Hello, Dubai (and if the Rain comes!!)

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I was woken by the clinking of glasses and the adjustment of the horizontal bed back in to seats. A new day had begun although it could still be a continuation of the old one. I wasn't too sure! What I do know is that it was time for breakfast. Although a menu for breakfast had been passed out, you could order anything you wanted on that menu or combination thereof. Having eaten so much, though, yesterday in the Clubhouse and then another 3 course meal on the plane, I explained to the cabin steward that I wasn't quite ready. Another ½ hour passed and Roisin was now in the upright position and had just received a plate of scrambled egg, mushrooms and hash browns. That looks nice I thought. I called the waitress er.. I mean cabin crew over and requested a plate of the same.

'Oh! You want some now, do you?' It was the sarcastic way in which she said it. I found myself coiling in to a passive stance by saying: ‘No hurry! I don't want to put you to any trouble!!' The way she said spoke to me. It was by no means aggressive yet there was still something missing!

Moments later, my breakfast arrived. ‘Your coffee is just coming, sir". That's it!! The first time she forgot to say ‘Oh! You want some now, do you SIR?!' It wasn't the tone of her voice it was just the fact that she missed the ‘sir' of the end. I'd got so use to this that I hadn't even noticed it when the ‘sir' was omitted. It just didn't sound right!

The landing was smooth. We taxied on the tarmac for some minutes and then came to a halt. The captain momentarily announced: ‘We are just waiting to cross an active runway' I had visions of the co-pilot looking both ways and then saying to the Captain in a hurried voice: ‘Go! Go! Go now if you're quick…Awww! You could have gone!!'

We were on the stand at exactly 08:15am and not for the first time on this journey found myself behind Dame Kelly Holmes. She is not a middle distance Olympic champion for nothing. Even with a large size carry-on holdall hanging off her arm we could not keep up the pace. As we turned a corner to make the long straight trek toward immigration we heard a bell chime. It must have been second instinct for Dame Kelly. She was off like a woman possessed. She turned another corner and when we caught up a minute later she was nowhere to be seen. We have since learned that she is a guest of Activelife who are once again holding a Color Run at Yas Marina in Abu Dhabi where Dame Kelly will be present to inspire and encourage UAE residents to a healthier lifestyle.

Once in the arrivals hall, our final leg to the Ahmedia Heritage Guest House would be led by one of their drivers who had arranged to meet us (outside exit 2) for the complimentary chauffeur driven ride straight to the lodgings through the rush hour traffic. As we approached the exit we could see that the ground was wet though I was half hoping this was the heat haze you see when the sun's rays reflects of a road surface but our fear was confirmed when on exiting the airport we were met by practically horizontal rain. Despite this setback there were still plenty of meet and greeters. On seeing someone new they are filled with renewed optimism as the name sign is immediately held up in the hope that someone will approach them and make themselves known thus ending their seemingly endless wait. Unfortunately from the 2 dozen or so drivers, none were from the Ahmedia Heritage Guest House! We walked the gauntlet several times but as our name didn't jump out on the first occasion it wasn't going to reveal itself on the 5^th time! After 40 minutes we had to face facts; we were on our own. It was raining and it was windy and we were a long way from home. Roisin carefully plans for most things but this wasn't meant to be. Nowhere in the script was this written. We hadn't planned for UK weather!!

We were too tired to feel angry or betrayed(!) so we followed most of the other arrivals and headed for the taxi rank. This was a well organised and choreographed process. Within several minutes we were sat in the back of a cab heading in the direction of our guest house. I say heading in the direction because our driver was not too sure where he was going. Whilst we sat in the morning rush hour, the driver contacted the hotel and asked for directions. The whole process lasted less than ½ hour and cost a little over £7.50. At just after 10am we entered the Ahmedia Heritage Guest House.

Roisin chose this guest house due to its location in the heart of Al-Ras Heritage area only 100 meters walk from the Al-Ras Metro Station. The Ahmedia Heritage Guest House is also adjacent to Al-Ahmedia School Islamic Museum and Heritage House, It's less than 5 minutes from the Spice Market, the Gold Souk, sitting on the periphery of the old town. There are no high rise or modern buildings in the vicinity. This is pretty much back to how Dubai was 20 or 30 years ago; narrow streets and trading companies. It's difficult to buy a bag of spuds or packet of nuts here unless you're prepared to haggle by the sack load!!

The plan was to settle in then head for the Dubai Ferry that would take us from the nearby Al Ghubaiba out in to the Gulf then down to the Dubai Marina about 6 miles away. The journey takes 90 minutes and costs about £7. However the next sailing was at 11am so we would be struggling to make this in time and, due to the weather, wouldn't be very pleasant. No, first things first. Breakfast (or is this brunch), sleep, then reassess our options.

We let the no show pass. The staff were so far very pleasant and we were now starting to feel the effects after almost 24 hours on the road. We asked the receptionist if this weather is common in Dubai. This is the start of their summer, he told us. It usually commences with a sand storm. Apparently we missed that. The sandstorm was yesterday!! The man behind the reception counter said this like we should have sounded disappointed!!! The rain will not last for more than a few days, then it will start to get hot again. Over breakfast we discussed he possibilities and with a bit of shuffling and jiggery-pokery of our (draft) itinerary we both agreed to take the bed option first and deal with ‘what shall we do after' when after arrives!

As I was drifting off I woke with a start. It sounded as if stereo speakers had been placed strategically around the door of our room. Is this some sort of weird hotel initiation ritual? No, it was the imam calling his flock to prayer. Muslims pray 5 times a day. These times vary depending where in the world you are. With modern technology nowadays and Dubai allegedly at the cutting edge of Internet technology, it surprised me that the imam doesn't text or tweet his call to prayer. Most of the locals seem to have their heads buried in an iPhone or other such device. I'm convinced the Dubai clergy are missing a trick there!!!

Fast forward to 4pm. Both awake, the rain stopped and wind gone. Clear blue skies and a freshness to the air, we set off for Dubai Mall. This mega shopping precinct stands in the shadow of the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa. We planned on taking our evening meal whilst watching the dancing fountains. This show starts at 6:30 pm, lasts for a few minutes and is repeated every ½ hour until 11pm. The fountains are set in Burj Khalifa Lake, right outside The Dubai Mall on Lower Ground Waterfront Promenade in the heart of Downtown Dubai.

The metro is the most economical form of transport and runs the whole length of Dubai. At some 75km (47 miles) the Dubai metro is the world's longest fully automated rail network. The trains are super-efficient running approximately every 8 minutes. There is no driver or guard hence why the metro is timed down to the last second!!

We walked the 150 yards to Al Ras metro. It is cheaper to buy an all day, all zones pass for 14 dirham (£2.40). As this was our first journey and we only planned on travelling to and from our destination and still having experienced the extravagance of Virgin Atlantic's Upper Class fresh in our memory, we decided to splash out and invest in a ‘Gold' return ticket. This cost a whopping £2.50 each and entitled us to travel in the Gold compartment either at the extreme front or rear of the train.

Usually in most metro stations around the world, there are signs requesting that one refrains from smoking, drinking, eating, sometimes spitting, no firearms, weapons etc.. As we entered Al Ras, we were confronted by a sign saying: ‘Carrying of fish is not allowed on metro'. The metro appeared empty. There was not a sole around. We heard the train approaching so Roisin told me to get my ‘skates' on as this is not the time or ‘plaice' to take photos. After she had done with all the fish related jokes, we took to our seats in the gold class carriage. As we sat waiting for the doors to close, an announcement was made in both Arabic and English. The announcer said: ‘The train for Rashidaya will depart from the Rashidaya platform'. If the announcer was a member of the ‘voice over' gild and they had an annual award ceremony, then this announcer should be at least nominated for the ‘stating the bleedin' obvious' category.

The Dubai mall is now accessible through a series of walk ways direct from the Metro Station. It still takes a good 15 minutes or so to reach the mall but cuts out the navigation of some busy roads. We stopped several times to consult various maps inside the mall passing the Dubai aquarium en route, home to lots of fish and the world's largest single pane of glass. Imagine the glazier who secured that contact? He comes in to work one Monday morning. His boss says to him: ‘Hey Mohammed, I have a job for you…but you're gonna need a bigger van!!!'

On entering on the plaza that circles the lake, we both realised we were rather hungry. When Roisin commented that she could eat a scabby camel I advised her to be careful what she wished for this probably wasn't too hard to achieve around these parts!! I have seen camel burgers on one menu already. Perhaps I may give it a try before Saturday but for now, we both made do with an Italian Trattoria!!

The fountains are set in the 30-acre Burj Khalifa Lake and shoots water jets as high as 500 ft It was designed by the creators of the Fountains of Bellagio in Las Vegas although these fountains are the largest dancing fountains in the world spraying a mind boggling 22,000 gallons of water airborne for each performance. The performance repertoire including an award-winning song in Swahili; Arabic classics and even and the signature piece of world-renowned Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, Con te partiro (Time to Say Goodbye). What did we get? The theme tune for the Magnificent Seven!!! The area surrounding the lake was starting to get very crowded indeed so it was time for us to say goodbye.

Tomorrow we plan to do what we put off today…if the weather holds out (which it will!)

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Comments

[Dame Kelly]

Never had you down as a stalker but you'll never catch me

[chris-roisin]

Dame Kelly, As you are also following my blog, does this mean the stalker has finally become the stalkee!!!