1. Intro
2. Recap of week 76 to 82
3. Dubai and the world’s biggest gimmick
4. Many places are private and closed off
5. Stepping back in time in Bastakiya
6. Dubai Marina my favorite hangout place
7. Exploring the Arabian peninsula by looping Oman and crossing Saudi Arabia

I explored the old city and the souks in and around Bastakiya, looked at people sailing around in a Venice look-a-like place called Madinat Jumeirah. I got lost in Dubai Mall, the world’s biggest shopping mall, and got a stiff neck looking up at the jaw dropping Burj Khalifa. I did many evening walks along the winding Dubai Marina Promenade and chilled out at sunset time on the boardwalk of the Palm Jumeirah.

I was due for a winter break in Dubai. I wanted to stay static for a while, taking the opportunity to order some parts for my bike and enjoy some big city life off the bike. My family also paid me a visit over New Year’s. Time flew by fast while I explored the different parts of Dubai. It’s a wide stretched city so getting from one point to the other takes a long time and you easily add up days. I took some time planning the next months of biketouring and I’ve decided to loop around Oman and cross Saudi Arabia. First up is Oman where I’m headed in a few days.

Yeah, I was not that impressed by Dubai. It’s overrated and hyped to a level it does not deserve in my opinion. Guess some of the hype is due to the fact they have the world’s biggest in EVERYTHING. That seems to be their gimmick. World’s biggest building, biggest shopping mall, fountain and water park. World biggest ferris wheel and indoor waterfall. And they advertise this on billboards that seem to be the world’s biggest as well. But big is not a default stamp of quality. Biggest is not best.

However, the world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa, was more than impressive. That was definitely worth a visit and I actually came back several times both during day and night. During the day I chilled out in the grass next to the Burj Khalifa Lake and at night I marveled upon the world's highest light show and watched the water dance to music in the Dubai Fountain.

I had this idea that Dubai would be like Rio de Janeiro with an epic long beach front that I could walk at night. Perhaps the beach front is there. I couldn’t tell because so many areas are closed off. They are private and belong to hotels. I tried walking from Dubai Marina towards the Burj Al Arab, the hotel shaped like a sail of a ship, and realized I couldn’t walk along the beach front. It was all private and shut off. The same goes for Palm Jumeirah and Madinat Jumeirah. Madinat is a Venice look-a-like and a charming place to walk around. The canals stretches very far which is evident from a map, but you can only walk a tiny fraction of it.

I’m used to being able to walk around freely in and around neighborhoods and all these gated communities and walled off private areas seems so restrictive. I understand this is to give privacy to the residents and guests of the respective places but it gave me the impression of a fragmented city.

Bastakiya, in the northern part of Dubai, is located next to a river cutting into the desert and looping back into the ocean further south. The river is called Dubai Creek. This is the old part of Dubai and you’ll get a glimpse of how the city used to look before they found oil. Instead of skyscrapers, you have small and square sand colored buildings with their signature wind towers - a natural way to cool the houses before the entry of air conditioning. The whole area is now made into a classic tourist trap with trinket and souvenir shops and western cafés everywhere. Despite this I really loved the relaxed atmosphere compared to other places in Dubai and walking along the creek was a refreshing leisure time activity.

From Bastakiya you can take a river taxi that will transport you over to the other side of the creek. It’s a very short ride only lasting a few minutes but very convenient when you are on foot. I took these mini cruises of the creek several times. Opposite Bastakiya lies Deira and the Souks. The term souk is used in Arab speaking countries and in general it is synonymous with a bazaar or marketplace. I walked around the gold souk and got blinded by all the bling bling and in the spice souk I could almost taste the fragrances that whirled around in the air. Navigating the narrow streets of the souks and trying to dodge pushy sellers was a fun activity for a day.

Besides circling the labyrinth of the souks, I found myself walking the promenade of the Dubai Marina many nights. This place is packed with skyscrapers and you are surrounded by sparkling lights and modern mayhem everywhere you go. You follow the snake like promenade walking along big yachts and fancy eateries and if you walk in a southward direction you will swing out onto the Jumeirah beach and get a view of a giant ferris wheel beautifully lit up by a hypnotic light show. I often sat down on the beach trying to take it all in.

I came here on my first day in Dubai and kept coming back. It was such a refreshing contrast to Georgia, Armenia and Iran. But somehow all the energetic commotion both fascinates and tires me. After spending some time there my cup was quite full. And this is how I feel about Dubai in general. I am not going to do much biketouring in Dubai. That was never the plan.

From Dubai I will head north and follow the coast until I reach the Omani enclave of Musandam. It will take me only two days. From there I plan to take a ferry to Shinas and the main part of Oman. I’ll spend a month doing a loop around the northern part of Oman and then bike to Saudi Arabia trying to cross the vast spaces of the Empty Quarter and end up in Jeddah at the Red Sea coast.

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