My three travel companions took a water taxi from the Dubai Marina all the way to the Dubai Creek, with a stop at the Atlantis Hotel at the top end of the Jumeira Palm. It took an hour and a half – twice as long as a traffic-jammed taxi.
The Atlantis hotel looks like a Disney land hotel from the outside and inside you might as well be in Florida too. The stop was unplanned, due to motor failure. I warned Axel to beware of a motor-less boat drifting off to the Iranian coast.
The crew of the little boat that looks like a pod from the Body Snatchers, consisted of toothless Indonesians. They managed to avoid the Iranian coast and delivered everyone safely at the Gold Souk water taxi stop.
I missed the boat ride because of an MRI of my right knee, to determine whether a cortisone shot will do or I need an arthroscopic intervention.
While everyone my companions were still on the high seas someplace between Dubai and Iran, I went apartment hunting, walking in the hot midday sun from apartment complex to apartment complex until I found Mr. Shah from Mumbai who promised us a studio for a reasonable amount of money for our remaining 10 days. We will move to his apartment hotel on Wednesday morning.
In the afternoon Axel had his appointment with the anesthesiologist and other hospital staff to prepare for tomorrow’s surgery. We were warned that it is quite common here for surgeons to order an overnight stay at the hospital. I will go through a similar routine tomorrow afternoon.
On our way back from the hospital we stopped at the Dubai Mall to get me a new bathing suit. The one I had brought from Afghanistan had been blown away from our 33rd floor balcony where it was drying after a swim on the day of my arrival. When you live in a forest of skyscrapers there are canon winds that can be quite powerful.
We couldn’t resist the chocolate confections at one of the many coffee & pastry places at the mall (one that even took pride in training the next generation in indulgences) but instantly regretted our indulgence, that cost as much as dinner for two last night, after we had licked our plates clean.
Sylvia's Journal 
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