Dubai - Day 10 Around Dubai Creek

This afternoon we took a drive into the area of town that surrounds the Dubai Creek. Dehlis hadn't been there either before, so it was a bit of an adventure for all of us! We only had Daniel and Linnea with us though, Ida was sleeping and the big boys really just wanted to stay home and relax, so we let them.

We parked on the north side, the Deira side, and started by walking though the Spice Souk. It was a maze of narrow alleyways lined with small shops and holes-in-the-wall where the spices were piled high. Such a sensory walk!
Then we walked back to the creek and the 'abra' station, to catch one of the flat-bottomed and open-sided water taxis. A cheap ($1/trip) and breezy trip across the creek, with great views.
We went across to the south side, Bur Dubai. The 'abras' were continually going back and forth in big numbers, so no waiting time.
We went to this restaurant for an early dinner, housed in the Bait Al Wakeel building which used to be the Dubai office of the British India Company:
Again, we had misjudged the weather and ended up really freezing since it was really breezy and windy, and we had to wait 40 mins for our food. A popular place apparently!
But it was well worth the wait (even though Anne had to go and buy a pashmina for Daniel since he was so cold...); the food was really nice.
We had traditional Arabic food, tabbouleh, hummus, shish tavouk, shish kebab, falafel etc. Mmm, some of my favourites!
Then we walked up into another souk, which was an old renovated one, the Bur Dubai Souk. It really contains old and new, everything from textiles, pashminas and glittery Arabian slippers to money changers, curios and bargain clothes.
We did buy a few more pashminas, since we were cold you know - plus they were so pretty and cheap!
Then back to the 'abra' station and over the creek we went again. The sun was setting so the light was really beautiful.
It was a really, really nice afternoon. I wish we would have had even more time to wander around, it was such a beautiful, atmospheric and vibrant place.
Even though I thoroughly enjoy the lush shopping, stunning modern architecture, sophisticated dining etc here, it was lovely to get a taste of the Arab culture and more traditional parts of Dubai as well.

Now I feel like we've finally covered most sides of this multi-faceted city - the souks and bazaars, the shopping malls, the desert, audacious buildings and other projects, the nightlife and the culture.
Now we can go home. (But we will be back!)