2015 ADVENTURE – PART 4

How many superlatives does it take to describe Dubai?  Answer?  There aren’t enough in the dictionary.  Dubai is one of seven emirates, or sheikdoms, that joined together in 1971 in a federation called the United Arab Emirates.  The only other one I’d heard of before was Abu Dhabi.  Since 1966, when oil was discovered, Dubai has become know for its incredible architecture and the feats of engineering that made them possible.

With only one day to spend, we were challenged to get even a taste of the city we’d seen only in pictures and had heard so much about.  We chose the hop-on-hop-off bus for the day and a desert safari for the evening.  Driving along the main four-lane thoroughfare, lined on both sides by some of the tallest buildings we’ve ever seen, we were gobsmacked.  Imagine Las Vegas on steroids, but without the tackiness.  While the place is a testimony to humans’ ability to transform nature, there is beauty here and attention to detail, the kind that shows the designers' appreciation for the aesthetic.

Our bus took us from the foot of the majestic Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, to the shore of the Persian Gulf, and past the magnificent Jumeirah Beach Hotel.  From the beach, we got our first full view of the Burj Al-Arab, shaped like a sail and billed as the world’s only seven-star hotel.

Then, it was onto the Palm Island, with its sixteen ‘fronds’, home to luxury condos and beach houses.  The fronds and the 20-kilometre breakwater that protects them are entirely man-made.  This, and similar developments like the half-finished World Archipelego, will create 550 kilometres of artificial coastline within the city of Dubai.  We were told that a person buying on Palm Island gets two sets of keys: one for the property and another for a free car.  The free car can range from a Mini Cooper to a Lamborghini.  Just imagine how much you’d have to pay for a property to qualify for a free Lamborghini!  Palm Island is crowned by the magnificent Atlantis Hotel, said to have been a favourite haunt of the late Michael Jackson.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is the top gun in these parts, and the new Dubai represents his vision for the future.  While it’s tempting to scoff at the Emirate’s hubris - knowing that the oil will run out one day - the economy here is clearly more than one-dimensional.  The city is a financial hub for the region, tourism and high-end real estate are huge, and the airport is one of the world’s busiest.

Our next stop was the Mall of the Emirates, home of an indoor ski hill and what must be the most complete collection of luxury stores ever assembled under one roof.  Name all the top brands; they’re there.  The mall is huge but, just across the freeway, another is being built, billed as the world’s biggest, and scheduled to open in time for the 2020 World’s Fair.  This is clearly a city meant for the very rich.

Later in the day, we shared an excursion with the Crockers.  We motored to the desert just outside the city in Toyota Land Cruisers, and drove up, down and around the dunes for an hour or so; just enough to scare the hell out of Elva!  Then, it was time to ride the camels!  We sampled as much of Dubai as we thought possible in one day and promised ourselves we’d be back for more, maybe in 2020.

After a three-day sail down the Persian Gulf, through the Strait of Hormuz, and across the Arabian Sea, we docked at Mormugao, a port city in the Indian state of Goa.  This part of India has a very interesting history, chosen in 1510 by the Portuguese to become the centre of their profitable spice trade.  Portugal held the colony even after India gained its independence from Britain in 1947, finally ending its rule in 1961.  Thanks to the influence of the Portuguese, Goa has a particularly rich cultural history.

As for its tourist infrastructure, that’s another story.  We took an excursion from the port to see several churches in Old Goa and the Panjim Market.  Tha Basilica of Bom Jesus, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, holds the tomb and remains of Saint Francis Xavier.  I always thought he was in Antigonish!  Anyway, they take his body out of its coffin every ten years and put it on display for pilgrims.  I wonder why they don’t just let the poor guy rest in peace!  While visiting one of the churches, I thought of spending a little time in this penalty box; maybe next time.

We tired in the sweltering 35-degree heat and the traffic and chaos that is India.  Our guide told us that this part of the country is relatively calm and orderly.  Overnight, we sailed to Mangalore.---We’d decided to explore the city by taxi with our travelling companions, the Crockers from Montrose.  We started the day with a visit to the Achal cashew factory.  It employs over 400 people and is a beehive of activity, with most of the work being done by women.  After seeing how labour-intensive the process is from start to finished product, we’ll never again complain about the price of cashews.  By the way, they were delicious!

We spent the rest of the day exploring temples and churches and shopped at the city centre mall.  The one big inconvenience in India thus far has been the lack of wireless internet service.  This came as a surprise considering we had no such problems in even the poorest parts of Central America.

Our third stop on the west coast of India was Cochin in the souternmost state of Kerala.  Once again, it has a long history of contact with Europe, Africa and China due to the spice trade: pepper, cardamon, cinnamon and cloves, mainly.  We decided to test our comfort zone and hire one of the many tuk-tuks that line the cruise ship dock waiting for a decent fare.  Our driver, Sahal Abdhulla, promised to show us all of Cochin in four hours.  It turned out to be a good deal, not to mention a very entertaining half day.

There are no traffic lights, roundabouts, stop signs or yield signs here.  Pedestrians share the streets with motorcycles, scooters, tuk-tuks, taxis, cars, trucks, buses, and even goats and cows.  It’s a madhouse!  Somehow it works and people don’t run into one another.  Elva screamed for most of the first half-hour.

We visited a 500-year-old laundry where everything is done by hand, a Hindu temple, a Catholic church where the remains of the great Portuguese explorer, Vasco da Gama, were first buried (he now rests in Lisbon), a beach, the Chinese fishing nets, a ginger factory, and an elephant festival.  Most importantly, we were able to get connected to the internet for the first time in six days.  Sahal drove us back to the ship after an exciting day, one we’ll not soon forget.

India is major ‘culture shock’.  So many things about it differ from what we’re used to: climate, crowds, food, sanitation, poverty, infrastructure, and the pace of life.  It’s an assault on all of the senses, all of the time.  It’s hard to imagine how one would find peace and quiet here.  Yet, the people are kind and friendly, and we never felt uncomfortable.  And Muslims, Hindus and Christians seem to get along just fine.

After three days at sea, we reached the Andaman Islands which, together with the nearby Nicobar Island chain, belong to India.  More about those in my next blog.