Dubai

I was asked a little over a week ago to go to Dubai to meet with a client. I had already been asked to go to Dubai in December, so this was a very short notice and surprising request. I checked with Tevia and she was okay with it, so I booked my tickets and left on Sunday.

Dubai was one of the top 5 cities I wanted to visit in my life, so it was exciting to be able to go. Unfortunately it is very far away (longer than even flying to Hong Kong), so I was not looking forward to the long flights - especially in economy class.

I traveled through Houston to Doha in Qatar. In the Doha airport it was fun to see such a different culture. One of the cool things I saw was a man in his robes with a hooded hawk sitting on his forearm - in the middle of the airport. I didn't have a lot of time to wait and then got on my flight to Dubai. I arrived in Dubai fairly late (around 11 PM). As I went through customs/immigration, they did not like my passport. My passport was washed in the washing machine a few years ago - and so it is wrinkled and tattered. When I asked to get a new one, I was told that I didn't need one and to just use it until it expires. Well, Dubai did not like it and the agent gave me a piece of paper and told me to go to some office. I arrived in the office and gave a man behind a counter my passport and the paper. He indicated to me to sit down and then left with my passport. I wasn't too nervous until the woman sitting next to me started freaking out, saying she had been in the room for 5 hours and had no idea what was going on. I imagined a scenario where I was going to be stuck in this room for hours and eventually sent home. But fortunately about 20 minutes later the guy returned and gave me back my passport and told me to proceed.

I grabbed a taxi to the hotel and checked in. The guy at the counter told me it was my lucky day as the room that had been booked for me was full and they were going to have to upgrade me. Indeed I was lucky! The room was a two bedroom suite - and it was nearly the size of my house! It was so cool. It was by far the nicest room I have ever stayed in. It had the two bedrooms, two walk-in closets, three bathrooms, a living room, three big TVs, etc.

My business meetings in Dubai went well. There were several things I was excited to see in Dubai. The world's tallest building - Burj Dubai. The Palm Jumeirah. And the Burj Al Arab - the world's first 7 star hotel. I didn't have much time there, so I didn't think I would have a chance to see them all. But the first night for dinner the client took us to a wonderful Lebanese restaurant right below the Burj Dubai. This building is magnificent. It is so cool. It is twice the size of the Empire State Building and the tallest structure ever built on earth (except maybe the tower of babel?). Next to our restaurant was the fountains that were built by the same company that did the fountains at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. It was a perfect setting. And the food was awesome.

The second day our meetings ended early so I asked a couple of my colleagues if they wanted to go out and see a few things. They agreed, so we packed into a taxi (which were fairly inexpensive) and for the first stop went to Jumeirah beach to see if we could see the Burj al Arab. We couldn't get into the hotel as it is restricted, but we were able to see it and go to the beach nearby. The beach was very nice - and the water surprisingly clear. We then got another taxi and went to the Palm Jumeirah to drive over it and go to the Atlantis resort at the top. There is another Atlantis resort in the Bahamas, and this one is very similar. Driving over the Palm was so cool as I have for years wanted to visit this marvel and have seen so many satellite pictures. It was cool to think that I was actually there. The Atlantis was nice - but the best part was a huge aquarium they have with thousands of fish. It was even bigger than the one in Hong Kong (Ocean Park). And the best part? They had a live whale shark! It was very cool.

That evening we went to another resort/hotel that had canals spread throughout the property (imagine Venice) and we ate at a nice restaurant along the canals. This place was full of rich people and celebrities, as we saw several professional golfers (though I didn't recognize them) as the Dubai open was happening this week.

The next morning I woke up early and after more than 24 hours arrived back in Phoenix safe and sound.

I absolutely loved Dubai. And though I was there for a very short period, it definitely is one of the favorite places I have ever visited. It reminded me of Singapore but with a more modern feel and then the middle eastern style. The most impressive thing was how NEW and BIG everything was. The weather was similar to Phoenix. In fact, since it is on the sea it reminded me a lot of Rocky Point in Mexico with desert flora and sand. I am hoping I do get to go back again in December, and definitely it is a place I want to take Tevia one day.

I never felt unsafe there. I know a few people had worried about the location (near Iran/Iraq/Saudi Arabia). But this is a very global city - and westernized. The city is comprised of 80% foreigners (mostly from India - they are the ones building everything - making a wage of 10 USD per day). There were many Europeans, Americans, Asians, etc. Even in Qatar I didn't feel any more out of place than I would in China or France. It was a neat experience.