Friday, 19 November 2021

Leaving Dubai

Since I am so far behind in blogging, I have made a major decision.  I will quickly cover the final days in Dubai and traveling to Rome, without pictures--then I will post photos later on or after I get back to Tucson.

Sunday, 14 November 2021

Another Day in Dubai

Today is the start of the business week in Arab countries, so the hotel is very busy and the breakfast buffet room is packed quite early. All the other days have been fine, but today the food is cold, there are no clean plates available, and the waiting time is atrocious. But my plan is to take the day off from EXPO and instead visit at 6pm went it is dark and cooler. The grounds stay open until 2am but I know I won't be staying that late.

So after breakfast I head to Dubai Mall, the largest in the world. The mall is only one stop from my hotel--but after getting off the train you must take a hike that is longer than the walking distance by foot from my hotel to the mall.  But walking directly from the hotel is impossible in this part of Dubai (too many roads without crossings, too many lanes of traffic, no sidewalks). The walk from the Metro station to the mall is indoors and air-conditioned, at least, with large portions covered by moving sidewalks. But it is still quite a trek.

Once you arrive at the mall, you really have to know what you are looking for or else you are condemned to wander endlessly in circular pathways spread over five floors. The signage--what little there is--starts out helpful, with an arrow pointing to the Apple Store (where I am headed this morning), but as I continue walking in  the arrow's direction all references to the Apple Store disappear. It is only through the kindness of salespersons in several stores that I eventually reach my destination. The folks at Apple are quite friendly and I have no trouble purchsing a new lightning SDS photo card loader and a lightning connector for my new iPhone 13 (bless the EU for making all electronics use the same connectors).

The Mall, just one of many sites for luxury shopping here, is a great place to wander, and includes an aquarium, an ice-skating rink, an entrance to the Burj Kalif (tallest building in world) observation decks, and more than anyone could ask for entertainment.
I enjoy a quiet lunch (chicken Caesar salad and fresh lemonade).

I take a taxi the short distance back to the hotel, where the manager has arranged for me to have a private Covid test, which costs less than in the US, and only slightly more than finding and going to a clinic here.  The nurse arrives on time at 4pm; does the deep nostril dive and assures me results in 24 hours max.  This is not the end of the story, however--you will find out more about the result in Monday's blog.

I finally make it to EXPO in the evening and really enjoy seeing everything animated with colored lights. The first thing I do is visit the restaurant in the Italian Pavilion for a lovely dinner starting with a Campari Spritz and moving on to Bufalo Mozzarella with a bowlful of wonderful small tomatoes, and then a beautifully presented Melanzana Parmigian (eggplant parmesan).

I take lots of pictures of EXPO at night which I will post later; here are a few sample:  

British Pavilion

Tigris River Pavilion

China Pavilion

UAE Pavilion

Saudi Arabia Pavilion