Old Dubai - 7 August

Another sleep in but underway after breakfast and a coffee by 10.30am.

Today was old Dubai day - and another day of 39C ("feels like 45C") so you need to manage outside activity carefully. So down to the Metro (7 minutes) then the air conditioning of the station and the train, along The Creek and the spice market (20 minutes), a dhow cruise (air conditioning and only 4 on board - would hold 60), across The Creek on an Abra (us and 10 locals and a 15 minute walk to the Dubai Museum (mostly air conditioned and underground), 15 minute walk to the Metro and 7 minutes back to Raffles.

Spice market just individual shops, so only entered one thus avoiding multiple salesmen. Dhow cruise very good as we traversed The Creek, travelling through old Dubai and where it meets up with modern Dubai. The Creek is the life blood of trading into and out of Dubai and is very busy. In "season" it must be packed as there are so many boats. Crossing The Creek on an Abra is the way it is done  - 1UAD = about 35 cents.

Dubai Museum most interesting as it traced the history of the area and its development with very good displays and explanations. Civilisations have been in the area since around 5000BC and lots of archaeological work is progressively evidencing this. Until the early 1960's, Dubai was pretty much just a trading port with the east and centred around gold, spices and pearls. The discovery of oil transformed everything from the mid 1960's and the development of the oil industry led to the incredible modern Dubai and its continuing rapid growth.

More than 90% of fresh water is from desalination and Dubai's more than 2 million population is growing rapidly. There is currently in place an amnesty for illegal residents - being taken up in large numbers to either stay or leave (many do not have passports for all sorts of reasons, including disreputable employers).

Back to Raffles for Afternoon Tea and time around the pool before tonight's canapes and drinks in the Club Lounge.

I should have mentioned that my Metro ticket purchasing fell over today. Purchased tickets according to the zones on my map, but when we got off, the gates rejected us and bells went off. Turns out my map was out of date and our exit station had a zone change - no problem, just pay the difference.