Driving back to Dubai and exploring the town

After the interview, we were offered to be given a ride by Phil, the head hunter I had who helped me get in contact with the school. We drove on the long, straight road from Al Ain to Dubai, which was well lit the entire way. In the Emirate of Abu Dhabi (the "state" where Al Ain is located) had date palm trees lining the center of the highway all the way to the boarder of the Dubai Emirate. Traffic isn't an issue on that road until you get to Dubai. Speed limits are 120 km/h, but a local told me they don't bother you unless you're going over 160. We saw 1 cop the whole time. I heard that they have cameras on the roads that will catch you speeding. All of the natives are fairly wealthy and you can tell when they are on the road because they go flying by you. They really don't care if they get caught speeding...the fines aren't too steep.

Once we arrived in Dubai, we drove around different areas of town, which is pretty spread out. It takes a lot longer to get around than you would think. We were dropped off at a souk (market) that sold mostly tourist stuff. There are others around that sell fresh foods, gold, clothing, etc. The area we were in was called Madinat, and was designed to look like an old style arab town. It was relatively close to the Burj Al Arab hotel (the 7 star hotel shapes like an open sail). There was a smaller hotel and many restaurants that surrounded a waterway which ran through the center, reminding me of Venice. Small motor boats were available for a short ride.

After dinner and exploring the souk, we grabbed a taxi and went on our way to the airport for our 2 AM departure to Amsterdam...then home to Atlanta. 16 hours of flying...woo hoo!