our awesome world adventure

We set out from Dubai for the 160km drive through the desert and mountains to Fujairah to rejoin the ship … it was a fascinating drive … excellent road, of course …

… the fence is to to keep camels off the road …

… the further east we went, the more orange the sand …

We passed several of these, just standing alone by the road in the desert … a few petrol stations, and very little else …

We came to the coastal mountains. Surprisingly extensive and high. A beautiful winding road.

In parts, it was just like driving past huge piles of loose rock. No problems finding quarry stone in these parts!

Then to the coast. The outskirts of town looked new, hot, and boring.

The centre of town was new and glassy …

We passed a huge new mosque, almost finished construction …

… and then to the busy port which ships a lot of oil and serves the offhore oil rigs. Oh, and they cleared a bit of bare space for our cruise ship.

About two hours in a chauffeured new Lexus with Tom and Deanna Jones sharing – $US60.00 for each couple – not bad really! From what we saw and heard from others, we didn’t miss a thing not seeing Fujairah. We have no idea why Oceania stops there.

We took a Big Bus tour in the morning. Dubai has big buildings (many look empty) …

… and extraordinary roads. But off these freeways, terrible traffic …

… many suburban mosques. The Sultan has decreed no-one should have to walk more than 500 metres to pray!

We passed the 7 star Burj al Arab Hotel …

… on the nearly deserted beach …

… fun parks, and air conditioned bus stops …

… and on to the enormous artificial Palm Island, where sits the Disney-like Atlantis Hotel.

We drove past the Dubai Marina with apartment buildings 350+ metres tall (in the background) … favourite for ex-pats. And endless construction sites.

After the tour we walked this seemingly endless air-conditioned elevated walkway …

… to the Sofitel where we stayed the night (tallest building here).

Jan checked her email looking over this construction site (note the completed mosque in the middle).

We then checked out the old part of town, near Dubai creek …

… here is the Old Souk, where Jan clearly had fun.

In the evening we went to the 122nd floor of the Burj Khalifa.

… and had a (very expensive) drink with the Joneses.

The views before and after sunset are pretty special (even through the desert dust).

The city lights up after dark.

Next day we went to the other side of Dubai Creek …

… and visited the Gold Souk …

… and the Spice Souk …

This is frankincense and myrrh (to go with the gold of course)

Where, by accident we found a little Museum. This is where the Sultan sat to plan the first expansion of Dubai in the 1950’s.

Then back to the stupendous Dubai Mall … 1200 shops, and they are buliding an extension! It’s like many Singapore Malls all under one roof … I’ve never seen anything like it …

… nor have the fish in the internal aquarium!

More low key than Dubai, but it is the “capital” of the UAE and where the real money is.

I arrived back from Sydney via Dubai late in the afternoon, 24 hours before the ship.

I walked out and found what seemed like a quite underwhelming, and fairly dirty city … at least the older downtown area looked that way. It was very hot and the air thick with fine desert dust. Construction everywhere … roads and paths dug up … look down when walking! … lots of traffic …

As evening set in it was really hard to find an acceptable place for a drink and dinner …

So it was back to the hotel where the Arab food was really excellent.

Next morning early I went walking again. Huge hotels and offices …

… a dodgy park near “The Corniche” …

… with a fountain (half working) …

… this waterfront walk goes for “miles”, but it’s too hot at this time of year for it, or the beach along further.

I taxied to this – Marina Mall (left of centre) … 300+ shops, straight out of downtown USA.

… It was all shine and glitz, and throbbing with people … not!!

From there I looked back at The Corniche …

… across to the elaborate (and costliest to build) hotel in the world, The Emirates Palace (more on that later …) … (right hand half of the photo)

… and down from the tower onto the nearly completed new Sultan’s Palace!!

Then it was time to go meet the ship (Jan in the middle here) and for us to exchange news.

Next morning we took a Big Bus Tour. A much clearer, hotter day. We passed many mosques, and impressive buildings …

And the gateway to the Emirates Palace Hotel …

… and endless construction activity.

Then the highlight. The Grand Mosque. Biggest anywhere outside Saudi Arabia and third biggest in the world. Nearly brand new, with all the mod cons, this place is jaw-dropping.

White Italian marble, elaborate marble inlays, spectacular chandiliers, the worlds biggest carpet(!). Words can’t describe it. The pictures are a start …

Jan is standing in the main Prayer Room. It accomodates 40,000 at prayer …

Then to the World Trade Centre (the two tubes with funny tops) …

… which stands on top of a Mall and an interesting modern Souk.

In the evening Oceania treated us to a banquet at the Emirates Palace Hotel (stretched Hummers for transport!)

The Emirates Towers across from the Hotel looked nice at night …

… but inside is unbelieveable … the Hotel foyer has gold everywhere …

The Reception Room (for the pre-dinner cocktail party) was kinda nice too. Gold, mosaics, timber carving – no expense spared – opulent, but beautifully done. The Hotel has only 700 rooms, is thought to have cost $3 billion (I think) and is owned by the Government!

We banqueted, returned to the ship and set sail for Dubai.

The ship arrived in Muscat on another beautiful morning sailing past a rocky coastline, white buildings and Fort Al Jalali …

We docked at Port Sultan Qaboos Cruise Terminal right near the Sultan’s private “yacht” …

I joined two friends Deanna and Tom Jones (he can’t sing like his namesake!!) and we grabbed a taxi for the 20 minute drive to the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque … the must see highlight of any trip to Muscat …

Before entering the Mosque it was cover-up time … and was it ever hot … but dress code must be observed.

The gardens around the Mosque were really lovely …

The Mosque, which is one of the largest in the world, was just breathtaking …

… as was the 46 foot Swarovski crystal chandelier in the entry!!!!

The inside was truly beautiful, with spectacular marble panelling, more crystal chandeliers and mosaics …

It also features one of the worlds largest hand-woven Persian carpets … this whole area was one complete carpet …

We were farewelled by a couple of local worshippers.

… and headed for some retail therapy at the Muttrah Souk, another must do in Muscat.

Alley way upon alley way of shops selling absolutely everything from traditional clothing, perfumes, shoes and bags, souvenirs of every shape and size …

Oh, and did I mention jewellery … imagine me trying to make up my Libran mind in this store!!!!!

Fun day, but I did miss not sharing it with Geoff. (He was, however, joining me at the next port, Abu Dhabi)

After 4 days at sea with lights off and curtains drawn at night so as not to attract pirates(!), Jan arrived in Salalah, Oman. Not one of the world’s great tourist destinations!

Because I wasn’t there, Jan thought she would stay on board, but good friends Gerard and Chantal (yes, they are French, but living in Arizona) suggested sharing a taxi for a quick tour.

They found Saleem (!!)…

He took them to town …

… near the beach …

Then to the Al Husn Souq (that’s the back of Chantal)

… where they saw lots of frankincense …

… and other taxi drivers just hanging out …

Saleem suggested a “restaurant” for lunch … they all looked at the kitchen …

… and at the “dining area” complete with condiments on the “table” …

… they declined Saleem’s offer!!

They then went past the Grand Mosque (closed) …

… and back to the ship.

After we cooled down from the heat of Petra we boarded our bus and headed for the Wadi Rum, about an hour and a half away …

Upon arrival we dressed for the occasion …

… and headed for the Toyota Utes …

Then we were off in convoy across an amazing landscape of desert and canyons … eating sand and hanging on!!!

… passing a few locals along the way (just try to take a photo with one hand on the back of a bouncing ute!!)

Our first stop was for tea in a tent with a local tribe …

and a very curious kitten …

… and a rock carving of Lawrence of Arabia …

Then we were back in the utes …

… for another desert “bash” through Lawrence of Arabia territory … the colours and the rock formations were wonderous and the camera was overheating!!

We arrived at a Bedouin camp where we were greeted royally …

We were all seated in tents and entertained with drinks and dancing …

… then we all watched as our dinner was “dug up” from an underground oven … delicious smelling goat and chicken …

… and a wonderful buffet of meats and delicious local dishes and salads prepared for us …

After dinner, as the sun was setting over this stunning landscape, we again boarded our utes to return to the bus and back to the ship in Aqaba.

A fabulous day I will never forget.

Petra … “a rose-red city half as old as time”

We docked at the port city of Aqaba.. it was hot and very hazy due to the effects of a current sand storm. I teamed up with friends Tom and Deanna Jones and at 6.30am we were in the bus and heading for Petra.

The drive was very uninspiring … flat, hot and dusty …

But we passed Bedouin tents …

… and lots of camels along the way …

Two and a half hours later we saw our first glimpse of the new city of Petra …

We arrived at the Tourist Centre and headed off with our guide for the 45 minute walk to the ancient city … not too bad … 100 degrees but heading down hill!

There were plenty of horses and carts for those not fit enough for the walk … but what a tough life for these poor animals …

We passed the Obelisk Tomb on the way …

… and had our first glimpse of the entrance to The Siq, the ancient main entrance to Petra.

The Siq is an amazing 1200m long, deep and narrow gorge hemmed by cliffs up to 80m high … absolutely stunning.

Beautifully coloured rock formations, terraces and water channels to look at, while all the time dodging horses and carts racing through the gorge.

Just when you think you have reached “awesome overload”, you emerge from the Siq and come face to face with Al-Khazneh, the Treasury Building … the pride and joy of Petra and the most beautiful monument there.  30m wide, 43m high it was carved in the 1st century BC as a tomb for a Nabataean king. It is breathtaking and we stood speechless for several minutes just taking it all in.

From here we progressed further into the city, with lots of offers of camel or donkey rides along the way.

Down the Street of Facades …

… to the Theatre, almost all of which was carved into solid rock in the 1st century AD. It initially held 3000 but was later extended to hold about 7000.

Then past the Royal Tombs …

… to the Palace Tomb.

We had only seen a small portion of the city but it was time to retrace our steps back to the Treasury and through the Siq. Not an easy feat as it took 45 minutes, all uphill, and now a balmy 106 degrees. Should have taken the camel option!!

Back at the Tourist Hotel and after a couple of litres of ice water and lunch we were ready to head out into the desert …

Petra is one of the greatest archaeological treasures in the world. Some rank it the eighth wonder of the ancient world … a truly amazing experience.

Blistering heat … sand … and oh, soooo many flies …

Sounds like fun!

We started the transit at 4:30 in the morning … first in the convoy … but couldn’t see many of the followers for the dust.

When Jan woke at 6, all she could see was sand …

… and so the day continued …

… with the occasional green bits …

There was regular evidence of the military … including helicopters overhead …

The new canal had just opened and was fairly busy with cargo ships.

The transit finished at about 3:30 … and Insignia set sail for Aqaba …

Another day of touring on my own … this time the ship had changed departure time and so our five and a half hour tour was reduced by an hour so we were off and running from the moment we got on the bus.

First stop was the Mount of the Beatitudes and a beautiful church set in lovely gardens …

… with views out over a very hazy Sea of Galilee.

This was also the setting for the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus fed the 5000 …

Then we were off through the country side …

… to Yardenit and the River Jordan …

… and the scene of Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist … it was a bit “touristy” but nevertheless a nice half hour stop.

Back on the bus for a fast ride to Nazareth …

… and our last stop at the lovely Church of Annunciation.

This structure within the church is purported to be the remains of Mary’s house …

There were also many colourful mosaic panels from around the world decorating the walls.

As we exited the church we saw remains of part of the old city of Nazareth …

… and then back to the ship …

Notwithstanding the rush, a very enjoyable tour. I just wish I had Elizabeth Walker’s biblical wisdom to explain in more detail the sites we visited both here and in Jerusalem … Sorry!

Geoff had returned to Sydney and I boarded a bus for a 12 hour day visit to Jerusalem. A 3 hour bus ride and we had our first sight of the city.

Our first stop was at Mount Zion situated on a hill overlooking the old city.

We visited the Room of the Last Supper.

… the Tomb of King David

… and the Dormition Abbey

After lunch we drove to the Old City where we walked past old Roman columns …

… through crowded bazzars and narrow streets …

… to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

This church is built over the site where Jesus was crucified …

… the anointing stone where Jesus’ body was laid when he was taken down from the cross …

… and where he was buried.

We then walked along the Via Dolorose, the “Way of Sorrows”…

the final path Jesus walked on the way to his crucifiction and marked by the 14 Stations of the Cross.

We then proceeded to the Western Wall (the “Wailing Wall”), a sacred site for Jews.

Then it was back to the bus and a quick stop for a view over Jerusalem and the golden dome of the Dome of the Rock before the long ride back to the ship.

At times a very moving experience. The day was very hot, it was very crowded and I was quite nervous about losing the tour group, not to mention the presence of armed security all over the place (… no photos of them, of course!!!)