We had a good deal on our Dubai hotel – half price – which we decided was because the area, and the hotel, are still under construction.
Our taxi driver reminded me of Miguel from Fawlty Towers. He kept saying “I know, I know” when we tried to explain about our hotel, but then had to do some asking and reversing before we finally arrived. I was going crazy trying to photograph the yellow(!) poinciana trees from the taxi, and he told me not to worry as our hotel would have “plenty plenty” – but not a one in sight. However, he was very enthusiastic and helpful.
Our hotel is in an area called Jumeirah Lakes, but the lakes haven’t been filled yet – they are just holes in the ground, with lots of machinery around. This area shows no sign of Dubai being in recession – there is building activity everywhere. There is a beautiful sparkling gold-roofed railway station near the hotel – but it isn’t open yet. In fact, we can’t even go to the swanky shopping mall on the other side of the station, as from our side of the railway line, it can only be accessed through the inaccessible station. Our building is a hotel up to the 10th floor, with a pool and gym on the 11th, and then apartments up to the 39th floor. We tried to go up to the 40th floor for the view, but it hasn’t been finished yet. However, our part of the hotel is really lovely, with lots of marble, glass and mirrors everywhere – I’m sure we’ll have a wonderful four days here.
On the left hand side of this picture, behind the two orange poinciana trees, is a yellow poinciana, taken through the window of our speeding taxi. I hope to take some better pictures of these over the next few days. The cranes in the background are typical of what we have seen of Dubai so far.
Hotel foyer.
When we arrived at our hotel, a friendly Arab offered us plump, sensuous, melt-in-the-mouth dates (not the scrawny, stringy ones we buy in packets at home) from a tray I’d have loved to have slipped into my suitcase, plus about a tablespoon of Arabian coffee the texture of creamed honey, which bore no relation to any coffee I’ve ever tasted before. There was also an iced towel and a glass of iced water. Trying to juggle all these plus my hand luggage and camera (of course), I was no help to Pat with checking in, with his dates, coffee, iced towel etc lined up on the counter beside him. Just as well we weren’t sitting in these chairs, or we’d still be there.
Pat went off for a swim, sauna and session in the steam room, while I, I hate to admit, after our very intense visit to Qatar, Syria, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait and Qatar, collapsed onto the comfortable bed and slept like a log for two hours.
Suburban Dubai.
This is the view, through glass, from the outdoor poolside bar on the 11th floor of our hotel where we had a light tea after I woke up. By looking across, not down, I was able to avoid most of the building activity. The triangular shape is the roof of the not-yet-open railway station – you can’t see the gold colour of it at night. If you look between these buildings, you can catch glimpses of the sea, so we’ll be out exploring tomorrow.
When we came back to our room, our bed had been turned down, and slippers put out beside our bed. I’ll be expecting this at home now!
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