At the end of January I had the chance to do something most accountants would find unthinkable - a mid-winter getaway! Dubai is somewhere I've wanted to visit over the past several years. Anywhere that has the biggest, tallest, fastest, bestest of everything merits a visit. From Europe it's still a long ways - about 3,000 miles - but that's the distance one needs to travel for guaranteed warm weather.
So I arrived Friday morning at about 7:00 am on a flight from Copenhagen. I was looking forward to taking the Metro to the hotel. First lesson: everything shuts down in a Muslim country on Fridays. It's the day they go to the mosque. Yes, this means even the COMPLETELY AUTOMATED metro system with no drivers is also shut down until 2pm. So instead, took a taxi. Checked into the hotel, met up with my friend, and did some sightseeing. First stop, Mall of the Emirates, which among other things is home to the indoor ski slopes, 5 different Starbucks, and prayer rooms for Muslims. This used to be the biggest mall in the world, until you guessed it, an even bigger "biggest mall in the world" opened - about 7 miles away. Here's a pic of the indoor skiing:
We grabbed some Indian food at the mall. Let me just say that one of the pleasures of Dubai was getting a weekend of American-style chain/junk food in my system. Every American comfort food that I've been missing was available. Cinnabon, Krispy Kreme, Coldstone, Dunkin Donuts, CPK, Taco Bell - you name it, it's there. However, Dubai also had amazing Indian food. About 60% of the population of Dubai consists of workers from India. According to one of my books, only 10% of Dubai's population is local. Most come from India or Asia as workers, and there's about 10% western expats. The downside of this is that Dubai is 75% men, 25% women. Not exactly the place for a weekend fling! The first day was a long one, especially with my overnight flight, so we had some drinks on top of my hotel and I got a few good night shots:
Saturday we walked around the old part of Dubai. This is where you feel like you're in a far away place. The malls, beaches, and resorts seem a world away as you're walking through a market being harassed by touts, old men are smoking sheesha's on the sidewalk (Arabian pipes), and English isn't spoken. This is why I enjoy traveling to far away places like Dubai - the sights, smells, and food stick with you for awhile. We ate at an awesome Afghan restaurant, only white people there, 100% language barrier, and an amazing all-you-can-eat chicken and rice lunch for $3 (or the same price as a Baskin Robbins ice cream cone at the mall). Met up with a few of my friend's colleagues that night and did a little bar hopping. Because of the limits on alcohol to Muslims, alcohol is difficult to find in Dubai outside the hotels. Only foreigners can buy it, and it's expensive. Dubai isn't as westernized as many think in this regard. Here's a couple pics of the older part of the city:
Sunday and Monday are workdays in Dubai, so my friend was back at work. I did some additional shopping, beach, and saw a few more sights on my own. Being on your own in a foreign country is also an interesting experience. It breaks down barriers and makes you more approachable. But this can be a bad thing as experienced with a Pakistani cab driver. First thing he asks is where I'm from (my new answer is Holland - the Dutch don't seem to make anyone mad at the moment) and he launches into all kinds of questions about what religion Holland is and do I go to church, etc. Despite trying to change the subject more than once, I learned all about Islam and how they believe in Jesus and all religions have the same God. While I didn't exactly wish to get a 15-minute sermon, it was a nice cultural moment. Here's a few pictures:
As the trip wound to a close after one last dinner with my friend on Monday, it was time for another long red-eye flight back to Amsterdam and then off to work. When doing the online check-in, they were offering upgrades for a VERY reasonable price. It was a free ticket to begin with, so why the hell not, I decided. Great decision, as not only did I sleep the entire way back and rest relatively well, but I also got some great entertainment. My free flight was on Austrian Airlines, and the main flight attendant was a sweet old Austrian lady with an awesome accent. Let's just say that sweet old Austrian ladies aren't so sweet when people sneak into Business class from coach. As I was dozing off, I see the flight attendants gathering around a person behind me who has their seat fully extended and is pretending to snore. The sweet flight attendant says "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING!!?!!" and proceeds to completely tell this guy off saying he must pay 500 euros immediately, go back to coach immediately, or be arrested when we land in Vienna. She wouldn't even let him talk, just kept repeating "It's absolutely impossible, you pay 500 euros or get out of here now, the rest of these people paid a lot of money and you are stealing". Quite comical really. After a minute of this, he slinked back to cattle-class. Reminded me of that Seinfeld episode where Jerry is in first and Elaine is in coach, and Elaine sneaks into first class. This was more entertaining. For the record I paid nowhere near 500 euros.
So in short, great weekend. Dubai is a lot like Vegas - but without the booze, gambling, and women. However, for a warm weekend getaway, the chance to see the tallest/biggest/awesomest of everything, do some shopping and temporarily return to a land of free refills and good service, it was a great time. This was my third time in the Middle East and I find the place fascinating. The culture is one that is very different from ours, and I enjoy seeing the contrasts. You just don't find things like womens' only cars on the subway, separate pork-selling sections of the supermarket for non-Muslims only, and calls to prayer in shopping malls anywhere in the world. I'll be making some more trips to the region in the future.
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