Our first full day sees us atop an open bus braving the 30+ degree heat. Traversing the length and breadth of this massive city, the scale of construction is mind boggling. Literally hundreds of skyscrapers jostle with each other vying for my attention some modelled on classics such as Big Ben in London and the Chrysler building in New York. In between sit large construction sites attesting to the ongoing wealth of this oil rich country and its ongoing expansion.
In contrast to this ostentation is the area of Old Dubai straddling the Dubai Creek the historical heart of the original township. This started as a pearling village in the 19th century and the creek with its harbour was its lifeblood. Today it is the lowest rise area of this metropolis with some pretty, if largely reconstructed historical precincts. We alight from the bus and it is now sizzling high 30s temperature as we amble through the gold souk. Row upon row of dazzling jewelry shops under a covered arcade . Sadly in this expensive country no great bargains to be found and the whole effect is less dazzling than the gold markets in Asian cities such as Bangkok.
I find myself seduced by the neighbouring spice market but again more scenic are the markets in the subcontinent. Nonetheless the variety is amazing including quality saffron, worth more by weight than gold, and biblical classics such as Frankincense and Myrrh.
We escape the heat to seek respite in the cooled Dubai museum featuring some surprising 5000 year old, Bronze Age, antiquities excavated from the desert sands before crossing back across the river for an evening cruise on a dhow boat down the Dubai Creek. Remarkably these sturdy teak boats still ply the ocean transporting goods thousands of miles across open water to India and Sri Lanka exactly as they have for hundreds of years.
