Today was a very long and busy day but very enjoyable.
At 8.15 am I was picked up from the hotel for the morning drive and walk round Dubai. Our driver was Sajith, an Indian, he was very knowledgeable as well as interesting.
There were only two other people in the group, a woman and her daughter from Glasgow, they were very good company too! The vehicle we were driven round in was only five days old and very comfortable.
The first stop was by the lake below the Burj Kalipha, we had ten minutes to walk round and take some photos. We then drove to the Marina, about 22 km from Downtown.
We passed many different areas along the way, often these were given names according to the buildings in the area, for example we passed Internet City, no guesses for knowing what that was about, lol,
Microsoft had a large building there! Another area was named University City! The University of America is located there.
The UAE comprises seven emirates and while each is independent there is a supreme council made up of each of the emirs that governs the UAE.
The rulers generally come from the richest families so usually each ruler is succeeded by his son!
Although Dubai was oringinally rich in oil when the reserves were getting low the Ruler at the time decided to invest in tourism to keep the money flowing in, it was not a bad choice, lol! Abu Dhabi still has huge oil reserves.
The population of Dubai is 85% ex-pat, with most coming from India and Pakistan with 200 other nationalities represented. The UK has a very strong representation here!
The apartment towers around the Marina provide homes for the very wealthy, one of the most interesting towers was the Cayan Tower with its twisted design. There are 7 km of walkway around the Marina with many eateries and stores.
We then drove onto Palm Island, Jumeira, and drove round the outside of the very exclusive Atlantis Hotel, quite a magnificent building. Then we drove through the Al Qasr Hotel which has the most beautiiful sculptured golden Arab horses along the drive.
From there we drove to the Jumeira public beach and had a great view of the Burj Al Arab. As you would expect the beach consisted totally of a very light coloured sand, they even offer WiFi on the beach, lol!. As we walked along we noticed that there was a wedding taking place!
We visited the Jumeira Mosque which is open for the public but bookings have to be made so we just viewed it from the outside.
It was interesting to note the clothing hung up outside so visitors can cover up! We drove back towards Old Dubai, where the original city was started in 1971, an auspicious year as that is the year I moved from the UK to New Zealand, lol!
We then headed for the Spice and Gold markets crossing the water in a traditional water taxi while Sajith drove the car round on the road.
The taxis were fairly busy and, once we started walking, it was easy to know when we were close as the smell of spices was very strong. The store workers were very aggressive in apporoaching us to score a sale, "No thanks" became my mantra, lol!
The gold market was very interesting and pure gold can be found here. We passed a shop that had the heaviest gold ring ever produced.
After a while we made our way back to the car. Sajith continued to grab my camera and take photos of me, I have never had so many taken, lol!
On the drive back we passed by the port and the cruise terminal, the QE2 is moored there and it has apparently not been decided yet what her role will be.
There are different modes of public transport in dubai, the Metro which is mainly under ground, the trams (like light rail) which often travel way above ground and buses which have their wheels firmly on the ground!
We ended up at the Dubai Frame, a lookout place, where the two glaswegians were getting off. Sajith then drove me back to my hotel from where I would be collected for the boat trip.
I had time for a freshen up and a coffee and then it was back on the road to the Marina. We had a long walk in the hat, 40 C (104 F) so it was quite tiring. We then had to wait for the boat driver.
The route took us through the Marina but we did not go out onto the gulf to the Burj Al Arab as we should have done.
Also, the other four people on the ride were from Spain and I had to remind our guide to repeat what he said in
English. I had booked an English speaking tour so I was not particularily impressed!
All in all, it was a fairly boring ride and I was extremely disappointed as I was looking forward to going out on the gulf as it was one of the main reasons I chose this tour.
We passed by quite a few dinner boats and at one point there was a noise overhead and it turned out to be a zip liner, lol!
The real point of interest was passing by the still under construction Dubai Eye, it will, of course, be bigger than the London Eye, lol!
There was more evidence of the construction that is currently going on in Dubai.
We returned to the dock and were met by the guide. At least when we walked back our guide took us through a couple of buildings which was a lot cooler and cut a few corners, lol!
Back at the hotel I had about three hours to rest up before headng back to the Burj Kalipha for the water taxi ride on the lake and the fountain show. Obviously a coffee was in order, lol!
I took a taxi to the road not far from the lake and made my way through the crowds of people until I found the place where the taxis load up, almost by accident. I took the taxi half an hour before the one I was booked on and we drove quietly round the lake until the 7 pm show was due to start. It was very well done and involved some music as well as bangs that sounded like fireworks!
I was quite hungry afterwards so I grabbed a Roast Beef Hamburger Combo at Harveys in the Mall just a short walk away. Then it was the long walk through the mall to catch a taxi back to the hotel.
I was tired but happy after the very long and busy day and was pleased to be back in my hotel room, lol!!
There are a few stills of the show there is a video that is too large, lol. I have uploaded it to YouTube, here is the link:
https://youtu.be/dFaXqh-X5Vs
At 8.15 am I was picked up from the hotel for the morning drive and walk round Dubai. Our driver was Sajith, an Indian, he was very knowledgeable as well as interesting. 
There were only two other people in the group, a woman and her daughter from Glasgow, they were very good company too! The vehicle we were driven round in was only five days old and very comfortable.
The first stop was by the lake below the Burj Kalipha, we had ten minutes to walk round and take some photos. We then drove to the Marina, about 22 km from Downtown.
We passed many different areas along the way, often these were given names according to the buildings in the area, for example we passed Internet City, no guesses for knowing what that was about, lol, 
Microsoft had a large building there! Another area was named University City! The University of America is located there. 
The UAE comprises seven emirates and while each is independent there is a supreme council made up of each of the emirs that governs the UAE. 
The rulers generally come from the richest families so usually each ruler is succeeded by his son!
Although Dubai was oringinally rich in oil when the reserves were getting low the Ruler at the time decided to invest in tourism to keep the money flowing in, it was not a bad choice, lol! Abu Dhabi still has huge oil reserves. 
The population of Dubai is 85% ex-pat, with most coming from India and Pakistan with 200 other nationalities represented. The UK has a very strong representation here!
The apartment towers around the Marina provide homes for the very wealthy, one of the most interesting towers was the Cayan Tower with its twisted design. There are 7 km of walkway around the Marina with many eateries and stores.
We then drove onto Palm Island, Jumeira, and drove round the outside of the very exclusive Atlantis Hotel, quite a magnificent building. Then we drove through the Al Qasr Hotel which has the most beautiiful sculptured golden Arab horses along the drive.
From there we drove to the Jumeira public beach and had a great view of the Burj Al Arab. As you would expect the beach consisted totally of a very light coloured sand, they even offer WiFi on the beach, lol!. As we walked along we noticed that there was a wedding taking place!
We visited the Jumeira Mosque which is open for the public but bookings have to be made so we just viewed it from the outside.
It was interesting to note the clothing hung up outside so visitors can cover up! We drove back towards Old Dubai, where the original city was started in 1971, an auspicious year as that is the year I moved from the UK to New Zealand, lol! 
We then headed for the Spice and Gold markets crossing the water in a traditional water taxi while Sajith drove the car round on the road. 
The taxis were fairly busy and, once we started walking, it was easy to know when we were close as the smell of spices was very strong. The store workers were very aggressive in apporoaching us to score a sale, "No thanks" became my mantra, lol!
The gold market was very interesting and pure gold can be found here. We passed a shop that had the heaviest gold ring ever produced. 
After a while we made our way back to the car. Sajith continued to grab my camera and take photos of me, I have never had so many taken, lol!
On the drive back we passed by the port and the cruise terminal, the QE2 is moored there and it has apparently not been decided yet what her role will be.
There are different modes of public transport in dubai, the Metro which is mainly under ground, the trams (like light rail) which often travel way above ground and buses which have their wheels firmly on the ground!
We ended up at the Dubai Frame, a lookout place, where the two glaswegians were getting off. Sajith then drove me back to my hotel from where I would be collected for the boat trip.
I had time for a freshen up and a coffee and then it was back on the road to the Marina. We had a long walk in the hat, 40 C (104 F) so it was quite tiring. We then had to wait for the boat driver. 
The route took us through the Marina but we did not go out onto the gulf to the Burj Al Arab as we should have done. Also, the other four people on the ride were from Spain and I had to remind our guide to repeat what he said in
English. I had booked an English speaking tour so I was not particularily impressed!
All in all, it was a fairly boring ride and I was extremely disappointed as I was looking forward to going out on the gulf as it was one of the main reasons I chose this tour. We passed by quite a few dinner boats and at one point there was a noise overhead and it turned out to be a zip liner, lol!
The real point of interest was passing by the still under construction Dubai Eye, it will, of course, be bigger than the London Eye, lol!
There was more evidence of the construction that is currently going on in Dubai.
We returned to the dock and were met by the guide. At least when we walked back our guide took us through a couple of buildings which was a lot cooler and cut a few corners, lol!
Back at the hotel I had about three hours to rest up before headng back to the Burj Kalipha for the water taxi ride on the lake and the fountain show. Obviously a coffee was in order, lol! 
I took a taxi to the road not far from the lake and made my way through the crowds of people until I found the place where the taxis load up, almost by accident. I took the taxi half an hour before the one I was booked on and we drove quietly round the lake until the 7 pm show was due to start. It was very well done and involved some music as well as bangs that sounded like fireworks!
I was quite hungry afterwards so I grabbed a Roast Beef Hamburger Combo at Harveys in the Mall just a short walk away. Then it was the long walk through the mall to catch a taxi back to the hotel.
I was tired but happy after the very long and busy day and was pleased to be back in my hotel room, lol!!
There are a few stills of the show there is a video that is too large, lol. I have uploaded it to YouTube, here is the link:
https://youtu.be/dFaXqh-X5Vs
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