Dubai, Oman and the Gulf of Aden

March 30, 2015

Today we passed through the Strait of Bab El Mandeb which links the Gulf of Aden with the Red Sea. We were within 3 miles of Yemen on the starboard side and 7 miles of Somalia on the port side. In addition to the razor wire draped around the ship and the strategically-positioned water cannons, the captain cranked up the engines to a speed of 23 knots. Although we could see the outlying islands of Yemen from the ship, the only excitement we experienced was a military helicopter (no one is sure from what country) that flew over the ship in both directions. Now we are in the Red Sea and will soon leave the coast of Yemen and sail along the coast of Saudi Arabia. On April 2^nd we will arrive in Al Aqabah, Jordan.

March 23-24 – Dubai, UAE

Our friend Warren Walker refers to Dubai as “Due Bill” and we now understand why. After 30-years of massive building projects, this emirate (one of 7 in the UAE) is deeply in debt and many of the building projects are either abandoned or on hold. Even its most impressive project – Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building – was only completed because Dubai’s fellow and much richer emirate, Abu Dhabi, provided the money to complete the project. The entire area, while impressive, reminded us of the little rich kid with all the toys.

The first day we toured the “architectural marvels” of the city, including a trip up to the observation deck of the Burj (means tower) Khalifa. Although we were higher than in any other building, we were still 14 floors below the top. Those floors are private apartments. The entrance to the tower is inside the world’s second largest mall – the Mall of Dubai.

We also saw the Burj Al Arab, the infamous sail-shaped hotel located on Palm Jumeirah. We did not go inside because no one without a reservation is allowed in – not even in the lobby.     

Then it was on to the Mall of the Emirates (These folks love to shop!) where we saw Ski Dubai, the world’s only indoor ski dome featuring fresh, real snow year-round. Weird!

The second day we struck out on our own and took a taxi to the Creek District – old Dubai. While riding the water taxi across the river we sat next to a nice British couple who have been working in Dubai on and off since 1973. They steered us to a wonderful Arabic restaurant right on the water where we enjoyed delicious food and watched the water taxis and Dhows. The Dhows were being loaded with goods to take to near-by Iran. Dubai continues to maintain economic relationships with Iran in spite of USA’s economic sanctions. We also strolled through the nearby silk 

souk (market), visited some spice markets, and found an art fair in the Dubai Heritage region.

One thing we did not see either day were regular Dubai citizens. Because every citizen receives a guaranteed annual income, housing, medical and education, the emirate imports the workforce. Of the 8-million residents in Dubai, only 15% are citizens. The other 85% are foreign residents. It is impossible to obtain Dubai citizenship unless one is born there and at least one parent is a citizen. Visas must be renewed every two years and the unemployed are returned to their countries of origin. Workers age 65 must return home with no pension other than personal savings. Those workers also have no health coverage. Seems, in light of Dubai’s current economic problems, this system may be unsustainable.

That was Dubai, then we were on to Oman – a very different experience.   More about that visit tomorrow.