Over-the-Top and At-the-Top Dubai

Yes, Dubai has experienced the worldwide recession but the residents would prefer no one mentions it. Construction has not picked up, and prices for residences are falling but they still have a long way to go before most of us could afford them. The Pacific Princess opened a new tour called Atmosphere Burj Khalifa, which offered the world's finest luxury dining and lounge experience with unparalleled views of the Arabian Gulf. This included a set menu with one glass of house wine and one bottle of mineral water for the cool price of $392 US each. For that price, each person should have received a case of the restaurant's finest wine and a bottle of Dom Perignon champagne!

Because we had such a wonderful private tour of Dubai last year, we decide to take the hop-on, hop-off bus at the overpriced rate of $60 per person. However, the bus does offer a recorded commentary in eight languages: English, Arabic, German, Russian, Hindi, French, Farci and Italian. The Red Route of the Big Bus Tours is the city tour while the Blue Route is the beach tour. Because the Red Route takes 1 hour and 40 minutes and the Blue Route takes 2 hours and 40 minutes, we only had time to get off the bus at two stops for 40 minutes each. At the Dubai Mall, we saw the indoor Aquarium and the Olympic Ice Rink. In the afternoon, we toured the house of Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum, the grandfather of the current sheikh, with its large rooms surrounding a beautiful, outdoor courtyard.

The sky seemed to be hazy or smoggy but the real problem was the sand. Some of the passengers and crew were caught in a sand storm while those who went to the top of the Burj Kahlifa, the world's tallest building named after the sheikh from Dubai's big brother country of Abu Dhabi that bailed its little sister out of debt, could not see the ground because of the sand. Sara's favorite memory of the bus was the triple boys in matching short-sleeved, plaid shirts and tan slacks who entered the bus with their mother dressed in the traditional Arab clothing and father in modern garb, which seemed to be the norm in Dubai for women and men. One of the triplets sat across from Sara and very skillfully and patiently unraveled the cord of the headset. When he got to the part he could not unravel, Sara asked him if she could help. He nodded and handed it to her to complete. When she was finished, the young boy plugged it in and listened intently to the commentary. He could not have been more than 5.

Some interesting new facts that we learned about Dubai included the following:

1. Islam is the second largest religion in the world next to Christianity

2. The Dubai Creek divides the city into Deira Dubai and Bur Dubai.

3. The Metro, the fastest in the world, was opened at 9:09 a.m. on September 9, 2009 (09/09/09) by the reigning Sheikh.

4. The Dubai Flag Pole, the tallest in the world, cost $1.2 million US. The colors of the flag are red for security, green for prosperity, white for peace and black for oil.

5. The Burj Al Arab, the world's only 7-star hotel, was the tallest hotel in the world when it was built.

6. The Jumeirah Palm, islands shaped like a palm tree, is considered the Eighth Wonder of the World. Workers dredged sand and rock from the bottom of the Arabian Gulf to create the trunk and 17 fronds or branches, which play host to 20,000 visitors a day. The streets are named (Alphabet Letter) Frond--great address.)

7. A poem written by the current sheikh ends, "Not everyone who rides a horse is a jockey. Great men rise to greater heights."

8. When they were built, the twin Emirates Towers were the tallest buildings in the world. Now that title is held by Burj Khalifa, which has been constructed so more floors can be added to keep its title.

9. Citizens and expatriots can purchase an island in The World islands for $10 million US to $100 million US.

10. Sara wants Ken to go back to work so we can purchase one of those islands in the next 100 years or so. Yeah, right!