Thursday, 14 November 2019
Dubai Airport 

A good very early (12:59 am) morning to all.  I am relaxing in the Lufthansa Lounge at the Dubai Airport,  awaiting my first flight, Dubai to Zurich on Swissair Business.  It will take four flights to get me all the way home; I will try to work sporadically on getting out more blogs.

Saturday, 9 November 2019
Arriving Dubai, UAE 

After an early breakfast I am off the Encore by 8:30am.  Since I went through immigration in Abu Dhabi, there are no formalities here and no inspection of luggage.  So I needn’t have been concerned about some of my Rx drugs.  My private car arrives as scheduled at 9am to take me to the five-star Hotel Dusit Thani (run by a company from Thailand).  Because hotels have been over-built here prices are very reasonable; certainly less than in comparable cities in the US and Europe.

Known locally as the "Upside Down Tuning Fork," the Dusit Thani is the closest 5-star hotel to the center of the city, the Dubai Mall, and the Burj Khalif, the tallest building in the world.  On the map, and as the bird flies, the distance looks like it could be walked in 10 to 15 minutes.  But since I do not have bird wings or an Arabian magic carpet, I find in reality that it is impossible to get there from the hotel on foot.  There are two intersecting freeways and no cross streets--blocking all pedestrian access.  Even cars and taxis have to go more than a mile out of their way to make the intricate maneuvers and turns to get from the hotel to the mall. Dubai may be very well prepared for tourist groups who have buses to pick them up at hotels, but solo travelers are at a loss getting from one place to another. Fortunately, taxis are very cheap, even though some of the distances are very long.  Hotel cars turn out to be even cheaper, because there are no add-on mileage charges!

The Dusit Thani Hotel is Off the Middle Right of This Photo,
the Dubai Mall is Off to the Lower Left

Using my 60x Optical Zoom from the Almost-Top of the Burj Khalif (tallest building 
in the world), to Capture the Dusit Thani in the Distance

The hotel itself is very nice, located in one of the city’s (many) iconic buildings.  My room is large and quiet, the public rooms and restaurants are welcoming, and the hotel staff is especially helpful.  For example, when you request a taxi they will tell you both the probable cost of the taxi and the defined cost of a hotel car.  (Same deal when making arrangements to get to the airport for my departure later in the week).

Hotel Main Lobby

Hotel Atrium Looking Down to Restaurant Lobby

Hotel Atrium Looking Up Toward Rooftop and Pool

Hotel Room with Window Looking Toward 
Skyscrapers of Financial District

Hotel Room with Interior Window into Bathroom

 Three Views from Hotel Room Window

Shell-Like Elevated Metro Station

Financial Center Skyscrapers and Metro Line Surround Sheikh Zayed Road  
(above and below)

After a second breakfast (at the hotel) and a quick unpacking, I head out to the Dubai Mall, where I need to find the meeting place for tomorrow’s reserved-time trip to the (almost) top of the Burj Khalif, tallest building in the world.  The weather has turned quite pleasant (mid 80s, low humidity) as I walk around the outside of the hotel, trying to find a way to cross the expressways and walk to the Mall—but that proves impossible.  So I use a hotel car to get me there—cheaper than a taxi, and much more comfortable.

The Dubai Mall is the largest in the world, with over 1,000 stores, and has been expanded several times.  It is almost impossible to find anything (even the exits), since the signage in English is very scant and often misleading. I finally give up trying to reach my goal and just wander aimlessly through the miles of deluxe shopping until it’s time to return to my hotel.  

I take the Metro one station from the mall to reach my hotel.  The two Metro lines are easy to use, and all-day tickets are available for less than US$7.00.  However, visiting places of interest often requires long walks (or taxi rides) from the Metro stations.

Elevated Metro Line (in Newer Parts of the City)

Underground Stations (in Older Parts of the City)--Above and Below

Back at the Dusit Thani, there are lots of places to eat nearby, many of them branches of American mid-price restaurants like Applebee's and Pizza Hut.

Tomorrow begins my first real exploration of this amazing city of two million people.  But you will have to wait for the next blog to see the city from atop the Burj Khalif.