Whilst waiting for the train an announcement was made in both Arabic and then in English: ‘The train to Rashidiya will depart from the Rashidiya platform!!’ Well I’m glad that’s cleared that up then. If I hadn’t been reminded this snippet of information, I may well have taken the train to Rashidiya from a completely different platform. Oh, wait! There are only two platforms at this station. One is quite clearly marked ‘Rashidiya’ and the other is somewhere completely different. Me thinks Captain Obvious may be on announcement duty!! The train, when it arrived, was busier than I expected. You know you must look old when an even older man with more wrinkles and a longer scragglier beard (but not as grey as mine) offers you his seat!!

The bus terminus lies only a few hundred yards from the Mall of the Emirates metro exit so, despite not having been here before, it was not difficult to spot as we ventured out into the sunlight. We soon located the stand for bus number 105 that would drop us off directly outside the Miracle Gardens. After a 20 minute wait, the bus arrived. We presented our Nol card to which the bus driver presented the palm of his hand. In reasonable English he said: ‘Card not valid. This is a special route. Tickets over there’, as he pointed to a nearby kiosk that was almost obliterated by the people queuing in front of it. Another 10 minutes queuing and we learned that the route 105 was not part of the RTA (Roads and Transport Authority) network covered by the Nol card. We had to purchase another card called the Dubai card. This cost 25 dirhams (£6.00) each. This equated to 6 dirhams for the card and 19 dirhams credit. Although the NOL card couldn’t be used on this route, the Dubai card could be used on the metro, so any credit we had left, we would be able to use when we returned in a few weeks’ time. At this juncture we couldn’t imagine what state the world would be in when we did eventually return here!!

The bus journey took 20 minutes driving inland through the suburbs. It’s well documented that in recent years Dubai has experienced somewhat of a financial meltdown although to look around seeing high rise cranes dominate the skyline in most directions there is no visible evidence. Over the past 30 years Dubai has developed into a modern metropolis with still plenty more developing in process, turning sandy waste in to commercial successes. Something which the Emiratis seem to be good at. The immigration ratio is 90/10 in favour and it’s not hard to see why with most of the construction engineering comes from the Indian subcontinent. The mix of cultures reminds me of Singapore where people from diverse nations, with differing beliefs, customs and traditions have learned to integrate and exist in harmony.

It was almost 5pm when we finally entered the garden. It would soon be getting dark. When the sun goes down and the lights come on is when the magic really begins. Despite the time it was very busy although, due to the size of the gardens, did not appear so. As the Gardens didn’t close until 11pm we had plenty of time. The detail within the sheer scale of some of the topiary exhibits was truly exhilarating. Every single one of the 150 million flowers and plants were cared for and well-nourished emitting a vivacity of colour. I wouldn’t like to be the guy who has to go around with the hose to water this lot!!

‘Peep, peeep!!’ We both turned to face the direction from where the sharp trill came only to see a security guard, whistle still in mouth beckoning, with an outstretched arm at some poor visitor who had climbed on a low wall in search of the perfect selfie. The whistle is an effective tool as it is enough to embarrass anyone who dared to stray too close to an exhibit by climbing on a wall or leaning over and smelling the roses (literally).

We stopped to admire the giant topiary of Mickey Mouse. This is part of a licensing deal between the Dubai Miracle Garden and The Walt Disney Corporation. This was unveiled in February 2018. It wasn’t long, though, before this falsetto voiced cartoon mouse was joined by the rest of the gang and a little further on we bumped in to equally impressive flower structures of Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Pluto, Daisy Duck, Donald Duck, and even Huey, Dewey and Louie.

There are plenty of fast food outlets around the perimeter of the gardens. We stopped at Dunkin’ Doughnuts. I found a table whilst Roisin went to order the refreshments. Five minutes later she returned to the table empty handed.

‘I only had 50 dirhams and a doughnut is 130’, she said.

‘What?!!’ I exclaimed. ‘That’s over £20!!’

I walked across to the counter and returned several minutes later, having placed our order. I couldn’t contain my laughter.

‘What’s so funny’, Roisin asked as I approached.

‘That 130 per doughnut’, I said. ‘You were only looking at the calorie count!!’

Dubai lays claim to many Guinness World Records; the tallest building (Burj Khalifa) and the largest single sheet of glass (Dubai aquarium) to name but two. The Miracle gardens also wanted to get in on the act as it is home to the world’s largest topiary, a full-size Airbus A380 aircraft. At 18m it contains 100,000 plants and flowers and weighs 35 tonnes.I bet the florist had a shock when that order came through!!

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Comments

[goinsee]

Fantastic
That was really great, I want to visit Dubai someday.

[William Atkins]

Dubai diversity
"The mix of cultures reminds me of Singapore where people from diverse nations, with differing beliefs, customs and traditions have learned to integrate and exist in harmony." Maybe. I saw a documentary about the guest workers there working on the construction sites or as domestics, and they are treated badly and have no rights. Thanks for the photos, looks like a fun day.