I am getting an interesting detailed view of Dubai from you two - so many thanks for that. Seems as though friend Anoop is keeping Bob out of trouble?

I must admit it seems a bit odd for me to be holding hands with a man in public-- the Arabian way...

Can't wait to see bkk's smallest bldg... What is the fee to see your garden house?

And tomorrow will bring the flt to bkk... Only 5-6 hrs.

Yes enjoy BKK Bob,

So Saturday was another easy day for us... We spent all day at the hotel until 6 when Anoop ( snoop dog as they call him at his office-- he works for a division of mccan Ericsson). Btw, last week he was driving George clooney around Dubai. This week he has the more famous "mr bob".

We went back to the Dubai Mall to catch the water show (similar to the Bellagio in LV.
Next we went back into the mall and made our way to the entrance to the Burg tower. Our tickets allowed us head of line privileges , thank god, as the line was very very long. We walked down long corridors until we came to another long line which seemed for ever and then the 1 minute ride to the 124th floor.

The viewing is from a combo of both inside and semi-outside venues. By this time the city was sparkling with lights. We watched the 8pm fountain show from up here... Very different perspective.. We spent almost 2 hours up here... Not bad, almost $1. Per minute.

Going down we again had head of the line privileges. We are told people often have to wait 1 hour to get down.

I failed to mention that our ticket came with an audio guide which was interesting... Most people did not have this.

The cheaper tickets require you to as send at a specific time, which might be difficult for some.

Back in the mall we ate at Wafi Gourmet, a Lebanese restaurant. I had minestrone soup, we then shared a mixed messe: green salad, humas, taboule, stuffed grape leaves, another middle eastern ground mixture...all served with wonderful fresh warm puffed breads. We had a chicken kabob too which are ground chicken formed into flat bread stick looking fingers. All served with lemon wedges, even the soup which added a whole new dimension to it. For dessert K selected a plate full of various middle eastern pastries, a la bakkalava.

Even though we planned to take a taxi home, anoop insisted on coming for us so we met up with him in the mall.

the mall: Very American like...HUGE.. Bloomingdales, pottery barn kids, uniques candy/chocolate shops, clothing-western mostly--- great people watching place...all matters of dress... Mobbed. It is a true UN feel, where everyone gets along, unlike the real UN. Dubai is that way generally. It is really unique in that way. Everyone seems very happy...

OH, I neglected to mention that at lunch in the hotel one of the management team introduced himself to us. He asked about our stay and how we found this new hotel??? K had a number of suggestions for him. He loved them. When we returned to our room he telephone to thank us for the comments and to ask if we would like to move up to an executive suite for the next 2 days.... K went to look at it and he'll yes... A huge living room with a powder room, a huge bathroom off the comfortable bedroom.
Again we lucked out.

We watched TV for a bit on our return and then hit the bed and woke after 9 this AM. Another good breakfast. BTW, this club is exceptional. It is very well staffed, has 3 chefs of its own and always 3-4 wait staff. The food is amongst the best we have had. The pastry is fresh and very flaky, which is not always the case. The wine K is drinking is an excellent Mendoza white, which she is enjoying. They also serve a limited supply of booze. I mentioned the veal bacon earlier...I really like it.

Today the plan is a morning of relaxation followed by lunch in the club and visits to the gold, spice and old souks in the PM.

anoop will come for us about 8 and we will go for dinner to the same restaurant near to his office.

Nicky, I do think you would enjoy the lux of an hotel in the Burj and it's connection to the Dubai mall $$$$$$$$$$. They love to have royalty as guests.

Nice upgrade! Pictures on FB? I've seen a few that K posted.

Bob, D has set his heart on staying at the Burj al Arab... I've told him only if he is paying.......
We have eaten there previously etc but never stayed, at their prices I am not surprised but he is determined.... I have suggested 2 nights there and 2 nights elsewhere.......

Bob, I assume your "anytime" tickets are the only ones that allow " front of line" privileges?

Yes Nicky that is right

Advertising should be banned IMO.

Advertising is banned. The post is gone, and the poster soon will be.

And then there's the v.dark side of Dubai...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_Dubai

But so long as we're enjoying ourselves, then what the heck!

LL---everyplace has a bit of a darkside I am sure but overall Dubai is a haven for workers and they have tons of benefits.. lets not argue about this pls...

Sunday--- so after lunch we headed out to only the "old" souk.. some might find it interesting but for us it was mostly boring, but it did give us a chance to return to the Creek area. K marveled at the fabulous fabrics (elaborate sari and embroidered gown fabrics) in many of the shops.

we finally made a few purchases: 2 indian chickan work blouses for Karen and a lovely long cotton grey and black scarf for me.. total sum of our purchases--amazing for us.

back to the hotel for drinks in the club and await anoop's arrival about 8 so we could go for one last Dubai dinner with him.

Anoop took us to "Manila Town", home to most of the Filipino workers in Dubai. It's a big bustling area full of shops and restaurants. Our destination was the large (3 storefronts)Ravi Restaurant in Satwa. The food is middleastern with some Chinese additions. I had a delicious corn and chicken soup and we shared spicy chicken pieces, naan, chicken curry, and a couple of other things... fantastic and fresh. so cheap you cannot believe it, like less than $20 for the 3 of us with leftovers for Anoop to take home.

Back to the hotel for some dessert from the club in our room and some packing for BKK.

Anoop insisted on coming for us for the ride to the airport.
He brought with him 3 cards we had given to him in India (on our 2006 trip there). I guess they had all contained long since spent money. Of course we had another one for him this year, as he would accept nothing from us, except maybe a couple of meals, this trip. I told him to buy his kids a few things when he goes home to India the middle of next month for his annual leave (30 days).

BRING ON OUR QUICK BKK STOP. 5 nights at the Anantara Riverside. Currently it is our plan just to stay here at the hotel, taking all our meals here and just relaxing, reading and swimming. We will then be back here for 9 nights commencing Oct 1 with our friend Pat and her sister Kathleen, plus the HawaiianTravellers, Linda and Peter.

Looking forward to it and to seeing Pook, Tong and others while there, and of course some shopping I am sure.

Dubai in retrospect was a decent quick stop for us. It certainly is a unique place and we are glad we took the time to visit. Would I encourage others to try it??? sure, why not, but not instead of Cairo, Capetown, Bangkok, Hanoi and a million other places. As others have said it is a great stop-over place when using Emerites Airways, which btw is a world class airline.

This concludes my report unless something unusual happens during our remaining few days, and then the long ride home via Dubai.

No trip report from BKK? Your audience awaits Bob
Glad u had a good time, my impressions of Dubai sound similar to yours ( and I haven't been in 11 years) am interested to see how it's changed.
Safe journey.

nicky you will see huge changes... bigger and bigger

this is my bkk report... doing nothing

Lol Bob.

wink wink..... BKK riverside, a great place to relax and do nothing! Enjoy....

Sounds like you found a place that you found to be even more expensive than Japan. We just returned from 2 weeks in Florida, Savannah and Charleston-Much less expensive than Dubai and no jet lag. Although Dubai is not on my bucket list, I enjoyed reading your TR. Thanks for posting.

Well doing nothing can be pretty wonderful. Cheryl and I are on Kauai - you guessed it - doing nothing. We hosted Mr & Mrs Hawaiian Traveler for the weekend and had a fine time.

Bot don't forget our GTG tonight! Looking forward to receiving the gifts you and Karen have brought over from Dubai. I hear the gold prices there are good!