Christmas in Sharjah

Ernie had another visit with Santa Christmas morning, this time aboard the Norwegian Dawn.

We continued our efforts to eat every melon in the middle east.

We had another beautiful day to spend at the port of Dubai. This time we got off the boat and left Dubai immediately.

The United Arab Emirates is comprised of 7 emirates but I’d only ever been to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, so a trip to Sharjah was exciting. It seemed less glitzy and more devout than the other two.

We excitedly crossed the bridge to Al Noor Island.

Butterfly Park was full of butterflies, believe it or not.

There was a playground on the island as well.

We admired Central Souq Sharjah from the exterior.

Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilization

Observatory of Jantar Mantar

Jantar Mantar in Delhi was the first of the observatories to be constructed around 1334 AH/ 1722 AD during the Mughal rule in India. The observatory features fourteen geometric devices in stone. Astronomers used them to measure time, predict eclipses and track the movement of stars.

The largest instrument is a 21 metre high sundial called the Samrat Jantar.

On its top stood a small cupola (a domed structure) from which astronomers announced eclipses and the arrival of monsoons.

The Jayaprakas are a pair of concave hemispheres marked with astronomical scales. The hemispheres reflect the dome of the sky above.

Jantar Mantar has been restored and was declared a national monument in 1367 AH/ 1948 AD.

We actually saw Jantar Mantar when we visited Delhi in the brutal heat.

They had all kinds of inventive ways to keep time.

Rosewater Still

The cafeteria people spruced up dinner with some very cool carved fruits.

We capped our night with a Christmas show in the ship's theater.

A New Arabian Theme Park

We woke up and peered out of the window and saw that our magic carpet of a cruise ship room had transported us to Dubai, UAE. 

The Burj Khalifa is a pointy beast.

Motiongate Dubai theme park was fun because it's such a random collection of rides based on characters like Shrek, Ghostbusters, Hunger Games, John Wick, and Kung Fu Panda.

I was laughing because we had just walked through the front gate of this new theme park to explore full of untold wonders and Ern was immediately distracted by some rocks he saw on the ground. Focus buddy!

I love Ghostbusters so much. The ride was pretty meh but the chance to walk around in the firehouse HQ might be worth the whole thing for me. I don't like to brag but I've actually been inside the real firehouse.

The absolutely abandoned line had me wondering not just about this ride but about how the entire park might be doing financially.

The ride was like a shooter where you blast ghosts on various screens with your proton pack. It was not a cutting edge experience and I had no interest in riding it again despite the lack of a line.

Hotel Transylvania was a trackless dark ride.

It was time to take a train to see the big man.

I thought this "train ride" was really well done. We started in Dubai and ended at the North Pole.

I believe an understanding was reached, and the nice list was checked twice.

That building is a beauty. Too bad it contains a fart of a ride.

There was a fun kids play area.

The Madagascar themed carousel was especially timely and amusing because soon we'd be landing on the actual island of Madagascar.

Ern got to meet Kung Fu Panda.

I liked the Shrek area and the ride was pretty good too.

John Wick: Open Contract was another ride with an excellent building exterior. This one was meant to look like the NYC location of the Continental, "a luxurious hotel that serves as neutral ground for the underworld and where conducting criminal business is strictly forbidden".

Ern was too small for this ride but he did get to check out the sample seat thing.

This ride felt strange in that the facade was very themed and cool but then the ride was just sort of a generic roller coaster. The two parts didn't have any relation to each other and felt a bit tacked on. Later I learned that this was right on the money. The ride was designed for a failed Six Flags Dubai project and probably just got a facelift to be here.

While I was my organs rearranged by the coaster Ern was going to town on some corn on the cob.

I was amused that they were trying to get into the Christmas spirit with some mulled wine but then had to make it non-alcoholic.

This was the time that we went back and did the Shrek ride. It was well made.

As you can see I couldn't resist buying him a Ghostbusters shirt at the gift shop. Don't cross the streams!

There was a viking area.

A great time was had by all.

The beautifully illuminated Dubai skyline put on a show for us on the drive back to the cruise ship.