Dubai - II

Unable to sleep due to time changes and a terrible cough, I decide going for a jog would be the cure.  Prior to arriving I had this brilliant idea of jogging the outer perimeter of the Palm so my route was already chosen.  At 6, under the cover of darkness, I got myself ready and sketched my route on a napkin for Julie -- "just in case". After a few detours in the hotel I was finally en-route via taxi to the Palm.

Driving the 'trunk' of the Palm with Atlantis Dubai in the distance.

As we drove East on the Palm the driver kept asking, "not here?" to which I replied "keep going to the end".  He seemed to understand but wasn't sure how to reply, simply saying "huh". The end happened to be outside the One & Only Palm -- where we planned to have dinner later that night.

Before heading off I snapped a few shots.  The skyline view is amazing. This isn't downtown Dubai, it is, I think, the Marina District.

View from Eastern tip of the Palm to mainland.

Unfortunately all the earlier messing around with finding cash for the cab resulted in me starting my run almost an hour later.  That burning ball of fire in the leftmost section isn't as hot as it looks.  It's significantly hotter and more humid than one can imagine. The weather network tells me it's 44C w/  humidex at 6:59am. I don't believe them  It's hotter.

Requisite self-pic

Off I go.  My plan is to run the approximately 11km to the West-end of the Palm and take a cab back to our hotel.

Protecting cab fare from disintegrating from sweat.

Long story, short -- it was hot and only got hotter.  With no escape from the sun I tried running along construction fences to get some shade.  It didn't help as that required me to run on sand.  It was interesting to see the bus loads of workers come in to work on the countless hotel projects still taking place on the Palm.  As I approached the Atlantis MapMyRun was telling me I was almost 6km or half way through my trek.  No stranger to the effects of running in the heat wisdom prevailed and I took the exit for Atlantis to cut my losses. Making my way through the Atlantis staff parking lot I ended up in the empty pool area (it's still early).  Grabbing some towels off the chairs I make my way inside past the guards who keep snoopy tourist out of the guest only areas -- like the pool. Tip: if you want to sneak in Atlantis go the back way. If you're already in the guest area they assume you're a guest.

Lobby of the Atlantis

I walk out the front door and ask of one the attendants to grab me a cab.  Still feeling queasy with the odd cough makes me think I may need to pay the cleaning fee before the end of this cab ride.  In the end, thankfully, all I can think of are the poor fares who will sit in this soaked seat after me.

My disappointing route

Back at the hotel Julie is amazingly still sleeping.  With our no-sleep on the flight, I guess I'm less surprised and let Julie keep sleeping. I get showered and finally wake her.  Making our way to the lounge for breakfast we enjoy the endless views over the Gulf.

After breakfast I still wasn't feeling the love from my run and finally was able to get some rest -- which meant cancelling our lunch reservation at the Burj Al Arab's restaurant.  You can't actually enter the Burj unless you are a guest or have reservations at one of their restaurants/bars.

Later that day we  grabbed a chance to 'talk' to Owen by dialing him up on FaceTime.  I asked my aunt to have the computer on when she's feeding Owen and when we had a chance we'd call.  Voila, opportunity and we're seeing our little guy while sitting in the hotel lobby.  It was exciting to see him smile when he saw us.  The dog too was losing her mind.

 

Afterwards we took a cab to the Dubai Mall -- the world's largest.  We've seen a Discovery channel show about the building of the mall so it should be interesting to connect the two.  The first thing we notice are the massive atriums.  While the mall is the world's largest, it isn't the largest in terms of leaseable space, as evident by all the open areas with no stores. Also, for anyone wondering, the indoor ski hill is in the Emirates Mall and not the Dubai Mall.

Dubai Aquarium in the mall

A highlight for Julie was being able to buy Owen's "baptism" cufflinks that I pointed out a year ago.  (No, not the pinup cufflinks I suggested). Searching locally got us no where and surprising, or maybe unsurprisingly, we found them here. Julie also picked up a new bathing suit for the Maldives.

After cruising around the mall we headed outside to check out the Vegas-inspired Dubai Fountains that sit between the mall, the Address (hotel) and the Burj Khalifa, world's tallest building. Having been to Vegas, my opinion was that they were less impressive.  Not sure if it was the fountains themselves, the music or the vantage point. 

Dubai Fountains

Some signs of home below.

A Tim's employee checking his email

Warming up after a few minutes outside we passed a Tim Horton's employee -- yes Tim's has a strategy to grow it's presence in the Middle East -- on our way to the Address for some drinks with a great view of the fountains and the Burj as a backdrop.

Dubai Fountains and Burj Khalifa

After some mojitos we grabbed a cab back to our hotel to get ready for dinner at the 101 Lounge  on-site at the One & Only Palm hotel.

Originally opting to sit out on the terrace I quickly changed my mind.  There was no breeze here and the heat was overwhelming.  Inside we enjoyed a great meal.  Since we were late for dinner a 'buggy' took us out to the restaurant which is out on a pier.  We decided to walk back and take in the views that I enjoyed earlier in the day.

Pier out to 101 Lounge

The hotel grounds were very nice with the pool being the highlight.  Only thing topping the pool was the man (I believe a guest) walking around the hotel lobby with a falcon on his arm at 11pm.

Amazing pool @ One&Only Palm

Back at the hotel we've already checked out as we're taking the red-eye to the Maldives to maximize our time there. The club lounges include shower facilities so I order up our luggage and we get cleaned up.  The Gulf Tours guy shows up at 1230am on the spot and we're off to the Maldives, or at least the airport! We got a last minute offer to upgrade to business class for a fraction of the cost so we'll be riding in style and most importantly, hopefully able to sleep on the overnight flight.

Honeymoon #5 .. UAE + Maldives

With a handful of posts still outstanding from our trips to BC+Alberta and Sandbanks, I've been requested (urged) by my better half to resume our pre-Owen practice of documenting our travels. With that, I'm jumping forward to our UAE + Maldives anniversary trip.

We made the difficult decision to travel without Owen for the first time.  Despite his impressive 20,000 miles in the air before his first birthday, a 14 hour flight to 45C weather didn't seem to be in his best interest; or ours.  Fortunately, my favourite aunt and Godmother, so kindly offered to babysit Owen at our place and keep him in his daily routine with daycare. Advice we heeded from friends.

Par for the course we were packing until the final hours of the night before our morning flight.  Since Owen was already in bed we decided to make the late drive to the Sheraton Airport so that the morning would be less painful.  A wise decision. Despite missing the hotel shuttle we were checked-in a full 2.5 hours before departure.  A landslide margin over past showings.

A poor choice of seats for breakfast in the AC Lounge at YYZ

This journey includes a number of flights and some land transfers. Toronto to Dubai. Dubai to Male (Maldives).  Male to the hotel on Kihavah (huravalhi) island by seaplane transfer. We also have a car transfer from Dubai to (literally) the middle of the desert, approximately 2.5 hours outside of Abu Dhabi.

I'm not familiar with air trip routing other than it is dependent zones covered by ATCs -- but the direct path I charted certainly isn't our actual course.  Our flight path over Europe provided some very cool night views of metropolitan areas and through the "axis of evil" of Iraq and Iran before landing in Dubai.

Warsaw, I think.

Flying over Iraq

The Emirates flight was a mixed bag.  The seats seemed uncomfortable and we couldn't fall asleep -- although attempting to fall back to sleep at 10am isn't an easy task; despite exhaustion. Food and beverage selection was as expected, good.  In-flight entertainment was excellent.  Taking in at least 4 films I caught up on the movie-scene I've missed for the past 6 months. Amenities like sleeping masks, toothbrushes, and socks were all welcomed.  The socks actually came in handy as I didn't pack any and as such have worn them a number of times for dinner.

The fake sleep.

Arriving in Dubai the airport lives up to your expectation of Dubai.  Everything is massive. The atriums, the escalators, the elevators and the halls.  All impressive.  Less impressive, we maintained our record of choosing the worse queue spending over an hour at passport control while others disappeared around us.  After presenting our travel visas, getting our pictures taken and adding a couple new stamps to our passports we were in.

Sidebar -- As a first, I booked our trip through Linara Travel after reading about them in Conde Nast. Does this mean I finally handed over control of our trip? Not in the least. I merely emailed the travel agent and wrote; here are the dates, hotels and room types I'd like to reserve. So I wouldn't say I 'used a travel agent' other than to bounce my pre-existing ideas off and to help with the transfers (which actually were part of each hotel).

So here we are meeting the Linara Travel rep in Dubai. A portly and cheerful man grabs our luggage, hands us a packet, and tosses us into the enormous back seat of a BMW 7-series -- the official mode of transport in Dubai. Thirty minutes later we are checking in at the Jumeirah Al Qasr hotel down in the Jumeirah Beach district. Part of the Madinat Jumeriah complex the Al Qasr is said to be modeled after a Shiek's summer residence and translates to 'palace'.  As expected for all things Dubai the hotel wasn't lacking any opulence.  Actually, quite Vegas-like. Immediately we were reminded of our past South East travels as we were quickly whisked away to a check-in attendant.  There are no counters. Nowhere to line-up and stand impatiently. Here you are taken to a seating area where you are quickly checked in while being offered cold towels and fresh beverages. Minutes later you are escorted directly to your room by the same person who checked you in.  End to end service, with a smile, by a gentleman who I can't help but think resembles Aladdin.

Going for breakfast at Al Qasr.

We chose this hotel and location for a number of reasons.  It's situated between the Palm and downtown Dubai. Not knowing how jetlagged we may be it offers relaxing beach side environment but with ample walking throughout the Jumeirah hotels and souks (markets). Jumeirah, for the uninitiated, is the hotel brand that owns the Burj Al Arab (the sail) and Jumeirah Beach Hotel (the wave) that so many associate with Dubai.

Goodnight Irene.

After settling in the hotel and realizing that whatever preconceived notions we may have had of 'hot and humid' they would all be re-written on this trip.  A balmy 47C marked our first day. Since Emirates didn't quench our need for sleep we shut it down for a handful of hours. Shaking the travel cob webs we head over to the club lounge for some snacks. Of course the food service ended 30 minutes prior -- but alas, we're in the part of the world where service prevails. "Lets us get some sandwiches from the fridge for you".  Comfortably seated on couches we are within minutes bombarded with individual plates of sandwiches, deserts and who the hell knows what else.  We devour it. Stepping out on the terrace we are quickly reminded that we are in the desert. Roasting like chicken on a Swiss Chalet rotisserie we take in the amazing view over the hotel grounds with the Burj al Arab as the perfect backdrop.

Snack snack snack, all day long.

First views from the lounge terrace.

Bellies full we set out to explore. The contrast from full-tilt AC in the hotel to the surface of the sun heat of outdoors is mind-numbing. Pores that were clenched tight instantly evacuate water as quickly as they can. Opting to get back inside we do a quick tour of the indoor souk. Nothing amazing here. The complex itself is quite interesting.  Venice of the desert, waterways weave between the massive complex with abras (water taxi) available to shuttle you around at no-cost. Vegas again, comes to mind.

The Burj is everywhere.

We hit the beach in our very non-beach attire and snap some more shots of the Burj. Why not, we're tourist. With the cotton of my shirt reaching maximum absorption we head back indoors to get ready for dinner. On pace for a record number of showers we're back out the door, insanely sporting pants, and back at the lounge for some canapés and drinks before dinner at the highly regarded Pierchic - conveniently located at our hotel.

Pierchic with the Burj in the background.

With reservations for 930 we made the 150m haul down the pier. The hostess directed us indoors like most sane diners but we requested to sit outside -- an uncommon practice at this time of year.  Fortunately the breeze kept my shirt from becoming one with my skin and the views made it all worthwhile. With alcohol only available at hotels in Dubai we expected to pay a premium for drinks. In the end, cocktails and beers were manageable with Vegas/Miami-like prices.  Bottles of wine were substantially marked up. Fortunately we're old and don't drink much.

Attempt #4 as the camera kept falling over.

Burj Al Arab (left), Jumeirah Beach Hotel (center), Mina A'Salam (right)

We can't remember what we ate other than it was good the view was amazing and we're not sure if it's Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday.  A successful first "day".

Last Days in Tofino

Our second attempt at the bear watching tour was more successful.  We hit up Breakers for some breakfast bagels to go and parked in the driveway of the tour operator trying to figure out where their door was.  After finally resolving to call the office, Captain Mike found us idling on the road side in front of his sign while on the phone with his wife.  We chose Browning Pass Charters as it was recommended by the Wick Inn (Relais & Châteaux wouldn't steer you wrong) -- but moreso because it's a mom and pop shop run by Captain Mike and his wife.  They take few people and their boat allows you to view from inside or outside -- important on this rainy day and to keep Owen warm on the ride in/out. Definitely the right choice given the other vessels we saw.

The bears come down to the shore to flip rocks and eat crab at low tide, so today's journey started at 8am. Enjoying our breakfast bagels we met the other guests, a middle aged Aussie who was in the US with her doctor husband at a conference then traveled to Vancouver to visit her mother's cousin and take the bus to Tofino from Victoria. The other guests were a family of 4; parents + daughters from Houston TX.  Captain Mike brewed up some warm bevies and off we went.

It didn't take long to spot some bald eagles.  We'd see many more on the tour including their massive nests.

Bald eagles keep watch from a barge.

The boat offered the various spaces we needed to keep Owen entertained or to provide the other guests a break.

Hanging out in the stern.

Hanging out on the second level.

Owen doing his own thing.

O Captain! My Captain.

It didn't take long before Captain Mike found us a bear along the shore.  The rocks were a unbelievably vibrant green.  We were surprised at how little interest the bear showed even with our boat engine idling quite loudly. And to think we were worried about Owen starting to cry (or make noises) when we spotted a bear.  This certainly was not an issue.

Momma bear enjoying the fruits of her labour.

We spent some time watching Momma bear before noticing that her cubs were staying put way up a tree -- absurdly high.  It's difficult to spot them in this picture but it's safe to say that the cubs were near the top of the middle tree.

Cubs somewhere up that tree.

We went to check out another location when we noticed that the cubs had come down from the tree and were now playing around near the shore. It was definitely entertaining watching the cubs fall over one another and also to see them try to play with Momma bear -- and she would literally swat them over.

Catching crabs didn't seem like a difficult task.  Without any effort the mother bear would flip over sizable rocks and within a few tries she would snatch a crab.

And at the end of it all  .. they returned to the forest.

After breakfast the family heads back into the forest.

Watching the bears was definitely a highlight of the trip.  The bow of the boat was 15-20' from the mother bear and she couldn't care less that we were around.

Working our way closer to the bears.

Too much excitement for Owen.

We moved on and saw a few other bears but without cubs.  Along the way we also spotted this island full of seals which didn't seem too impressed with our presence as they all abandoned ship for the water.

Another bald eagle was hanging our near her massive nest and apparently was drying her wings.

And when it finally cleared up, the scenery was beautiful.

We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the metropolis of Tofino checking out the small shops.  Not much to note here.  Afterwards we hit up Shelter restaurant again to benefit from the clear sky on the patio.

Once back at the hotel I did some laundry at the hotel laundry room and Julie got Owen ready for bed.  Irene, our babysitter, was to arrive at 7 and we couldn't get dinner reservations until 830 at the Pointe Restaurant at the Wick Inn.  This was less than ideal but we went early and walked around Chesterman beach.  Once at the restaurant we were seated immediately.  The view from the restaurant was amazing as was the food. Definitely a recommendation for future visitors.

The next morning we set out for the ferry in Nanaimo.  Our plan was to catch the 12:50 ferry but we were making good time and decided to skip our planned stop in Port Alberni and make a mad dash to attempt to catch the 10:40 ferry.  After getting stuck behind some logging trucks and feeling quite certain we wouldn't make the ferry; we squeezed on as one of the last cars loaded on the ferry.  Already two hours ahead of the game on what would be a 13.5 hour travel day.