Unfortunately I didn’t wake up that early, but finally made it to Wafi centre and ont
o the Big Bus by midday. The Big bus tour is run by the same company that run the big bus tour and has the same hop on hop off system, where you buy a ticket which is valid for 24 hours and get on and off the bus at any time during those 24 hours. The first part of the tour goes by a lot of the sites I walked around yesterday so I stayed on the bus for these stops. The tour ticket also included a free Dubai Creek Dhow Cruise, and as there was one started at 1.30 I decided to do that. It was a little disappointing though as it was very slow, and didn’t go that far down the Creek or out to the Gulf. Yesterday when I walking by the Creek I was offered lots of abra tours which would go much further for a fraction of the cost of the Big Bus tour ticket. 
I did get some good views of the buildings on either side of the creek but the weather was still very hazy so the photos aren’t great. It was very hot today and an hour on a boat in the strong sun wasn’t ideal for my white Irish skin --- I have some really red patches on my shoulders and arms after it.
After the cruise, and a wait of about half an hour I got back on the bus and header for the Deira Shopping Centre. This is the stop where I could change lines, and get from the city tour to the beach tour. I planned to do the beach tour and then head back to the flat, but after all the waiting around before and after the cruise it was already almost 4 by the time I got on the beach bus.
It was only then I discovered that the beach tour takes almost 3 hours and I had agreed to meet Karen at 6. Whoops! I went to the first stop on the beach tour anyway – Jumeirah Mosque. This mosque allows non-muslims inside on certain days of the week, in the spirit of cultural understanding. It’s pretty spectacular and definitely worth a visit, even if like me you only get to wander around the outside.
In the evening I went out with Karen and her workmates for some Thai food to another restaurant called Lemongrass in Lamcy Plaza. I am so impressed with the food over here – this Thai was gorgeous and really reasonably priced. As usual I had the yellow chicken curry with potato and was completely stuffed after it. After that we headed back to Deira Shopping Centre for a bit of late night shopping.
Not as good a day as yesterday as I don’t think the bus tour is that good. But Karen’s off work tomorrow and we’re going to the beach so I’m looking forward to that.
o the Big Bus by midday. The Big bus tour is run by the same company that run the big bus tour and has the same hop on hop off system, where you buy a ticket which is valid for 24 hours and get on and off the bus at any time during those 24 hours. The first part of the tour goes by a lot of the sites I walked around yesterday so I stayed on the bus for these stops. The tour ticket also included a free Dubai Creek Dhow Cruise, and as there was one started at 1.30 I decided to do that. It was a little disappointing though as it was very slow, and didn’t go that far down the Creek or out to the Gulf. Yesterday when I walking by the Creek I was offered lots of abra tours which would go much further for a fraction of the cost of the Big Bus tour ticket. I did get some good views of the buildings on either side of the creek but the weather was still very hazy so the photos aren’t great. It was very hot today and an hour on a boat in the strong sun wasn’t ideal for my white Irish skin --- I have some really red patches on my shoulders and arms after it.After the cruise, and a wait of about half an hour I got back on the bus and header for the Deira Shopping Centre. This is the stop where I could change lines, and get from the city tour to the beach tour. I planned to do the beach tour and then head back to the flat, but after all the waiting around before and after the cruise it was already almost 4 by the time I got on the beach bus.
It was only then I discovered that the beach tour takes almost 3 hours and I had agreed to meet Karen at 6. Whoops! I went to the first stop on the beach tour anyway – Jumeirah Mosque. This mosque allows non-muslims inside on certain days of the week, in the spirit of cultural understanding. It’s pretty spectacular and definitely worth a visit, even if like me you only get to wander around the outside.In the evening I went out with Karen and her workmates for some Thai food to another restaurant called Lemongrass in Lamcy Plaza. I am so impressed with the food over here – this Thai was gorgeous and really reasonably priced. As usual I had the yellow chicken curry with potato and was completely stuffed after it. After that we headed back to Deira Shopping Centre for a bit of late night shopping.
Not as good a day as yesterday as I don’t think the bus tour is that good. But Karen’s off work tomorrow and we’re going to the beach so I’m looking forward to that.
