Smile #82 - Nice to Meet You, Dubai [Part III]!

Nice to Meet You, Dubai [Part III]!

For an authentic experience of Dubai life, we took an abra ride.  Abra is a traditional wooden boat that transport residents across the Deira Creek.  Instead of taking the regular abra, we hired an abra to give us an exclusive tour of the Dubai waters.   It was a nice escape from high towers and modern society.  :)

Before we head back to New Dubai, we stopped by a local supermarket to grab some lunch.  It was just like the old times when we used to travel.  :)  No need for fancy meals, just some bread and desserts.  :)

At the center of Dubai emerges Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest man-made building / world's tallest free-standing structure.  Dwarfing over all neighboring towers, Burj Khalifa stands at 828 meters high aka = in translation - 3x the tallest building (Bank of America Corporate Center, 265 m) in Charlotte.

The shinny futuristic structure reminds me of Asgard from Thor.  See the resemblance or is it just me?  :)

I love viewing cities at the highest point, so of course we didn't pass up this opportunity.  J and I booked tickets weeks ago.  :)

I randomly selected our ticket appointment time.  As it turns out booking our tickets at 2pm has its advantage.  There was no queue to the elevator, breezy easy to the top.  :)

We hopped in the world's tallest service elevator and within a minute we reached floor 124!  :)

Greetings from the top of the world!

Standing at world's highest outdoor observation deck, the view below is unbelievable!  The vantage point from here allows me to see the city extends far into the desert, construction continues at every street, Seikh Zayed Road busy at all hours.  We spent over an hour viewing Dubai from every angle.

There are telescopes scattered throughout Floor 125 that allows you to zoom in different areas.  We get to see the city in prehistoric, day time, night time and current view.  Very neat for those of us that visited during the day but would like to see the night view.

Last but not least - the final attraction - Gold Souk and Spice Souk.  It was a journey to find the markets from the train station.  After trudging some tight street, we finally found the Gold Souk.  Victory!

Gold glitters in every display.  There are all sorts of accessories from gold pendants to gold bangles to gold chains to gold earrings to gold bracelets.  My favorite is this little gold penguin.  :) In addition to gold, diamond and every shades of gemstones are also available.    I have never seen such an abundance of gold in one place!

Adjacent to the Gold Souk is Spice Souk...according to guidebook.  We walked through the gold market and found no spice souk.  With a lack of street signs, we tangled in the maze for a bit.  At last, we saw sacks of herbs and spices.  We have found our final destination!  :)

Despite Dubai is renown for glamour and contemporary, there are still strong root for culture and history.   We experienced the contrast between the old Dubai with the new Dubai.  :)

Thank you Dubai for hosting us the past week.  It had been a learning experience.  I can't wait see your new transformation in just a few years.  :)