Min Abu Dhabi ila Dubai bil Bus

My last trip to Dubai was memorable. I woke up bright and early on Saturday and got dropped off at the Abu Dhabi bus station near Al Wahda Mall. Luckily, there was an Emirates Express bus leaving for Dubai in 10 minutes so I hopped in, paid the fare (15 Dhs only!) and settled down with my book. The bus filled up pretty quickly; mostly young men (Indians, Pakistanis and Filipinos).

Since traffic on Sheikh Zayed Road was low on Saturday morning, we made it to Dubai in an hour. I wanted to get off at Mall of the Emirates where I was meeting my friend for lunch but the bus went all the way into Bur Dubai. This is the old Dubai area, the buildings are somewhat dilapidated and run-down in comparison to the bright and shiny "new" Dubai and you hardly see any Arab/Emirati nationals. I got off at Al-Ghubaibah bus station and tried to figure out how I could get to Mall of the Emirates. There were no maps, so I asked the RTA officer for directions. He told me to take the 9D bus to Al-Satwa station and from there I could take another bus to MoE.

Forty minutes later, after roasting in the heat, I boarded the bus to Al-Satwa. Again, I got stared at since I was the only female (weird enough? stupid enough?) to take the bus. The bus ride from Al-Satwa to MoE took another forty-five minutes. By this time, I was tired, hungry, hot and frustrated.

Mall of the Emirates cheered me up :) I met Al (one of my Pton roomies who got transferred to Dubai). We had lunch (creamy soup with warm bread fresh from the oven) and wandered around the mall. Al had to leave early so I decided to head back around 5:00 pm. I ended up taking a taxi to Bur Dubai and from there I took another bus back to Abu Dhabi. This one was filled with Pakistani laborers and again I was the only girl :S.

I know this sounds really mean but they were smelly! It's the weekend... they could have taken a shower and put on some perfume or attar... I've noticed South Asian men have a strong smell; Arabs and Filipinos are generally cleaner and are more particular about personal hygiene (and they don't stare).

Masalaam Dubai!