“Courage is shown in acts, not in words; it is not bluffing, arrogance, or madness. A courageous man is the one who dares to do what he finds is right, and bears the consequences of his acts – whether they are political, social or individual. A man can obey others for two reasons: for fear of being punished, or for love. Obedience that comes from love of others is a thousand times stronger than fear of punishment.” (Mahatma Ghandi, 1869–1948)
Dhow Cruise offers an experience of a dinner aboard a traditional Arabic Dhow (wooden vessel) that glides along the Dubai creek. It gives a fascinating view of traditional and modern Dubai at night.
Two weeks ago, I joined Arnel and Charrie (refer to my previous blog) on a dhow cruise dinner which we have booked through Lama Tours. Tonight, I went on another dhow cruise again to join my visiting colleagues from our Poland team. We were booked through Arabian Tours.
I have seen some slight difference on how the two vessels were decorated along with the type of food and services the respective tour company provides. I don’t want to sound bias so there is no point for me to list the differences. What is more important is that I enjoyed the experience in both occasions. A must-try activity for those who are planning to visit this place.
A rare opportunity and a sweet way to wrap up my journey in this part of the world. “A cloud does not know why it moves in just such a direction and at such speed. It feels an impulsion … this is the place to go now. But the sky knows the reasons and the patterns behind all clouds, and you will know, too, when you lift yourself high enough to see beyond the horizons.” (The Alchemist) 
Aside from dune bashing, camel rides, belly dancing, henna painting, shisha and barbeque dinner; another activity in a desert safari tour is the chance to put on the traditional costumes.
Everytime I chance upon a mascot, I always wonder how it feels to be inside that lovely figure. I always believe that behind the cute appearance and funny antics, there is a person inside that is placed in a very uncomfortable condition. Just imagine placing yourself under a thick layers of blanket. How suffocating it might be.
Some rude kids even make fun of the figure to the point of hitting them like torturing a stuff toy. That’s why after taking this recent pix with them at the Ibn Batuta Mall, I warmly gave my “thanks” to those souls inside. I wish kids and kids-at-heart would do the same.
I had the opportunity to visit the Atlantis. A resort located at The Palm Jumeirah. Together with Arnelio and Charrie, we booked for the Aquaventure and The Lost Chambers. The main attraction of Aquaventure is the Ziggurat which offers the Leap of Faith; a daring 27.5 metre near-vertical drop down its face. We had no courage to give it a shot so we just go for the Shark Attack and the Rapids. Shark attack is a shoot and spin through a mysterious dark tunnel then emerging to a clear end tunnel giving a closer view of the sharks. The Rapids is a ride to over two kilometer path of tidal river with one metre waves in a lush tropical landscape.
The second part of our tour is a visit to The Lost Chambers. The journey provides insights into how the citizens of Atlantis may have lived and worked.
The walk brings you to a maze of underwater halls and tunnels under the Ambassador Lagoon. This pic was taken at the Seven Sages Chamber overlooking the lagoon. As I understand, the lagoon is ten meters deep filled with several large manta rays, sun fish, groupers and a variety of smaller sea creatures all found within the local waters of the Arabian Gulf.
Eous (my cam) was so busy today. Several shots were taken. Now, I’m thinking of opening my multiply account for posting some of my masterpieces (daw).
Arnelio is in town! He is a friend and colleague who is now based in Canada. He is here in Dubai for a 1-week visit.
For his first night, we went to Wafi City. This is a complex styled after ancient Egypt which includes a mall, hotel, restaurants, residences and nightclub. The design is a collection of columns reminiscent of pyramids and pharaohs. The main attraction of Wafi City is the pyramid-shaped Wafi Mall.
Another Dubai-based friend, Charrie also joined us. Both of them are my old buddies from the sunny company. We never thought that one day, we will reunite in this part of the world. Pardon me for not posting their close-up pix here as I need to get their approval.
For the dinner, we went to Seville’s; a Spanish inspired restaurant. We had chorizo, gambas and garlic-tomatoe bread for appetizer. For the main course, we had the house-special seafood paella and lamb stew. Surprisingly, this resto doesn’t serve steamed plain rice. But fortunately, the Pinoy waiter offered to buy the plain rice from the nearby restaurants as per our request. Of course, we left him an ample tip for his kind gesture.
It’s day 3 of our 5-day holiday and we’ve been to 3 random places. Our original plan was just to go jogging along the Jumeirah open beach early in the morning. As early as 7am, we headed to the beach with our packed breakfast of pancit, siopao and bread. There is a track for jogging and walking while another track was placed for biking. We jogged for around 20 to 30 minutes and have to stop because it’s already getting warmer. After the adrenaline rush, we decided to visit the nearby Madinat Jumeirah.
At the Madinat, we had the chance to take photos with the Burj Al Arab as the backdrop. It was still early so the place is not yet crowded. There were souvenir shops scattered along the pathways leading to the man-made river which is one of the attractions of this place. I did not bought anything other than taking some pix inside the shops. There is a boat that will take you to a cruise along the river but the ride practically doesn’t fit our budget. We ended the visit just enjoying a drink at Starbucks.
Then before lunch time, we found ourselves roaming in Ibn Batuta Mall. A gigantic mall with lavish architectural design based on different places where the great explorer - Ibn Batuta - had travelled. Imagine, some people we met had mistakenly thought that we are tourist. And as always, some kababayans did not recognise me as Pinoy. I am often classified as either a Malaysian, Japanese, Nepalese, Singaporean or Indonesian. It’s only when I responded back in Tagalog that they surprisingly say “kabayan”.
There is an iMax theater inside the China court. I have tried this kind of theater once at MOA in Manila. Perhaps, I’ll try this again here in my next visit. Ibn Batuta Mall is divided into six main courts such as China, India, Persia, Egypt, Tunisia and Andalusia. Among all the courts, I believe the best designed area is the China court. Everything are in fire red. The fountain in Andalusia court is also eye-catching with its tiger sculpture. Again, I have also taken some snapshots inside the shops. I got this pic with the predator and alien sculpture at my back. I wonder who would dare to buy this kind of stuff.
We ended the day at around half-past two in the afternoon. We need to take a bath and have a good after noon nap.
