DUBAI, March 31 - April 3, 2017

 DUBAI, March 31 - April 3, 2017

 دبي، 31 مارس / آذار إلى 3 أبريل / نيسان

 Burj Khalifa

 Now, I need to back up in my story, even before Egypt. Every year, it is my plan to travel somewhere special for my birthday. This year, I decided to go to Dubai, as I have always wanted to go here. But other places I had also been wanting to visit, was Israel, etc. I started searching, and found a cruise that left from Dubai, so this would work out perfectly... almost. In addition to Dubai, I have always wanted to visit the pyramids in Egypt. Unfortunately, the cruise I found, did not make a stop in Egypt. Since flights were not very expensive, I decided to fly first to Egypt for a few days, then use the return leg of my flight and continue on to Dubai. After my few days in Dubai, I would then join the cruise and continue on from there. This should all work in theory; and I am very happy to say it worked perfectly! 

After my early rise in Egypt to get to the airport, I was now ready to check in. It was a bit strange watching this process. Many people had multiple bags, and I would watch as the agent would send one after the other to go 'do something'; never really figured out what that was, but I saw one man open a larger suitcase and stuff a smaller suitcase into it, and basically stand on it to get it closed! Anyway, I was traveling light, so had no problems, only one small bag to check and one to carry on. Then we had to go through passport control and security. Before boarding the plane, we had to go through yet another security check. I had purchased a bottle of water after going through first security, but when I got to second security, he asked me about it. I said yes, I have a bottle of water, however, I purchased it inside the airport. He said it still wasn't allowed, so I stood there and drank it. Lots of armed security at this airport as well. Anyway, all was well, boarded without any issues.

Our flight path over Saudi Arabia. Since I was checking the security warnings, this did give me pause... "The State Department warns U.S. citizens to carefully consider the risks of travel to Saudi Arabia due to continuing threats from terrorist groups." Hoped they didn't know an American was on the plane and shoot us down ☺. But seriously, these thoughts enter my mind, but was not overly concerned, as I know when my time is up... it is what it is.

First thing when I arrived in the Dubai Airport, I got some Dirhams AED. The dirham to dollar exchange rate is fixed at a rate of 3.6725 dirhams to US $1 (or 1 dirham equals 0.272 US dollars). So 1000.00 Dirhams cost me USD $272.

The United Arab Emirates had a gross domestic product of about $377 billion in 2013, making it the 28th largest in the world and second among Gulf Coast Coalition nations. With the exception of Dubai, the emirates rely overwhelmingly on the exportation of oil and natural gas reserves, although they have been making steady progress toward diversification. The UAE economy has grown steadily and increased 230-fold between 1971 and 2012. Estimates place the UAE oil reserves as the seventh largest in the world.

The UAE experienced an annual inflation rate of 3.7% in 2015, a substantial increase over the 2014 rate of 2.3%. Despite concerns over inflation, investors consider the UAE dirham as among the world’s most stable currencies in terms of exchange rate stability. It has been pegged to the United States dollar at a rate of 1 U.S dollar to 3.6725 AED since 1978. The World Competitiveness Centre of the International Institute for Management Development (IMD), based in Switzerland, ranks the UAE dirham as the 24th most stable currency in the world, above the currencies of major European economic powers such as Germany, France and Italy, and Asian economic powers such as Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong and South Korea. This stability in exchange rates is important, since some estimates place the number of expatriates living and working in the UAE as high as 9 million, or roughly five times the number of Emirati citizens.

I was waiting at baggage claim to collect my bag, along with others, when I started a conversation with a young man that appeared to be another American. He was actually from the UK, but worked in Dubai for the transportation department. Wow, that was great, as I was able to ascertain good information about getting to my Hotel. So this is why I took the Metro from the Airport to the Business Bay Area, where my hotel was located. Was an excellent way to get there, as it put me within six blocks or so of my hotel, and I also got my first glimpse of Dubai along the way.  These two photos were taken from the Metro ride and I got my first view of the Burj Khalifa. Was so excited to see this city!

When I arrived in Dubai, I had been up since 4am, and sitting most of the day, so after exiting the Metro, I decided I wanted to just walk to my hotel. My two small bags have spinner rollers, and this makes it so easy to push them along. I couldn't see the hotel from this point, so I asked a taxi driver, and he gave me good directions. It was a beautiful sunny day and the 'scenery/Dubai skyline was spectacular, so I was just loving it. 

Now here is where my story of Dubai really begins. A most unusual thing happened. The story I am about to tell you, is almost unbelievable, and all I can say, is there certainly was divine intervention involved, as it is so unusual, I still find it difficult to realize it really happened. It affected my entire time in Dubai. So here goes...  (I will write in this story in Blue, as it didn't happen all at once, and I will continue to tell it throughout this blog post) 

When I was within three or four blocks of my hotel, a black SUV, with a very nice young lady around 30 years of age, pulled up along side of me and said, "Ma'am, please let me give you a ride. I was driving past, and saw you over near the Metro and thought you were going to get a taxi, but then I saw you take off walking. I've been driving around looking for you". I assured her, that would not be necessary, I was very near my hotel, and was enjoying the walk. She insisted, and reached for my bags and started putting them in the back of her vehicle, as she said, "I really want to do this as you remind me of my mother who passed away last year". Now, I have been one who has always listened to their sixth sense, and she seemed harmless enough, and I didn't feel threatened in any way, so I got in and off we went to my Hotel. She said, as we were driving along, "Thank you America for freeing us from Saddam Hussein". Then she wanted to know what I was doing for dinner, and would I like to have dinner with her. I told her I really was very tired and needed to do a few things this evening and wanted to be rested before tomorrow. She wanted to know what I was doing tomorrow, I told her I had a ticket to go to the 124/125th floor of the Burj Khalifa. That it was my Birthday gift to myself. She said, "what time". I said 10AM. She said, "I'll pick you up". I replied, that wouldn't be necessary, as I could take the hotel shuttle there, but she insisted and gave me her phone number. At this point, we had arrived at the hotel, and I thanked her for the lift and we parted ways. *story continues....

My hotel, Steigenberger. It was a very beautiful hotel. 

 The hotel lobby

My room was very nice! 

There was a window between the bedroom and bathroom, and with the push of a button, a 'wall' came down over the window, to give privacy. Took me a little while to find this, however, didn't make much difference, as there was no one to see me anyway. In addition I was up 16 floors, so not much chance of anyone else looking in either, even if I had left the window blinds open. ☺ 

The coffee, bar and refrigerator cabinet. 

It was such a cool room, and spacious. I had everything, including a scale to weigh myself! Like I really wanted to do that!  There were slippers, robes, etc. Beautiful. I knew for sure I was in Dubai! 

A flat screen TV, that the instructions said 'did everything', however, I never even turned it on once, as I was too excited to be out and about.

More about this photo later.

My first night in Dubai, and the view from my window.

And the view of the Burj Khalifa from the front of the hotel lobby. I was so excited to be going there tomorrow morning.

My hotel 

I had had a very long day, was very tired, and also needed to get a few things sorted out; bags unpacked etc., so I just ordered room service for a small bite to eat this evening.  Also wanted to take a wonderful soak in the extra long tub! Never seen one so long before.

*story continues.... Now, I am ready for bed, but after thinking about the time we had agreed upon for her to pick me up, I realized, that I really should go at least a half hour sooner, as I really didn't know exactly where I was going, and if for some reason, she had changed her mind and didn't pick me up, I didn't want to be short on time for my appointment. So at this point, I decided to send her a text and tell her I would like to go at 9 instead of 9:30. Almost immediately after I sent the text, my phone rang and it was her. She said, "I felt so bad about leaving you tonight, that after I went to the gym, I couldn't concentrate, so I left and went back to the hotel looking for you. Since I didn't have your phone number, and only knew your first name, I went into the hotel and asked for you by first name, and told them I was the lady who had brought you there. They said they didn't know you, and wouldn't give me any information. I was feeling so bad, thank you for texting me". So, she said, she would be there to pick me up at 9am.

April 1st. The day of my birth has arrived. Another year older! I love birthdays, except for that little detail ☺ But this morning, I was really excited to go to the Burj Khalifa!  

*story continues.... and sure enough, she was there on time, to pick me up. This photo of her. She is a lovely young lady. Her name is Fay. Last evening after she had dropped me at the hotel, she had also gone to purchase a ticket to go up the tower with me, in addition, she had asked them if she could take a cake up there, as she wanted to celebrate my birthday at the 'top' ! Can you believe that? What a thoughtful young lady. They told her no, but how thoughtful. So, now here we are at the entrance of the elevators, which are inside the Dubai Mall, waiting for our appointed time to go up, and she then went and bought me a large Starbucks... wouldn't let me pay for it.

As you can see from this ticket, it says Level 148. This was the ticket she had purchased and it came with a bonus ticket to see the 007 Exhibition. I had only purchased a ticket to level 124/125. Now, she insisted I take her tickets and she would take mine and then I would meet her at the 124/125th level after my time at the 148th. I refused, but again, she insisted, stating, since she lives here, she could go up anytime. So we traded tickets and I knew there was a huge price difference, but she wouldn't let me reimburse her.

There was other benefits that came with this 148th level. I now entered a private area,

where this young man served me coffee,

there were beautiful dates on the table to eat.

 After a short while two other couples arrived, then a private guide took us through security, into a private elevator and off we went to the 148th level.  

Speed: 1,968.5 feet/min, 22 mph
Height: 2,717 feet
Time From Ground To Roof*: 1 minute 22 seconds

When I arrived, we entered into this sitting area,  

where again, we were served drinks, snacks and 

Coffee!! All very private and only a few people here. We were told we could stay as long as we liked. 

This was an outside balcony at this level. 

I was enthralled and loving it! 

Couldn't stop taking photos. Had way to many to try and sort and post only the ones I thought were the best, but they all seemed to be the 'best', so ended up posting way too many. Oh well hope you enjoy. The next several photos speak for themselves.  

Not only is the Burj Khalifa the world’s tallest building, it impressively breaks several other records. Here are 10 fun facts about the Burj Khalifa we learned on our visit:

1. The Burj Khalifa stands at 828 meters (2,716.5 feet) tall, soaring over Dubai. It’s three times as tall as the Eiffel Tower and nearly twice as tall as the Empire State Building. Laid end to end, it pieces stretch over a quarter of the way around the world.

2. Aside from holding the World Record for being the tallest building in the world, Burj Khalifa holds six other World Records: tallest freestanding structure in the world, highest number of stories in the world, highest occupied floor in the world, highest outdoor observation deck in the world, elevator with longest travel distance in the world, and tallest service elevator in the world.

3. The weight of the concrete is equivalent to 100,000 elephants. The total weight of aluminum used on Burj Khalifa is equivalent to that of five A380 aircraft.

4. Every year 15 million gallons of water are collected sustainably,

5. It has the longest single running elevator, which is 140 floors. The elevators go 10 meters per second and are among the fastest in the world. It took us approximately only one minute to reach the observation deck on the 124th floor.

6. The tip of the sphere of the Burj Khalifa can be seen up to 95 kilometers away.

7. At the peak of construction, 12,000 workers worked on the building per day.

8. It took more than 110,000 tons of concrete, 55,000 tons of steel rebar, and 22 million man-hours to complete the Burj Khalifa.

9. Excavation began in January 2004. Six years later, the Burj Khalifa finally opened in January 2010.

10. Burj Khalifa is designed to resemble the Hymenocallis flower; the central core emerges at the top and culminates in a sculpted spire.

After about an hour or a little more here at level 148, Fay phoned me from the 124/125th floor.

This was the entry at level 125 where the elevators are located.  

The chandelier in the stairwell between 124th & 125th levels 

And this was the stairway leading between the 124th level, where the outside balcony was and the 125th floor. 

The 124th floor outside balcony. 

 

*story continues... Fay and I met up again here at level 125

Fay

Then we went outside to take a few photos. It is so huge.  

 This is where the Armani hotel is located at this ground entry level.

As you can see, certainly out of my price range!

Our guide told us that in addition to all the offices, restaurants and the Armani hotel with 304 rooms, there are 900 apartments in the Burj Khalifa and that all were sold within the first eight hours. If you want to see some pricing, check out this web site:

https://www.luxhabitat.ae/apartments-for-sale/dubai/downtown-dubai/burj-khalifa-tower/

other interesting facts: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burj_Khalifa

*story continues... Next was the 007 exhibit. Again Fay insisted I use her ticket, but I really would have preferred she go. She went there with me and when we arrived at the entrance, the lady 'let her in' anyway. She just looked the other way. I was glad Fay got to see it.

Here are a few shots of the exhibit. 

The bike 

The actors who played 007 

The cars 

Now it was time to hit the Mall proper! We were already inside the mall, as the Burj Khalifa entrance is from within the lower level of the mall. Now, before I left home, I had emailed a contact I had in Dubai. Then yesterday Cheryl & May contacted me again, confirming with me about meeting at the Mall for my birthday lunch on April 1st. So that is where we headed next.  

Inside the Mall

*story continues... I asked Fay to join us for lunch, and she said she would, however, she had a tooth that had been bothering her and was waiting to hear back from her dentist if he could 'work her in'. 

Here is Fay walking with May and visiting up a storm. Fay was such a lovely person, and just seemed to enjoy being with us. 

Pat from Arizona, was visiting May here in Dubai. Here she is with Cheryl Lumley, from Canada.

Since she was more familiar with the foods and places to eat, she took us too this lovely restaurant, down this aisle with dozens of hanging umbrellas. Milas Restaurant, serving middle Eastern food. Fay had at first offered to take us all to her cousin's restaurant here in Dubai, but since it was some distance away and May and Pat had limited time, we decided to just eat in the mall. Excellent choice. Food was delicious. Unfortunately, her dentist rang at about this time and she had to go to her appointment. She said she would return afterwards. Now, I really didn't know if she would return or not. *story continues after lunch...

Such a cool restaurant.  Ipads for ordering

Cheryl Lumley originally from Canada, now in Dubai

May Gatan originally from the Philippines, now in Dubai 

Pat from Arizona, here visiting May who she has known for years. 

 The four of us having lunch. It was so special to be with these lovely ladies for my birthday.

Fabulous Sem Sem salad (Cheryl & I), beetroot salad (May), Chicken Shawama Bites (Pat). The drinks... everything so tasty! This place was a great choice

Sem Sem Salad. Cucumber, tomato, carrot, radish, onion and sesame seeds served with pomegranate dressing

Milas version of Naan bread eaten with pesto, hummus, whole chickpeas in a sauce, sesame seeds in oil, etc. I could have made a meal of this alone!

Tabbouleh eaten with the bread

and this drink of fresh lemonade and fresh mint leaves blended up was so good, that I ordered these everywhere I went after this! 

And of course no meal is complete without a coffee to finish it off, and Starbucks was just 'right there' next door

Pat, Cheryl, me, May

After the coffee stop, May and Pat had other plans, but Cheryl and I went shopping!

Here are just several random shots inside the mall 

Ice skating rink  

 The wonderful dates in all these countries over here. They taste so good.

 And my shopping was a success! Found two skirts and a top, both things that I had been hoping to purchase, and they were on Sale! Of course, a pair of pj's just because ☺

It has now been a couple hours or more, and time for another coffee!   Since it was Saturday, Cheryl needed to leave me now.

 My coffee was served in this cup. I took it and sat down at a table where a young English couple were sitting and had their laptop plugged in. It was very near 'The Bookstore'. My phone was out of charge, so they kindly shared the plug with me. I wanted to go the the bookstore for a special reason, but first I needed to make a phone call. Now the Fay story continues

*story continues... Now at this point, I wasn't sure whether I should call Fay or not, thinking perhaps she 'tired' of hanging out with me and perhaps she was also wondering if I really wanted her with me, since I was with other 'friends'. Anyway, I figured I should at least give her the benefit of the doubt and let her know where I was. So after my phone had a bit of charge, I phoned her. She said she had been waiting for my call! So I told her where I was sitting having a coffee and would wait for her there.

Here is where I will tell you 'The Rest of The Story'. When we were at the top of the Burj, Fay shared her story with me. She is the daughter of the lady that was written about in this book. Mayada was Fay's mother, who had passed away from cancer last year. Fay was in her final year at University, when she left to care for her mother. She cared for her for three years, until she succumbed to the cancer.

While in Iraq, her mother, Mayada, had been imprisoned, but she and her two small children finally escaped and fled to Jordan. Now I understood why Fay was reaching out to me, and friending me. Her earlier statements about me looking like her mother, me being an American and about 'USA freeing them from Saddam Hussein', all made perfect sense now. This is the book I went to the bookstore to purchase, as I really wanted to read it. Also, after telling May about this, I actually purchased two copies, so May could have one as well. I saw May again on Sunday evening and gave it to her.

It is a fascinating read, and once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. Fay has never married and lives with her brother here in Dubai. He is married to an American. His wife is converting to Muslim. Fay also told me Muslims cannot convert to any other religion. Severe penalties for this; punishable by death. Their father is still in Iraq, and they have no contact with him. 

The Lovely Fay

Time to exit the Dubai mall and the Burj Khalifa and see other parts of Dubai

A nice restaurant in the Burj Khalifa that we went through to get down to the Armani hotel at the front of the tower. 

*story continues... Now my day was far from over with this lovely lady. She wanted to take me around and show me other things in Dubai, so off we went.

Several photos now of buildings and things we saw the rest of the afternoon 

Mosque along the beach area 

Chicago Beach

 I wasn't expecting to be at the beach today, but wanted to take a short walk on it anyway.

 Behind me in this photo and the one below is the world's first seven stars luxury hotel, The Burj Al Arab "Tower of the Arabs", also known as "Arab Sail" is the most luxurious hotel in the world. At 1,053 ft, it is the third tallest building in the world used exclusively as a hotel. The Burj Al Arab stands on an artificial island 920 ft out from Jumeirah beach, and is connected to the mainland by a private curving bridge. If you are not a registered guest, or have restaurant reservations, you are not allowed to even cross the bridge. It is designed to mimic the sail of a boat. Despite its size, the Burj Al Arab has only 28 double-story floors which accommodate 202 bedroom suites. The smallest suite has an area of 1,820 sq ft and the largest 8,400 sq ft. It is one of the most expensive hotels in the world. The cost of staying in a suite begins at USD $2,000 per night; the Royal Suite is the most expensive, starting at USD $28,000 per night

The architecture of the buildings here in Dubai are astounding! 

Earlier in the day I saw these buildings from above, now I am seeing them from the street level. Any way I see them, they are amazing! 

Now as dusk was gathering, we headed to the Garden Glow theme park, and again Fay refused to let me pay for my ticket.

While I was there, I needed to use the restroom... after one look at this, I don't think so!

I had taken photos of these buildings from high above them, from the street level during the day, now as we headed back downtown, was time to take some night photos. They take on a different look, and are just as beautiful any way you see them.

At night all the lights on all the palm trees are lit. 

 A cool restaurant with tents and gardens, but chose the one next door... see next photos

*story continues... still April 1st, and the day isn't over yet. Fay wanted to treat me to dinner for my birthday. She stopped along the street and asked me to go check out this restaurant, and the one in the photo above, to see if I would like to eat at one of these. I told her they were both beautiful.

And Vida it was. What a gorgeous setting. I could see the Burj Khalifa the whole time we were there. 

 When you enter, this is the setting

And this is where you sit to eat with the pool at our feet

Or lay if you choose. What a great way to let your dinner settle! 

 The view from my table/bed. Seemed like I just couldn't get enough of looking up at that tower.

And of course, the lemon/mint drink 

The delicious smorgasbord of food 

and the Lovely Fay who gave me a Fairytale Birthday. I don't think I will ever be able to top this birthday celebration. What a day!!!

By this time, though, I really wanted to make sure that I was very clear about what she wanted from me, so I asked her straight up. I didn't want any surprise endings or hard feelings, and just wanted to make sure, that there was no hidden agenda. I told her if she was wanting to be my guide, I would pay her, etc. Of course, I offered to pay for dinner and also to fill her auto with fuel, but she wouldn't let me. After I had asked her, with a smile on her face, she had messaged her friend and told her what I had asked. The short of it was she truly was doing all this from a good place, and was enjoying it almost as much as me. An amazing young lady.

and last but not least she surprised me with this Birthday cake and the live music that was playing, sang and played happy birthday to me.

What a magnificent day!

 They yellow gold building is the World Trade Center.

And a few more photos on the way back to my hotel.   

Then when I arrived back at my hotel, there was yet another surprise for me! I found this in my room, along with a new pair of slippers beside my bed, an additional water and glass.  What a finale to the most awesome day! 

And that concluded the day of April 1, 2017, my 64th birthday. What a day it was. I am sure there will never be another quite like it!!!!!

Sunday morning April 2nd. Fay had asked me what I was doing on Sunday, however, I had already pre-booked a tour before I left home, so was obligated to do that today. In addition, I was meeting May Gatan again this evening for Sunday Class at 7:30 at the Naidoo residence.  I would have loved to have invited Fay to come with me, but there are strict rules here in Dubai about this, so probably was best, that I already had previous plans. Again, I think this was not just happenstance. May will try to contact Fay at a later date perhaps, if that should open up.

Different day, more photos! 

Photos from a different angle today, as we went to the  

When we arrived at the Souk, I hadn't had breakfast yet and wouldn't you know, they had a Cinnabon in here, so I had one of these for breakfast. It tasted so good. Been a few years since I've had one of these!

ATLANTIS HOTEL, THE PALM JUMEIRAH

Inside the hotel 

The beautiful beach in front of the hotel 

We stopped along the way at a shop where these beautiful rugs were. 

In the waiting area, the sofa had these wonderful movable arm cushions! Fantastic idea, so comfortable

The whole of United Arab Emirates is amazing. Everywhere we went, there was just more and more and more tall beautiful buildings. The haze hung in the air so dense, that I couldn't even see much of this yesterday even from the top of the Burj Khalifa (any way not in enough detail to recognize it).  

All these beautiful waterways around the branches of the Palm 

The building with a 'TWIST' 

Lots of Mosques 

 Beautiful walkways, fountains, etc. There just wasn't anything that wasn't beautiful here. The amount of money in UAE is beyond comprehension. Yet, for all this, they have built it on the sand.... something to think about...

Then I went to the aquarium. These first two photos were actually taken yesterday, as this was the location I had told May and Cheryl I would meet them. But today, April 2nd, I came back on my paid tour and entrance fee to the aquarium. In addition, I got to go back up to the 124/125th level of the Burj Khalifa, as the tour guide was taking everyone else up this day. I told him it wasn't necessary, as I had already gone up yesterday to celebrate my birthday, so he said, then for sure you are coming, so I actually got to go up a second time for free! This birthday celebration seems to be continuing... I like it! Took more photos... like I didn't already have a few hundred! But did get some excellent ones.

At this point, the tour was finished, and it was getting near 3pm. I was getting hungry, and had seen the Cheesecake Factory yesterday, so decided this is where I would like to have my late lunch, early dinner today, before I went to Naidoo's to meet May and others for 'class'.

And I had nachos! and another lemon/mint drink.

After I ate, I caught the Hotel Shuttle back to my hotel to get cleaned up for 'class'. I had hoped to get back in time for a short nap first, however, it was later than I expected when I arrived back, so just had a shower and a brief rest and quiet time.  I called down to the front desk to ask for a taxi at 6:30. This would give me an hour to go about 10 minutes away, however, I wanted to make sure to allow for ample time for 'getting lost'. It's a good thing I considered this. When I got down to the lobby my taxi arrived on time, however, he refused to take me. I knew there were several similar addresses in UAE area, so I had googled the address, with specific directions to the exact place I needed to go. I had gotten this information from Cheryl before I left home. I also had a map with exactly the best way to get there. That didn't matter, he still said he wouldn't take me. The doorman of the hotel observed this, so he inquired where I needed to go and I showed him. I also asked why the taxi driver wouldn't take me there. He indicated they don't like going into residential areas! Now, I will have to say, I have not felt the least bit unsafe here in Dubai, and even spent the whole previous day with a total stranger, so this surprised me a bit. However, there did seem to be an 'undercurrent' here, not something I can describe, but I certainly felt it from time to time. Money is the major focus here, and Fay was telling me that you get judged by having or not having the latest vehicles, etc. A real money driven society. Anyway, back to my dilemma. The doorman asked if I would be okay to take a private car hire, and at this point I guess I didn't have much choice. So he called over a young man standing there who proceeded to look at my map and directions, then said he would charge me 50 dirhams (about $13). So off we went and he did a fine job. By the time we arrived there, it was now dark, and it was hard to tell if we were exactly at the right place, but again, Cheryl had previously provided me with a photo of a specific ID tag attached to the perimeter fence. We couldn't see it while driving down the street, so the nice driver got out and walked it until he found it, before letting me out. Also, told me that if I needed to be picked up later and taken back to the hotel, just to give him a call. He gave me his phone number. 

And here we are at Naidoo's! What a lovely evening to be with so many who I had USA connections with. The tall man on the left, is Ada Newman's nephew from Oregon.. I've known Ada for 40 years, and also Lila Mahaffy, another relative of his. May Gatan of course, and Pat visiting her from Arizona. Also, Justin Styan. Other's connected through mutual friends. I was disappointed to not meet the Naidoo's this time though, as they were in South Africa visiting their family there. I will post a photo of them from a previous time though, as some may know them.  

 What a special Sunday 'class'. 

Family photo of the Naidoo's. Not my photo

I seems my camera just won't quite taking photos... had to get one more shot in tonight on the way back. Justin Styan brought me back to my hotel.

The evening was so lovely, and I was a bit hungry, so went down to the restaurant and ate my dinner out on the boardwalk with this beautiful views. My last dinner and evening in Dubai. 

The restaurant

Time for bed... my last sleep in Dubai. I said I would tell more about this photo. This is how much cake was left. I did my best to eat it in two days, however, that was a lot of sweet! I took off most of the frosting as I ate, but still, I've been off sweets for a long time and it was a sugar overload.

*story continues... I needed to call Fay before I retired, as I knew she had wanted to spend today with me, and I would have loved to have spent it with her. Anyway, I gave her a call and she asked what I was doing on the next day; Monday. Of course, she knew about my cruise, but I would have some free time in the morning. I had checked the metro, and it would take me directly into the Ski Dubai mall, so that is what I had planned for the morning. She wouldn't hear of me going on the metro, and wanted to know what time she could come pick me up and take me. I really didn't know at this point, because I really did want to sleep in the next morning. Also, I needed to get packed up and checked out of the hotel. Anyway, I left it that I would call her the next morning after I had a better estimate of the time.

Next morning sitting outside for one last breakfast. Now I was rested, all packed and checked out. I called Fay and we agreed to meet at one o'clock.

Time to get some breakfast and a couple cups of coffee.

As I was sitting there just enjoying my last breakfast out in the beautiful sunny morning, I observed these four gentlemen having a meeting I guess they were. Anyway, they were speaking in English. I continued with my breakfast, and when I finished, I walked to their table and said, "Excuse me gentlemen, which of you are the richest?" I am still amused at their expressions... this was a very serious question for these people here in Dubai, as they base their whole persona on their wealth. Immediately, three responded and pointed to the fourth saying, "he is".  I then turned to him and said, "do you need an American Grandma?".  I paused a moment, then turned and walked away, and could still hear them laughing after I was far around the corner. 

After that, it was nearing one o'clock, so I went outside the hotel to take a few last shots of these beautiful buildings, and of the Burj Khalifa.  

 They have the coolest street lights.

*story continues... Fay arrived. While I was waiting there, one of the doormen was talking with me when Fay pulled up. As he saw here, he said oh, that's you! Then he turned to me and said she came to the hotel looking for you the night you arrived. Anyway, was nice to have confirmation of what she had already told me. She seemed happy about it too. And then we were off to Ski Dubai.

Gearing up to be a hot day in Dubai. It was already 97 F 

We didn't stay too long at this mall, as I really mostly wanted to see the indoor skiing.

*story conclusion. At this point, it was time for me to go to the Port to get checked in for my cruise to continue the rest of my journey. When we arrived at the security entrance, they would not let us pass through, as no personal vehicles are allowed in. There I needed to get a taxi to take me the rest of the way. There was a taxi just coming back from delivering someone to the ship, so he pulled over. She wouldn't even let me take my luggage from her SUV to the taxi, then she prepaid the taxi driver! Can you believe it. She treated me like a queen. She is a REAL Princess!! A heart of Gold. Genuinely beautiful inside and out. I truly believe God brought us together. There just is no other explanation. Goodbye for now sweet, darling Fay. With love for you in my heart, I will never forget you and all you did for me and with me! Here is the message she sent me after I left, "Inshallah you enjoy and go back safe my sweet heart. I loved you from the bottom of my heart. God bless you mum ♥"

Aboard the ship, looking back at the city.

The haze never lifts for long for very far.  

And as the darkness gathers, we pull from the shore headed south to Oman.  

 Goodbye Dubai. Goodbye May, Goodbye Cheryl. and Goodbye sweet Fay. If a way opens up and it be God's will, we all WILL meet again!

Side note: Muslims claim that Jesus was one of the most important prophets—not God’s Son. Islam asserts that Jesus, though born of a virgin, was created like Adam. Muslims do not believe Jesus died on the cross. They do not understand why Allah would allow His prophet Isa (the Islamic word for "Jesus") to die a torturous death. Yet the Bible shows how the death of the perfect Son of God was essential to pay for the sins of believers (Isaiah 53:5-6; John 3:16; 14:6; 1 Peter 2:24).

As the sun set behind a cloud of dust, I was moving on to the next phase of my journey. Next blog post will be interspersed with the cruise, Oman, Jordan, Dead Sea and Suez Canal.