Istanbul to Dubai

October 31 - November 21, 2022
Mike and Judy Henderson

In this installment we visit Fujairah, go through the Strait of Hormuz, and then to Dubai.  Finally, the trip home.

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11/18/2022 (Friday) We're now exactly 12 hours off of home.  When it's 7am here it's 7pm at home. 

Earlier I discussed the Regent cruise ship.  What I'd like to talk about now is the difference between a land tour and a cruise, as we've experienced it. 

Perhaps the biggest difference is the number of guests.  Our land tours have been with Tauck and those vary from about 25 guests for a "small group" to about 40 for a "classic" tour.  That's a lot different than even a relatively small cruise ship, such as Regent, which has about 750 guests. 

A cruise ship, such as Regent, has a large staff so that they can provide a personal level of service to each guest while you're on board.  However, you notice the difference in the excursions.  When the ship comes into port there will be a lot of buses waiting to take the guests on excursions.  For popular excursions, that can mean crowding at the site.

With a land tour, we would stay in a hotel fairly near the places we were going to visit.  This would allow us to be at the excursion site early, avoiding the crowds that appear later from the cruise ships.  The cruise ship buses appear later because they have to transport the guests from the port to the excursion site, which is often an hour or more.  This also limits which places the cruise ship can offer as excursions - any excursion site that's two hours or more is a problem.  The travel time cuts into the time that can be spent at the site.  And some sites are just too far to visit at all.

Some sites or events are possible with the smaller group of a land tour but would be very different or impossible with a large group.  For example, when we visited Petra with Tauck, we had an intimate dinner at Little Petra with Bedouin entertainment.  When I visited Wadi Rum with Regent, the visit was not nearly as nice, primarily because of the number of people there from the cruise ship.

But a cruise has one big advantage: you unpack once for the whole cruise.  On a land tour, you're packing and unpacking about every two days.

We've enjoyed both, but if given a choice - at this time in our lives - I'd pick a land tour.

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Today was an "at sea" day so I really don't have anything to report.  Our major activity was to redeem the points we won on all the games for Regent merchandise.  I regret that I didn't take any pictures of that, but I was able to get two polo shirts, one white and one black, with the Regent name on the left. 

Judy chose one black polo shirt with "Regent" on it.  We had some "points' left over and we gave them to other guests who needed a few more.

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11/19/2022 (Saturday) We docked at Fujairah this morning, a part of the UAE.  As the ship approached the dock, we could see the buses and other vehicles waiting for us.

Judy and I signed up for a desert safari excursion, and we're going to be picked up by a 4x4.  Here's a closer look at those vehicles.  The 4x4's turned out to be nice SUV's with air-conditioning. 

As we filed into the tent to clear customs, some men in Arab dress were singing and waving their sticks to welcome us.  There were two really cute children in Arab dress giving out favors (a small ceramic pot) to each guest.  We were moving too fast and I couldn't get a picture of them

Here's an example of one of the SUV's.  Many of the pictures taken on this excursion were taken through the front windshield, and after driving in the dunes, the windshield was not as clean as it could have been.  That will cause some of the photos to be less than clear.

Fujairah is located on the eastern side of the peninsula that makes up the UAE, and there's a mountain chain, Al-Hajar al-Gharbi (shortened to Hajar Mountains), that runs between it and the rest of the UAE.  They have built an expressway-type road through the mountains.  The amount of rock they had to cut through, and the amount of fill in the valleys, is impressive.  I didn't get any good pictures that show that work - sorry.

On the way to the desert, we stopped at the Shawkah Dam Park.  There's not much to see there, I think it was just a bathroom stop.

It seems to be a picnic spot, and a starting point for hikers. There are very decent restrooms there.  One thing we couldn't find was a dam:-)

One of the 4x4 drivers (not our 4x4).

As we drove in the area, I noticed a lot of high voltage power lines.  It's obvious the UAE uses a lot of power, which considering that it can get to 122 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer, is not surprising.

Along the road, we saw quite a number of fruit and vegetable sellers, selling out of the back of an SUV.  They all seemed to have the same products.  That's a common refrain in the small stores we saw all over the Middle East.  In the souks we went into, it seemed like every store had the same products, and here on the highway, it was the same thing.  I don't know how they manage to make a living with all that competition.

We turned in at the Mleiha Archeological Park, but its not our destination.  It's just the entry to the desert.  Jebel Mleiha is there, and here's a picture from the web (mine wasn't very good).  It's a small mountain that the wind had piled sand up against.  We're heading to the desert that exists to the left of the Jebel.

Shortly after we entered the desert, we made an administrative stop.  Yes, all of those vehicles are part of our excursion.  There weren't too many excursion choices at this port.

The purpose of the stop is to let the drivers bleed the tires down to 15 pound/sq. in for better traction in the sand.

A view of the desert.  There's not much out there except sand.  One thing you learn very quickly is that it's really hard to walk in loose sand like this.  If you were alone in this desert it's unlikely you could walk out.

Judy amid the sand dunes.

And then we were off across the desert.

I couldn't take pictures of what our driver was doing, of course, but I could get a few shots of the cars in front of us.  We're in a convoy, and must follow car #1.  Here's a driver going up on a sand dune, tilting the car far on it's side and throwing sand from it's wheels.

Another view of the desert as we drove along.  It looks like vehicle tracks on those dunes.

For excitement, they drove down this steep dune.

The driver in front of us was sliding the car side-to-side, to give his passengers a more exciting ride.

 Here's a car in front of us sliding sideways.  It probably looks worse than it was.  The drivers are experienced sand drivers.  They are specially licensed for desert driving, and are highly trained and experienced.  And they drive these dunes daily.  The vehicles must carry extinguishers, compressors, other safety equipment, and they have padded roll bars.  You can see the numbered signs in each rear window, and that's the car you follow. 

Cresting a dune.  This picture is not tilted.  The dune was shaped that way, upward to the left.

Kicking up some more sand.

We drove over the desert for nearly an hour.  I took a lot of pictures, but have to limit how many I post.  Next we stopped at a large dune overlooking the valley and some rock structures.

I think they called this rock structure "the camel"

It's a lot of vehicles, isn't it?

Here we are on the top of the dune.

A pickup loaded with cold drinks met us there.

That 7-UP tasted really good in the desert.

Then we headed to Jebel Mleiha, which is near the desert entrance.  We stopped there for photos.

Here's a part of the mountain.

Regent had a professional photographer, Ben Brain, on the cruise, who taught classes in photography and helped people with their cameras and photos.  He came on this excursion and I took this picture of him and his wife.  He's a very nice person, patient and always willing to help other photographers.

After this, we headed back to the ship, where the staff was lined up at the gangway to welcome us.  There was music and clapping and lots of energy. 

Judy was in line behind me and I turned around and took this picture of her.  You can see why she melted so many men's hearts in her life.

But the evening was not over.  Tonight is Krew Kapers, an event on Regent cruises that features crew members in a show, rather than the professional entertainment staff.  Cabin and deck attendants, dining and kitchen staff, laundry, and other departments get to show off their talents and have some fun.

The Krew Kapers were from 6pm to 6:30.  After getting cleaned up and dressed for dinner, we went down to the theater for the show.

The ship's six-piece band was playing as we entered.

There were many acts and lots of energy.  I'll post pictures of a few of them.

A singer.

Our waitress, Christina, is in the center of this group.

In this dance, the guys holding the poles clack them together rhythmically, and the dancers step between the poles and out, always avoiding getting their feet hit.

Here, the group was doing that famous song, YMCA. I didn't get a picture of them spelling out YMCA because I was doing it with them, and Judy was busy laughing.

The cast and some of the Destination people.  Check out the dress of the gal in the center.

After dinner, it was to bed.  Tomorrow is Dubai.

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11/20/2022 (Sunday) We're almost at the end of the cruise - for us.  The ship sailed through the Strait of Hormuz last night without incident and today we docked in Dubai.

The ship goes on for many more days, and some people have signed up for the full 73-night cruise.  The next leg goes to Singapore (21 nights), then a leg to Sydney (17 nights) , and a final leg to Auckland (14 nights). 

That's just too long for us - I'd be OD'ed on cruising long before I got to the end.

When we woke up this morning, we were at the dock in Dubai and we could just see the skyline of the city.  The Burj Khalifa stood out on the skyline.

We signed up for a tour of Dubai.  As were driving to the first stop, the tour guide explained a few things about Dubai.  The population of the UAE is about 10 million, but 9 million of those people are foreign workers.  The population of Dubai is about 3.5 million, of which about 90% are foreigners and expats. 

The citizens of the UAE receive money from oil revenues.  Most laborers are foreigners from India, Pakistan, and other Asian countries.  The laborers are not paid much.

Expats in finance and technology are paid very well, and there are no UAE taxes on their income (but if you're a US citizen, you have to report your UAE income on your US tax form).  The guide commented that an American or British passport means you will be paid a lot more than if you have an Indian or Pakistani passport, even for the same type of work.

The UAE is a monarchy and the monarch holds complete power.  Freedoms that we take for granted, especially freedom of speech, are not available in the UAE and offenses can lead to prison terms or death.  Criticism of the monarchy is considered an especially serious crime.

The guide explained some of the extravagant things in Dubai.  In the Burj Al-Arab, a high class hotel, when you get a cappuccino, they put real gold on top of the foam.  Things that have no value or meaning except to show how wealthy you are.

Another interesting tidbit was that the police have high end sports cars, such as Aston Martin and Ferrari, as police cars, just because a lot of money is allocated to them.

After seeing the city, and hearing the guide, I came to the conclusion that Dubai is similar to Las Vegas, lots of meaningless flash.  It's not a pretty story.

Our tour took us first to the Jumeirah Mosque.  We couldn't go inside but we took pictures of the outside.

As we were driving to the next site, I took a picture of this pedestrian bridge, called the "Twisted Bridge".  It's only the support structure that is twisted.  The footpath is a standard, flat path through the support structure.

Here's another, one called "Infinity Bridge".  Interesting.

Here's a better picture taken from the web.  This could have been built as a standard cable-stayed bridge and it, almost certainly, would have cost less.

Dubai has a number of architectural projects like these - projects which seem to have been done just to be unusual.  I'll mention a few others later.

Our next stop was at the Burj Al-Arab, a high-end hotel.  It's shaped like a sail.  We couldn't go in, of course.  They sure don't want tourist riff-raff in their hotel.  This is where you get gold sprinkles on your cappuccino.  There is a tennis court and a heliport on the top of the hotel, and you can't get in the front door without a reservation for even a coffee.  They advertise being a 7-star hotel, because a mere 5-stars would be inadequate. 

After we left the Burj Al-Arab, we happened to pass the Museum of the Future, a really unusual piece of architecture.  It would have been interesting to visit this museum to see how the interior is laid out.  That's Arabic writing in the outside design, three quotes from the Prime Minister of the UAE.

Further along the road, we passed the Dubai Frame building.  I have not heard of any practical use for the Frame.  It's a tourist attraction.  I'm told that you can take an elevator to the top and then walk across a glass-floored skywalk to the other side.

This picture was taken through the window of the bus.  You can find better pictures on the web.

Then they took us to a Dubai heritage museum.   Here's a typical Bedouin tent.

There was a man in Arab dress nearby with a falcon, offering tourists the opportunity to hold the falcon for a few dollars.

Judy took him up on his offer.

Then we went to the Dubai Creek Museum.

There were a variety of exhibits.  Here, we're in the perfume museum.

Some perfume-related containers.

The museum was not that interesting.  We headed to a dock for a boat ride across Dubai creek, to the spice and gold souk.

The boats are simple, with a bench in the center, which allows seating on both sides.

Here we are loading into the boat.  It was a short ride to the souk.

Landing on the other side.

Some colorful spices in the souk.

More spices.  There were a lot of storefronts selling spices.

Then we went to the gold market area of the souk.

How about this?  Gold bibs for women.  I offered to buy the one in the middle for Judy but she said that we didn't go to parties where she could wear it.  And it's not appropriate concert wear. 

What kind of events would Dubai women wear this to?

Some gold jewelry.

This alligator bracelet was  interesting.

The one in the center even came with a tiara.

Since I couldn't get Judy interested in any of the gold, we went back to the spice market and visited a shop that sold spices and dates.

We were tempted by the chocolate-covered dates in individual packages, and we bought a half kilo.

Here's the salesman putting the dates in a bag for Judy.

This excursion was not all that interesting - the souk was probably the most interesting part.  A more interesting excursion would have included a visit to the inside of Museum of the Future, to the top of the Dubai Frame, a visit to the Mall of Dubai with the Ski-Dubai attraction, and/or to the top of the Burj Khalifa.  With only one day to see the city, we chose the general overview. 

After this, it was back to the ship, and packing for our departure tomorrow.  Bag pull is 10pm.

We took this night skyline picture of Dubai before we went to bed.

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11/21/2022 (Monday) We were up about 3am to finish getting ready for our departure.  We have to be on the pier at 5am - a bus will take us to the airport.

Regent had all of our bags that we had put out last night in a tent on the pier, separated by tag colors (ours was blue).  We went there, identified our bags and went with them to the bus and watched them being put in the storage area.

However, they directed us to the wrong bus and then we had to retrieve our bags from the bus and board the other bus.  The trip to the Dubai airport was short.  It's a big, modern airport.  This is the Emirates terminal, terminal 3.

They had a totally different section for check-in for first and business-class customers, separate from economy check-in.

Judy checking us in.  Judy has to do this for us because I can't hear what they're saying behind those plastic barriers.

The agent had problems with her luggage tag printer and it took quite a while to finish getting checked in.

From here we went to clear customs.  Dubai has some automatic machines where you only need to scan your passport and they check you out of the country.  However, all of the Regent guests were being rejected by the machine and told to see an immigration officer.

Turns out, as best we could tell, we had never been checked into the country - at least we were not in the electronic system.  Once the immigration people figured it out, they just double stamped our passports, one stamp to enter and one to leave.

Then we cleared security without any problems.

We had to "Take the A-Train" to the gate area and were able to use the Emirates lounge there.  It's a huge lounge but the food offerings were no better than most of the other lounges we've been in.  They do have other amenities, such as a shower area.

Eventually, it was time to board, and we went to the gate.  There was another security check.  We've encountered that in other airports for flights departing to the US.  We're flying on an Airbus A-380-800, a two level aircraft.  The A-380 and the Boeing 787 Dreamliner are our two favorite aircraft.

And then, we were on.  Here's Judy with the welcoming glass of Champagne.

The business class seating was nice, perhaps a bit better than some other business class flights we've been on.  The service was good and the food was excellent.  One interesting thing was that they had different amenity bags for men and women.  All the other flights we've been on only had one type of bag.  The men's bag had some useful things in it for the flight: a nice toothbrush and a good-sized tube of toothpaste, a multiblade Gillette razor and a small aerosol can of shaving cream, and a small packet of tissues.

It's a 1-2-1 configuration in business class.  We took off about 9am, Dubai time.

The entire upper deck of this flight was business class, and it appeared to be full.  Emirates has a lounge in the back of the business class section.  There's a small bar and a bartender.  There's seating on both sides of the lounge area.

This is the back of the lounge area, opposite the bar area.  Four restrooms just beyond the lounge.

The bartender insisted on taking a picture of me at the bar when he saw me taking pictures of the lounge.

It was a 16+ hour flight, but that's a lot better than a layover with the risk of lost baggage and the extra time on the ground. 

Emirates offers free Internet access to members of their frequent flyer club and I had signed Judy and me up for that.  But that was for the very basic Internet plan, so I purchased a better plan and used it throughout the flight, mostly working on this blog.  I set up my computer as a mobile hotspot and logged both our iPhones in to it so they had the better Internet access, also.  Just had to leave my computer on all the time.  Judy was able to play "Words with Friends" for the entire flight.

We arrived the same day, about 1pm.  We both got a bit of sleep, but were pretty tired when the plane landed.

We zoomed through Global Entry.  Now, all you do is stand in front of the kiosk and once it recognizes you, you're free to go.  Our bags came out fairly quickly and we departed the arrivals area.  Our limo driver, Andrew, was waiting for us.

He was a speedy driver, but that was good.  If you remember, we purchased a rug in Istanbul, and the local guy, Pasha, wanted to deliver it today.  I told him to come about 3pm, and we were home in time for his arrival.

He delivered the rug and it was in good condition - same as when we saw it in Istanbul.  We put it in the living room.

We bought a runner in Kusadasi and we expect that to be delivered soon.  The silk rug we bought there has to be completed and they estimated six to eight months.  I'll update the blog with pictures when we receive them.

[Update 12/19/2022 - We received the runner that we bought in Kusadasi - it came via FedEx.  Here's a picture of it.  We temporarily laid it on top of a runner that was there, just to see what it would look like.  It's natural color wool, like the other rug.  Looks similar in design to the other rug - I suppose that's a classical design.

We haven't received the silk rug yet and don't expect it for quite a few months.  I just hope the company doesn't go out of business before the weaver finishes it:-) ]

Then it was time to go pick up the girls.  Here they are running out - that's Lizzie in the lead with Annie following.

They were very excited to see us.  That's Annie trying to give me a kiss.

They seem to enjoy their time at the "spa" but are always happy to come home.

And that was the end of another trip.  Our next trip is to South Africa and Victoria Falls early next year.

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