A Shower in Bath

The Easter long weekend arrived and with the flights to Lisbon were overly priced. So our choice was to look at the British map and find a destination. A few options came up, but we had heard so much Bath and how great it is, that we (me, ALF and PN) set up the route to Somerset!

I say, we set up the route, because for the first time, we actually drove in the UK! Even though there were no interesting (possibly lethal) stories, it was really weird to keep seating on the "wrong" side of the car and there are rumors that the driver's door got a bit of attention at the beginning of our ride!

Andre on the wrong side of the car :P

With a few greetings (honks!) from other drivers, tonnes of traffic and a great sunny day, we arrived at our destination. Because we were so late in our booking we had to stay in Bristol (a nice city on its own), a few kilometers away from Bath. But this also meant that we had to wait for a new day before we could finally reach our main destiny.

Next morning, it was Bath time! Parking on the edge of the city, we were able to have a privileged view right from the beginning! Unfortunately, we had spent all our sun credit hours the day before, so the background was more dark and grayish than light and blueish! But the scenery was still beautiful and proof that this was a great choice!

The city of Bath as we first saw it

Our first stop was a recommended place to ease our stomachs which also served perfectly to get away from the rain that was threatening to fall on us. Sally Lunns! A bakery/tea house/restaurant that dates back as far as the XVIIth century! The buns were good, but what really captured our attention (and taste buds!) was the lemon curd and, specially, the cinnamon butter! Hmm, that was something worth coming again for!

Sally Lunn's, opened since 1680

The reception

The buns!

Apparently life was harsh for misbehaved boys back in the day

On the stairs to the museum

On the stairs to the museum - part 2

More comforted, we could then walk around and enjoy the city! And we did try! But the rain, wind and cold were a bit too harsh for 3 summer-loving Portuguese and we ended up hoping from store to store, from Eating House to restaurant, from tourist office to bookstore! Curiously enough, was the fact that it looked like we were the only ones to be phased by weather as the streets were full!

Near the entrance to the Roman Baths

Even the pigeons showed their presence

But we were determined to enjoy the day, and wanted to witness one of the landmarks of the city - the Royal Crescent. So fighting our instincts, we climbed up in search of the curved building, which is indeed, quite impressive! It was mid way through that the rain started to come down more heavily and, at some point, it felt a bit like a shower! We were having a "free" shower in Bath... how ironic! :P And here are the photos of that!

"It is about this size!" - what is, I have no idea!

The Royal Crescent (about a third of it!)

Yikes! 

Who needs shoes?

Laughing in the rain!

Royal Crescent, part 2 - walking casually

Envious, so envious!

After the rain stopped, we continued walking around and got to the canal. The city of Bath is indeed quite beautiful and the Roman Baths (that we actually only visited the next day) are totally worth it! And if I say this after a visit on a winter-like day, it is something to be taken quite seriously! ;)

River Avon and the traditional boats

:)

Rodizio of shopping malls

Dubai is mostly well-known for being a shopping haven. This doesn't mean shopping is cheap, only that it is done in style, the Dubai way. Shopping is also the main hobby for people that live here. Maybe not for the least qualified people that probably work 7 days a week, but for most of the other residents and a large number of the tourists. Specially in the Summer where the streets are scolding hot, this is the preferred destination of a day out.

Because of this, shopping malls in this Emirate are as common as Nandos in the UK (this means there are a lot!). Some of them even became famous on their own either for their sheer size or special characteristics. We ended up only going to 3 (or 2 if we count "proper" ones). And here is what we saw:

1. Atlantis, Palm Jumeirah

This is actually a hotel (a huge, luxurious one) but, of course, it had to enclose a shopping center. Located just at the edge of the Palm Jumeirah the set of stores is actually quite small. however, it still had its particularities, including a Gordon Ramsey restaurant.

A detail of the roof, appropriate to the name of the hotel

Want to buy Gold?...

...it comes as a heart!

2. Mall of the Emirates

Opened in 2005 it has over 600 stores and is quite a majestic place for a shopping mall; however in Dubai (and even for us that were on our second day) it felt normal.

Its most distinctive point is, however, not its size or the luxury of its stores, but the fact that it encloses a Ski slope! Yes, a Ski slope in the desert! The temperature inside the complex is below 0C, which creates situations that are a bit odd like when you see people with light summer dresses looking behind the glass to people with heavy winter coats!

The entrance to the whole facility (which is quite big)

Beyond the looking glass

3. The Dubai Mall

This is the mall of all the malls (at least as far as my knowledge goes, which isn't that much)! But Wikipedia told me this is the second largest in the world in terms of area with a total of 1,200 stores! Yes, over 1,000 stores! You can literally get lost!

Some areas look more like streets than corridors

Shall we meet near Louis Vuitton?

Men and cars (yes, there is a Ferrari store inside!)

Why not have a Souk inside?

The divers fountain. It's 3 floors high

Nonetheless, its most impressive feature is not even its size (again!), it is the huge Aquarium that there is inside! I'll just let the images speak for themselves.

No, those people are not small, it's the aquarium that is quite big!

For a big aquarium, a very big fish!

We had to capture this! :P

Dubai's "best waitresses and pine mushroom"

On our second night we were promised a surprise for dinner. Coming from our "guide" this for sure meant some kind of unique experience!

After arriving he told us that we would go to an Asian restaurant. When we were arriving he asked us to guess and my best shot was "A Korean restaurant?". This would be one of those where you eat live squids/octopuses that get stick on your throat. This idea scared me (why would someone want to eat something still alive?!), so I was hoping to be terribly wrong. But I was only partly wrong. Looking at the uniforms of the waitresses I could recognise this symbol:

Yes, this was a North Korean restaurant! And if there was any doubt, the menu provided an explanation about he origin of the restaurant and reassured that all "materials" were from North Korea. Well, at least it tried to, because the translation is, at the minimum a bit confusing! I think my favourite phrase is: "Since the leaders of a lot of countries and famouse people from South Korea has visited Pyongyang Okryu-gwan from many times (...)" Apparently this restaurant is more than an embassy joining together South and North Korea! :P

But just as we were still exploring all the food in the menu (there were a lot of choices!) the lights turn dim and the real part of the experience started!

The quality of the video isn't great because I had to do it in "stealth" mode

Apparently it was someone's birthday or some other kind of celebration and this is a song for that occasion! After the song was finished they put away all the instruments and I could see the disappointment on Pedro's face: "What about the show?" , "There is more?" we asked. "Yes, the real thing is much better!". To be honest, it was hard to believe...

After talking with one of the waitresses, we learned that on Saturdays (the last day of the weekend) the "show" is a bit earlier so we were too late. However, a smile here, a bit of conversation there and telling them that we were there mostly because of this show, she said they would do at least a song.

Twenty minutes later the lights go dim again and a few come in, with silver glittery dresses, bass guitars, microphones and the music starts. After the music, a performance dance, after that another song, and then other and yet another. At then end, we were given the opportunity of seeing the full show (no video this time because they caught me as I was preparing to film it!). The whole ambiance was borderline surreal. Maybe it was the multicoloured lights, the dresses, that this was happening in a restaurant, that the performers were the waitresses, the performance itself or just the fact that all of this was from North Korea. Most probably, it was the whole assemble.

The food itself was good, we ate a "do-it yourself" kind of barbecued beef and mushrooms whose flavours were good and not strange at all. However, all in all, this was an experience far better than what I had initially predicted, and that is saying a lot!

The poorest neighborhood

In a place that looks like it was built out of the model of a SimCity game (not my original idea, but I completely agree with it!), the area that we visited on our first day in Dubai was Deira, probably the poorest part of the emirate. This is also a touristic area home to the Spice and Gold Souks.

Jet-lagged and after getting out of the airport past 4am, we took the morning off and only met Pedro (our guide for these few days) around 1pm. When we got to the Souks, we were right in the middle of lunch time and most stalls were closed (lunch or "siesta" time is from noon to 4pm which sense, specially during the Summer where it is best to stay somewhere with AC around these hours. In the Spice Souk, a few stalls were, however, open and we even got to exchange a few words with a Nepalese that explained to us what was what in all the spices that we could see around and even told us that Germans and Scottish had no idea about which was which.

The Gold Souk

Lunch time...

Cinamon, roses, dried lemon... a lot of spices!

The souk a bit later on, now crowded with people

The Nepalese spices guy was the perfect example of all the immigrants that support the work force in the region. As the country and the emirate grow and expand so quickly, the qualified and unqualified labour has to be imported. This brings a hint of a cosmopolitan feel as it is quite easy to find people with many different origins and to find all kinds of food and products; but it also shows the stratification of the country, with people from South Asia most of the unqualified services. Deira is home to a lot of these people.

Lunch happened in a restaurant by the Creek that served Indian food. Rice served with chicken and lamb we decided to eat the proper way, which means, eat with our hands and helped here and there, by the giant Nan bread. As the waiter said, food is way tastier when it is eaten with your hands, even rice! I guess the added flavour must also depend on how often you actually wash your hands, but I kept this thought to myself! However, I have to say that eating the meat with no cutlery was very satisfying (confession - I cheated and ate the rice using the fork, but I was the only one!). The other curious aspect of the restaurant was that we had to move upstairs because of me. The downstairs area was men only and all families (i.e., all groups with women or small children) had to eat in the upper level. Here there were also small rooms, where families can seat on the floor and eat by themselves. A lot of them were being used during our lunch.

Eating it like it is meant to be eaten! 

Which, apparently, enhances the flavour!

In the restaurant we were just by the window and had the view over the creek, which is actually the most beautiful part of Dubai that I've seen so far. In the creek there are small and long, slightly rocking boats full of workers and tourists pay AED 1 (around £0.20) to do the 3 minutes crossing.

 A lot of seagulls in the creek

The little boats

Inside one of them

I think the look on their faces says it all :)

On the other side we found a park where families were seated enjoying their weekend (that here runs from Friday to Saturday) even where they weren't allowed to, and playing sports like a version of street, no net-volleyball or cricket.

Enjoying the weekend

The symbol on the right-middle... now look at the photo again! :)

The street, no net-volleyball (part 1)

The street, no net-volleyball (part 2)

And on the far end, there was this tent. Can you spot the falcon?

On my travels, I often find the oldest areas, which are often the poorest, to be the most interesting ones. And being in Dubai for only 36 hours, but seen a significant part of Dubai, I found this to be one of the most soul-filling places. As for the amazingly lush and modern areas, we will have to wait for the next posts! ;)