Dubai's Global Village

Day 009: From October, when the weather has cooled a bit and tourism season ramps up, an amusement park opens in the desert just outside Dubai.  We decided to visit Global Village again on this trip.  It's been going on, in one form or another, since the year after we left work in Dubai in 1996.  The present location was constructed this millennium.

We took the Metro under the creek to Union Station.  We boarded bus #103, the direct non-stop route.  Depending on traffic it can take up to an hour and a half.  The 3:35 pm bus took a little over 45 minutes today.

The grounds cost Dhs 25 to enter but as three of our gang are now over 65, we availed ourselves to the senior discount -- FREE!  We were there early enough to enjoy the sunset and the lights flick on all over the 1.6 kilometer site.

Most of the over 70 pavilions from various countries had a market sections with items for sale.  We didn't try any of the amusement rides.  This location hosts many performances of famous singers and entertainers.  Being a Tuesday, it was Family Day today and lots of locals and visitors took advantage of the excellent evening weather.

The dragon laser show was small but an interesting diversion.

As we came early we were tired early.  My Fitbit says we walked over 13 kilometers today.  We took the bus and Metro back to the apartment relatively early.  We returned at around 9:15 pm.

Only Six and a Half Kilometers!

Day 008:  It was a rest day of sorts.  Since our arrival in Dubai, Fitbit indicates we've been walking between 9 and 13.5 kilometers per day.  I admit to getting a bit sore just from all the bipedal locomotion. 

Today, Jay and I walked just 6.5 km.  All of the steps were fairly close to the apartment.  The pictures above show the rather unattractive view from the apartment's balcony.  However the location near both of Dubai's Metro Lines makes it easy and convenient.  We do appreciate the space as useful for clothes drying.  We have a washing machine and with five people, it is used daily.  It's also close to a great number of shops.

I bought a couple of shirts on the other side of the BurJuman intersection.  The girls worked hard to buy exactly enough so that the three suitcases going back to Sri Lanka will have 25 kg each.  They were out a few hours more than us.  Secretly, I'm happy as they are reaching that goal, for it means no more shopping expeditions will be required.

For our evening meal, Jay and I got Indian takeaway also at the shop just across from the BurJuman intersection.  We got dosas and parathas at Mr. Chaat, Indian Street Food.

Al Jaddaf Public Marine Transport

Day 007: There's a huge Carrefour in Dubai's Festival City Mall. The easiest way for us to get over the Creek was to go a couple of stops on the Metro to the Green Line's end. Then, we got on an RTA boat to the shopping complex.  We had to scan the same transit card when getting on and off the little vessel.

 

This is an area of Dubai I'm interested in called Al Jaddaf.  I knew the area from recent online research.  I was keen to check the view from the above-ground metro.  

Back in the day, this area was the beginning of the end of the original creek.  It sort of ended in salt marsh.  Now, however, the creek has been widened and loops all the way around to connect with the waters of the Gulf near Jumeriah Beach.  This development presents many new real estate options for the Emirate.

Jay and I could afford an additional small apartment.  The only real options might be Mexico, Sri Lanka, or here.  The advantages to Dubai is the size of the market, choice of options, and ease of making an international purchase.  It doesn't really make sense for us at our ages though.  It'd probably be much more sensible just to rent or lease longer term wherever we wish to spend time.

Today's trip on the water was about 15 minutes.  The major bus and traffic come to the other side of the mall, so it was pretty empty as we walked around the engineered bay.

The supermarket is huge and also has a lot of deals on non-food items such as electronics and clothing.  This was the store where we one spotted a little stock-taking robot running around the aisles.  We didn't spot it today.  So, either it doesn't work during busy times, or it has been retired.  

We got back to the apartment in the same method but the opposite direction.

The Burj Khalifa ... Again!

 

Day 006: Visiting the Burj Khalifa never gets old. Since 2009, the building has been the tallest structure in the world at just over a half mile high. 

Although Jay and I lived here from 1991 to 1996, we didn't get back for a visit until 2015.  During our original stay the area was barren desert out on the Abu Dhabi road.  Now, however, the area is referred to as 'Downtown Dubai'.

More recently, we've visited the city four times in four years. Of course, we visit the area every time at least once. It doesn't matter if it is dressed up or not, the building always impresses. Of course it's better because of the Dubai fountain shows and lighting effects. During this evening's visit, there was no laser show though.

 

There were literally tens of thousands of folks in the vicinity because as well as housing, it is next to Dubai Mall, the second largest in the world by total land area.  In 2023, the retail space had 105 million visitors.  That is why we always get lost and end up walking so many kilometers.  That's increased by the fact Dubai Metro station is a 1.5 km hike by the elevated, airconditioned walkway.  Luckily the passage does contain sections with airport-type moving sidewalks.

 

Many people visit the Dubai Fountain for the choreographed shows. Last night, we saw several Emirati songs and Michael Jackson's Thriller. In the mall there are a number of key highlights too. Even without paying, getting to the Ice Rink, Aquarium, and the Waterfall are musts.  

    

Getting to the mall was easy by Metro as we left about 4:15 pm.  Returning at 8:45 was uncomfortable as the cars were completely packed although trains were running the route every three minutes.  The system wasn't designed to handle the crowds of this city.  That's unusual for a city that promotes BIG!

The Day-to-Day in Karama

Day 005: A bit of serious shopping took place today. In the morning, the girls started by buying a few items at a new, large supermarket across the street from the Bur Juman Center. Most of the newly purchased items going back to Sri Lanka will be clothing, shoes, purses, and gifts. However the gifts can include chocolate and biscuits. Also, some items, such as olive oil, are either more expensive or harder to find for the gals at home.  Around noon, Nazeer went to a neighbourhood mosque as Fridays are the holy day for Moslems.

   

Late in the afternoon, Jay and I had a bit of a nap while Nazeer and Jay's sisters walked to the Karama branch of Day-to-Day. It is an enormous building that is a mixture of a department store and a five and dime. (Okay, the modern equivalent is probably a dollar store at home)  It also has with gifts and groceries too.  It took a while for us to find them as there were five floors to check!

We caught up mainly so we could help carry back the huge, plastic shopping bags.  They'd been inside for around four hours.

 

The government and businesses of Dubai have created something quite unique here.  

National citizens are a very small percentage of the population.  Rather than investing in foreign entities, they've created their own expansive market in this desert home.  A large portion of the items bought today were of a foreign origin.  An increasing number of products are also being packed or produced here with the help of foreign workers.  Nearly all the employees one sees in retail are foreign employees from other countries. Airplanes take off and land, one after another, day and night.  Lastly, nearly all the customers we saw are here on short visits to stock up on items from basic staples all the way through the estimated 20% to 40% of the world's gold that flows through the market in Dubai.  

It's a brilliant scheme that has put this place on the global map.  They're created a sprawling urban center most literally out of dust and in record time.  It's strategic location has cemented it as a business and technological hub between Europe, Africa, and Asia.

Our Appointment with the Future

Day 004:  A year ago, we were visiting Dubai with Jay's sisters.  At the time, we tried to book reservations at the Dubai's Museum of the Future.  Unfortunately that visit coincided with the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference.  There was not a free day to be seen because of visiting delegates.  We did get a closer look at the museum's amazing building but only from the outside and the lobby.

A month ago, Jay was clever enough to check online and found the site is perpetually booked.  He snagged tickets for today as we knew we'd be in town.

In order to visit for 10:00 am appointments, we left the apartment at around 9:15.  The museum is on the Dubai Metro Red Line and only four stops west.  The Metro system is clean and efficient but totally over capacity.  We got to the museum early.

We marveled at the beautiful interior of the 3D-printed building.  Shortly after, we boarded the 'shuttle' from the space port knowing we were in the year 2071.

We went directly to the fifth floor to work our way down, sometimes by the spiral stairway and at other times in the lifts.  The two higher floors do not have exhibitions.  On one level we were able to exit to 'The Void' or the area for visitors in the cut out center of the building.

After descending through the floors except for the children's level we got to the lobby in around two and a half hours.  We walked around the parameter of the structure.  

I was more impressed by the building than the exhibitions.  As I own a small 3D printer that prints in plastic, I was aware of some of the limitations in the process of 3D designs. The building's Arabic script has sayings from Dubai's ruler.  The black spaces are all windows.  I could even see the internal 'supports' that are required for some shapes.  Basically, 3D printing is an additive technology, so designs can be created that are impossible by any other means.

We didn't get home until early afternoon.  We rested up for a bit of shopping near the Union Metro Station, one stop away as we travelled through a transit tunnel beneath the creek.  It was a really full day and we walked a little less than yesterday but still managed over 10 kilometers!

The Old Part of the Creek

Day 003: It was fun today to take Nazeer to the Gold Souk for the first time.  To many, the name Dubai conjures up only stretches of beach and desert filled of the luxury, high-rise residential and business towers.  However, to me, the old stretch of the original creek between Deira and Bur Dubai is the heart and soul of this Emirate.  The natural inlet is where small vessels carried goods on trade routes from the Indian Ocean for hundreds of years.

No trip is complete without a walk through the updated Gold Souk (market) and perfume and original business areas near the historic center.  We took the metro just a few stops and surfaced at the Al-Ras station.  

As we didn't get started until late, things were already bustling.

 

We continued our walk along Al-Sabkha Street to the creek.  Of course, there were many shops to visit along the way.

 

     

The abras are the traditional way to cross the water.  They are used by commuters and those in business as an easy, quick way to get to the shops and residences.  We enjoyed crossing back to the Bur Dubai side. The cost is still a single dirham.

 

 

We completed our tour by walking to the Al Ghubabia Station and returning a few stops later to our hotel apartment near the Bur Juman Centre.

As soon as we returned we were delighted to hear that we could move to a larger apartment here.  Or existing kitchen was pretty full with groceries and we'd done a great deal of unpacking.  However, it only took us about an hour to move.  The hotel is completely booked but I'm appreciative that we can spend our nine additional nights in the new digs.

Later in the evening, we went back out to some of the local shopping and Renuka got a new suitcase.  It will be useful for carrying all the purchases, I'm sure.