So far, after a relatively long couple of days of traveling, we have arrived in Dubai. Our friend Jaber took care of the hotel arrangements, which was extremely helpful seeing as we arrived at the hotel at 4 a.m. and were completely brain dead. He was also two hours away from home, so I’m sure he didn’t get to bed until 6 a.m.
Meredith and I changed some money in the hotel where they had a bank as well as a full service shopping mall. This was a bit strange because the bank was closed and a banker met me at the door, asked if I wanted to change money and then told me to meet him in the children’s clothing store next to the bank.
He pulled out a pen and a slip of paper and began calculating our exchange. I found this all very disconcerting as I didn’t know the exact exchange rate and was forced to do some quick calculations of my own. He seemed to be on the level and after consulting Meredith and our currency exchange cards everything was seemed to be ok. $480 became 1728 A.E.D.
We caught a taxi and headed into downtown Dubai. The cabbie dropped us at the Al Manal shopping center where we walked for a bit and have just sat down for lunch. Every shopkeeper we see has been calling me over to look at the fake Rolex watches and the Armani perfume. It seems like the stuff to buy in Dubai is perfume, fabric, gold, and Rolex knock-offs.
Time to eat!
No comments:
Post a Comment