DUBAI, SRI LANKA & SINGAPORE
February 2018
We decided to escape the cold and spend time in warmer
places. Catherine with AMEX Travel booked flights and hotels for us. We flew Emirates
from DFW to Dubai. The airline includes a transfer to and from the airport
for Business Class passengers.
The non-stop flight was over 14 hours flying time as
Dubai is 10 hours ahead of Texas. The drive from the airport in Dubai to Al Maha Luxury Desert Resort probably
took almost an hour. Once inside the
Conservation Area surrounding the resort, we saw a couple of herds of Oryx as
well as a few lone ones. What they found into eat on the barren ground was a
mystery to us. Once at Al Maha Luxury Resort and Spa, we met Amy, our
guide, and Alvin, our personal concierge. Amy explained activity options. Alvin
explained the hotel, checked us in, gave us a tour of the main building, and
escorted us to lunch. After lunch, he drove us to our suite and explained how
things inside it worked.
Our “Dune Drive” began at 8:30. Britt was our driver
and there was a young Japanese couple in the Toyota 4-wheel drive vehicle with
us. Our drive took us through the conservation area, through a gate, and into
the desert, a part of “The Great Void” covering much of the Arabian Peninsula.
We drove around and over sand dunes until we stopped atop the tallest one in
the area. Visibility was limited to sand, sand, and more sand. It felt cold on
bare feet. There were a few Ghat trees in the distance. After 10 minutes or so,
we got back into the vehicle and retraced our path to the resort. Our drive
took us by patches of some spikey Dune Grass, and even Desert Squash, poisonous
to humans. The entire tour lasted about an hour.
We often saw wildlife from our villa. A gazelle ambled
through the bush at the back of the suite while several species of birds flew,
fluttered, and sang. Just before lunch, one lone Oryx walked across the valley
below the suite.
Our “Wildlife Drive” with Amy began at 4:00. This time
we stayed within the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve. As we rode, Amy
explained some of the conservation practices and told about the geology,
terrain, flora, and fauna. Stopping neat a firebush, she explained how
it got its name and how it holds the soil. We saw a herd of Arabian Oryx, the
Al Maha, which gives the resort its name. Gazelles danced and leapt nearby.
From there a short drive brought us to a shifting sands area of dunes without
vegetation.
There was no fog this morning. Instead we had 4 hot
air balloons over the valley. They landed near the road about halfway across.
We saw quail-for the first time this morning as they scuttled along the edge of
the porch looking for food. A gazelle tiptoed around the fence corner and
silently browsed under the bushes before leaving as he came. Three more
gazelles browsed outside our suite.
At 5:30, it was time for our “Sundowner.” On the drive
to the dunes, we passed a herd of Oryx and saw one calf; Britt said there was a
younger calf belonging to the herd, but that it must be lying down nearby. He
drove us to the area where a refreshment station was set up. After getting
drinks, we plodded to the top of a dune. The camel caravans arrived about 10
minutes later. We watched the sun set before walking back down the dune.
At dinner, we were escorted to a private, candlelit
room where our meal was served. After dinner, we were given a kitchen tour and
met the chef. We added our appreciative comment to the almost filled white
space on the kitchen wall. The entire enjoyable experience was the perfect
surprise ending to our stay.
We had a few minutes to watch gazelles browsing
outside our suite before the buggy arrived at 7:00. Our luggage was loaded and
we were off to the lobby. After clomping down the stairs, we ate breakfast in
the dining room. When we got back upstairs, the driver was waiting and the
luggage loaded. After checking out, we left the resort for the one-hour drive
to the airport. On the way we encountered some fog, but it wasn’t too bad. We
checked the luggage, got boarding passes, went through Immigration and
Security, and were seated in the Business Class Lounge shortly before 9:00. We
boarded on time but were delayed in leaving because the plane arrived late due
to fog. We landed in Colombo, Sri Lanka about a half hour late—-a new country
for us. Sri Lanka is 1 1/2 hours ahead of Dubai and 11 1/2 hours ahead of
Texas. We had no problems with Immigration or Customs and exited the area to
find a sea of people holding signs with names. We found the man with the “Aman”
sign and were led outside. A van arrived, and we and our luggage were loaded;
only about 45 minutes had elapsed since deplaning. The drive began at 5:30 and
was a long one—-three-and-a-half-hours. We drove through a part of Colombo
before reaching a highway. Highways were excellent and most were toll roads.
The sun set after about an hour and most of the drive was in deep darkness—-no
light pollution here. We saw a couple of unusual yellow road signs with black
lettering : Beware - Peacocks Ahead and a silhouette of a peacock. For
about the last hour we drove through a city. Traffic was erratic with tuk-tuks
pulling onto streets or stopping at random. Pedestrians trod treacherously
along the edges of the poorly lit roadways. As it was election day for local
councils, in Matara we had some firecrackers and Roman candles as a small crowd
celebrated. When we arrived at Amanwella, it was 9:00. We were welcomed
and shown to suite 209 by a butler. He explained the room and a few other
things to us.
The next morning we went via tuk-tuk to see the
Coconut Grove, Beach Bar, and beach area.
We crawled into a tuk-tuk and left the hotel about
10:45. Chaotic traffic abounded. Busses and a few lorries careened while
scooters and tuk-tuks darted. A few vans and cars added to the confusion.
Meanwhile, pedestrians walked along the edge of the road seemingly oblivious to
the danger lurking inches away. Dogs nonchalantly lay half-on-and-half-off the
road barely acknowledging vehicles hurtling by. There were no indications of
great prosperity. Hand-to-mouth conditions seemed to be the norm. We thought
most had electricity but couldn’t be certain. Every property had a fence with
the material dependent on economic conditions: sticks, wire, masonry. The
entire area appeared shoddy and run down. Some areas held scattered stash and
garbage. We saw the village devastated by a tsunami in 2004. Some houses were
rebuilt; some were partially rebuilt; some were still untouched. As we neared
the water, we got a nice view of people fishing in the lagoon. The villagers
dry the fish for sale, and a fish odor prevails. Then we started the climb to
the Blow Hole. Steps constructed of rocks that looked like red iron ore
led up and up and up. Janet stopped about 1/4 of the way. I kept climbing until
reaching a ticket booth where the driver paid 250 rupees for me to climb even
more. This slope resembled a rock pile more than steps. Upon reaching the top,
I waited 10 minutes or so and saw one wispy blow before heading back down. We
found Janet sitting in a chair outside a shop. After walking the rest of the
way down, we crawled back into the tuk-tuk. Opting to skip the harbor area
reeking odorously of fish, our next stop was a restaurant with a nice lagoon
view. A person there offered to show us an adjacent herb garden and had herbal
remedies for sale; we declined. On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at a
souvenir shop packed with tea, wood carvings, fabric, Buddhist and Hindu items,
and other merchandise. It was after noon when we returned to the hotel.
At
7:30, a tuk-tuk arrived to take us to the “Coconut Grove” area near the Beach
Bar for the Champagne and BBQ Dinner. dinner. A cultural show featured a trio of
instrumentalists, 2 drummers, and 4 dancers performing 5 dances: Pandam
Pali, Naga and Gurula, Pandam Wattuwa, Salu, Paliya, Gini Sisla. We found
it entertaining. The finale featured a fire eater.
At 10:00 we left with a car, driver, and guide for our
scheduled touring. We drove a different direction from the hotel through a more
prosperous area than yesterday. We saw businesses, homes, and temples as well
as people busily going about the day’s events. Traffic was still a hectic swirl
of vehicles: busses, dump trucks, box trucks, bicycles, scooters, motorbikes,
cars, tuk-tuks. A forty-minute drive brought us to Dickwella Lace. Inside
three ladies created bobbin lace. Their nimble fingers dexterously moved wooden
bobbins wound with fine thread. Vertical sewing pins pushed into a padded
support created a pattern around which the thread was woven to make the
intricate lace. The manager explained the process, which we had seen in Bruges,
while our guide translated. We learned that “a donation from England” following
the 2004 tsunami funded the enterprise.
This brief video shows how fast the artisan works.
From there we drove through a more rural area to a
village where we visited a potter. In a hut, a huge lump of brown clay composed
mostly of river mud sat atop a potters wheel on the dirt floor. A lady sat on a
bench on one side of the wheel and a man sat on a mat on the floor opposite her. He spun the wheel with his
left hand while she formed the pots. Using one huge lump of clay, she formed a
rice bowl which the man removed and put to one side. Next she created a curry
dish, which joined the first piece. A water jar was the third creation. The
lady then demonstrated how she smoothed and strengthened the wet pot by
pounding it with a wooden paddle against a knob-like form which she held inside
the pot. As sun drying the pots was the next step before firing, sun-dried
examples of each style were brought in and displayed next to them. This stage
had changed the color from brown to red. A kiln fired with coconut shells was
partially filled. Having seen the potting process many times, seeing a wheel
turned manually and multiple pots made from one lump of clay were firsts for
us.
Leaving the pottery village, we wound our way through
more of rural Sri Lanka seeing rice fields, farmhouses, water buffaloes, and of
course the ever- present cows. We never asked if the cows are sacred here like
in India, but were told that 70% of the people are Buddhist. We saw a few
temples, lots of small shrines, and even one huge Buddha dominating a village.
A major highway running perpendicular to our route was under construction and
we drove between towering mesas of dirt. Workers scurried about the site while
heavy equipment rumbled. In one area paving work forced all traffic to one
lane. We thought it strange not to smell the hot asphalt being used. Our final
stop of the morning was a brass factory. Although not running today, the owner
explained the process from raw material to polishing. Claiming to be the oldest
brass manufacturer in Sri Lanka, they use the sand casting method.
A seemingly short drive had us back to Amanwella.
We departed the hotel at 7:37 by the clock in the Kia
SUV. From there we wended our way through morning traffic: bicycles, lorries,
cars, busses, tractors, tuk-tuks. Passing strategy was to push the smaller
vehicles to the edge, hog the middle, and play chicken with all except busses.
They definitely take the right-of-way. The ubiquitous tuk-tuks were everywhere
composing at least 90% of the traffic; a new tuk-tuk costs about $3,900 and
many households have one. People of all ages and clad in all styles from
traditional to modern walked the roadway edges. Cow, even a herd of a dozen or
more in one spot, and dogs added to the congestion. In Dondra was a Hindu and
Buddhist Temple sharing an area dominated by a tall standing Buddha. Two elephants, one extremely large,
were on the grounds. Near the coast teams of schoolboys dressed in pristine
white shirts and trousers prepared for a competition. After making our way
through the city of Matara, we left the traffic behind about 9:00 for a toll
highway. Speeding along through farming country, we saw rice fields, water
buffalo and egrets. Leaving the toll highway at 10:20, we entered the city of
Colombo. Here we merged into traffic congestion again as we wound our way
through a bustling but tired and worn looking area. At one point a man with a
yearling calf on a rope was a part of the mix; it was difficult to tell which
one was leading. Urban renewal had not reached that part of the city, although
we saw a new Buddhist temple with a large gold Buddha sparkling in the sun. We
escaped to another toll highway at 10:45 and were dropped off at the airport at
11:03 by the clock in the car.
We showed our itinerary before gathering the bags and
putting them and ourselves through scanners to enter the airport. Once inside,
we repeated the entire process to enter the flight check in area. Once inside
that area, we waited about 10 to 15 minutes before checking in for EK 348
scheduled to depart for Singapore at 2:45. After getting boarding passes, we
went through Emigration and were seated in the Emirates Lounge by 12:20 Leaving
the lounge after 2:00, we walked to the gate, went through Security again—-that
made 3 times—-and boarded the plane. The flight took off about 5 minutes
earlier than the scheduled 2:45. The flight was only 3 1/2 hours long but there
was a 2 1/2 hour time change, so we landed at 8:52. Singapore is 14 hours ahead
of Texas.
After claiming the bags, we made our way to “Emirates
Chauffeur Drive” and then to our waiting car. After a smooth drive to the Four
Seasons Hotel, we were soon checked in.
It was Chinese New Year, and breakfast was
crowded. An employee delivered a bowl of oranges and a red packet containing 2
gold-wrapped chocolate coins to our room in celebration of the Year of the
Dog.
A notice in our room said there would be a “Lion Dance” in the lobby
at noon. We went down at 11:45 to watch the dance which began on the outside
entrance way. There were two lions dancing to drumming and cymbals played extra
loudly to frighten away evil spirits. We saw the lion pluck the greens (a head
of lettuce) and get the hong bao (a red packet of money, usually gold
wrapped chocolate coins) an offering to insure prosperity, abundance, and good
luck for all in the coming year. After throwing gold-wrapped candy, and oranges
to the crowd for good luck; throwing confetti; and spelling out Happy New
Year 8131 in orange slices—-complete with dog symbol; the lions danced and
pranced into the hotel lobby, through the restaurant and bar, and up to the
second floor. After about an hour, we returned to the room.
We left about 10:30 to wander around the Orchard
Boulevard area. We wandered through “ION Centre” and across to “Tang Plaza,”
which was closed because of the holiday.
Retracing our route, we walking back to the hotel.
It
was just after 3:30 when we went down for “Weekend Afternoon Tea” in the
“One-Ninety Bar.” We ordered tea, which was served in individual pots. Next the
server presented a tray with a selection of 5 sandwiches to choose from and
then a tray with an array of sweets was placed on the table. As if that weren’t
enough, during the service they prepared and served individually: hot ham and
cheese sandwich; miniature vegetable and cheese quiche; miniature French toast.
Audrey, the chef, came to our table and visited. We were stuffed when we waddled back to the
room at 5:00.
Skies were totally overcast. We left the hotel in a
taxi for the “National Gallery” to see the special exhibition, Colours of
Impressionism - Masterpieces from the Musee D’Orsay. Because of the Chinese
New Year holiday, there was no admission charge for the exhibit. We found
the exhibition interesting and thought we’d not seen some of the 60 paintings
on display. Unlike many exhibitions at home, these works were all from one
museum. Each painting was labeled in English. Photos were allowed and many
visitors made them. The exhibit wasn’t crowded when we arrived but was becoming
crowded by the time we left. After waiting less than 10 minutes at the Taxi
Stand outside the gallery, we took a taxi back to the hotel.
We left the hotel at 10:45, crossed the street, and
entered “Wheelock Place,” and went to the basement level. We walked the
connection through “Ion Centre” to “Tang Plaza” and spent a while looking
through the department store.
We went down before 7:00 and checked again on the Marina
Bay Light Show. The concierge suggested we go to “One Fullerton” and watch.
We took a taxi and arrived at 7:20. We people-watched until time for the show
at 8:00. Standing beside river was pleasant and we got to watch the tour boats
run their routes. While the light show was nice, it was not spectacular like
Hong Kong. When the show ended at 8:15, we took a taxi back to the hotel.
Leaving the hotel, we wandered through some malls
until we reached “Far East Plaza.” It’s the low-end of retail: custom tailors;
make-up and hair supplies; money changers; jewelry. We walked back to “Ion
Centre” where we sat and people-watched for a while before heading towards the
hotel. We were back in the room in time to see the lasers atop the “Marina Bay
Sands” in the distance but couldn’t see the rest of the light show.
We were waiting when “Emirates Chauffeur Drive”
arrived at 7:10. Upon arrival at the air, we checked in for EK 348 and headed
for Immigration. Janet’s thumbprints did not scan with the agent and she was
led to another machine where they scanned the first time. We left the lounge
about 9:00 and walked to the gate where we went through Security. The flight
didn’t actually take off until 10:35. After the 7-hour flight, we landed in
Dubai at 1:40pm. There is a 4-hour time difference between Singapore and Dubai.
we collected the bags and found our “Emirates Chauffeur Drive” for the ride to
the “Ritz-Carlton Hotel.” From touchdown to leaving the airport was less than
an hour. Once at the hotel, we were escorted to the “Club Lounge” where Albert
checked us in. He also made arrangements for some tours we want.
One morning we took trip to Sharjah, the neighboring
emirate. He pointed out sights along way, and we enjoyed the drive. Haze made
it difficult to make out details of some buildings.
The world’s tallest
building, the Burj Al Khalifa, had its uppermost point obscured,
in
another area we saw the Dubai Frame, the world’s biggest frame, which is
a rectangular building with a hole in the middle and an observation deck on
top. Of course, Ski Dubai, attached to a shopping mall, was difficult to
miss. Crossing the boundary between the two Emirates was like driving between
two suburbs. Upon arriving at the “Central Souk,” our destination, about 9:50,
we entered and walked the ground floors of both buildings. Signs visible from
the ground floor indicated the upper floors contained rug stores, and we
weren’t interested in rugs. While the first building was mostly jewelry, the
second was primarily clothing including fabric and tailoring. It also contained
a few souvenir shops
Haze persisted through the day. Construction on a new
building adjacent to the hotel seemed almost non-stop; they work sunup to
sundown. From the balcony we could see the small planes take off from the
airstrip to drop the skydivers at SkyDive Dubai. Not too much later, we
saw skydivers swinging their way down; they paid about $600 for the experience.
Even though Friday is the Muslim Holy Day,
construction was in full swing next door. For the first time, it was warm
enough to sit on the balcony when we returned to the room. The haze didn’t seem
as bad as yesterday. It was a good day to watch skydiving, and there were
plenty to watch as they wafted and swayed on the sea breeze before arcing to a
beach landing. Two white helicopters circled over before landing across the way
in a cloud of dust.
Another morning we met Ishoq, who drove us to Abu
Dhabi. The drive was too interesting to try to take photos from the car. As we
sped along the divided highway—-4 lanes in each direction—-at a top speed of
160kph, we marveled at the construction on both sides. We got the feeling the
goal is to build a huge building on every spot of ground: apartments;
businesses; offices; mosques. We saw mosques of all sizes: small with one
minaret; medium with two minarets; large ones with three minarets. There were
even a couple with four minarets. We saw the Formula One Racetrack and
the Abu Dhabi International Airport. Our destination was the Sheikh
Zayed Grand Mosque. Shimmering white
in the bright sunlight with its golden tipped minarets and domes adding
opulence, the exterior impressed. We passed through a security check and Janet
covered her hair with a scarf she brought with her. Following signs, we walked
a sidewalk that brought us to the front of the huge structure. We placed our
shoes on the shelves outside and entered the marble building. A floral pattern
formed of inlaid marble and semi-precious stones decorated white columns topped
with capitals of gold palm branches and other flora. Similar inlay decorated
the walls. The marble floor boasted its own inlaid design. All this and we were
only in the outer entrance colonnade. Between us and the front of the mosque
stretched a 180,000 square feet marble courtyard; it is the largest marble
mosaic in the world. We walked along the covered walkway beside the courtyard
until reaching the entrance to the mosque itself. A predominately blue glass
chandelier hung in the entryway. While there were still inlays inside the
worship area, three huge multicolored glass chandeliers seemed to dominate the
massive space. The carpet, considered the world’s largest, was handmade and
covers 60,570 square feet. Even though there are mosaic designs on the interior
walls, the overall impression is a tasteful theme of white and gold. After
oohing and aahing for a while, we exited.
After returning to the car, we drove
around Abu Dhabi a little before heading back to Dubai. On the way back we
passed The Ferrari Experience but couldn’t really see anything but a
building.
We left the Ritz-Caarlton at 9:00p.m. Emirates Chauffeur Drive took us to the airport. We enjoyed seeing the lighted buildings.
Check in for EK221 to DFW didn’t open
until 10:00, so we had about 15 minutes to wait. After passing through
“Immigration” and “Security,” where we had to remove iPads and everyone was
wanded after passing through the metal detectors, we went to the Emirates
Business Class Lounge to wait until boarding at 2:05am. Boarding for
Business Class was from a gate in the lounge where our passports were checked
and our boarding passes scanned before we rode an elevator down to the
departure level. Here we went through ”Security” again; this time they swabbed
the iPads. Another check of our boarding passes and we were ready to board. We
were pretty much asleep by takeoff and woke later to recline the seats. We
probably slept 5 hours or more but not in one stretch. The flight was another
long one—-over fifteen and a half hours. We landed at DFW at 9:05a.m. It was
the same day of the week as when we boarded, but it certainly didn’t feel like
it.
