We have visited Palm Jumeriah a few times. We never expressly went to walk around the Dubai Marina.
So towards sunset, we called for an Uber to go the 45 km out to Dubai Marina Walk. That part of the road to Abu Dhabi was four lanes back in the 90s. Now, it's at least eight in each direction. Combined with all the exit ramps and exits to other highways, it is an amazing feat of highway engineering. All the space gives drivers plenty of room to cleanse themselves of their aggressive behaviors.
We arrived just at the perfect time to see the Marina Walk. It is a 7-kilometer loop around the towers and created waterways. We didn't walk much of that, but got a good idea of the area.
I can see how it'd be an attractive place to fly in from some cold destination and spend one's vacation. That is for some. I didn't especially like it except from the engineering aspects of creating it. It all looked to perfect and too clean. It looked unconnected to anything really Emirati.
The realness of the original areas of this city is what attracts me more. At Dubai Marina, I saw manicured rather than bustling. I saw picture perfect instead of functioning. I could buy property in Dubai, but I don't think I'd be interested in staying long at Dubai Marina.
Returning from the nice little diversion by Uber was a highway nightmare. We lucked out as it was Friday evening and traditionally a slower time. We were stuck in gridlock on most of the 16-lane sections of the highway back. It took an hour but on busy times it can take plenty more. Once, the driver had to break so hard we realized what an accident would feel like. He didn't get any Uber stars or tip via the app.