Dinosaur Spotted at The Dubai Mall!

 Another great reason to visit The Dubai Mall is this “new dinosaur” which was unveiled just 10 days ago on March 11th, 2014.  Apparently they paid 15 million dollars to purchase this dinosaur skeleton which was flown from the Dana Quarry in Wyoming, USA.The dinosaur exhibit is inside the main entrance is free for viewing!  I love the pamphlet that visitors are free to pick up on either side of the display case.  I’ve scanned and included each page of that pamphlet in this blogpost in order to share the information on this remarkable exhibit.Just look at that tail!When first looking at the dinosaur, I thought they had painted the bones purple or blue but as you can see, they have bluish lights that come up and hit the dinosaur giving it that look.Lots of great info on this page. As with most pics on this blog, just click it to magnify it.  Once on that page, you can magnify it more by clicking on the spot you wish to view.They anticipate even more footfall in the world’s largest mall with this latest exhibit.  It certainly is worth at least a few minutes of appreciation as you shop there!As you can imagine and can see in these pics, this is a big hit with visitors!  Just as I went photo crazy (seen by the number of pics posted here!), people couldn’t seem to get enough of this dino and with good reason; it’s remarkable!Being such a magnificent creature of the past, it wouldn’t seem right to post this blogpost without at least one black and white photo! 🙂I’m so glad that I found the time to meet up with my wife’s brother-in-law, Noel, while in Dubai.  The truth is the 2 of us in the foreground are the real dinosaurs in this pic as the pretty one in blue is fresh off the plane and the talk of the town! 😉 Here’s a video I put together using Youtube Video Editor and my Powershot A810: 

United Christian Church of Dubai

If you are a Christian and find yourself in Dubai, I highly recommend going to the United Christian Church of Dubai.  One of the highlights of all my trips to Dubai was worshiping there.If you do make it to UCC Dubai, I have no doubt that you’ll feel just as welcome as we felt on our first visit there.  People from many different nations around the globe congregate there and you truly get a sense of what heaven will be like as there will be “persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.” (Revelation 5:9)

I got this explanation of the church from one of the brochures available in their church.  You can find out more information about this wonderful church at http://www.uccdubai.com.My friend Wes who was on break from his work in North Korea.As you can see here from the plaque on the front of the church, UCC Dubai was dedicated on Oct. 24th, 2003 on land generously given by the ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid al Maktoum!  The people of the UAE are obviously very tolerant and generous.  I pray that God will continue to bless the nation for their warmth and hospitality!

One of the deep and beautiful songs we sang on the morning we attended (Jan 3, 2014).  Others included:  Arise, My Soul, Arise, See What a Morning, The Power of the Cross, O for a Thousand Tongues and My Soul Finds Rest.The sermon we heard was delivered by Jonathan Lim (his first at UCC Dubai!) and it was from Psalm 146.  He asked us to think about 2 ?s: Who did I trust in 2004? and Who will I trust in 2014?  To download or listen to past sermons, visit: http://www.uccdubai.com/sermons  The verses quoted in this blogpost were all found on different church brochures during my visit.I was impressed to hear that John Piper (of http://www.desiringgod.org – one of my favorite preachers of today) was a guest preacher here in November.  Must be a very biblically-sound church to have him preach there.Love the stain-glassed window!  We were very impressed with the welcome team who made us feel right at home as we had coffee and chatted in the back of the hall after the service.  Everything about the church was so orderly in the most comfortable sense of the word.  As a quick example, even in the printed “Order of Service”, they write: “After the benediction, we spend a few moments silently reflecting on the morning’s service. When the music resumes, please join us for conversation and refreshments, which are at the back of the hall.” They even had a book selling ministry to raise funds and I managed to pick up “Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God” (written by JI Packer) for 55 AED.If you do come to UCC Dubai and it’s your first time, keep your eye out for this landmark known as “Ibn Battuta Gate” which is not far from the church:Here are the directions from the “Visitor’s Information Brochure”:They even have buses to bring people to church! Here’s the schedule as of Jan 3rd (might want to call ahead to check if there have been any changes):United Christian Church of Dubai – another brilliant reason to visit Dubai! 🙂

Dubai Marina

Dubai Marina is a gorgeous area to just walk around and take in the sights. The Dubai Marina Mall The Dubai Marina Mall “Taxi” The GuGu Boat (www.guguboat.com) looks like a cool experience.

Dragon Mart, Dubai

Anyone who has driven to Dubai from Muscat (or vice versa) has certainly taken notice of Dragon Mart and the dragon fountain in front of it.  It’s right on the Hatta-Oman Highway (E44) which is also called Al Awir Road.  After traveling to Dubai a few times, I decided to check the place out for myself on my most recent trip.“DragonMart provides a gateway for the supply of Chinese products in the Middle Eastern and North African Markets, offering Chinese traders and manufacturers a unique platform from which to cater to the needs of this sizeable market. Inaugurated on December 7th, 2004, the 1.2 kilometre-long DragonMart is the largest trading centre for Chinese products outside mainland China.”Dragon Mart – “Where you can find one in a million or a million of one.” (from the official DragonMart website)There are a lot of shops and stalls (mostly in the main lobby) in the mall selling all kinds of Chinese products “including home appliances, stationery, office appliances, communication and acoustic equipment, lamps, household items, building materials, furniture, toys, machinery, garments, textiles, footwear and general merchandise“.It was interesting walking through Dragon Mart but I wouldn’t exactly consider it a “must see” in Dubai.  Any of you been to Dragon Mart? If so, what did you think of the place?

Sushi Counter, Dubai

If you make it to Dubai and love sushi as much as we do, Sushi Counter is a great chain of restaurants to try out.  The one we tried (pictured here) is on Sheikh Zayed Road in City Tower One.Served before your eyes in a matter of minutes!On each table, customers have their choice of salty soy sauce or sweet soy sauce. Both were good to my taste buds!Plenty of seats downstairsUpstairs as wellLunch Combo #55 (55 AED) – Here are the details of the lunch combos. This was my lunch combo (also #55).  Although not pictured here, don’t forget that these combos come with miso soup and your choice of fresh mango or pineapple.  We were both impressed with the quality and prices of the food.We decided to try something different as well so we went with the Avocado Shrimp Tartare which contains Ebi shrimp, cucumber, avocado, creamy spicy, blue flower, dill leaves, black and white sesame seeds (35 AED).  Not bad! Other tartares available include salmon, tuna, and white fish tartares.

The menu is far too big to post every page, but I’ll include a few here to give you an idea of the options:Overall, it was a great dining experience for us at Sushi Counter on Sheikh Zayed Road! (Tel:04-388-8065/8069).  2 lunch combos + 1 avocado shrimp tartare + 1 coke + 1 small water = 156 AED.  We just might try other selections from their menu at their other branches including: Dubai Media City (Tel:04-375-1095/1096), Dubai Motor City (04-375-1686/1687), The Dubai Mall, Lower Ground Food Court (04-388-2245) and Dubai Marina (04-442-7503/7506). Dine-in, pick up, or delivery.  www.sushicounter.com or check them out on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/sushicounter Open 7 days a week.