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<\/a><\/p>\nOur stay in Oman wasn’t long enough! \u00a0It would have been nice to linger for a few more days at the fabulous Grand Hyatt Muscat, but we had to go to Dubai, UAE. \u00a0Our group boarded the bus in plenty of time to drive to the airport. \u00a0However, we soon learned that the president of Egypt was visiting Oman and all traffic stopped.<\/p>\n
Mohammad, our local Omani guide, stepped off the bus to negotiate with the armed guards who were blocking traffic, but to no avail. \u00a0The entire capital city stopped and waited for an hour….<\/p>\n Eventually, Muscat came to life again and all the traffic moved at the same time. \u00a0We arrived at the airport and flew to Dubai, United Arab Emirates – called the “Las Vegas of the Arab World.”<\/p>\n The only problem was that they’re still building Dubai and there was construction everywhere and traffic everywhere. \u00a0We drove to the Hyatt Regency Hotel in the Deira neighborhood, also known as the Dubai Creek or the historic “cultural heart of the city.”<\/p>\n Since it was early, Linda and I walked to the nearby Souq to explore and see what was there.<\/p>\n There were many jewelry stores selling gold necklaces for Arabian brides.<\/p>\n The neighborhood was full of shops selling everything from traditional clothing, food, tourist souvenirs, cameras, jewelry, fabric, scarves, and household goods. \u00a0We even found a “dollar store” or in this case a “1 – 10 Dirham” store. \u00a0(Currency exchange: .27 cents to $2.70)<\/p>\n Most of the vendors were from Afghanistan and the shoppers seemed to be “ex-pats” from India and Pakistan.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n