After a delicious breakfast buffet, we met our tour guide, Ifty, for City of Dubai Tour. He was dressed in the traditional crisply-pressed white Arabic robes and headress. Dubai is a new city based on oil money. The United Arab Emirates was formed in 1971 when seven separate countries joined together under their president Sheik Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The government operates as a monarchy and money is evident everywhere! The many towers are an architectural wonder...so creative, with much attention to detail...no problem when the budget is essentially unlimited! We toured The Palm, which is a part of the city built over the water in the shape of a palm leaf. It was built to maximize beach front and the famous Burg Al Arab, the only 7 star hotel in the world, is located here.
Next on our agenda was the Desert Safari and we had no idea what to expect, but when Assad came to pick us up in his bright yellow Hummer we were VERY happy. We spent the next few hours leading a convey of five vehicles - charging up and down sand dunes with the sand flying everywhere! We were screaming, laughing, and hanging on for dear life. Without doubt we had the best vehicle, the best driver, and we were the only ones with Arabic music blasting! The Safari event was completed with a camel ride, an outdoor barbecue, henna painting, spin dancing belly dancing, and yes hooka smoking with a shesha pipe!
A trip to Dubai would not be complete without a little shopping at the Dubai Mall, which is open until midnight! We marvelled at the crowds of people, the luxurious shops, the sparkling floors, the traditional Arab dress, and the spectacular dancing fountain show in front of the famous Burg Khalifa!
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