Textile Souk
This time, we made our way back to the Textile Souk to actually explore and shop. Our time here reminded me of the days I would go with my mom (and all of my other skating moms) to pick fabric for competition or practice skating dresses. It is like the Aladdin version of Spandex Warehouse in New York City (with a lot more options than just spandex!) :-). I have never seen so many beautiful fabric swatches in one place. The old Bedouin style souk, or market, is in open air with canopy covered alley-ways all lined with individual shops. Heckling is common, so it is important to be aware here, but today we did not run into any problems. We took our time looking at a few shops in detail, and made our way to the waterfront. Here, you can take a Dhow-style water taxi across the canal to the Gold and Spice Souks.
Spice Souk
We did not spend much time at the Gold Souk; heckling is known to be the worst there, and none of us were actually interested to shop for gold. But we wandered the alleyways of the Spice Souk for a long time.
The aromas of spices fill the streets and overtake your senses entirely. Bags of cardamon, saffron, curry, sage, rosemary, black pepper, and every other spice you could think of surround each shop's door. We ventured into one shop, where the owner allowed us to try almost everything - including figs, dates, and spiced nuts. Lemon pistachios were my favorite. We thought we might run into an awkward situation when the spice man asked us where our boyfriends were. But in response to our telling him we were on our own for the day, he said, "this is good." This example of progressive thought, or at least respect of the matter in Arabic culture caught us by pleasant surprise. We each bought a snack from his shop, as we wanted to give him some business in response to his kindness.
As you keep walking, the shops transition from old-fashioned spices to all sorts of cookware - both hand made and modern imports. And as you get out of the alleyways and onto the streets, the actual storefronts are still spice distributors - here, we saw giant bags of spices being prepared to supply either smaller distributors or restaurants. We finally found our way to the metro station to take us all the way to the north side of Dubai - next stop: the Dubai Marina!
The aromas of spices fill the streets and overtake your senses entirely. Bags of cardamon, saffron, curry, sage, rosemary, black pepper, and every other spice you could think of surround each shop's door. We ventured into one shop, where the owner allowed us to try almost everything - including figs, dates, and spiced nuts. Lemon pistachios were my favorite. We thought we might run into an awkward situation when the spice man asked us where our boyfriends were. But in response to our telling him we were on our own for the day, he said, "this is good." This example of progressive thought, or at least respect of the matter in Arabic culture caught us by pleasant surprise. We each bought a snack from his shop, as we wanted to give him some business in response to his kindness.
As you keep walking, the shops transition from old-fashioned spices to all sorts of cookware - both hand made and modern imports. And as you get out of the alleyways and onto the streets, the actual storefronts are still spice distributors - here, we saw giant bags of spices being prepared to supply either smaller distributors or restaurants. We finally found our way to the metro station to take us all the way to the north side of Dubai - next stop: the Dubai Marina!
Dubai Marina, and the Dubai Ferry around the Island of the Palm
The Dubai Marina is on the opposite side of the city as the souks, and a much more modern experience. The marina is attached to the Dubai Marina Mall (of course another mall). The waterfront is lined on either side with sky rise office buildings and hotels, and the marina is filled with the nicest yachts and boats I have ever seen. There are beautiful sidewalks and restaurants all along the water, although it is quite a journey to walk the whole way. We ended up taking a golf cart taxi to make it to the ferry in time for its departure! The Dubai Ferry has a specific tourist sunset ride. It follows the coast of the manmade Island of the Palm to its furthest point, on which stands the worlds first VII star resort hotel - Atlantis at the Palm. The ferry then turns around and takes you back to the marina, with a beautiful sunset view of the "new Dubai" skyline.
There are several ways to see the infamous "Palm Island," in all of its insanely wealthy private residential man-made glory. Yet, being a main attraction and sales pitch for Dubai, one would think there might be simple ways to just to get onto the island and wander along the beaches. It's not so easy. There is a rather expensive monorail that will take you from the gateway entrance of the island out to the entrance of Atlantis. However, the monorail is not connected to the city's metro, and these are the only two stops. The beaches are all private, and mostly residential with mansion homes lining each "branch" (literally) of land. It is also not possible to enter Atlantis without being a guest of the hotel, or paying the $75 USD to go to the water park and beach for the day.
Some of our friends did the water park, and some even did the pricier Dolphin swim at Atlantis. I know they all had amazing experiences; but I chose the less expensive route to see the Palm, and I'm happy I did. The ferry was very relaxing and proved to have beautiful views of the Palm, Atlantis, and the city.
Once we were back to the marina, our plan was to go to the Observatory restaurant on the 52nd floor of the Marriott Marina Dubai. The hotel is on the water front, and the observatory has an excellent sky view of the Palm Island. But it seems that everything in Dubai is built so large and grand that it takes forever to get from one place to the next, even if both are technically in the same place! Finding the actual entrance of a grand Dubai building or mall is another entity of its own!
After a half hour's sweaty walk around the marina, cut through construction, up a hill, and around the base of the building, we finally got to the entrance of the Marriott - just as the sunset ended. If I were to do this again, I would be sure to take a taxi to the Marriott, and I wouldn't come straight from a full day of hot and sweaty sight-seeing. Nonetheless, we did get to go up to the observatory, but we were certainly underdressed and not given a table or notice for service at the bar. But at the end of the day, it was all okay. We got the view and a few pictures, headed back down, and found a different restaurant for dinner. Finally full and satisfied, we took a taxi home. We were rightfully spent after a day well-spent!
There are several ways to see the infamous "Palm Island," in all of its insanely wealthy private residential man-made glory. Yet, being a main attraction and sales pitch for Dubai, one would think there might be simple ways to just to get onto the island and wander along the beaches. It's not so easy. There is a rather expensive monorail that will take you from the gateway entrance of the island out to the entrance of Atlantis. However, the monorail is not connected to the city's metro, and these are the only two stops. The beaches are all private, and mostly residential with mansion homes lining each "branch" (literally) of land. It is also not possible to enter Atlantis without being a guest of the hotel, or paying the $75 USD to go to the water park and beach for the day.
Some of our friends did the water park, and some even did the pricier Dolphin swim at Atlantis. I know they all had amazing experiences; but I chose the less expensive route to see the Palm, and I'm happy I did. The ferry was very relaxing and proved to have beautiful views of the Palm, Atlantis, and the city.
Once we were back to the marina, our plan was to go to the Observatory restaurant on the 52nd floor of the Marriott Marina Dubai. The hotel is on the water front, and the observatory has an excellent sky view of the Palm Island. But it seems that everything in Dubai is built so large and grand that it takes forever to get from one place to the next, even if both are technically in the same place! Finding the actual entrance of a grand Dubai building or mall is another entity of its own!
After a half hour's sweaty walk around the marina, cut through construction, up a hill, and around the base of the building, we finally got to the entrance of the Marriott - just as the sunset ended. If I were to do this again, I would be sure to take a taxi to the Marriott, and I wouldn't come straight from a full day of hot and sweaty sight-seeing. Nonetheless, we did get to go up to the observatory, but we were certainly underdressed and not given a table or notice for service at the bar. But at the end of the day, it was all okay. We got the view and a few pictures, headed back down, and found a different restaurant for dinner. Finally full and satisfied, we took a taxi home. We were rightfully spent after a day well-spent!
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