We were up and off the ship by about 9:30. It was POURING rain. We encountered a line for taxis that we hadn't expected. The day before the taxis had been lined up waiting for us. The Queen Victoria had arrived that morning, so they had even more passengers to deal with. We had to wait, in the rain, for about 20 minutes before getting into a cab.
We headed straight for Ski Dubai! That was on Mel's list from the time we first planned this trip. It seemed so strange to have a ski area in a desert. Of course we were in Dubai when it was cold and rainy, not that much of a difference!
We arrived at the Mall of the Emirates where Ski Dubai is. We went in to get Mel's lift ticket. Since hurting my back 6 years ago, I haven't skied and decided not to risk it there either. If I hurt my back again, there goes all our Africa ports! We were happy to discover that I could get a pass to ride the lift once, so I could see Mel ski and join him going up the hill. Included with my ticket was a long parka and boots. Included with Mel's tickets were skis, boots, jackets and snow pants. We brought our own gloves and hats, we were ready. This was funny...the day before the ship's hostess, Jackie, who has a cabin near ours, mentioned to Mel that she was going skiing. Mel asked if she had gloves or anything. She didn't, so borrowed mine. She'd borrowed a snorkeling mask in New Caledonia also. Glad I can help. She's a very nice young lady.
Once we were outfitted we went into the ski area. It was much larger than I'd imagined or seen in pictures. It's one of those places that you have to see to believe! The lift had seats for 4. There was also a small Snow Park with a "magic carpet" lift for those who were tubing. There was also a short course of some sort, snowboard or bobsledding?, not sure. I rode 1/2 way up, to the Avalanche Cafe in the middle of the hill. There I had hot chocolate with the music director from the ship. No matter the size of the city we're in, we always run into others from our ship. Mel took a couple of runs on the beginner hill then we both rode to the top. He got off, I stayed on to the bottom. We agreed to meet at 1, and I left for the mall. I did find a store that looked almost like Pier 1. Perfect to buy a few souvenirs. We shopped for a few minutes after we met up then found a taxi back to the ship. We had a tour scheduled for 3, so we were tight on time. We raced up to our cabin, then the Lido for a quick lunch, then back out to meet for our tour.
The tour was Arabian Nights Safari. We were divided into groups of 4 and led to Toyota Range Rovers. All the vehicles started out of town. We met at a gas station for a rest stop, then headed out into the desert. We went off road where they deflated the tires for a better ride thru sand and off we went. It was worse (better?!) than Indiana Jones at Disneyland. We went straight up, straight down dunes. We went down dunes going sideways, kind of scary. The desert is HUGE, filled with these dunes with some plants here and there. There were about 15 vehicles all following each other. Our driver would go off to the side once in a while, just for an extra thrill. Fortunately I was in the front seat so had good support for my back. Mel traded with me because I couldn't tolerate the woman's perfume in the back seat. She and her husband were delightful though and we had a great time with them. All the vehicles stopped in the middle of the desert for pictures, then back we went to the freeway. Across the freeway was a large enclosure full of camels. My first glimpse of them. We stopped at a camel farm. They were all eating out of a long trough, so all we saw were camel butts. Pretty funny. There must have been 50 of them.
Our last stop was a "camp". They had it set up with a number of activities. First was to ride a camel. Mel and I got on the same one. Sure was interesting when that thing got up and down again. It was a fun experience. Next was smoking water pipes. Huh? LOL They had light flavored tobacco in them. We passed, although I did get some pics reminiscent of my youth. There was a lady doing henna designs on your hands, I did that. There was also a place where you could dress in Arabian clothing. Since I feel it's demeaning to women in the first place, I avoided that area. We were served a buffet dinner, then sat inside straw cabins, sitting on cushions on the floor. The food was OK, not great. The atmosphere was very fun. It started pouring while we were eating. It cleared up just in time for the belly dancer who had a patio area in the middle of the camp. She was OK. We stayed at our table with a number of others who didn't venture out. We arrived back at the port at about 9:15. Long day!
During our 2 days, we talked to many people who lived and worked in Dubai. None of them were from Dubai. They were from India, China and the Philippines. Our driver for the safari was from India. He works 7 days a week for about 5 or 6 months, then goes back to his wife and new baby in India for 45 to 60 days. Almost like working on a cruise ship! We heard that many of these workers can't afford much rent so end up rooming with 3 or 4 in the same room. I don't think we ever met anyone who was actually from Dubai. All the buildings were new, and right along the coast, so one major highway. It was a strange, almost artificial country.
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