On September 7, 2015 we flew from Stockholm, Sweden 6 hours to Dubai, United Arab Emirates on the 3rd leg of our "Long Way Home." We never thought we'd be headed to the Middle East but were pretty excited to check out somewhere in this part of the world! (Our next destination was going to be Bali, Indonesia and most of the flights from Sweden stopped in Dubai anyway so we decided to add 3 nights here to be able to spend some time in this area).
We arrived real late at night local time, about 11:30 pm. We noticed the differences right away as we came through customs. All the agents were all wearing full white dress with turbans on their heads. The airport was the fanciest we've ever seen, very modern architecture and marble floors! Dubai is known to be very extravagant, like the Las Vegas of the Middle East and we could see this right away.
The next morning we set out to explore. Here we are just a few blocks from our hotel down by the beach. The temperature was scorching so there weren't many people out and about.
Lots of high rise buildings along the beachfront...
After giving up quickly because we were so hot we hopped in a taxi to take us to the famous Mall of the Emirates.
The mall was very large with all the floors being marble and many domed glass ceilings.
The craziest thing to see at the mall was the indoor ski slope that was there, complete with a full size chairlift...So crazy! We didn't actually ski but it was fun to watch, there even was a chalet to rent all the equipment you needed and it looked just like a real ski lodge in the mountains!
After checking things out at the mall and having lunch we took a taxi back to our hotel. Here were some of the large and interesting looking buildings we passed on the way...
Below on the left is the Burj Khalifa, the tallest structure in the world, and a building meant to look like Big Ben!
Once we got back to the hotel we decided to walk about 2.5 blocks behind our hotel to take some pictures of the marina. It was completely bizarre to see practically nobody outside in the middle of the afternoon. We understood why very quickly! We only lasted out there about 7 minutes because the heat was too much...Dry heat or not it was HOT!
At 4:00 pm we got picked up at our hotel for a tour that we had booked through Arabian Adventures. They were going to take us an hour outside of the city to the Arabian Desert where we would go dune bashing, (I was terrified!) watch the sunset, have dinner and even ride camels! There was us and 2 other couples in our group. Ironically one was an Australian couple about our age who were on their way to living in London. This was so bittersweet, it was fun to give them inside tips and things but we couldn't help think, "oh to be back at the beginning of our adventure again!"
As we drove out to the desert we passed a camel race track and camel market which was something we had never seen or heard of. There were large groups of camels being walked into the racing area where big time betting takes place.
Once we made it to the entry where the road met the desert the drivers stopped and let out some air in the tires of the Toyota Land-cruisers we were in. On the way out to the desert we saw many of the same vehicles from our tour company, turns out there was 52 by the time we all met up to begin our desert ride.
Brian had shotgun and I was right behind him. As we began we were just on a straight, flat "road." This was easy and fun...Still I was super nervous for what was going to come once we made it to the sand dunes. (I made the mistake of watching You Tube videos beforehand so I would know what to expect! Didn't help seeing one that had rolled over!)
The endless sand ripples created by the wind were amazing to see.
It was mind blowing that the sand seemed to go on and on forever and to see how huge the desert seemed and we were only on a tiny edge of it. The Arabian Desert is the 3rd largest on earth and is 1305 miles long x 684 miles wide or almost 900,000 sq miles!!!
Our first stop was at the falcon camp. When we came in we saw our first camel up close. As we sat on cushions on the sand waiting for the falcon presentation we took in the beauty around us and felt the heat radiating from the sand. It was about 5:30 or 6:00 pm by this time. Luckily it was not nearly as hot as early but still in the 90's which was a welcoming temperature compared to earlier in the day.
A woman came out and explained to us about the falcons that have been very sacred to the Bedouin people (desert dwellers) for centuries. These people used to train the falcons which are one of the fastest animals in the world to fly miles away, kill a rodent, reptile or another bird to bring back for food for the camp. Pretty amazing! These people still exist today and still have falcons but most have adopted more modern means to living.
Before leaving the falcon camp I went to use the port-a-potty before we set off on the dune bashing. As I was in there and was already freaked out that the door wouldn't close and couldn't stop thinking about snakes...It made matters much worse when I turned around and saw 2 huge (approx 2 inch long!) neon yellow wasps flying behind me! You can say I got out real quick!!! Yikes!
The dune bashing which lasted about 30 minutes was thrilling and scary but I did admit when it was done pretty amazing and fun after all! Our driver drove us up and down the massive sand dunes as our stomachs dropped going over the 2 story hills. I don't think I could have gripped the handle alongside the window above me any tighter...I wasn't the only one screaming either!
One of the vehicles ahead of us just before taking a plunge...
About halfway in we saw one of the vehicles pull to the side and everyone was passing out the sick bags. Glad that wasn't ours, someone we were with said, "Don't one of you start that! "If one goes we all will go!" Luckily things came to an end at just the right time, I don't think I could have lasted another 5 minutes. Whew...I was in a full sweat by the end! As the dune bashing was done we parked in a group and all got out to watch the sunset over sand.
Unforgettable...
The sand itself was the finest sand we've ever felt. It was more like dust really. Now we completely understand when there are desert storms it can cause complete blackouts for days. Even the least amount of wind can cancel these tours from going out, we felt so lucky we were able to have this experience while in Dubai.
Never have been anywhere like this.
Fast forward to the end of our entire "Long Way Home"adventure and we both agreed being in the Arabian Desert was by far the most memorable/favorite thing we did during the whole trip!
After the sun went down we drove to the dinner camp.
Who ever thought we'd ever be eating way out here? So cool!
Then it was time to ride a camel! It was only a quick little circle but hey...we can check that off our list! They are NOT graceful animals when their legs/knees buckle backwards dropping you to the ground in 2 quick and rocky moves.
We ate our meal seated on cushions in the sand. The grilled meats and middle eastern side dishes were fantastic. We weren't sure what to expect with the food but were pleasantly surprised!
We loved how they lit up the dunes in the backdrop of the camp with spotlights.
After dinner there was belly dancing and flavored shisha pipes. At the very end they shut off all the lights in the camp for a few minutes so we could gaze at the stars which were so bright because we were far away from the city. What a great day, we were so glad we did this tour!
The next morning we took a taxi from our hotel to the opposite side of Dubai. Along the way we past some ships docked along a pier and saw them stacked with large boxes. Our driver told us they ship and receive anything and everything from there around the Middle East. The large cardboard boxes below are LG Refrigerators. It was crazy how everything was just piled on the boats with no order.
The reason we went to this area of the city was to see the Dubai Gold Souk. This is a shopping area where lot and lots of gold is sold. There were digital boards showing the daily price of gold and what it was going for per weight that day.
We didn't buy anything but it was fun to look. All the shop owners were fiercely trying to get us to come into their store.
That afternoon we went back to the beach located a couple blocks from our hotel for a swim in the Persian Gulf!
This was the strangest swimming experience...Since the air temps were hovering around 100 degrees F the water temperature was incredibly warm since it was so shallow. It felt just like a hot tub which was so weird being in open water. The water was very clear and nice but did not provide any refreshing relief from the heat. We spent about 45 minutes in the water before we felt like we were going to overheat, and there wasn't a chance of sitting on our towel in the sun out of the water!
Our next stop was to the other famous mall called The Dubai Mall. This one has a huge aquarium in it...
And similar to the Mall of the Emirates, everything is very extravagant.
In the picture below you can see there is even a real brontosaurus dinosaur skeleton on display.
The Shoe District was pretty fascinating too...
When we first arrived in Dubai we noticed how Americanized things were. We saw restaurants like P.F. Changs, The Cheesecake Factory, stores just like at home but the one we couldn't believe was Caribou Coffee!! Caribou isn't even located in all parts of the U.S. and some of our American friends living in London hadn't heard of it or been to one. So crazy to be in Dubai and see one of our mid west favorite coffee shops!
This was a beautiful mall and also had an Olympic size skating rink!
After checking out the mall it was time to head outside and over to the Burj Khalifa which is the tallest structure in the world! It's 3 times as tall as the Eiffel Tower and twice as tall as the Empire State Building. Such a unique looking building!
As we made our way around to the front entrance the walk was deceivingly long and we were very hot by the time we made it. The fountains looked so nice we could have jumped in!
We had a reservation to go to the Atmosphere Lounge which is to the near top and also the highest lounge bar in the world. The entry was through the Armani Hotel and from there we were taken to the 123rd floor. The elevator to get to the top is also the fastest in the world and the longest distance you can travel in an elevator. It traveled at a speed of 22 miles per hour and had us at the top in approx. 1 minute. Thankfully we were given candy to suck on during the way up to help with our ears popping.
The view when we came out of the elevator was incredible. The fountain area below was so pretty and the buildings looked tiny. We could even see where the desert meets up with the city in the distance. We were very lucky that the day was very clear with no wind. Most of the time at the top the view isn't clear since the dust in the air from the desert creates a haze.
This was our view where we were seated along the window where we watched the sun set over the Persian Gulf.
The drinks and the food were great as well. As it got dark out the buildings began to light up, we loved being able to see the city during daylight and darkness. Since Brian's Birthday was just a few days away they brought out a delicious chocolate dessert to celebrate!
View from the bottom looking up after we came down.
Dubai sure was a sight to see and we were so glad we decided to spend a few days there. As crazy and extravagant and as large as things already are there, we learned that there are plans to grow things even far more making things even bigger and better in the future. It will be fun to possibly go back years down the road and see these changes! From here we left the next morning our 4th leg of our "Long Way Home" journey, next stop...Bali, Indonesia!
No comments:
Post a Comment