Dubai - Abu Dhabi 1 of 7

For our second day in Dubai we'd booked a Cruise Critic tour to Abu Dhabi a neighbouring Emirate territory which is about a one hour drive south-west of Dubai. The Abu Dhabi Emirate is also the capital city of the UAE. Like all Emirate territories Abu Dhabi has its own government headed by sultan leader, Mohammed Rashid, after whom Abu Dhabi's Port is named.

We travelled by an air-conditioned bus with 32 other tourists from the Sea Princess. When we departed at 9am and already the temperature was 39⁰C and the hot rays of the sun reflected off the roadways, bridges and buildings that we passed. We kept ourselves hydrated throughout the trip as we knew that once we left the sanctuary of the bus we'd be contending even higher temperatures. We were given a running commentary by our on board tour guide. He spoke perfect English and had trained in Egypt as a guide and is able to speak 4 languages. When the tourist trade slumped due to terrorist attacks on tourist venues and transport our guide moved his family to Abu Dhabi and took a job as a tour guide. He trained for 4 years to lead tours in Egypt, for it has SO much history and archaeological sites and museums and there was so much to memorise. He said that he only need to do a 3 week training course to learn his spiel about Abu Dhabi. This is because the modern settlement of Abu Dhabi is less than 20 years old. Most of Abu Dhabi's 22 natural islands were either uninhabited or inhabited by small nomadic tribes or fishermen who once lived in small villages along the shoreline of some islands. Most early island inhabitants found the total lack of fresh water sources made it impossible for permanent settlements to be established.

Today many of Abu Dhabi's islands are modern metropolises, not unlike Dubai but on a smaller scale. Over the past 20 years Abu Dhabi has metamorphosis from a group of inhospitable barren islands to a thriving, commercial, industrial and tourist hub. The government has created 80km of greenbelt area across many of its once dry sandy desert and deserted islands. We drove beside these greenbelt areas located on both sides of the main highway from Dubai to Abu Dhabi and were amazed how successfully grasses, trees and shrubs are flourishing in such a barren landscape. These protected greenbelt areas are surrounded by tall fencing to prevent camels eating the greened areas and families from picnicking within the green belt areas. This 80km greenbelt area is irrigated with recycled water delivered by kilometres of rubber tubing which filters life giving water to each plant and grassed area. It only rains 4-5 times a year in Abu Dhabi but the sultan and his advisors have embraced modern technology creating fresh water supplies from the oceans that surround the islands. This desalinated water supplies the households, schools, hospitals, hotels, facilities, commercial and industrial areas which are springing up all across Abu Dhabi. When developing ANY uninhabited islands in Abu Dhabi the first infrastructure that is developed is a bridge to link the uninhabited and undeveloped island to another. Next roads and the green belt areas are constructed and only when these are established are developers permitted to build residential, commercial and tourist attractions.    

Dubai - Abu Dhabi 2 of 7

Whoa! We stepped out of the coach into what felt like a blast from the blast furnace at the steelworks in Wollongong. The heat was intense, the air dry and hazy but the vista of the glistening white Abu Dhabi Mosque was breathtaking. We looked at the distance between our coach parking spot and the entrance of the mosque but to our surprise we only had to walk 10 metres to a glass dome because unbeknown to us this is one of 6 entrances into the mosque building we could see in the distance. Each dome leads down to a wide underground tunnel system that is airconditioned and tiled in marble. The series of tunnels also house refreshment rooms, toilet facilities and a security checkpoint that we needed to pass through before joining the crowds along the final underground tunnel passage which opened into a large underground vestibule with more facilities. There were also locker rooms for luggage storage and hajab gowns with hoods that women could hire so that they were suitably attrired to enter the mosque.

Abu Dhabi is a Muslim country with strict dress codes for women and men to abide by. Large explicit signage clearly depicted the dress code regulations at the final tunnel entrance to the mosque. Inspection officers stood at the ready to ensure compliance. I had a damp scarf around my neck to keep me cool so I used it to cover my head, tucking it under my Princess cap ( which Ken had won as part of his prize for winning the mini olympics competition) and under my chin.  

Having passed inspection we rode an escalator up into an exit glass dome and we found ourselves on the outside marble parapet that surrounds the exterior wall of the mosque complex. We walked through one of the many carved Islamic archways that took us through the wall into an outer courtyard. We stood and admired one of the four rectangular brilliant blue tiled pools that runs alongside the outer courtyard. The pool with its perfect reflection of the wall alongside it, was very calming and beautiful to behold. It is amazing to realise that once this area had been a dry treeless, desolate and barren land and now it not only has green corridors, grassed lawns but water in abundance due to modern destination techniques which provides pure, fresh water- the one essentially ingredient needed for life all ver our world. to maintained. What.  an impressively magnificent building this Abu Dhabi Mosque is proving to be! And we haven't seen its innermost rooms yet.

Dubai - Abu Dhabi 3 of 7

Continuing on our tour we entered yet another inner courtyard which was even larger than the previous one. Again the huge floor area and walls were covered in pure white marble which had been imported from Italy. Someone commented that the Italian masonry agents who procured the contract for this massive building complex would have increased Italy's gross national income. It was mind boggling to comprehend the designing, planning, ordering of materials, hiring of workers and engineers etc that would have taken place even before the first foundations were laid.  Four elegant minarets (one  in each corner of the courtyard, spiralled towards the heavens with their 22 caret gold trimmings sparking in the sunlight and even more stunning was the colourful marble inlay floral patterned courtyard floor area.

The glare and irridescent whiteness of this courtyard was breathtaking. Many people used this backdrop to take selfies or photo shots of their beloved. 

Next we entered a beautiful corridor lined with a portico of inlay marble columns which stretches for several metres and led to an exceptionally ornate reception room.  Each column was carved and decorated with more coloured marble pieces and gold trimmings. Looking out from this corridor we could see another tranquil reflection pool. 

When we entered the reception room we were again overcome with the beauty, expense and opulence of all that we saw.

How do I describe it? The entire room from the floor to the ceiling is covered in marble. The floor is decorated with inlay colours of a variety of  coloured marble that form a special pattern. Most striking though is the perfectly carved 3D flower, vine and leaf designs that decorate the white marble walls. This delicate and imposing wall decoration bear Incredible evidence of the expert skills of the many craftsmen who carried out this creation.

Hanging from the ceiling were four exquisite crystal chandeliers which were encrusted with all kinds of precious stones.  They in themselves were a work of art and their value beyond measure.

Then just when we didn't think we could be anymore impressed we came to the inner sanctum - the prayer hall in the centre of the mosque. This massive hall with its many marble collums and high central dome, can accommodate thousands of worshippers at a time. The beautifully patterned carpet had been woven as one carpet. Many women had worked for three years to complete what is the world's largest single hand-woven carpet n the world. It is even bigger than the single hand-woven carpet that graces the Dubai mosque.

Abu Daubi has " one up " on Dubai which claims to the have produced the biggest, tallest, longest, most expensive and impressive wonders of the world to date. Now there's a carpet that challenges Dubai!s claim to fame.

In this prayer hall we admired the four huge sparkling crystal ruby encrusted chandeliers which hung from the hall's high domed ceiling. The chandeliers were beyond description so take a good look at them in the photo . The photo doesn't depict the massive size of this hall because of the its concave photo aspect but you do get an idea of its beauty

Dubai - Abu Dhabi 4 of 7

By now you will have gathered that no expense has been spared in creating this beautiful mosque. The cost is estimated to be at least 500 million American dollars? I guess Solomon's Temple would have cost a similar amount irt the shekels. The Abu Dhabi Mosque took 7 years to built and its design has been based on the huge dome of the Targ Mahal in India. This beautiful unique and mosque is also a most modern design where Islamic symbols and materials have been incorporated with the latest technology and energy saving  techniques like the recycling of desulinated water, having underground entrances and the use of solar energy to power the electricity and provide air conditioning.

Etched and coloured glass has also been used extensively throughout the mosque to provide good lighting to provide decorations. All the glass was manufactured in Italy at the famous Barona (The Glass Island) in Venice. We visited this glass making island a few years ago and were fascinated with the variety and process of glass making that takes place on Barona Island.

We spent over 2 hours at the Mosque and then we went to visit a small museum which had a good display of artefacts, photographs and life size models of the island families who lived on some of the islands of Abu Dhabi before they were redeveloped into residential and commercial areas now populated by thousands. There were many photographs of previous Sultans who have rule Abu Dhabi on the walls of the museum. We also saw a photograph of a scale model of the Abu Dhabi Mosque which we visited today. The King and his officials can be seen looking very proud of the mosque model displayed before them

Dubai - Abu Dhabi 5 of 7

The small museum was interesting to visit. The great display of the many black and white photographs revealed  much about the nomadic herders and fishermen's ways of life on these then 'deserted' islands. They had none of the conveniences like water and electricity and life must have been extremely arduous and challenging.

QWe were impressed with a life-size model of a typical palm-leaf designed dwelling that fishing families erected in the past. It was amazing how sturdy these huts were and how cool they were inside. The woven strips of palm leaves which they used, allowed air to filter into the huts whilst reflecting the harsh rays of the sun and proved the shelter and shade needed by the families within. The Bedouin tents made from camel hair and hides have not changed in design, for centuries. Today canvas, cotton and polypropylene are the materials used in rents across the Middle East. They are still long, low strung structures with several rooms, carpeted floors and comfortable furnishings. Today's modern caravans of tents are quite luxurious with a televisions, low slung furnishing and electric lighting and other appliances powered by generators. 

The museum included a range of past hajeb clothing worn by Moslem women. Some like the one in the photo would have been So inhibiting. We wonder why in such a hot country men wear long white gowns which reflect sunlight whilst the women are expected to wear long black gowns which absorb heat. Other displays included an extensive range of dagger designs, pottery and rifles which the Bedouins men carried as protection , as tools and to use in raids on other tribes. Many were decorated with silver designs and precious stones.  

The Bedouin people were very resourceful, using whatever resources available in the desert environment in practical ways. I have included a photo of a water carrier. It is made from the dried out stomach pouch of a goat - practical and resourceful. 

The temperature outside the museum was about 45 degrees Celsius but one little Arabian pussy cat found shelter on a display shelf inside the museum. and he was oblivious to the fact that a group of Aussies had passed by him. The museum is situated beside one of the many corniche ( a French word which Abu Dhabi people use for beach) found around these small islands. The waterways around the beaches are calm and gentle backwaters - not the crashing waves on our coastline. It was easy to understand how fishermen and families had lived on these island in the past because of the abundance of sea life and the ease with which they could glide onto the shore in their small wooden boats. Several displays of these fishing boats were lined up along the shore beside the museum.

Dubai - Abu Dhabi 6 of 7

Hard to imagine that once this area was a barren, dry unproductive sandy wasteland. Today there are modern highways, traffic lights, round-abouts, bridges,  multi storey buildings, residential apartments, officers and shopping malls.  The palace covers a huge area and is very palatial. We were allowed to roam inside freely around several floors of the section opened to the public.

The foyer of the palace entrance that we used had beautiful marble floors and walls, huge portraits of the Royal family, chandeliers and gold gilt trimmings on the ceiling and tall marble columns. The central atrium opened up to reveal several floors of suites and this was only a small section of the whole palace.

The rooms were generously decorated in rich tapestry lounges, shiny and colourful marbles with loads of gold leaf trimmings and gold ceilings. Entrance costs to view the palace is $30 but that included a sumptuous afternoon tea which we thoroughly enjoyed. 

We were one of several bus loads of tourists and locals who had afternoon tea at the palace. This must be a great revenue raiser for the Abu Dhabi economy -  a clever initiative by the king. 

We were treated as "princes and princesses". Our group was ushered into a wide open alcove, seated in low plush ornate lounges around groups of glittering glass coffee tables and we were serve Arabian Capuchino coffee in exquisite gold trimmed cups. "To top it off" the coffee even had edible gold dust on top. The coffee was served with a slice of beautifully light sponge cake with yellow-gold icing. The manicured gardens around the palace have been colourfully decorated with all kinds of plants, trees and succulents from all over the world and they are watered through the drip system that irrigates most vegetation on these arid islands. 

The palace and grounds have been built along a beautiful corniche. The views from the palace include the corniche,ithe waters surrounding the island with downtown Abu Dhabi in the background.

Our guide informed us that life in Abu Dhabi has improved for the local people because their king provides free housing, electricity , health and education. Tourism is one of Abu Dhabi's source of income wnd it is increasing as many residents of Dubai find these island relaxing compared to the hustle and business of Dubai. Some Dubai families own homes on the islands and spend weekends relaxing in the peaceful setting and quieter way of life. The discovery of oil in the sea off Abu Dhabi has further boosted the nation's income because this discovery has shown that there are enough oil reserves under the sea, near Abu Dhabi to provide oil for at least the next 150 years. Prospects look prosperous for Abu Dhabi but we hope both is thriving territory doesn't become as commercially crass as Dubai and that this UAI territory will "act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God" as Micah 6:8 states for when nations pursue prosperity for the sake of bigger and better "barns" at the expense of others they become inward looking not upward looking.

Dubai - Abu Dhabi 7 of 7

We left the palace and began our return trip back to the ship in Dubai. We took a quick side tour from our coach to view Abu Dhabi's Art Gallery as there was not enough to take an inside tour. This Gallery named "The Louvre Gallery", after Paris' famous museum. The Abu Dhabi government paid several hundred million dollars to the be able to use this same name for the next 20 years. They also paid  $749 million dollars to rent and display French artworks from The Versailles Palace in France. The building is several stories deep underground and it has an extremely modern glass and solar panelled roof that takes advantage of the solar rays so plentiful in this middle eastern country. Because everything in this building is powered by solar energy the power cost of running this building are negotiabe so buying a name and hiring exhibits and employing staff are the only costs incurred. Entrance fees are high but cheaper than flying to France to view master pieces and people are willing and able to purchase tickets to the "Louvre in Abu Dhabi" 

We had a wonderfully interesting and informative visit today  and we were driven back to the port to rejoin the Sea Princess. We decided to use up our last few Emirati Dirhams in the market stalls in the port terminal. We visited a stall where Mohammed and his two children were beginning to pack up for the day. They were ever so friendly and the children had excellent English. Their dad had a little English so they "helped him " with translation at times in our conversation. The children were in years 5 and 6 at an international school but as they had 5 days holiday they were assisting their dad in the stall. They offerred Ken and I a cop of jasmine tea and some chocolate lollies that looked exactly like coloured rocks. We enjoyed their hospitality and bought about 5 grams of saffron to use in special dishes when we get back home.  We spent our last notes and coins on this middle eastern spice which is very expensive in Australian supermarkets. It will be a wonderful reminder of our two days in Dubai. Sadly we never did get to roam around the spice  and textile souks (markets) and nor did w e get to cross the Dubai Creek in a junk boat as we ran out of time and energy. These will have to wait until next time.

Dubai First Day 1 of 5

Dubai is one of the 7 states that makes up the United Arab Emirates, a country formed in 1971 from individual sheikhdoms. An emirate is a political territory ruled by a dynastic Muslim monarch.

Here is a bit of historical background before we share about the activities, sights and experiences we had in our 2 day Dubai stop over.

Officially, Dubai was founded on June 9, 1833 by Sheikh Maktoum Bin Bvti Maktoum and 800 followers of the Bani Yas Tribe who travelled from Abu Dhabi to establish rule in this area. Ever since this date Dubai has been ruled by the Al Maktoum family.

However, as early as 1095 reference to the desert creek area, (where our ship was berthed) as a centre of trade reaches back 50 centuries where recorded documents reveal that the Magan civilisation sailed between the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean, trading in copper. During the 6th and 7th centuries, Dubai flourished as an important caravan route, supported by pearl diving. In the 15th century Europe tried to take over the trade route, but in 1820 Britain successfully negotiated the first of many maritime truces and Dubai became the main port on the Gulf coast, with pearling continuing to be the main stay of the city's prosperity.

Dubai is the second largest of the seven UAE territories. It lies on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula in the Persian Gulf. Summer temperatures April- October range from 30⁰C to 50⁰C whilst the "cooler months", November-March have a range of 20⁰C to 35⁰C.

When we'd docked earlier today, the familiar skyline of skyscrapers and cranes, greeted us just like last year. According to "Gulf News" one out of every 4 cranes on earth is located in Dubai. Massive building projects are still taking place all over Dubai and that's why the sky is grey rather than blue: excavation dust particles fill the air. The temperature was 40+C on our arrival but visibility of the sky line was dusty, due to a combination of heat haze, dust storm activity in the desert and from the numerous, 24 hour-excavations and construction sites dotted throughout Dubai.

We were in Dubai last year so this year we planned to again explore the world's largest mall, the Dubai Mall. This four-storey mall with its 1200 shops, an ice rink and an aquarium and a vast cinema complex, is fully air-conditioned and therefore a pleasant way to keep cool. This year we observed even larger crowds of tourists and local families ambling throughout the wide marble tiled corridors because today, being the last day of Ramadan, everyone was preparing and shopping for fresh food and delights to eat after sunset. Tonight all families will celebrate by enjoying feasts either at home or in the many restaurants throughout Dubai. There were also loads of children enjoying the sights and sounds of the various mall activities because as from today onwards a 5 day holiday from school is being a celebrated too. Here are some of the things we visited in the Dubai Mall: We again marvelled at the gigantic dinosaur skeleton towering within one of the many dome alcove areas. Ken and others were dwarfed by its height and length –it's a marvellous specimen and I wonder how much they paid to procure it! We again stood beside the huge 2 storey-high waterfall display with its cool rushing waters and silver coated Olympic diving athlete statues suspended "in mid air" above the cascading torrents of water. 

The sound of the waterfalls' thundering made it impossible to be heard when standing next to it but the gentle, cool, gossamer spray of water droplets that wharfs around the area brings the a coolness that is very refreshing and rewarding. The Dubai Mall of today is an oasis within a desert region. The aquarium within the mall is another impressive display, in a country once defined by its' extreme temperatures and lack of water. We joined crowds of people watching the rhythmic movement of sharks, stingrays, turtles and various fish species swirling and gliding around Dubai Mall's several storey high aquarium. People lined the upper floor balconies as well as the area beside the glass enclosure and young children looked in awe when a diver entered a cage and fed the sharks. The aquarium is a real draw card for tourists and locals, most of whom have never snorkelled or seen underwater life in all its beauty and intrigue. We have been spoilt by having snorkelled in several areas all over the world but we have never found any coral reef that comes near the majesty of Australia's Great Barrier Reef. However, we found the Dubai Malls Aquarium display refreshing, calming and relaxing and we'd recommend visiting the Mall just for this experience. 

Dubai First Day 2 of 5

Much of Dubai is made up of reclaimed land and there are several hundreds of man-made islands which have been created by massive architectural engineering over the past decades. Dubai Mall is built beside a huge, beautiful crystal green-blue manmade lake and we left the coolness of the mall to be entertained by the lakes' fountain display which is always spectacular to see. We headed outside into the rising heat and stared up at the world's highest tower, Burj Khalifa. This tower with its' 163 floors has the world's highest restaurant on the 122nd floor. It was difficult to capture the tower by camera as it glistened in the hot Arabian sunlight. Last year we saw it later in the day and it was easy to photograph. Disappointingly we had just missed the fountain display and would need to wait another 45 minutes for the next show to begin and as it was SO hot outside and we had other things to see in Dubai, we decided to "miss the show" and planned to return later at night to see the coloured waterfall show instead.

We headed for the station along air-conditioned moving platform walkways for about 10 minutes- a much needed way of crossing this desert-hot city. Then we caught a train across town on the Red Metro line and on the way passed several other large malls, many high rise buildings, clusters of apartments, parklands and business districts. The trains are very frequent and a relaxing, cheap and convenient way to move around Dubai. We bought an all day train pass for about $8 and were able to use it as many times as we liked on both the trains and tram line. We had a great view out towards the coastline and saw many of the man-made island communities where the affluent families reside or rent for grand waterside holidays. The train we caught had a symbol of Palm Jumeirah on its wall because we were on the train that goes to this palm-island-shaped conglomerate of man-made islands which now house families, a water playground park, restaurants and expensive hotels.

We saw some very unusual building designs from the train vista. I have included a photo of an oval egg-design metal office building that we passed in the train.

We left the train at Jumeirah Lake Towers and transferred to a tram which took us to the Monorail Hub. The monorail cost $6 return and it took us from the mainland out across reclaimed water to the Palm Jumeirah Island Complex built out in the ocean.

Dubai First Day 3 of 5

The Palm Jumeirah complex is the world's largest artificial island. It spans an area of 3.2 km by 3.2 km and can be seen from space. From the Monorail windows we looked down, out and over the fanned palm-frond-designed island communities below. Each of the Islamic designed 'Lego like" mansions had its own beachfront and yacht marina. From this area we also could look back to Dubai city, along a private beach line and across the water at a backdrop of high rise buildings. After about 10 minutes we arrived at the Palm Jumeirah island complex which is huge. This impressive engineering creation has been achieved by using thousands of foreign labourers who have flooded Dubai in search of work so that they can support their families back home. Labour is cheap , conditions are often unsafe but hundreds of third world people are desperate to rise above the poverty line and the risks they take working in the extreme heat of Dubai seems worth taking for them. Already thousands of workers are employed on yet a second Palm Island shaped development, an even higher tower than the Burj Khalifa, another extension of Dubai Mall and the latest creation- a new man-made complex of islands whose pattern formation represents the continents and islands of the world- absolutely mind boggling. Takes me back to Babylon, in the Bible. When man sought to build bigger and better palatial and exotic buildings, – man denying himself nothing but ignoring his Creator and those around him who were poor and desperate and needy. My how that mighty nation and others have fallen!

Greeting us at the exit monorail station is a huge water playground park, named Atlantis Aqua Adventure Park. We recognised it by a huge ziggurat-type construction in the centre of the park. This adventure playground was used as the set for "Race around the World", a TV show we'd seen a few years ago. Many families were enjoying the waterslides, boat rides, swimming pools and other activities which the park provides.

We hadn't come prepared to swim so we head out towards the outer rim of the circular causeway that surrounds the ocean complex. We watched families enjoying the cool ocean breeze, the water craft burling past the huge manmade rock platform retaining wall and a passing parade of expensive cars heading for the Atlantis Hotel Complex which is built along the shoreline of manmade beach out in the ocean.

Dubai First Day 4 of 5

We enjoyed relaxing on the wide boardwalk which is adjacent to the rock platform seawall which separates the manmade island complex from the ocean. Some families were camped out on the rock platform with picnic baskets and rugs. It was about 6pm (my how the daylight hours flew) and the sun was beginning to set behind the clouds on the horizon. We could imagine how beautiful the sunset would have been without those clouds because it had been such a hot day and a brilliant red sunset was what we expected. Still the air was cooler out on the boardwalk and we relaxed and enjoyed the experience.

The Atlantis Hotel Complex was huge. We never did get to ask how many rooms it contained but it must be in the hundreds. Maybe check it out on the net!

Just before the sun set, we took the monorail back to the tram station. We took one last photo from the back window of the monorail. In this shot you can see the massively tall Atlantis Hotel with the sunset behind it, in the distance.

Dubai First Day 5 of 5

We headed by train towards Dubai city passing more residential conclaves built beside man-made water courses and stopped at the Mall of the Emirates Station because we wanted to see the indoor Ski ramp and snow playground which is housed in the Mall of the Emirates complex. This mall is the second largest in Dubai. We stood at the glass walled viewing platform and watched many families lining up to enter the winter playground area. Tickets were quite expensive at $200 for an hours' skiing. The price included snow gear, jackets, pants, beanies, gloves and skis or toboggans. There were other deals for children's programs or for just riding the chair lift. We enjoyed watching people

Taking sled rides, skiing down the slopes and riding toboggans down ice covered tunnels and slipways. It looked cold inside as everyone wore gloves and snow gear. The buildings and fir trees were covered in powdered snowflakes and the ice glistened under the brightly lit sky-ceiling. It was such a pretty wonderland sight as you can see in the photographs.

Earlier in the day at the Dubai Mall we had spent some time watching skaters zipping around the ice skating rink in the Dubai Mall. I forgot to mention it earlier in the blog. Don't you just love the cute snowman gliders that beginners can use as they learn to skate. Ken and I watched children learning how to skate with their own private teachers who demonstrated the moves and then guided their young students ever so carefully.

After we left the Snowfield Mall we intended returning to The Dubai Outdoor Coloured Fountain Show but we were feeling totally exhausted, having been out since midday and having walked thousands of steps according to Ken's step counter. I did not need to check the step counts as my body was telling me that we should head to the Sea Princess where a hot shower, a cup of tea and a soft bed was all we needed. It was already 8.30 pm so we took 2 trains to the nearest station to the port. We both must have looked exhausted because when we entered the first train with about 10 station stops before our changeover station spot, a very kind man (an expat worker from India) offered me his seat. Then his mate stood up and offered Ken his seat. How thoughtful of them. We thanked them profusely and felt so blessed. Ken was feeling quite ill by the time the taxi arrived at the port. We stumbled up the gang plank, used the lift to the 10^th floor and flopped into our state room. Poor Ken vomited immediately. I think the long hot day (even though we were in air-conditioned malls) with trips in and out of the heat had taken its toll. After a shower, a cup of tea and chicken soup which we ordered as room service, we fell asleep. What a L-O-N-G but enjoyable and busy day we'd had. Next morning we awoke none the worse for our previously busy day.