SmarTours

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Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Muscat–We loved them all!

Back home, we are remembering some of the wonderful experiences we enjoyed in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Muscat.   Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi was beautiful.

Front of Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. Photo from Wikipedia.

And we, as non Muslims, were able to go inside to see the largest carpet, largest chandelier and the grandeur of this mosque.   The fish market was fun and I, Zeb the Duck, got a fish.

fish market for a snack

An evening boat ride, dinner included, showed us old and new on the Abu Dhabi sky line.

Abu Dhabi skyline

A common sight, and sound, throughout our Middle East adventure, the minaret of a mosque with a speaker for the call to worship.

Minaret of mosque with speakers

We gave up a free day in Abu Dhabi to experience a little of Muscat, Oman.   Here we saw some old and some new.   Muscat is a few thousand years old.   We loved wandering through the souk.

We explore the souk

Driving through Muscat, we appreciated the absence of too many cars and the accompanying car noises.

Driving through Muscat, Oman

Here, our guide shows some of the new:  The Royal Opera House of Muscat, Oman.

Our guide in Muscat, Oman

Back to the United Arab Emirates, in Dubai we rode a traditional boat, or dhow, to cross Dubai Creek.

Tourists crossing Dubai Creek on Dhow

We admired Dubai Fountain with Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, all connected with Dubai Mall.

Burj Khalifa behind Dubai Fountain

Dubai Marina was bustling, but still relaxing for our lunch stop.

Dubai Marina from Salsa Restaurant

Mall of the Emirates provided indoor snow skiing and tubing on snow, in additional to fabulous dining and shopping.

Skiing and tubing

Souk Madinat Jumeirah was a modern souk.

I love meeting new friends

The narrow alley of Bastakia Heritage Area showed life before oil and oil money forever changed Dubai.

Narrow alley walkways

Aromas from the spice souk will be with us always.

Spice souk

Of course we loved the animals.   The unexpected flock of flamingos were wonderful to see.

Some are looking at me

And riding the desert native, a camel, made our trip even more memorable.

Our camel is friendly

Of course we will never the gold souk with those huge gold necklaces and gold hats.   But our fondest memories are of the kind, welcoming people we met.   Our trip was a tour through http://www.SmarTours.com.   We have taken tours from them previously.   This was Deluxe Dubai and Abu Dhabi.   The day trip to Muscat, Oman, was not connected to SmarTours.   Chanel’s mom made separate reservations for us and we loved our day in Oman.   We hope you visit Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Oman soon.   We loved it.

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Zeb the Duck Flies to New Places

We left Denver International Airport, changed planes in Los Angeles International Airport, and now learning about our new plane.

What???

What???

I, Zeb the Duck, can only read part of this sign.   Now a picture of our airplane appears.

Over 15 hours??

Over 15 hours??

Mom, does that say 15 hours and 15 minutes to our destination??  This is a long flight!   But the seats were big enough.   The plane was not full.   I am seeing the mountain peaks of California.

California's mountains

California’s mountains

And so much food.

That's a lot of food. And tasty chicken.

That’s a lot of food. And tasty chicken.

We received three meals and many beverages.   All delicious.  A long, but comfortable flight, and we were in the economy class seats.   This was nice.   Out the plane window, I see the lights of Dubai.

Approaching Dubai

Approaching Dubai

This is a huge airport.   We are in the United Arab Emirates, and this country was created December 2, 1971.   Everything is new and very big.   So much shopping here, but no time now.

Always places to shop

Always places to shop

We must clear customs and immigration, get our luggage and meet our tour guide.   We are touring with SmarTours of New York.   We meet Tariq, our guide, get on the bus and head for Abu Dhabi.   From the bus we see this mosque, with green lights.

Mosque at night

Mosque at night

Sheikh Zayed Road leads us from Dubai to Abu Dhabi.

Sheikh Zayed Road between Dubai and Abu Dhabi

Sheikh Zayed Road between Dubai and Abu Dhabi

About 2 hours driving through the desert will bring us to Abu Dhabi.   This highway is huge.   We see 5-6 lanes in each direction.   I don’t see much traffic now, but they say sometimes there are many vehicles.   We will stay in Abu Dhabi three nights, at the Southern Sun Hotel.

Southern Sun. Our home for 3 nights

Southern Sun. Our home for 3 nights

The lights move on the front of our hotel.   We have a nice, bright lobby.

Lobby of Southern Sun. Zeb the Duck and Chanel the Bear

Lobby of Southern Sun. Zeb the Duck and Chanel the Bear

And you can now see who is here with us!   Chanel the Bear, my good friend, and her mom are in Abu Dhabi.   We will have so much fun traveling together.  I, Zeb the Duck, wanted to find the swimming pool.   It is an outdoor pool on the top floor of the Southern Sun.

Southern Sun pool

Southern Sun pool

A little chilly now, so I won’t stay in here long.   Looking through the glass wall, it is a long way down.

From top of Southern Sun Hotel

From top of Southern Sun Hotel

Chanel and I, Zeb, take our moms for a walk around our neighborhood.   We saw many new things, several small shops and restaurants.   Even a money exchange office to change US dollars into United Arab Emirates dirhams.   We receive about 3.65 dirhams for each US dollar. Carefully sitting on the railing, we wanted to show you how wide the highways are in Abu Dhabi.

Wide highways through Abu Dhabi

Wide highways through Abu Dhabi

We love wide streets.   Walking on side streets, we are happy that most countries in the world use the same type of stop sign.

Stop sign

Stop sign

Isn’t this fun to see?   It is exciting to see new things.   Chanel and I, Zeb, want to show you so many things about our trip to the United Arab Emirates.   We hope you keep reading.