The Metropolis of Dubai

When Dan mentioned he had a training in Dubai, I was instantly excited to tag along. All the photos and opinions set the expectation that Dubai is Vegas-like. In a sense, it is... with the impressive architecture and desert heat. However, it's not a strip of hotels with casinos and large quantities of alcohol. Dubai is massively spread out and incredibly well-planned. Every road has 4-6 lanes in each direction, showing that when the city was expanded in the 90s with oil money, there was a lot of forethought into the growth prospects. No one was wanting to need to widen a road or be chastised for not properly anticipate the influx of people. Alcohol is only served in hotels so, if a restaurant is outside a hotel, in a mall for example, it cannot serve alcohol. The city is religious but also recognizes that a large percentage of its population is expats so it's more loose in its interpretation of the religious expectations.

I have to admit I was completely blown away with the architecture and how much area the city encompasses. I arrived around 4pm on Thursday and did some work while Dan was finishing his training courses for the day. We were trying to come up with ideas for the night and Dan suggested going to the mall. I love a good mall and Dubai certainly has its share. I feel certain I saw at least 6 while we were there but the destination was the Dubai Mall, currently the largest mall in the world (in square footage). We roamed around and enjoyed the impressive array of stores and had a bite to eat. We chuckled at all the western restaurants and stores we encountered along the way, the most amusing being: Ponderosa steakhouse, Applebee's, Chuck E Cheese, Red Lobster and multiple Chili's locations (none of which can serve their signature margaritas because, alas, they are not in a hotel).

On our way out, we went to watch the fountain show which is modeled after the Bellagio in Vegas. It is choreographed to music and is located directly in front of Burj Khalifa, the current tallest building in the world. We marveled at the sheer size and unique architecture of the structure. Truly impressive.

On Friday, Dan had classes until 2pm so I worked most of the day from the room and had lunch on my own in the hotel. We then went on an expedition to the gold souk to see what that was about. Many shops were closed since Friday is the religious day in that region (Friday and Saturday are weekend days). A month ago, we made a dinner reservation at one of the iconic hotels on the Gulf, which is modeled after a sailboat. We got dressed up and headed over to the beach to take a photo or two with the hotel, Burj Al Arab, in the background. 

We entered the hotel for our dinner at Al Mahara, a seafood restaurant, known for their aquarium. The restaurant was absolutely beautiful. Dan and I found it amusing that there was a cluster of fish that was huddled around a table where a couple was eating. We had some amusing conversation discussing what the fish must be thinking as the patrons consume their friends in front of them. We had some nice wine, salmon two ways and king crab/foie gras ravioli as our starters, then the sea bass and scallops for mains. 

After our fancy schmancy dinner, we decided on a more casual place for the rest of our night. We found an Irish pub that had a great live band and served Budweiser on tap. Sold! When you live abroad, you find yourself overly excited about the rarely found American brews. We met another couple who lives in Dubai and chatted with them over beers and tunes until the wee hours of the morning.

Saturday, we slept in and went to another area for lunch. This is when we learned how large Dubai really is. It took easily 30-40 minutes to get there from our hotel. We had a nice lunch with a pretty view of the Marina and then headed back to the hotel for a rest. We were supposed to have dinner in the Marina area that night but given the lengthy drive, we decided to stick closer to home and ate at the hotel instead. We had some Italian food and tried to get a few hours of sleep before going to the airport for our 5am flight.

All in all, Dubai was a great time and we are so grateful we got to spend some time there. It is truly impressive to see all of the manmade creations.