Round The World and other travels
A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries
This is: Round The World 2006-07
A closer look around the Creek
I got up at closer to my usual time, i.e. a good bit earlier than on Wednesday! I knew that my main objective for today was going to be a walk around the Bur Dubai old town district, but I still hadn't quite worked out how best to go about it. As I was pottering about before going for breakfast, I came across the previous day's bus ticket and was about to tear it up and put it in the bin. Then I realised that it was valid for 24 hours! Problem solved, as far as getting to the old town was concerned. Before all that, though, I had breakfast again at the main buffet.
Courtesy of two more 'Big Buses' - for some reason we were asked to change at Wafi City - I found myself almost directly opposite my hotel, on Creek Walk. I found it a very pleasant place, with excellent views across to the commercial district of Deira. After taking in the creek scene, I soon found myself wandering through an old town area that was in the midst of preservation works. From there I located the Dubai Museum and managed to find the stunning Shia mosque that the guide had taken care to point out the previous late afternoon / early evening. Eventually I had seen enough and crossed back to Deira using one of the little abra ferry boats for a ridiculously cheap fare. It was quite an experience, the boats being used by people from all walks of life.
I walked back to the hotel and decided that, since I had now seen what I felt were all the main sights, I would simply relax and enjoy the hotel for the rest of the day. I had a slightly late room service lunch, but the culinary highlight of the day was dinner at the hotel's excellent seafood restaurant. Unusually, there were no menus at all. Instead, the waitress took me to look at the fresh produce on display, then I got to pick what I wanted and specify how I wanted it to be cooked. A truly delicious meal that I felt would be a very hard act to follow during the remainder of the trip.
