Flying solo!

Yesterday after brunch, I decided to go solo down to the creek and explore the souks. It was my first time being alone here and I have to admit, I was a little nervous.

Dubai is an extremely safe place and is the most liberal of all the Arab countries but I had read that single women are still not all that common (not single as in marital status, single as in travelling alone). After a very nice cab ride, my driver dropped me off a far distance from the souks so I could walk along the river and take in all the buildings, boats, and sights. It really is lovely.

It was Friday so there were tons and tons of men out and about everywhere and I was definitely the center of attention. It was odd, I got A LOT of stares but it wasn't like icky male-ogling stares like at home, it was more like I had just sprouted a horn from my forehead - or like I was some alien. I guess to them, I kind of was. You're not likely to find any Girl Power stuff anywhere around here. I had a guy ask me if I would get on his boat and take a picture with him - he said, "we never see women." Like he'd just been released from prison or something. :)

Well, if I had done my homework, I would have known that the souks aren't even open Friday mornings (as it's the holy day) but it was still a grand adventure as I got to see a lot of beautiful buildings and got to experience a little more of typical Dubai life.

There were a few shops open and I was able to pick up a few items - 2 pashminas and a gorgeous shirt. I was feeling a little down because, as it turns out, I SUCK at haggling. I just couldn't make myself do it. They said I price, I handed my dirham over. So, after I purchased the last thing I was walking around feeling pretty down for wasting my money when I could have haggled a better price when I realized (after doing my dirham to dollar conversion) - - I only spent TEN DOLLARS! Who in the world needs to haggle if the first price given is only $10 for two pashminas AND a shirt.

This is one of the little alleyways that starts the textile souk.

This is kind of the typical souk scene.

After putzing around the textile souk for a bit I decided to take the abra over to see if any of the shops were open in the spice souk. The abra ride basically just takes you across the creek and it costs 1 dirham - 27 CENTS! There are tons and tons and tons of abras just going back and forth across the creek. The creek is literally packed with boats, abras, and dhows. The dhows are larger and often offer dinner cruises along the creek. I hope to do one of those when Hank arrives.
This is what the abras look like. There is a even mix of men in the traditional clothing and men in plain clothing - notice though, very few women. Except me. :)

This is where the abras park - - there are several abra stations and you just hop on the boat. Some go to different places so you just have to pay attention to where yours is heading.

Although there were NO shops open in the spice souk, it was still nice to ride over and back as I got some great views of the city and the different boats in the water. Some of the architecture is so interesting. I even got to see one mosque - though it's not the big mosque that I am hoping to see with Hank.

Some of the work on the mosques is so ornate. I loved this little doo-dad!

This is the Bank of Dubai, I believe. This picture does not do it justice, it is absolutely beautiful with the water reflecting off the building.

This mosque is right on the creek and I happened to be right in front of it during the call to prayer. It's a really interesting sound.

Just another interesting building with abra parking right outside. Walking along the creek. There were lots of people in this particular area feeding the birds.

For those not worshipping on a Friday morning, it seems the creek is the place to hang out. There were tons of men just milling around.

As you will notice in the picture above and the one below, the men hold hands with each other. Like, full fingers laced hand holding. It's the strangest thing to see. There is no romantic connotation to it. All of the Arab countries are completely intolerant of homosexuality so this is by no means "couples" - it's just what they do. It's very different from what we're used to at home.

This is definitely a sign of things to come - as far as weather is concerned. There are sun shades almost everywhere - most of the parks have them, public pools have them, this one is just along the creek.The airport is close to downtown - near the creek. It's do odd to see planes around all the buildings!!!