Dubai Souks and Boat Trip

As today was Friday there was not much open in the morning. The ubiquitous malls being the only things.

We went to City Central, which was a moderate sized one. Then we went back to the hotel for a rest and everyone slept about 1-2 hours. At 1600 the old town souks were supposed to open so at 1530 we took a taxi to that area. Amazing number of people milling on the shore near the water taxis. The taxis would come in bunches of 4 to 6 sometimes. We walked up the old souk which was so packed there really was no room for the wheel chair. Uschi and I both purchased pashminars. I also bought the rest of the bits for my head dress. I had already got a head dress band from the Emirates mall.

After watching the water taxis for a while we caught the "water bus" a more modern vehicle which Christine didn't need such skill to embark on. We just jumped on but had no tickets! The attendant took our money and ran to get some tickets for us. The water bus took us far along the Dubai creek to disembark near the Dubai local government buildings. We walked along the riverside for a while looking at the dhows then caught a land taxi (!) for the gold souk. The taxi pulled up in the middle of the road to collect us. At the lights about one block on the driver of the car behind got out and had a rant session with our driver. While it wasn't best parking etiquette I didn't think it was that bad.

We walked around the gold souk and even had a go at buying a small bracelet, but when I showed somereal interest the price suddenly went from 100 Dirhams/gram to 120! I had already seen 97 as the dayprice and the seller started to spin a line about "old" gold or maybe something from India. I declinedhis offer.

The three of us then wandered around the souk and found the main covered way. After about 1/2 an hour we had to leave to get back to the hotel so the evening cruise could pick us up.

They said about 1930, but turned up around 1915 . We got in a people mover with about 7 others, all males and apparently from the subcontinent. The people mover bought us back almost to the Gold Souk in Diera and we got on board the boat.

About half past eight there was a great cloud of black smoke which enveloped the boat as they started the engine. All the lights flickered out then back on again. The boat sailed up river to the Floating Bridge and then out to the mouth of the river about a 14km round trip I think, which took a little over 2 hours.

Tour of Dubai and another (!) mall

In the back of the Landcruiser for the tour "Bur Dubai", we drove past the computer souk and the street of banks. Past the back of a number of foriegn embassies and then we stop by the creek. The tour dropped us off at the museum, which we had to rush through due to lack of time. This was a pity as the museum seemed pretty interesting and I would have spent a bit longer there if I could have.

There is another couple on the tour too. They are Charles and Celia from Newcastle (UK).

The driver points out a lot of 4 and 5 star hotels, as if that is the main attraction of Dubai (maybe it is!). Through the Al Shindahga tunnel past the gold souk and on our way to Diera.

We stop near the Sails hotel for a photo opportunity.

The tour also stopped at an upmarket sales centre with very interesting, and expensive, goods. None of us tourists want to buy anything. The tour ended with the driver dropping us off at the Dubai Mall. Apparently this is a bigger mall than the Emirates which we visited yesterday.

We had lunch there including a hugely slow (15+ minutes) Koobideh sandwich at Pars Express. Hardly express.

We spent about 2 hours in the aquarium and then we wandered into the middle of the mall. An area called "the gold souk". Uschi and I tried to capture pictures of the changing colours on the ceiling. We had a little drink at a cafe called "The Cafe" in the centre of the mall.

The drink was a "sparkling date drink" which was an 80/20 apple date drink.

Off for a tour

Reflections on a bus.


Us in the 4WD

Dubai Mall

Yesterday after the Dubai mall gold souk we went to look at the skating rink. Christine was enthralled by the ice. Then we went looking for lifts as I wanted to find the "Hamleys" shop. The information people kept sending us to far away lifts. By the time we found one we were on the other side of the mall. We tried to go up into the book shop from the "Fashion Atrium" via the lift, however when we got
to the bookshop we found there was still construction going on so the bookshop was blocked off and we couldn't get in that way!

The Fashion Atrium itself was not really in use as many of the shops were still under construction. We finally got to the bookshop, then after spending 45 minutes browsing in the shop we were disappointed as their phone lines were down and they wouldn't accept credit cards.

At the end of the night we headed out to the nearest indicated taxi rank only to find it wasn't in use and we had to go completely across the mall (again) to the only operating taxi rank. Luckily the queue wasn't very long. The attendants did send us to the front of the line eventually when we were only about 3 places away anyway. At the Mall of the Emirates the day before they waved us straight to the front due to Christine's wheelchair as soon as they saw us.

Although reputedly bigger than the Mall of the Emirates, poor service, lack of open shops and hidden lifts made the Dubai Mall less pleasant than the Mall of the Emirates.

Emirates Mall and Snow

After the stop by the Mosque this afternoon we caught a taxi for 35 Dirhams and came straight to the mall.

Now we are in the "Karam Beirut" Lebanese restaurant at the Mall of the Emirates. We have spent a pleasant enough hour or two wandering around the mall. All three of us bought gloves from the Ski Dubai shop, in preparation for cold weather in Europe.

Christine was very excited to see the artificial snow when we first entered the mall. The photo on the left shows a view of the snow from a down stairs restaurant, the Lebanese restaurant is on the first floor.

The Lebanese restaurant was picked as it has main windows facing onto the ski slope and had a much better view of the "snow". The restaurant was empty when we arrived but they were a bit reluctant to seat usdue to all the tables being booked for later. The Maitre'd seated us on the proviso that we would be less than one hour, ie be gone by 20:00. I ordered minced meat in pita called Arayess.

Uschi had eggplant kebab and Christine had chicken livers.

A Mix of Cultures

Sitting outside the Starbucks at Japengo Cafe on Al Jameira Road. Uschi has ordered some cold drinks for us. We are across the road from the Jumeira Grand Mosque with the call to prayer coming from the minarets.

This is the only mosque in Dubai that is open to non muslims.

We have just walked from our hotel, the Rydges. There is lots of building and road work which made wheel chair access very difficult. On the way we went through the Al Ghazel (Gazelle?) Shopping Mall and had a coffee for Uschi and her mum with a lemonade for me. We also shared a very nice Jaffa mousse.

The weather is fairly pleasant and cloudy. The sun is a little hot when it comes out, There was a very strong wind and rain squall around 12ish which we could see from the hotel.

We arrived this morning at 0730. The plane waws a little late landing at about 0610 but then we had to catch a bus and travel for ages to the terminal building. Emirates are using a new terminal building all their own. We all had a big breakfast when we got to the hotel and then all had showers and a few hours sleep.

Sitting here at the cafe Uschi and Christine have lemonades (I was the trend setter there) but I have gone for a Coke Zero this time. It has arabic lettering and advertising for the new James Bond film on it.

A strange mix of cultures.

Airports Again

Bangkok's new(ish) airport

Jewel Rice (Morasa Polow)

Ingredients
- 400g Long grain rice
- 50g Barberries (black currrants or cranberries can be used instead, but barberries are the feature of this Persian dish, so it defeats the "Persian-ness" of the recipe. If black currants are used, no sugar is required)
- 50g Sultanas (raisins can be substituted)
- 50g Blanched almonds
- 50g Pistachio kernels
- 25g Hazelnut kernels
- 50g Walnut kernels
- 1 cup Fresh orange peel (mixed peel is OK as a substitute)
- 100g Butter or ghee
- 1 Tbspn Sugar
- Salt

Preparation
Rice
Rinse the rice to remove the surface powder and starch. If the rice isn't cleaned it will become sticky. Optionally soak it in warm water for 2 hours as well, then drain the water.

Berries
Wash barberries and sultanas with cold water and drain. Fry separately in oil or ghee over medium heat for a few minutes. Add some sugar to the barberries during frying.

Nuts
Wash the nuts with cold water, soak for about 15 minutes and drain. The pistachios and the walnuts should be soaked separately if you don't wish their colour to stain the other nuts. Slice or crush the nuts until the pieces are about the same size as the sultanas. Fry all the nuts for a few minutes, careful not to burn or discolour them.

Orange Peel
Thinly slice the orange peels. Boil for a few minutes, drain and repeat. Soak in cold water for an hour, drain, and repeat. Finally boil for a few minutes with a few spoons of sugar to remove the peel bitterness, and drain (dried mixed peel can be used instead of orange peel and this preparation avoided).

Method
Pour about 6 cups of water in a large pot and bring it to a boil. Add the rice and a spoonful of salt and continue boiling until the rice slightly softens, but is not completely cooked. This will take about 5 minutes. Pour the rice into a colander and wash it with slightly warm water. Set aside a cup (or a little bit more) of rice by itself. With the remainder, mix in the orange peel.

Pour a few spoonfuls of cooking oil or melted ghee into a pot and add the plain rice to the bottom to make a layer. This bottom layer prevents the orange peel buring during cooking. Pile the remainder of the rice with the orange peel on top. Form it into a cone or pyramid and poke some holes down through it to allow steam to pass up through the rice pile. Put about 50g of butter/ghee on top of the rice. Cover the pot and cook over low heat for about half an hour. If cooking time is increased, the bottom layer of rice becomes crispy (called ta-dig). If too much steam condenses under the pot lid it will drip down and make the rice soggy. Wrapping a cloth or teatowel around the lid will soak up the steam condensate.

When it is ready to serve, mix all the nuts, sultanas and half the barberries through the rice. The remainder of the barberries should be sprinkled over the top of the mix.

Tater Tot Hot Dish

Ingredients

- 400g Minced Beef
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2x420g cans of Campbell's cream soup - Any combination of mushroom, celery and/or chicken will work. I like one can of Cream of Chicken and one Cream of Celery. I don't like corn so never use it.
- 1/2 soup can of milk or water - if required to thin the soup
Various vegetables - I use a couple of carrots, two or three sticks of celery and a good handfull of fresh beans. Tinned vegetables would work instead of fresh. Corn would work if you wanted it.
- 1 kg pack Potato Gems - In the US these are known as “Tator Tots”. In fact, hash browns or even frozen chips would probably also work, but I haven't tried them.
- Cheddar cheese, grated

Baking pan or casserole dish - I use a large Pyex 2.8 litre rectangular dish, that's 9x13 in the old money or 15 cups.

Method

In a largish frying pan, brown the minced meat and onions. Into the pan put the soups, the milk/water, and the vegetables. Stir and cook until warmish/hot.
Cover the bottom of the baking pan with the potato things, pour the casserole mixture over them, and cover liberally with the grated cheese.
Bake at 180C (350F) for 45 minutes.
Let stand for 5 minutes and serve.

Christmas Biccies

Recipe Here