ОАЭ - страна-сказка UAE - fairy tale country

There were three of us, I really wanted to get to the emirates. At first they thought about Dubai, the travel agency dissuaded me to Sharjah. I do not regret it, since the hotel is really located 3-4 minutes walk from a free, fairly clean beach (our people will leave a couple of cigarette butts everywhere).
About the number. Every day changed the bed, towels (large and small). The only thing for a small fee of 3-4 dirhams is that you will also get a one-time meal in the bathroom and in the minibar. Of course, we immediately clarified what is paid there and what is free. Vacuumed not every day. I do not consider this a huge disaster, I came there to watch the country, swim and sunbathe, and not sit in the room, writing shortcomings. ))) Absolutely free of charge, at the request, they brought an iron, an adapter, near the pool they received beach towels in exchange for cards (which were given to us at the reception). We went to the beach with them.
As for the roads, there really are no crossings, but it is not difficult to wait until 2-3 cars pass and cross the road, sometimes they even let us through. It's normal for them, just accept it as a fact, locals rarely move on foot at all, if only from store to store.

The hotel itself is located almost on the shore of the bay, across the road. And believe me, this is far from the city center. We were driven around the city at night - this is something !! ! And this is far from Sharjah Souk and Sharjah City Center. It’s just worth a look just for fun, there is a fountain, of course it’s far from Dubai, here the emphasis is on a light and laser show along with music and video.
We were lucky, we accidentally met a taxi driver guy, he was from Uzbekistan, he spoke excellent Russian. We got into his car to get to Dubai, and in the end we agreed on a sightseeing tour of the city. We took the risk and have not regretted it. for 100 American he drove the three of us from 8 pm to 1 am. (I’ll make a reservation right away - he has been working in the Emirates for several years and is well oriented everywhere). So, we got to the Dubai Mall, he immediately led us to the counter, where we bought tickets for the Burj Khalifa for the day after tomorrow for 100 dirhams (about 30 bucks), it's really 4 times cheaper than if you go up immediately. In my opinion, we watched 4 performances of fountains, in between them he led us along the Mall, to interesting places, and a fountain with jumping swimmers, and an aquarium, and much more. I think we ourselves would have wandered there for a long time in search of good sense. We didn’t even think about going shopping to Dubai Mall, since everything is much cheaper in Sharjah Souk and Gold Souk. But more on that later. After the performance of the fountains, we went to see the palaces of the sheikhs, the Jumeirah palm tree, the sailboat hotel, and it was cool to just go around the city, because Dubai is a place of the most daring fantasies of architects. During the trip, our "guide" told us all sorts of stories, legends, facts. In general, we liked it, and then comparing the reviews of people who paid $ 75 for a sightseeing tour, we realized that we were very lucky. And we have used the services of this guy more than once, but already as a taxi driver.
About transport. There seems to be a bus from the hotel to Dubai at 16.00, but somehow! we never got on it, it’s just today that it doesn’t go, then we didn’t have time to sign up (I need to at 8, but I didn’t have time at 8.20, so that if you go, shake your mustache)))). We went to the Sharjah city center by bus, which passes through all the hotels and collects people, he was the first to call at our hotel))). This is a huge supermarket, there is sun | and a super grocery store inside, and just shops, and boutiques, there is enough of everything, there we mainly bought food and treats. A storehouse of souvenirs, or rather two, were located on the back side of the city center. These are two stores, even a super market, in which everything costs from 1 dirham to 10 (that's not even three dollars). You can find everything there: clothes for men, women, children, for baths, for home, for fishermen, for craftsmen, all kinds of tool kits, a bunch of ladies' stuff, toys, for school, for cars, souvenirs with local flavor and photographs of sights, etc. . Our eyes widened, they were called, in my opinion, GIFT TOWER or GIFT MARKET.
For a long time we could not figure out from the reviews from the Internet what Sharjah Souk and Gold Souk are, where they are located, whether they are one and the same. It turns out from the hotel there on foot for about ten minutes, but this is for those who like to breathe hot air. We went there only in the evening, as they had Ramadan and during the day it was not interesting at all. All life starts at eight or nine in the evening. So, these two markets (Bitch) are side by side and are even connected by such a covered bridge so that you don’t cross the street in stuffiness. They bargained for everything, they dropped prices reluctantly, but who can resist half-hour and hour-long conversations about discounts))) For example, they bought a silk nightgown and negligee for $35, good leather original bags were bargained for up to $25-30. For gold and silver, you can immediately remove a third of the cost in a brazen way and start haggling further from this figure. This is in short. It's very nice to just take a walk there to look at the goods, at the people, at life in the evening.

Were on safari. Again, we were lucky with the driver, he was an Arab, he does safari as a hobby, but he did it very professionally. We conquered the highest dunes from the whole caravan, we slightly provoked him, and every time he proved that he could do anything. Thank God, not a timid dozen people gathered in the car))). We tried to shoot a video, then spat and just enjoyed the sensations. After the desert itself, they were taken to a specially fenced town for dinner. There we ate as much as we wanted, drank as much water as we wanted, smoked a hookah, played live music, made a henna tattoo, which really lasted 3 days, but they promised 2 weeks, but oh well))), rode camels, you could just sit on pillows and relax. I personally went there for a safari and would go on it every day just because of the desert. Of course, we must understand that we came from there all in the sand. But we got acquainted with our driver Abdulla, he showed us the night Sharjah and treated us to shuarma (that's what they call it), fresh juices and other goodies. And the taste of the food there is really special. I can’t help but note that the smell comes from the Arabs and other inhabitants of the country (there are only 11% of Arabs there), it’s peculiar, I almost didn’t feel it, and if I felt it, it wasn’t unpleasant for me, but my friends sometimes have a lump. rolled up to the throat, it's all individually.
We climbed the Burj Khalifa. For some, lost money, but if you love with your eyes, want to feel all the grandeur and splendor of this building - go. I really liked it!! ! If you know English, read the history of creation, interesting facts, you get the impression that the building tells you about itself, since everything is written in the first person.
In general, I liked the trip very much, I would still stay and probably not even for a week, despite the heat. People are very friendly, trusting, honest, polite. It was nice to be a tourist in this country. Sorry for the possible confusion of the story, I want to share everything at once!