Tuesday 16 September 2014

Day 1 - Dubai: where we did tourist stuff and got ripped off like tourists

We got into Dubai around 5am, and got to our hotel an hour or so later. We were delighted to see a kettle, and tea bags, but there was no milk. We had to wait until the nearby mini-mart opened around 7am until we could have a much needed cup of tea. We crashed out for a bit, with me venturing out into the steamy heat for milk around 8am.

Late morning, showered and somewhat rested, we decided to venture out to the Dubai Mall, if only because we'd be able to get air con plus lunch. Taxi fare: AED19 (around AUD6). We gawped at the massive fish tank, spent a stupid amount on a pleasant lunch (all about the location), and wandered around one of the largest shopping malls in the world - it has a Bloomingdales and Galeries Lafayette and H&M and M&S, as well as a shop for practically every retail brand you can think of, from Prada and Rolex to Forever 21.

[Pics to come]

I decided we might try the metro system to get home, and after a 1-2 km walk along an airconned tunnel, we got to the train. For AED4.5 (AU$1.50) each, we got to the station nearest our hotel. Which was still a 20min walk in unrelenting 40deg heat, which was a really stupid bloody idea. The massive blisters I got on the balls of my feet will make all the walking to come that much more painful.

JD and the boys went for a quick swim in the rooftop pool (water temp was a not very refreshing 30deg plus), and then we all set off back to the Dubai Mall, or rather this time aiming for the Burj Khalifa. Taxi fare this time was AED24, and the wrong end of the building completely.

There was very little info about the tower on the way up, although the lift was very impressive - 124 floors in about one minute, with no noticable acceleration or deceleration. The view from the observation deck, only halfway up the building at 455m (of total 828m). (Top of the Empire State building is a measly 381m, by comparison.) We stayed up there watching the shadows lengthen and the sun eventually set.

[Pics to come]

Afterwards, we got some food in the food court (speed over quality), and then walked the length of the mall (yet again) to get to the taxi rank. We were directed to a non-standard taxi, who turned out to be a scam artist. This fare was AED119.50. I indicated my displeasure and offered AED40, being the most the trip was worth, but JD was too soft-hearted and insisted on paying the full amount. What really pissed me off is that we did the right thing going to a taxi rank, and the people running that were clearly in cahoots with the scammer(s).

Anyway, we did get back safely, if expensively, and barely got the boys to bed before they fell asleep again.

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