TBK Travels - This really is my farewell to Dubai

   

                                           Thang and I at the Museum of Illusions in Dubai

Back in December 2020 , when I thought I was leaving Bahrain in February 2021 to retire in the Philippines I wrote a blog called:

Saying farewell to Dubai

However here we are in July 2021 back in Dubai for 2 months - so what happened?

COV 19 got in the way and the Philippines decided not to allow any foreigners in . I had to buy a flexi visa to stay on in Bahrain and stayed in various hotels and apartment blocks after I had to leave my home for 11 years in Awali on 14.2.21

         Awali house keys and Bapco badge ready to hand in on 14 Feb 2021

Someone suggested I investigate where else I could live if I could not get into the Philippines and so I carried out some research. I read many interesting articles like this:

Greece is officially open but will the tourists come

and saw many special offers like this:

and this:

Then I spent hours compiling all the data in a spreadsheet and evaluating them against my success criteria of getting out of Bahrain, safely, without quarantine to save money and have fun  at a reasonable summer temperature. ( ILM problem solving techniques students and Mark Johns will find this familiar) 

I carried out further in depth research ( as to what COV 19 vaccinations were acceptable in each country- which ruled out Thailand and Qatar as they do not accept Sputnik, which I have) . I also spoke to people who had returned from Dubai ( thanks Aysha and Balu) . Next I contacted people living in Thailand ( thanks Wanchai, Mike and Martin). My research included checking flights and hotel availability in 3 countries.  Finally I decided to return for 2 months in Dubai and visit my old friends Thang, Erickson and Jeyboy.

Having booked everything I contacted my friends to get this picture of Thang:

He was suffering from COV 19 and in the quarantine at the Marriott hotels staff accommodation in Dubai

Worse was to come. Erickson announced the ME hotel he was working at in Dubai was closing and he was moving to Abu Dhabi to work at the W :

        

                The amazing ME Dubai , which has closed due to lack of business

Finally Jeyboy, my friend since 2013, did not reply to any of my emails:

                        Jeyboy and I at Green Planet Dubai a few years ago

The hotels I had stayed in before did not have rooms available ( Al Khoury) or were too expensive for a two month stay ( JA Oceans view) so I selected another hotel on Booking.com called the Arabian Courtyard . 

Then things started to look up when I finally arrived and opened the curtains in my room on the 5th Floor.

     

The amazing view from my room at the Arabian Courtyard in Dubai of the Dubai Museum, Grand Bur Dubai Masjid Mosque and the Creek 

The Mosque can accommodate 1200 worshipers and the call to Fajr prayer wakes me up daily around 4.10 am ( Just like Juffair!) . This area of Dubai, known as Bur Dubai is home to many of the Indians, Pakistanis, Nepalis and the like who live in Dubai. 

Behind the Mosque is the  "Dubai Hindu Temple which is the place of worship for Hindus in Dubai. The small temple caters to the large Hindu community in the United Arab Emirates and is currently the only Hindu temple in the UAE"

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_Temple,_Dubai ( accessed 18.7.21) 

As a sign of how tolerant Dubai is to all Nationalities and religions back "In 1958, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed al Maktoum permitted a Hindu "temple" (actually only a small room) to be built on the first floor on top of a warren of old-fashioned shops in Bur Dubai.^[3][4] This shopping center is known as the "Bur Dubai Old Souk" and is located west of the Dubai Creek in the area known as Bur Dubai."

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_Temple,_Dubai ( accessed 18.7.21) 

 One of the many Abra that charge one Dirham to cross the Creek to the old Souk opposite

As my brother pointed out "Bur Dubai is the heart of the Old City of Dubai. ... If you want to choose which area to stay in Dubai based on price, Bur Dubai also offers the cheapest rates when it comes to accommodation. Moreover, it also has some of the most authentic and cheap Indian restaurants in town."

Source: https://againstthecompass.com/en/area-dubai-accommodation/ 

(accessed 18.7.21) 

I loved walking by the Creek and exploring the many old buildings. Pre COV19 many of these were busy restaurants with diners eating on the balconies above the water. Now, being hot summer, the place is strangely quiet except in the evening

In my research for this trip I read that:

"Dubai, the top touristic destination in the Middle East, is a city of huge dimensions.  It has a population of 3.1M spread across a vast area of 4,114km².

To give you an idea, Madrid is another big city with the same number of people, yet, it has an area of just 600km², which is 7 times less than Dubai. This means that in Dubai there is a lot of empty space and distances between the different places are huge.

In Al Fahidi you can go on guided walks with Emirati "Guides and Storytellers!"

Therefore, unlike European and some Asian cities, Dubai is a city not to be walked, as many neighborhoods and places which look like they are close, are actually separated by several kilometers which can’t be walked, even if you wanted to, basically because there is no place to walk.

Moreover, the different districts and areas of Dubai are extremely different from each other, with so many different landmarks, things to do and, of course, extremely different budgets."

Source: https://againstthecompass.com/en/area-dubai-accommodation/ 

(accessed 18.7.21) 

   The barefoot Hindu's queue daily to visit their temple by the creek in Bur Dubai

I therefore decided for this trip to use the same principle as I use in Manila and visit a different area each time. So having tried Sitwa ( Phillipino) and JBR/ Marina ( posh expats with money to burn) I decided to try the cheap Indian district of Bur Dubai this time. 

         My first glass of water in the hotels deserted Sherlocks Holmes bar

Whilst the hotel has many restaurants they were largely empty and expensive die to  the lack of atmosphere so I used Trip advisor and my feet and nose to sniff out some great finds. 

'

My cheap healthy breakfast at the Arabian Tea House Restaurant & Café - Al Fahidi and the interior of the restaurant below

Just down the road is the Arabian Tea House Restaurant & Café - Al Fahidi and having visited there for Dinner with Erickson, and Breakfast alone and with Thang I can highly recommend it. The place is light and beautifully decorated in a covered courtyard complete with white gravel, ( caged) birds and a choice of big formal tables or lower seats and coffee tables. The white tables have folding flaps so people with big stomachs can get in. They have separate kids, breakfast and lunch and dinner menus and everything is freshly prepared in the open kitchens. They also have an Arabic bread oven and each dish comes with hot Arabic bread. The Multinational staff are very friendly and attentive ( I think I counted 12 staff for 14 customers one breakfast) and well supervised . The Management regularly walk the floor talking to the customers and I was soon recognized as a regular.

              The fascinating Museum of Illusions - book on line for a discount

Behind the Arabian tea house is a maze of old alleyways and cafe's , shops and museums. Thang suggested we visited the Dubai Museum of Illusions and if you book on line for the morning session you get discounted tickets. 

Their website is: https://museumofillusions.ae/

The staff are very friendly and will take photos on your phones of you participating in the different illusions so you have a permanent reminder to take away with you. They take the photos ( and they know all the best shots) and there is no extra charge for this ( Unlike Green Planet where you have to pay for the photos). 

                            One of the many amazing illusions photos

Next to the Museum is an amazing Starbucks ( I love the way the newer brands have been incorporated into the old buildings with minimal signage) right by the Creek and we visited here several times for water, Merianda and healthy salad lunches.

                           The first Starbucks I visited and did not have coffee

None of the restaurants have toilets ( Bathrooms, WC, CR , Loos) but these are again beautifully hidden in the old buildings . The plumbing looks old but the taps have motion sensors so come on when you place your hands underneath- very clever! After an incident with a shower photo on a previous blog I rarely put pictures of washrooms ( known also as Cottages in parts of the UK!) in my blogs anymore. But for these I will make an exception. 

                   

                     Old looking automated urinals and sinks

Also tucked away in the alleyways is the oldest hotel in Dubai and I called in one morning ( my brother , Richard, went mad once because I did not do a recce before taking him to a restaurant) to check the menu. I recognized the restaurant as one that Mo Steer took me to for lunch in 2010 when she was our ILM External Verifier. I remember her telling me that her husband helped with the construction of the Dubai Metro ( as an Engineer, not a laborer, just in case Mo reads this!) . I explained this to the guy behind the counter who was very helpful. 

                               Lunch with Thang at Dubai's oldest Hotel

When I returned with Thang he recognized me immediately and gave me a warm welcome and when he discovered that Thang was Indian hotelier and I was an ex  hotelier we had several long discussions about how COV 19 had affected the hospitality industry in Dubai ( badly with several businesses closing and many like his very quiet and just surviving). He turned out to be the Manager of the hotel who had been through Hotel school in India and we had a great lunch there , and I promised to return another time with Erickson. 

 This is a restaurant you must visit in Dubai ( the oldest hotel ,and an art gallery)

Their website is: https://www.xvahotel.com/about/

I know that Khalid will have had to read this blog in several parts as its so long ( apologies) but many former residents , visitors and my armchair travelers who love learning about other countries through my blog will want more! So I will end here, but I will be back... with more "stories from Dubai!"

( cue applause from the Gregory's, Carl Max , Gerda and Pav!) 

So that's it for my first 4 days back in Dubai- 56 to go!

                      Dinner with Erickson at the Arabian Courtyard Hotel