Crossing Dubai Creek

Crossing Dubai creek has remained charming. No boring pedestrian bridges here. Just hop onto a little motor boat, pay a few cents and enjoy the romantic trek to the other side.



Here in Iowa or in Minnesota, where I grew up, if one thinks of a creek, they think of a small meandering body of water gently flowing through the pasture. It might be big enough to float a paper sail boat or be a rushing torrent after the spring thaws, but for the most part it is good for watering cattle or casual creek walking on a hot summer day.

Not so in Dubai. When they say creek, they mean much more than that. It's more of a small river and a curious one at that, one teeming with activity. This "creek" connects to the Persian Gulf where much transporting of goods still takes place, mostly, I understand between Iran and the UAE.



At first it puzzled me. How do I get to the other side? On the map there were museums I wanted to see..."over there". But there were no bridges. I was stumped, so I kept on walking and observing. Sure enough, it finally became clear to me when I reached a little dock and folks were streaming on and off little motor boats. How great! I loved the fact that I could not only cross the creek, but get a very reasonably priced boat ride too.

Don't miss the "creek" if you visit Dubai. Yes, Dubai is fast becoming one of the most modern places in the world with its seven star hotel, but I do hope it retains its romantic Dubai creek crossings and never builds boring pedestrian bridges.

See where else I've been after crossing Dubai.