We left Delhi to continue exploring India independently. We took a 2¾ hour flight to Chennai on the South West coast with a view to touring the South.
Unfortunately we realised that we had bad India fatigue. The crazy traffic, horns beeping, thousands of people, … had got to us. Don’t get us wrong, we absolutely loved the first two weeks, and wouldn’t have changed it. I think that for us, like a drug, it can be really good in small doses, but an overdose is bad. We realised that we needed a break from it and we wouldn’t enjoy another two weeks of the same.
Based on weather etc., we decided that we would do a stopover in Dubai on the way home for a few days. So often we have transferred flights in Dubai / Doha / Abu Dhabi and not seen the cities, so we decided to put this one right.
The first thing we did to get our bearings was to take the city sightseeing bus tour.
Dubai’s original income was from fishing and diving for pearls in the relatively shallow and calm waters of the Arabian ocean. The pearl trade all dried up though when the Japanese invented cultured pearls. Another major source of wealth was gold trading. This was largely with India when they has a ban on gold imports. Dubai traders “smuggled” gold onto ships offshore which then headed for India. There was a 100% markup on the gold value from the London price.
The old Dubai is very small. The city really only started expanding in the 60’s after oil was discovered. It now has a population of over 3 million people. Although the oil wealth was great, the Sheik was pretty smart in diversifying for the future and now oil is only 5% of Dubai’s income.
The world’s biggest picture frame. It’s a museum and has elevators in both vertical sides. Through one side you can see the modern Dubai, and through the other, the older parts of the city.
Dubai was founded on an inlet (creek) from the Arabian ocean.
The towers on the old buildings are a classic architectural feature of the region. They are called “wind towers” and draw cooler air down into the floor below. Wet clothes were also hung on the wooden poles to further chill the air. This could achieve a 4-5 degree drop in temperature in the building below.
It is winter now and the temperature wasn’t a problem when we were there. It was in the 20’s and it actually rained. They only get 5 days of rain a year. Pretty unlucky for us but the locals were very happy. It was Ronnie’s second time in Dubai. It also rained when he was there about 12 years ago. Jinx!
Dubai has so many modern shopping malls (including the biggest in the world of course!). There are still a number of old markets (Souks).
Now, sadly we are heading home. Until the next trip at the beginning of January.
