Trip Tips

January 12, 2008 | Filed Under Main |

I like to walk. One of my first rules of travel is that you have to see your environment at street level. That is the only way to truly know where you are living. Cab to hotel doesn’t cut it. Hit the pavement like the locals. (I will also do this in Kuwait but for now…).

This morning, I was driven over to the Dubai Museum – which was closed until much later in the day. Having watched the route we traveled, I decided to get out anyway and wander. Just past the museum and you are in a much older area of town. It is near the “old souk” and the streets were lined with shops – mostly silk, textiles, gold and other jewelry. The streets are narrow and winding. The buildings are dilapidated and crammed together. Alleys crossed between. People lived on the second, third floors. Laundry hung outside at every window. This area might as well be a million miles from the tall glass skyscrapers and mega-malls. Folks were out walking – though not as much as you could imagine being there later in the day. Were they Indian? Pakastani? More? There are dozens of nationalities out here, but my American perceptions cannot distinguish. At the start of my walk, a line of people were filing toward the “gates” of the Temple Shiva. Further down the block is a mosque. When I’m ready (and braver), I will visit these temples.

On my walk back to hotel, I followed my second rule of travel: find a grocery store and buy something. I can’t eat out for every meal. If you can shop, you can cook. If you can cook, then you live there. Besides - I needed toothpaste.

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