October 2019
My absolute favorite thing in Dubai is riding the abra across Dubai Creek. From my point of view, if a visitor to Dubai hasn't taken an abra ride at least once, they have not really experienced Dubai. The boats are from another age when the main city of Dubai was all around the original spice and gold markets in the old Deira section of town. Across the creek (just a small inlet from the Gulf) in Bur Dubai some new parts of the city had been established, ironically years later becaming modern Dubai. Some kind of transport was needed between "new and old" Dubai - hence the abra came into use.
An abra is a noisy boat with a rectangular bench around the motor in the center. The boatsman steers with a long-handled tiller in the rear. Boats are canopied to protect against Dubai's often blazing sun. The mini-ferries dock and tie up in seconds - people jump off and the next crowd shuffles on. Bother any safety precautions - the abra are from another time. Get on and get off, don't dawdle, and mind your step lest you want to fall into Dubai Creek. Fares are passed to a guy on board, often via a fellow passenger a là Filipino tricycle. The ride itself is all of 10 minutes and passes a variety of other craft along the way. An exhilarating experience, not to mention just a little edgy - there isn't much protecting the passengers from any kind of boating mishap on that busy channel.
MWK and I took the abra on my first visit and we loved it. I didn't take it on every visit to Dubai, but any time I was with a first-time visitor, I insisted they ride the abra. No one didn't like it - it was just good fun. The price point was decent, too, at one dirham (about 25 cents US). There are classic boat rides in cities worldwide - the Star Ferry in Hong Kong, the Staten Island Ferry in New York City, the bateaux mouches of Paris, the ferry to Manly from Sydney Harbor, and finally, the little putt-putt abras of Dubai Creek.
Sometimes the cheapest thrills are really the best ones.