We rested up most of yesterday at the hotel. Late in the day we did venture out a bit. The hotel offers a free shuttle to the Dubai Mall and we're all about "free things". The Dubai Mall isn't an ordinary mall. Size wise it's the largest mall in the world (internal sq. foot area is 5.9 million). As best as I can recall this was the first time we've stepped inside a mall in a couple of years. So I guess it was appropriate to go big. It had many stores and restaurants that you'd see in any decent size mall in the US. But it also had a bunch of the "closed door" type of stores such as Tiffany, Cartier, Rolex, Armani and Coach to name a few. I call them "closed door" because the doors are closed and you have to be let in. I guess it keeps the riff raff like me out. Like I'd really want to go in there anyway!
Two other unique things about it. First of all right at the front door there was a secure parking area for some of the folks who shop in the closed door stores. There was a Lamborghini, Ferrari, and a Bugatti parked in there. They were being watched by a fairly large, mean looking human being keeping a close eye on them. Too bad I didn't have the 2005 Honda Accord to whip in there with them. Second, outside of the mall there is a water feature area that has a fountain show similar to the one at Bellagio in Las Vegas. The show was only about five minutes long but was quite impressive, especially with the sunset and the Burg Khalifa (worlds tallest building) serving as a backdrop.
https://thedubaimall.com
http://www.burjkhalifa.ae/en/index.aspx
We got to the mall about 5:30. Roamed through for a short while until we found the fountain area. Caught the first show of the evening at 6:00. Roamed back towards the front and caught the 6:30 shuttle back to the hotel no poorer than we were when we entered. We've never been much on shopping! Who needs a bunch of stuff when there are adventures out there?
Rested and ready to take on Dubai we set out this morning for the Marina area. One thing that is quickly obvious is that although Dubai has grown tremendously in recent history they just keep building. It would be appropriate to put "entering a construction zone" sign as you enter the city. At the present time Dubai has around 1 percent of all the construction cranes in the world. The actual number according to what I read is just over 1000 and the second place city is Sydney with 220 cranes. Maybe the hotel should issue hardhats to those venturing out?
The Marina area had a real "beach" feel to it. Probably because there is a beach there (JBR Beach) along with the marina. The water was crystal clear and felt warm according to Beth who stuck her hand in it. The beach wasn't very wide and was packed with what looked to be tourists.
Even though it was a little bit hot we enjoyed getting a decent, uninterrupted walk in for the first time in a couple of weeks. Around the Dubai Marina area there was water, shade and plenty of benches. What more do you need to make for a great day?
Now about all those women...... We took the Metro to the marina area. When we got on the train at the local station I quickly noticed that although the train was packed I was the only male in that particular section. I also noticed that I was getting what would normally be an ego flattering number of women staring at me. However their looks were more of distain than "who's the hot looking old guy". Thankfully I realized this before the doors shut and we quickly hopped off to do a reassessment of the situation. There are separate areas for women and men. Riding in the wrong area can be a one hundred AED fine (around $30). The irony of it is that there is a line on the floor that separates the designated areas. So we rode the five or so miles to the marina area with Beth on one side of the line with the ladies and me on the other side with the gentlemen.
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| The Burj Khalifa from the Dubai Mall |
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| Fountain show outside the Dubai Mall. Note the constructions cranes on top of the buildings in the background. |
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| Waterfall inside the Dubai Mall. It's four stories high and looked to be around 100 yards wide. |
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| JBR Beach in the Dubai Marina Area-Note the construction cranes |
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| Beth demonstrating what we do best. A bench in the shade along the waterfront. Note the construction cranes in the background. |
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| Along the Marina Walk. Note the construction cranes |
