A day in old Dubai and off to the other Emirates

Well, the past two days have been quite the experience. Now that my sleeping patterns are finally sorted, things have been really good. Yesterday, Uncle Bob and I went down to old Dubai to see the Dhows that ship stuff (everything from cars to plastic lawn furniture) everywhere, from India to East Africa. It was pretty cool. I have no idea how they keep it all sorted, but they do. Then we went into the market place. Now, since it was Friday (the Holy day), the market wasn't open until 4 (everything is usually open from 10-1, 4-8), but on Fridays it opens at 4. So most shops were just starting to open. We walked by the spice market (beautiful smells), past all kinds of carpet shops (tons of those here) and past the gold market (very sparkly). Now the really strange part for me, was the fact that I was the only woman on most of the streets. Rather strange for me. Anyways, it was quite an experience, very different from what most people think of as Dubai. Today we headed out to Raz Al Khaimah, one of the 7 Emirates. A new golf course open out there last week and Bob wanted to see it. I also got to see a lot more of the UAE then just Dubai. I quite enjoy the camels roaming around. Then we headed back towards Dubai and stopped in Al Sharjah (another Emirate). We stopped at the Central Souq (like a market). I'm on the look out for some carpets for Sandy back home, and we soon found out this was the place to be. We ended up in this one shop, where the owner offered us mint tea (and I drank it), we sat and he showed us tons of different carpets. Well, instead of buying one for Sandy (although we found a few for her too), I ended up with my first real 'piece' for my theoretical house. It is beautiful and something that I should have for a very long time. Anyways, now we are all back at the house relaxing after a long day of travelling and shopping, but it is all very worth it.