Wednesday was our last full day in Dubai and we spent half the day in the old Dubai area. Everything that we had done so far on the trip was in downtown Dubai area and we quickly noticed that Old Dubai was a lot different! It gave us a view of the architecture and culture during the early years. It was also a nice contrast to the glitz and glamour of downtown Dubai. We started at the day in the Bastakia and Dubai Museum area.
Old Dubai had many souks to explore--souks are markets. This was the textile souk. We weren't planning on buying anything, but it was so interesting to explore. They had some really nice things!
The highlight of this area for me was the riding the abra's at the Bur Dubai Abra Dock. We rode on a wooden boat that connects the Dubai Creek to Bur Dubai. It took us across to the other side with had many more souks to explore. The bonus was it only cost 1 dirham!!
Once we got to the other side of the creek, we explored the spice souk. This was one of the more popular souks in Dubai and is a narrow passageway lined with stores with every spice and herb you could think of. The spices are all brought in from the Middle Eastern region as well as from around other parts of the world.
We then explored the gold souk. We were told the gold from here is genuine and the prices are some of the cheapest in the world! Everything was beautiful! It was a pretty intense place because of the aggressive store owners. After a few walks through, we were ready to roll!
Once we explored all the souks we headed back on the abra- such a fun experience!
After we explored Old Dubai we headed back to the Jumeirah Beach area by our hotel and walked around a bit.
We had lunch at the Shake Shack which is AMAZING! They have burgers, fries, and milkshakes and was one of the best burgers we have had in a long time. They are building one in Austin and should be open soon. Can't wait to have one close by!
We then went back to our hotel changed, packed our bags, checked out of our hotel, and headed to the Burj Al Arab for high tea. It is an amazing hotel out on the water that is quite impressive. I have never seen a hotel like this before. It was beautiful! I was so excited to have high tea for the first time too. I think I was a little more excited then Justin was about this, but he was a good sport, and a great date :) .
The atrium of the hotel
Waiting for our table in the lobby at the Skyview Bar
Inside Skyview
High tea- such a fun experience! We started with champagne and a berry tart with cream. It was delicious!
The second course was the "chefs carvery of the day,"- which was some sort of beef with potatoes. They then served us finger sandwiches- we couldn't finish them all and at this point we were already stuffed!! Coffee and tea was then served and they then brought out a selection of pastries, scones, cookies, and muffins. The last course was sorbet- which was wonderful and a great ending!! Overall, it was about 2 hours and the service was wonderful! I think everyone should experience having high tea at least once in their life. :)
Afterwards, we walked around the Burj Al Arab, and it had a great view of the Jumeirah Beach Hotel.
Nightime view of the Burj Al Arab- so beautiful!
After high tea, we had a few hours to kill before our 2:45am flight back to Dallas. Luckily, the area around our hotel at Jumeirah Beach was a beautiful place to walk around. We walked up and down the beach area and explored all of the restaurants and shops.
There was alot of music playing here, and from afar, we figured it was some sort of dance club on the beach. However, as we walked up to it, it turns out it was an evening spin class on the beach! How cool! I would have loved to join them!!
Bye beautiful Dubai. What a wonderful vacation we had in the UAE. We loved every minute of it and enjoyed experiencing the new culture.
Time to head home! Thank you so much to both sets of grandparents who watched the boys while we were away. It was hard being away from the boys for such a long time and a few weeks prior to the trip I almost canceled it all together! I'm so glad I didn't- it was an amazing experience!
