Ask any local what they like about where they live, and you almost always will get a ‘pro’ list, but you are also likely to get a ‘con’ list along with it. Such is life here in the Middle East. As with most things, I choose to focus on the positives. Though to be honest the speed with which the weather has turned in the past 2 weeks makes it a bit difficult right now. The good news is that with each day more and more faces become familiar to me and vice versa, so I am settling in to being a ‘regular’ in the places I frequent. The upside of that is that I get invitations to see places and do things that I would otherwise not know about. I get to learn more about this country we live in.
For example, in the past couple of weeks I have made 2 trips to Dub
ai just for fun. The first Dubai trip was midweek into Old Dubai with a few women from yoga class at the Club. We took a boat ride up Dubai ‘creek’ on a small covered boat called an abra. These are the traditional style of boats that have been used to transport 
people and goods for ages there. After our boat ride we had a nice lunch over the water and then wandered through the old souk. I wasn’t in the market for anything in particular, but 2 of the ladies I was with made some very nice purchases for themselves and their families. That was one of the last cool days I remember, and the breeze made it a very enjoyable day.
The following weekend I made the same trip, only this time with my husband. He had seen the 
photos and wanted to get there before the weather got too hot. I think we barely squeaked it in, though hot is really relative over here. 
Truthfully it is already hot. Way hot. But not too hot to function hot… yet. He and I shared an abra ride, and then opted for the air conditioned Dubai Mall instead of the souk.
Things to know about the Dubai Mall: It is right next door and conn
ected to the Burj Khalifa (the giant building from my previous Dubai post). It is the 5th largest mall in the world and houses the Dubai Aquarium, which is the biggest suspended aquarium in the world. You can see the fish swimming through the glass as you are doing your shoppin
g. We opted to go inside. Like many aquarium of this size, there is a glass tunnel you walk through that surrounds you with underwater life. This guy stopped to say hello.
Our admission included a glass bottom boat ride and a virtual reality animal viewing. This was my first experience with virtual reality anything. Here’s how it works: You step up on a roughly 3 foot radius round platform enclosed by a metal guardrail. You select what you want to see. In this case, you got to choose 3 wild animals you wished to view and learn more about. Then you press start. For the record, Larry chose sea turtles, manatees, and whale sharks. (He did much better sticking to the theme.) I chose meerkats, cheetahs, and spotted eagle rays. I’ve been diving with a school of those rays before, and my goal was to see how realistic the experience was. I was mesmerized. I learned quite a bit about all three animals (the meerkats are hysterical) and really felt very much like I was right there. I also learned why you wear a helmet and are surrounded by something you can hold onto. I must have banged my head 3 times looking all around me. Without the helmet I would have been down for the count, but what a kick. I would do it again in a heartbeat. The glass bottom boat ride and underwater zoo take you to a different level of the aquarium and you get an idea of how large this thing is. It’s pretty impressive. I would call a trip to this mall a worthwhile experience.
Then for something completely different, I went on a day trip 
this week with AWN (American Womens Network) to Nurai Island. (Some of you may have seen the pano shots I posted on my FB page.) You reach Nurai via water taxi from Saadiyat Island (which is on the southeast side of Abu Dhabi.) There is a secure parking lot and welcome center located just off the freeway, and the ride to the island takes about 15 minutes. Upon our group arrival to the island, we were treated to fresh fruit mocktails, and given a tour of one of their water front villas. 
This one was a 4-bedroom model that goes for 20,000AED ($5,450US) per night in slow season. It’s quite nice and really huge, with an amazing view. You cannot tell by the time of day that I took these, but the view of the sunset would be spectacular from here. The thing is, this place is only a 15 minutes boat ride and yet, there is no trace of Abu Dhabi. You cannot see the high rises from here. There’s really a sense of isolation and it feels great.
This place is truly fantastic. Conde Nast recently voted it one of the most amazing private islands in the world and it’s easy to see why. The gorgeous shade of turquoise water, and landscaping that is really well done and very unusually lush for the area make it something very different. 
The resort on the island was purpose built for luxury in the typically Emirati over the top way. If you want to stay, you can choose for a selection of waterfront houses or villas with 2-5 bedrooms, or poolside 1 bedroom hotel suites. There are 4 restaurants, 2 swimming pool areas (including a surf pool) and multiple beaches with varying activities available at each.
The island itself was originally quite 
small. The development company undertook a dredging and reclamation project to enlarge it. Sand was dredged up from the bottom of the sea and moved to create a good sized breakwater island upon which this resort was
built. You can see that clearly in the 2 photos I pulled from the net.
Day passes are available for anybody wanting to come out and play for a day at a cost of 420AED ($115US) per person. They bill it as a “minimum consumption fee,” which means that amount applies to your food and beverage tab, or spa treatments, or… whatever else available that you wish it to apply to. After 7PM there are no fees, and the restaurants on the island are open to the public by reservation, though I imagine the end result to be likely a bit more than the cost of a day pass. I didn’t get any pictures of the 
wine storage, but the selection is very nice, and very little of it is low end.
Photos of a Beachfron
t house:
It is truly enjoyable to be able to live in a place that has such a variety of things to do and see that differ so much from home. The next adventures will take us inland I think. I hear that there is a city with some altitude and associated cooler temps just a few hours away. I’ll let you know how that goes.
If you’d like to read more about Nurai Island, here’s a link: http://zayanuraiisland.com/
And here’s one for Dubai Aquarium: http://www.thedubaiaquarium.com/en/Default.aspx
I hope you are putting all these “show and tell” locations and info into a book. You are so much better than Rick Steves (who I hate, as to me he is condescending).
Wow, what a great compliment. Thank you PK!