DUBAI, OMAN AND LOTS OF PARTIES

Dubai is not quite as frantic as it was during our previous visits there.  It is obvious that the economy has cooled down considerably and we were told that many of the impressive office towers and condos are now empty.  But you can see from the photograph of the fountain in a huge shopping mall (1200 stores) there are still many interesting things to see.  We stayed overnight there where over a hundred passengers disembarked and a few familiar faces got on.  Val and John from South Africa decided to come back and it was a pleasant surprise to see them. Also, Robert and Keith from Chicago are on board.   We are now down to only 220 passengers in total for this last portion of the cruise but still a full complement of staff even though some (like Sujith) have been replaced.  We enjoyed dinner with him the night before he left in Muscat.

 

I've included some photos taken at Mike Lloyd's birthday party where many of the staff dropped by to convey their best wishes.  It seems as if there is something happening every night now until the cruise ends.  People all want to get in a last dinner or farewell party. 

 

The morning we arrived in Muscat it was already 36C by 9:00 a.m. and we made a quick visit to my favourite Souq in this part of the world.  It is clean and orderly and the merchants love to bargain.  I picked up a few souvenirs and we got Ken a new pair of handmade sandals which was our main goal.

 

We returned to the ship before noon and then headed off to the Al Bustan Palace hotel where, along with Niels and Molise, we were hosting Mike and Linda and Wendell and Jerome for lunch.  W & J lived in Muscat for four years in the late eighties and it was fascinating to hear them recount tales of picnics and barbeques on the beautiful beach where the hotel now stands.  It is quite an impressive structure and we enjoyed some delicious local dishes before finishing our wine and dessert out on the patio. 

 

We had a 5:00 p.m. departure time and the Captain had invited Ken to join him and his officers on the Bridge for our sail away.  He was there for about an hour and had the best view of Muscat and the coastline as well as the mechanics of manoevering our ship.  He was quite impressed by the whole thing! 

 

We are still on pirate watch with total "lights out" at night.  We will be until we arrive in Safaga for our last WC event which is a night in Luxor and dinner on the Nile in a Dahabia boat as well as another visit to the Valleys of the Kings and Queens.  King Tut's tomb is now open again - it was closed when we were last there so we'll see that and also Queen Hatshepsut's Temple and the Colossi of Memnon.  We're looking forward to these new sights. 

 

Time to head to the pool now for our noon cocktail and some lunch.  Hope everyone is well.  We'll write again after Luxor.

 

K & D