Accommodations: Meghan
Natural: Brent
Monument: Jeanna
Cultural: Brendan
Sport: David
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Accommodations for Dubai, Day 1-7:
Address: Khalid Bin Waleed Road P O Box 116346 – Dubai
For our stay in U.A.E we are residing in the Highland City Hotel. We are staying in a guest room that offers a television, phone line, bathrooms, bathroom phones, minibars, refrigerators, bathrobes, shaving materials/cream, slippers, air conditioning, and hair dryers. The room ideally holds 4 adults, however, we managed to rotate nights on a few people sleeping on the couches. Locating a reasonable priced hotel in Dubai was difficult to find, this hotel was very affordable and also luxurious. It was a great trade off.
As soon as our flight landed we took a shuttle bus to our hotel and checked in. We were handed our keys and up we went to our room. Walking in to the room all of us were running wild and checking out the views from the windows. The room was amazing! John, Brendan, and David hit up the minibar as soon as they put their bags down to have a quick shot for Dubai. Not being able to drink for about 2 weeks was certainly killing them.
We walked around the hotel, checked out the meeting rooms, the fitness room, as well as the pool. It was a shame it was too cold to swim, but no telling what the definition of cold meant to the guys.
The hotel was surrounded by many tourist attractions including mosques, museums, shopping malls, centers, and villages. Here we were in the heart of Dubai!
Accommodations by Meghan Dees
Accommodations by Meghan Dees
Flight Info: After we had settled in for our flight out of Yemen, we realized that our flight was actually going to be pretty short at just 2 hours and 20 minutes. We flew using Emirates airline which was such a relief from what we had just experienced in Yemen. Our direct flight came to a grand total of $1756 for the 6 of us. We felt at home with a flight attendant that spoke English and was very friendly to us. The flight was pretty empty and we could sprawl out over numerous rows. We were served a light snack but none of us were hungry, we were too excited to get the hell out of Yemen. Meghan and I had decided that our budget would allow for us to take a limo to our hotel. When we landed, we felt like we were a million miles from where we had been. The airport in Dubai is awesome, and there were many American friendly stores and people. We knew we were finally at a real tourist destination that we would enjoy.
We all decided that we were entitled to spend some money. So we all bought sunglasses at a store in the airport while we were waiting for the limo and our luggage. I was looking at the glasses and realized that the prices were about 25% higher than they are in the US. But, I am a sunglasses connoisseur and knew taht we were looking at high end glasses from some of the most famus designers in the world, so I told the group to buy whatever they wanted. Some of the group went cheap, but Jeanna and I went for big. When we checked out at the register, our total was $1024 and we were all styling.
We got our luggage and went out to meet our limo which took an hour longer than he said he would. We were so tired and glad to be in a safer country that we didn't even care that we were taking a limo. We arrived at the hotel and paid the limo driver $190 and a $20 tip for the ride. He was surprised at the tip and got out and started carrying our lugagge to the bell man. We were so ready to settle in, unpack, shower, and eat
Transportation by John Olive
Day 1 in Dubai
Once we were settled in to our hotel room we decided to roam the city and get some food. Located a few blocks from the Highland was Planet Hollywood. We decided to get directions from the front desk clerk and we walked to the restaurant. The walk was amazing, buildings so big and so modern you couldn't help but turn in circles to look at all of them. Walking the streets felt like a time machine taking us 20 years earlier in time the city was so modern and sleek.
We got to the Planet Hollywood around 6:30 pm, were put on a waiting list for about an hour and were seated around 8:45 pm. Some of us had eaten at a Planet Hollywood back in the States, but the food and atmosphere was even better in Dubai! We ordered our food and drinks for the whole night, good thing we walked!
Meal by Meghan Dees
Day 2 in Dubai
After a long week in Yemen we decided to really have some fun on our first full day in Dubai. It may seem a little strange to go skiing in the middle of a flat city this time of year, but modern technology has made it possible. There is a ski resort located inside the Mall of Emirates, just about a mile from our hotel. It is one of the larges indoor ski resorts in the world and features the world’s only indoor black diamond run. We were all fascinated by the idea of an indoor ski resort and we had to see this for ourselves.
We all woke up pretty this morning to get plenty of time on the slopes. We woke up and enjoyed the complementary breakfast at the hotel. After a good breakfast we were on our way to a winter wonderland…in the middle of the desert. Since it is only about a mile from our hotel we decided just to walk to enjoy the nice day.
Once we arrived all six of us bought day passes for 300 AED a piece (about $81 USD per guest). This rate includes rental equipment for the day, which came in handy because we didn’t exactly pack for a winter wonderland. The base rate also includes disposable socks, ski bib, jacket, gloves, etc. After getting checked in and dressed, we were ready to have some fun.
After a few hours we had already been on the five slopes that they offer at Ski Dubai and we were beginning to regret buying a full day pass. But with the limited space in an indoor resort what can you really expect? We decided to grab lunch and ski a little more on a full stomach. There are two restaurants inside the resort and we chose to go to the Avalanche Café. They offer the best hot chocolate in Dubai and a menu of hot sandwiches. One meal voucher is included in your lift ticket and we all got a much-needed warm meal.
After lunch we decided to explore a little before trying to continue skiing. We found the indoor snow park, which consists of 30,000 square feet of snow, allowing visitors to sled, play, or even make a snowman. We decided to have a snowball fight. After playing for a while we realized that we were the only people over 15 years old and decided to move on.
Next we found the dragon ice cave and looked around for a little bit. It was cool to see, but we quickly got bored and were ready to get back to the slopes. It was already 6:00 and we wanted to get our moneys worth.
We skied for about an hour, until David took a nasty fall going down the black diamond. He was obviously done for the day and we decided to head back to the warmth outside. Everyone was sore after a full day of skiing and nobody felt like walking home. We got on the hop on/hop off bus system and got back to the hotel at about 10.
We went straight to the sauna to recover and figure out what we were doing the rest of the night. Overall we had a great day, but we are definitely going to be sore in the morning.
Activity by David Hinkle
After our rest from skiing all day we went on the hunt for food and check out the nightlife. We left the hotel around 11:00 pm to give us time to think of a place to try out and find also. We heard that the Chi Night Club offers a great experience and is one of the biggest and best clubs in the Middle East. It offers 4 different rooms but is the only outdoor “Miami” vibe club along with lights, lasers, and awesome DJ’s. We decided this seemed to be a good place to unwind from our ski trip and rack up our bill on drinks. We took a cab and got there just when the place started getting packed. It was an awesome night and we able to eat a few snacks but most of us drank the night away Arab style!
We hailed a cab back to our hotel, stumbled in our room and we all passed out around 3 am. We were definitely going to be sore and hung over the next day. P.S: Dubai, go easy on us.
Meal/Outing by Meghan Dees
Day 3 in Dubai
After such a late night, we were thankful we have such a great place to stay. After being without alcohol while in Yemen, we might have gone a bit overboard with it last night! Anyway, the plan for today is to go see the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa. It will take about an hour to get there on the local bus route, but at least transportation won't break our budget.
On the ride out to the Burj Khalifa, we were all still fascinated with the sites of the tall buildings and just the atmosphere of the city. It wasn't long before we could see the amazing building looming over the horizon. John was excited because the entrance to the Burj Khalifa is actually the Dubai Mall. It was hard to drag him away from the impressive array of designer stores, but eventually he put his expensive scarf down and we headed to pick up our tickets. Each ticket cost us 100AED, so total we were out 600AED for our excursion. Not bad for what people describe as priceless views. We first got to watch a video presentation with a brief history of Dubai and the creation of this architectural feat. After the introductory video, we were ushered into a high speed elevator that takes you up 124 stories going roughly 10 metres per second. Apparently David has some sort of elevator phobia since he had a death grip on the railing.
Once we finally reached the observation deck, I was speechless with the view. It was nothing but floor to ceiling glass panels with a spectacular view ranging from the sea to the desert to the city. They even had special telescopes you could look through. After walking around for a few minutes we noticed there were people outside on a terrace - Brendan and Meghan were super excited about going outside to really feel how high up they were. Since I'm terrified of heights, I decided to stay inside with David, who still looked a bit green from the elevator ride.
We stayed on the observation deck for about an hour and then decided that we our fill of the sceneary. John started getting excited about getting back to the mall, and David just groaned. Brent's stomach started growling, which reminded all of us that we hadn't eaten yet. We decided once we got back down to the mall we would look around for something to eat, and hope that John wouldn't blow too much of the budget.
When we got to the food centre, we were overwhelmed with all of the choices. I was so relieved to see some fast food places that reminded me of home! They have a KFC, Burger King, and McDonalds just to name a few. Never being able to pass an order of chicken nuggets and famous french fries, I picked the golden arches while everyone else spreaded out to find what they wanted. While the fries wern't quite as tastey as I remember them being back home, they definitely satisfied the craving. Total we spent around 250AED for the late lunch.
JEL
After our visit to the Burj Khalifa building and Dubai Mall we heard of a pub, yet pricey, that was located near these locations. This pub was called Neos Sky Lounge. It is located on the 63rd floor of a luxurious hotel which is a direct view of the Burj. We asked the hotel clerks about this pub/bar and they explained it was very expensive and at least formal attire is needed. So we headed back to the Dubai Mall and went on a shopping spree. David, Brent, and Brendan weren’t too thrilled but we didn’t have formal wear in our luggage. The guys needed to buy some slacks and nice silk shirts and the girls needed to get a nice black cocktail dress.
Once we had purchased our new formal attire we headed back to the hotel to get “freshened” up. We primped and showered; once we were all done everyone looked great all dressed up and looking sharp! This late night outing was not going to be like our previous night where it was a laser light show in a DJ club. This was more of a chill, possibly romantic, cocktail bar.
We had a limo pick us up at the hotel and rode in style to Neos. All of us were excited about this; it almost felt like prom except we were in Dubai! We arrived at the bar around 9 pm. Took an elevator to the 63rd floor and walked in. The rooms were amazing, all surrounded by windows, the view was excellent, the city was all light, and the chrome and black details of the bar were enchanting. Neos did not serve beer, only cocktails. Us, girls, ordered some Cosmo’s, and the guys ordered rum on the rocks. We mingled around the room, John was very good at this talking with all sorts of people, and we ended up meeting a lot of nice people. After a few drinks for each of us and some simple snacks yet fillers we took our limo back to the hotel and got some good sleep for our next day of activities tomorrow.
Outing/Meal by Meghan Dees
This morning we slept in a little bit and then hit up the Coral downstairs to get some coffee and a quick bite to eat. It was beautiful outside today and not too hot so we decided it would be a nice day to get out and see the city. I had the hotel call us a cab and we headed for the Bastakiya district.
The Bastakiya district is one of the oldest areas in Dubai and is full of traditional markets and original buildings that depict traditional architectural details. One of the main draws to this area is the old wind towers that are built on top of the houses along the creek in this district. These wind towers were the only way to cool the houses prior to the advent of electricity to the region. The wind towers look like large bell towers and they act as openings to catch the cool breezes coming off the sea and funnel them down into the buildings. The concept is actually pretty cool but unfortunately we were never able to see if they actually worked. Most of these towers have now been blocked off as air conditioning has been installed.
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| One of the wind towers in the district |
We wandered through the market place and decided this was as good a place as any to throw away some money. We found a henna stand and went kind of crazy. Everyone was willing to get some henna tattoos to try and fit in culturally. The girls had very delicate designs painted on their hands and feet and the guys had their arms done. I decided I wanted to have my neck and face painted up, because well, why not, and I really do not care if this wears off soon or not. After the henna booth we ran into a lady who was selling traditional cloths and wraps. The fabric that she had made was so soft and vibrant we could not walk by without making a purchase.
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| Jeanna's hands |
We came across the Bastakiya Restaurant and Café and felt it was time to grab some lunch. This restaurant is actually protected under a special heritage area in Dubai. They offer traditional Arabic food and a lot of Belgian beers. We all had a few beers and I ate enough falafel for everybody. The tabouli and hummus that the restaurant made was the best I have never eaten. I could have sat there all day eating fresh pita and hummus and drinking Chimay.
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| Amazing...possibly the best food from the whole trip thus far |
After lunch we went across the street to the Al Fahidi Fort which houses The Dubai Museum. The fort is almost 250 years old and houses some amazing dioramas. The museum has many displays that depict life and culture in the region prior to the discovery of oil. Obviously a huge component of daily life, it is hard to imagine Dubai without oil. One of the great things about being in Dubai is that everything is in English so we had no problem reading the displays in the museum. Some of the artifacts even dated back to 3000BCE!
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| The entrance to the fort |
Once we finished at the museum we were all kind of tired from a day of walking around. We decided it would be best to go back to the hotel and get our tattooed selves a nap.
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Day 5 in Dubai
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Day 5 in Dubai
So Dubai is basically this tiny oasis of a city in the middle of a huge desert. Today, we will be exploring the desert that surrounds the city on an adventure safari. I kind of assumed we would wait until South Africa to go on safari, but hey, when in Rome…
We hired Arabia Horizons tours to take us out for a full day in the desert. This package included lunch and dinner as well as plenty of entertainment and sights to see along the way. The tour guide picked us up from our hotel at around 8am and we all piled into one big Mercedes SUV. It was just like being back in Europe with the Land Cruiser…oh such fond memories already…
We started out heading out of the city and straight into the sand dunes. Our guide told us to buckle up because we were going to do some “dune bashing.” Basically this is driving like a maniac up and down the large sand dunes in an effort to see how sick you can make Western tourists; it was pretty much the coolest thing I have ever done. As soon as we began to fishtail and hit the top of a dune, Jeanna started screaming and the guide starting laughing. You could tell he got some sick pleasure out of this. After hitting the next few dunes we were all used to the impact and airlift and everyone began to have a good time. Of course, it was too little too late as our guide informed us we had to move on shortly to stay on schedule. But, he assured us we would have more time later tonight.
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| pretty much awesome |
So we left the dunes and entered into the Hajar Mountain region. I know, mountains, who would have thought they would have them out here. This was a lot like the mountains in New Mexico, Texas or Arizona, really dry and just sparsely green until you get close enough to see the actual trees and shrubs. We stopped at the Hatta Heritage Village to tour an old fort and visit with some of the villagers. This small village only contains a mosque and a few small buildings with the fort imposing over them all. The construction is all of traditional building materials like mud, reed, stone, and palm trunks. This entire little place was really just a tourist trap sitting in dust. The entire town was filled with SUV’s much like our own and many locals were out pedaling their wares. A group of young boys came up and they were selling small drawings they had done of the fort. I figured, “what the hell; gotta support local art.” And we all bought some stuff from them. This of course made us marks for the rest of the traders and we asked our driver if we could please get the hell out of there.
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| The Fort standing high above the village |
We drove on through some small mountain passes and came to an open valley with a spring and creek bed. We stopped here for a quaint little picnic lunch. The porters who were in the SUV behind us brought out coolers full of water and drinks and they had made us some falafel, pita bread, and hummus. It was a very tranquil place to have lunch and everything tasted very good. We ended up resting for about 45 minutes after eating and I took a nap.
After lunch, it was back to the desert and time for more dune bashing. This time we were more prepared for it and we had a blast. John begged and begged to be allowed to drive but the guide wouldn’t have it. He kept telling us “much too liabiliteez sirs.” I guess they don’t care that we are all getting whiplash. Anyway, we had a great time and then headed for a Bedouin camp on the outskirts of Dubai.
This is where the entertainment portion of the day was going to get extreme. There were ladies in the camp doing henna painting, we had the opportunity to put on traditional garb and take pictures, and we got to ride camels around. David, Meghan and Brent decided to go sand boarding with some of the guides on a nearby dune. I hate sand, and do not feel the need to have it in every crevice of my body so I declined. Around sunset our driver drove us to the top of one of the highest dunes in the area where we were able to see the sun set over the desert. This was truly an amazing site. It was like watching the sun melt into the desert and all of the colors were reflected off the surface of the sand just like over the ocean.
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| Amazing |
The company had cooked up a ton of food for all the tourists. They had a huge buffest set up with all sorts of Middle Eastern foods and they provided plenty of alcohol. There was a huge bonfire going and the belly dancers were out in full swing. They even had a guy come out and do a fire dance where he juggled sticks that were on fire. The entire evening was pretty magical but unfortunately, everything has to come to an end.
Our driver got us back our hotel at around 930 and we gave the guy a pretty hefty tip. We gave him about 800Dirham which was more than one of our costs for the day, but it was well worth it. The guy did a great job and everyone had a good time.
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Day 6 in Dubai
After we woke up we ate a good breakfast complementary of the hotel. There was waffles, bagels, hot chocolate, toast, coffee, muffins, and other little snacks. As the group woke up, we trickled down to the lobby and would go back upstairs to our room to finish getting ready.
Today we all woke up around 8 am, I slept on the couch last night but suprsingly got pretty good sleep. Everyone woke up around the same time and we all started discussing what we were going to do for the day. We decided to visit the Hatta Rock Pools. We took a bus that actually took us out near the pools around 11 am. There was a little snack shop right outside the rock pools that we decided to buy snacks from for lunch. Everyone was starving so we spent 2271 rupees which converts to about $50. We ate all of our snacks then decided to go look at the rock pools.
The pools where an amazing sight, we've never seen anything like it before. David actually got a little too close to the water and almost fell in, luckily Meghan saved him and grabbed his arm. John was laughing about that for hours. We stayed mesmerized atthe natural wonder for hours before we ended up leaving around 4:00 pm. We waited for the bus and took it back near our hotel. We were then hungry as ever so we decided to go out to eat. The place we picked was the Hard Rock Cafe. It wasn't too far so we walked their and still seemed to be amazed at the tall buildings in the city. We got there around 6:00 pm and we were happy to eat a meal for the first time today. We all ordered different things, and the total of the meal was equivalent to $80 (3500 rupees).
We all had a couple beers with ou meal which made the walk back so much more fun. When we finally arrived bck at the hotel around 9:00 pm we were so tired that we all went to sleep, and i was sleeping on the couch again. hahah\
Natural Activity by Brent Schwartz
After we woke up we ate a good breakfast complementary of the hotel. There was waffles, bagels, hot chocolate, toast, coffee, muffins, and other little snacks. As the group woke up, we trickled down to the lobby and would go back upstairs to our room to finish getting ready.
Today we all woke up around 8 am, I slept on the couch last night but suprsingly got pretty good sleep. Everyone woke up around the same time and we all started discussing what we were going to do for the day. We decided to visit the Hatta Rock Pools. We took a bus that actually took us out near the pools around 11 am. There was a little snack shop right outside the rock pools that we decided to buy snacks from for lunch. Everyone was starving so we spent 2271 rupees which converts to about $50. We ate all of our snacks then decided to go look at the rock pools.
The pools where an amazing sight, we've never seen anything like it before. David actually got a little too close to the water and almost fell in, luckily Meghan saved him and grabbed his arm. John was laughing about that for hours. We stayed mesmerized atthe natural wonder for hours before we ended up leaving around 4:00 pm. We waited for the bus and took it back near our hotel. We were then hungry as ever so we decided to go out to eat. The place we picked was the Hard Rock Cafe. It wasn't too far so we walked their and still seemed to be amazed at the tall buildings in the city. We got there around 6:00 pm and we were happy to eat a meal for the first time today. We all ordered different things, and the total of the meal was equivalent to $80 (3500 rupees).
We all had a couple beers with ou meal which made the walk back so much more fun. When we finally arrived bck at the hotel around 9:00 pm we were so tired that we all went to sleep, and i was sleeping on the couch again. hahah\
Natural Activity by Brent Schwartz
Day 7 in Dubai:
We woke up around 11:30 am, ate some breakfast, showered, watched some tv, and chilled around the hotel room. Eventually around 2 pm or 3 pm we headed to the Mall of Emirates to walk around.
As our last day in Dubai we decided to make it a relaxed and comfortable day. We went to the Mall of Emirates and walked around, browsing, shopping, and eventually went to a movie at the Cinemas there. This cinema was awesome! Nothing like they are back at home. Theatres in Dubai, like everything else, are way over the top. The screens are much bigger, louder, clearer, and the seating every person gets a Gold Class extra comfortable leather lay back chair, adjustable foot rests, dedicated lounge, and a private table for couples.
We decided to see “Due Date” at the 7:15 pm showing time. We bought our tickets, bought drinks, snacks, and popcorn then headed into the theatre. The place was awesome, the mall was incredible, and the movie was hilarious!
After the show we stopped at Bastakiah Nights Restaurant for a good dinner. This place serves up some of the best cuisine and not to mention it’s an awesome looking place for lively entertainment and local enjoyment. The meal was awesome and we had a round of shots, we toasted to U.A.E! We headed back to the hotel, packed our bags up, went to bed to awake tomorrow in preparation for Cape Town, South Africa, the last stop of our 8 week vacation!
Activity and meal by Meghan Dees
