Dubai - Day 2

Wiley and I woke up at 3:45am this morning and could not go back to sleep! We went to breakfast early and then decided that we would head for the beach. Our hotel is in Old Town Dubai...which is basically downtown. I have included several pictures of our hotel and hotel room below. Because our hotel is not on the water, there are other hotels in Dubai that will allow you to purchase a day pass to have access to thier pool and beach. We decided to do that since it is just too hot to do anything else outside and we didn't feel like walking around malls all day!



The pool at our hotel

Our hotel room
The hotel that we decided to go to was the Jumeirah Beach Hotel. It is right next to the Burj Al Arab hotel which is famous because of how exclusive and expensive it is.

Jumeirah Beach Resort

Burj Al Arab
You are not allowed to go in the Burj Al Arab unless you are a guest or you have a reservation at one of the restuarants. We thought about going to afternoon tea there so that we could see the inside of the hotel, but changed our minds once we realized how expensive it was. We decided that we were content with just seeing the outside of it!

Our set up on the beach
I wasn't sure what to expect when we arrived at the beach, but it was very nice. The sand was white but felt a little bit like clay. The water was clear and warm and very salty. Wiley and I both agreed that Destin is much better though:) I was worried about getting in a bathing suit because we are in a Muslim country and I wasn't sure what sort of beach attire would be accepted...but I quickly realized that I was comletely fine. I wore a tankini and I was the most conservative one there...we saw far too many thongs and speedos for one day!

Wiley excited to jump in the gulf....2 minutes later, he lost his sunglasses

The pool at Jumeirah Beach Resort

We stayed on the beach for a couple of hours and then moved to the pool. I think that we picked the perfect way to spend the day. It was so relaxing to just sit by the water and read our books. We ate a late lunch and then headed back to our hotel.
For dinner we decided to walk back to the Dubai Mall. It was amazing to see so many people by the water front. I don't think we saw one person walking around outside during the day, but once the sun set, there was such an ecclectic group of people surrounding the mall and Burj Kalifa area. Just as we arrived at the water, Celine Dion came blaring through the speakers and a water show began. It reminded me of the one at the Bellagio in Las Vegas...except maybe better. We decided to eat outside so that we could continue to people watch. There are people here from so many different nationalities. It was so interesting to see all of the men and women in traditional Muslim dress. There were many women wearing Burkas and walking around with thier children and talking on thier blackberries. We are all the same and yet so different. Sitting by the water at that cafe was such a wonderful way to end the day. Tomorrow we leave for Africa. While I am definitely glad that we decided to stop in Dubai and have really enjoyed our stay here, I am ready to leave for Kenya and to see Tenwek. I know that it is going to be an adjustment to go to a place of such abundance to one that is in so much need. I will try to update the blog when we get there, depending on our access to internet.

Walking to the Dubai Mall

Eating dinner by the water in front of the Burj Kalifa and the Dubai Mall

The water show