Hello from Dubai

After a very early morning, including successfully persuading the Air Emirates agent not to charge me for exceeding (!) my baggage allowance, I enjoyed a smooth flight to Dubai, arriving around 8 PM local time Wed evening (that's 3 hrs ahead of UK time for anyone keeping track...).

I am staying in a comfortable (...and compared to the 5 and 7 star hotels down the road...very affordable!) bed & breakfast in a residential neighbourhood about a 15 minute drive from the city centre. I thought I had pretty good directions to the b & b, however I quickly learned that each neighbourhood in Dubai 're-uses' street numbers, so to say that I am staying at the corner of 25th and 2nd street isn't really saying....much at all! Fortunately, my taxi driver knew the area (and English) well, so we found the place quickly :-)

My initial impression of Dubai is that it is very safe and clean but much more compact than I had expected - as one local told me '...it's small - but tall!'

This morning I was awoken by the early 'call to prayer' (the 1st of 5) from the local mosque, just one of 500 across the city...










The large Jumeirah mosque, an example of modern Islamic architecture


I spent most of the day hopping on and off bus tours around the city, which is known for its souks (gold, spices, etc), important financial district, man made islands, diverse mix of architectures and a little creek that runs through the middle of the city, leading out to the Arabian Gulf - here are just a few of the local sites....













The 'modern' side of the gold souk...(and NO, I did not buy a Rolex!)












Boat (abra) on Dubai Creek...












Mix of architecture in the Ruffles hotel (...even a Boots sign!)














Looking towards the 7-star audicious Burj Al Arab


Before signing off - I've just checked what is happening in Indonesia with the parliamentary election (held today) and fortunately, it seems like things have been pretty calm....

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/04/09/successful-election-marks-a-decade-democracy.html

More of touring around Dubai tomorrow, then out to Jakarta very, very early Saturday AM...