Saturday, February 18, 2012

Cruising on a Dhow

Cruising on a Dhow,




Dubai's natural inlet to the sea, or more commonly known as 'creek', was the main reason why so many fishermen, pearl fishers and merchants settled in Dubai back in the old days. Hence putting Dubai on the map.


Even nowadays, dhows (Arabic sailing vessels) still ply their trade from Dubai creek transporting merchandise all over the Gulf region even sailing as far towards the Indian subcontinent and East Africa.





But we're in the 21st century now, apart from linking the two parts of Old Dubai via bridge, tunnel and even water taxi's, the creek has been transformed into a major tourist destination. In the evenings when the temperatures drop to a more cosier level, dozens of motorized cruise 'dhows', come to 'life', offering tourists, visitors, a trip up and down the creek and some vessels even cruise into the open sea.  







When the sun sets down, the harsh, hot temperatures drop to a  more bearable why not drop by at the creek side. Come on.....if you are getting tired of visiting all the mega malls on offer (after all, how much can one buy? Unless you own some Apple or FB stocks ofcourse), a trip on a dhow cruise is more than warranted.








Although the number of boats along the quay can be bewildering, all of them decked out with a multitude of light bulbs, some blaring incessantly loud music from boomboxes to attract the crowd.  All this creates a vibrant atmosphere with the 'old' part of Dubai City as a backdrop.









The concept of the dhow cruises are nice. Offering a minimum 2 hour ride on a boat, unlimited buffet fare and non-alcoholic drinks, entertainment....there was even a magician on our boat to keep the guests entertained, 













Some dhows even offer belly dancing acts.  Can you imagine that? Whooping bellies on the rhythm of the waves....:)








And on our particular cruise there was even a whole entourage celebrating the birthday of an eleven year old boy, same age as our girl.....and never ever question true Arab hospitality, all the guests and crew on board, inclusive us three, were given a slice of the birthday cake :) 


The setting was splendid, the weather was cosy, the food was yummy....










What more can we ask for......?


Cruising our way up and down the creek on a dhow is a heck of a way to unwind :)











2 comments:

Unknown said...

I really impressed by your way of posting , your content is very informative i like it so much .
Dubai Desert Safari

Unknown said...

i like the way you write this post dubai desert safari