Most of the photos (except the ugly and blurry ones!) were taken by Guillaume.

We booked a guided tour of the city. This is a first time for me, and I fear a little bit because I am attached to my freedom, but let’s try!
The pick up is at 9am. At 9:40, still no driver, he called me to explain he is lost, this is the ultimate paradox for a driver! He finally found us 5 minutes later (we were  in front of a  very famous metro station, it’s not that hard!). He picked up us at 9:45, and spent the ride time on the phone and drove badly. We finally arrived at the big bus for the trip, everyone is waiting for us!
First stop: the Dubai Museum
It was built in the Al Fahidi Fort, is the oldest building in Dubai. The museum was opened in 1971 (there were people in Dubai in 1971? I wonder who visited!)

The museum recreates a souk with shops and all the various trades, and also the lives of the divers who were looking for pearls.
I find it very interesting to see the history of Dubai which passed from Bedouin camp to an international business megalopolis, in a quite short time.
Second step of our journey the Gold Souk.
Just arrived, the challenge is to survive to the merchants who try to sell fake watches and fake bags.

Our guide asked us to join him in a spices and candy shop, and invite us to buy spices here. I went into another shop where were two Americans of our bus but the guide came and picked us up all four, while the lady was trying to buy spices. He claimed the other store was better. Therefore, we only had choice to follow him.

I bought a silver chain and a small pendant for a total of 80 AED or 17 €, so it is not so cheap.
We went back to the bus, and we lost two tourists. The guide speaks an english with a strong accent, it is very hard to understand what he says, not very practical to understand his explanations!

We stopped 3 minutes in front of the mosque without being able to visit because « we’re late » (the fault?), It is a bit frustrating.

Do you know? In Dubai, the oil is cheaper than water (1.6 against 2 AED /l, only 0,33€ per liter of gasoline)
Then, we visited a large shopping center with priceless memories,  nice but nothing was below 200 €! The pictures are prohibited, and the sandwich was 10€, and i’m hungry!

We stopped at Burj Al Arab, the only 7 star hotel in the world. The most luxurious suite is 800m2. 40 times my apartment! What normal … And it can accommodate only 4 people! Can you imagine someone saying « Hey, I’ll take a room at the hotel, yes, 800m2 it seems good to me »? Not me. And several nights in October are already booked, but I cannot find the price. The cheapest room is 2000 € per night…
He then takes us to the Palm Jumeira, the famous artificial island in the shape of palm where apparently David Bekham has a house. Each house has, of course, a private beach.

We were finally freed from the guided tour, and went at the beach at Dubai Marina. The water is deliciously warm, It is about 35°C!
In the evening, with the advice of our airbnb hosts, we ate in an Indian restaurant, the Tandoori Junction. We are the only customers, the boss is very friendly and chat with us.

We chose a range, some dishes are a bit spicy for us but everything is delicious.
My 2 favorite Murg malai tikka (cream and lemon juice) and Haryali kabab (yogurt, mint coriander).

Pieces of nan, Dahl lens and fragrant rice, and it was perfect.

Then we returned to the apartment with a detour to the pool in our building.
Our apartment is just crazy, it was booked through airbnb: https://www.airbnb.fr/rooms/346934
We paid less than a hotel room and has a pool and a gym available in the building. The apartment is located south of Dubai, this is far from the « center » but finally it was very nice, it had everything we need and the beaches are next to it!

Dubai City Tour : AED200 (40-45 Euros Approx.) Per Person

Tour Includes : (English Speaking Guide onboard) :

•         Jumeirah Mosque
•         Jumeirah Beach
•        The Palm Jumeirah
•        Gold and Spice Souq
•        Dubai Creek
•         Bastakiya area
•         Burj Khalifa
•         Burj Al Arab.