Days 39 to 47 - Dubai (plus a few travel days)

(Quick Note:  We apologize to our 4 dedicated blog readers (big shout out to our parents!) for our delay in posting anything in recent weeks.  After our time in Dubai, we were in Africa and struggled getting any internet service.  Spoiler alert, we did survive Kilimanjaro, but we’ll update on that later!)

The City of Gold!  If there ever was a place that lived up to its nickname it’s certainly Dubai.  From spectacular skyscrapers to “over the top” attractions, Dubai doesn’t disappoint.  We quickly learned that Dubai wasn’t as conservative when it comes to women's attire as some of the other Arab countries, so Ines let her hair down and off we went to explore!

The first night we went to the Dubai Mall, the largest mall in the world (you hear the words “largest”, “biggest”, “most expensive”, etc. throughout Dubai).  While neither of us are huge fans of time at the mall, it’s quite impressive.  While just walking around we saw the largest dinosaur skeleton in the world (shipped in from Wyoming), checked out the giant indoor ice rink, saw the four story indoor aquarium complete with sharks, and marveled at all the shops that go beyond affordability. We then ate dinner while watching the musical fountains of downtown Dubai (yep, you guessed it, the world’s largest choreographed fountain system) light up the night sky, which left both of us wondering, what are we getting ourselves into?

The next day we ventured into the old area of Dubai, where it felt like scenes from Aladdin were being played out (you have to admit, it’s a Disney classic).  The main attractions were the “Souks”, most notably the spice souk and the gold souk.  Ines immediately felt at home and went to work bargaining with the vendors.  Korey also went to work, and somehow held Ines to only buying a pair of shoes (what else) and some Za’atar spice, but narrowly avoided disaster in the gold souk (which was Korey’s main goal).  It was great to see Dubai’s heritage and history, and explore something other than Dubai showing off its wealth!

That evening we had another friend-of-a-friend connection meet up!  Korey’s friend from Baltimore (thanks Chris!) has a friend living in Dubai, so we met for dinner, drinks, and hookah at a rooftop restaurant with unbelievable views of the skyline.  We received great recommendations from him and his wife and enjoyed talking wth such interesting and fun people (hope your holidays were great Dennis and Colleen!). 

The next day Korey got his wish.  A trip to the the top of the tallest building in the world.  The Burj Kalifa is both intimidating inside and out,  with a very strict dress code to enter the restaurant lounge.  So of course, Korey’s travel shoes (which he still thinks meets the dress code) did not make the cut for the lounge area, and after awkwardly borrowing some too big pointy leather dress shoes from the hostess, we ventured near the top to the lounge area.  Ines was able to tolerate the height for a while, but eventually being up over 2,000 feet in a building (the building itself pushes 2,700) took it’s toll and we came down with some weak knees and a great experience!  Needless to say, Korey took the pictures from up above. One of the more interesting sights at the entrance to the Burj Khalifa which is also the entrance to The Address Hotel was a sighting of a red Rolls Royce with the #5 license plate (quick side note - license plates can be expensive in Dubai and are seen as a status symbol).  It didn’t seem like much at the time, but upon “googling” the person with that car, we learned the Sheik paid $6.8 million dollars to have that license plate, just insane. 

We then used one of our Dubai days to travel and explore nearby Abu Dhabi.  We rented a car and took the hour and a half drive to the capital of the United Arab Emirates to see what it had to offer.  Aside from the million dollar sports cars passing you left and right, driving in the UAB wasn’t half bad.  We easily made our way to the capital and first visited the Grand Mosque, an amazing site with plenty of history.  We drove through town to see more amazing skyscrapers, took a walk along the beach and dipped our toes for a romantic walk along the Arabian Gulf, zipped through Ferrari world (yep), and then headed back to Dubai, still shaking our heads at the over-the-top wealth of this country.

We were lucky enough to run into another friend-of-a-friend from Maryland, Ayse (thanks Melissa!).  She was there for a trade-show for work and we were able to meet up for tea before she was off to a world-wind of meetings and conference responsibilities.  What a treat! She told us all about Dubai and led us to our next adventure!

With one of our last days we decided to venture into the nearby desert, and we were certainly glad we did!  After an hour drive out of the city, we experienced a dune bashing ride in a Land Rover that left Korey giggling and Ines a little white in the face!  After that, we were taken to a desert oasis that included hookah, camel rides, henna tattoo painting, and local foods.  After experiencing everything the oasis had to offer, we sat down to dinner with entertainment that featured fire breathing and belly dancing.  We had a great time and consider it our favorite adventure in Dubai!

The last day in Dubai was spent preparing for our upcoming safari and Kilimanjaro climb in Tanzania.  Dubai started to feel too luxurious for even Ines (although Ines would like to state that she witnessed Korey actually relaxing for maybe the first time).  We are ready for the next adventure!  After washing all our clothes in the tub and drying them overnight (the joys of travel continue!), we departed to Africa!

Things we learned: 1) be careful dismounting a camel and always put the smaller person to the back.  Korey almost took out Ines and the camel's face when we tried to get off.  Luckily his amazing balance helped avoid disaster, 2) don’t go shopping in Dubai.  Just don’t do it.  It’s for Sheiks, Bill Gates, and Donald Trump, and that’s about it, 3) anything is possible.  Have an idea?  Go to Dubai, you’ll find the money you need to try it out.  Seriously, this place is the perfect place to try anything, heck, they have giant man-made islands that look like palm trees.  Because, why not?

Dubai is truly a desert with skyscrapers almost randomly jutting out of the ground

Our first evening in town, classic view of the Burj Khalifa

Largest dinosaur skeleton in the world, just chillin' in the Dubai Mall

The magical fountain with more skyscrapers in the background!

How is it that Ines still manages to look better than Korey dressed like this?

Entrance to the gold souk.  See the smile?

Sunset view from the lounge at Burj Khalifa.  Hard to believe we're looking down on 80-story buildings...

Ines doing her best to enjoy the meal!

Clearly she feels more comfortable acting goofy at the mall...

Dennis and Colleen were great to hang out with!  Thanks again!

Selfie in front of the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi

Coffee with Ayse!  Thanks again!

Dune Bashing!  You can hear the women in the car not loving it...

 

 

Arabian Desert fun!

Camel riding.  Pretty much the not smoothest ride ever, c'mon camels

Our entertainment for the night!

Traditional Middle Eastern dinner in the desert