August 2005 - Emily and Zoe in Dubai

Back from Dubai this morning at 7am, Zoe and I had our first trip to the Gulf! A weekend junket is about $300, much like Las Vegas, but a 4 hour flight. Went with friend Renee and her baby Lochlan while our own husbands were in the field travelling. Boy was it hot and humid. Like stepping into a sauna every time you went out. And only a few degrees cooler at night, but not much! It was 37 C (94F) at 9am yesterday according to the radio I heard, when they also announced Peter Jennings death, a great surprise to me. We mostly mall crawled in one of 42shopping malls in Dubai.





80% of the city is expat. If a local man marries a local woman, the government pays him a $20,000 bonus. There were however, a great deal of "locals" (?) in the malls, men in white with head covers carrying cellphones, and women in black head to toe, some with their Bulgari sunglasses and some some with full face covering (no eyes showing) and most carrying Gucci bags. Surreal. Never saw a poor person the entire time, though it was so hot it was tough to explore with strollers.



Took a van city tour for a few hours to see the museum, the first 7 star hotel, the empty beaches of scorching sand, the King's residence, and the financial district skyline. Visited the famous Gold Souk (market) see photo of necklace for a taste of the incredible work - but who sees it?
Also did a boat cruise for dinner on Dubai Creek (river) which was a bit touristy of course (i.e. bland food) but Zoe was wired so couldn't view too much, and the belly dancers were cancelled as it was the last day of mourning for the King of Saudi Arabia's passing.
Did enjoy some good food and the babies had a ball socializing with one another, playing in the hotel's bathroom mostly, and a playroom in a bookstore in the mall. Had a latte at Seattle's Best Coffee... just like home. It is a cheap weekend junket (in summer anyway!) but otherwise a characterless city.