Vegas in the Middle East
After two comfy months in our island home we flew out of Mauritius around 4pm local time on a (relatively) short flight to Dubai – six and a half hours – on Emirates.
Emirates is our new favorite airline. The service is impeccable – you can’t peck it, don’t even try – there is plenty of legroom (at least for a girthy fella like me) in coach, and the planes are just plain sparkly.
Compared to our flight from Paris to Mauritius, the flight from SSR to DXB was a breeze.
Braeden: Daddy, how long will we be on the plane to Dubai?
Me: Six and a half hours, buddy.
Braeden: Oh, that’s not too bad.
Yeah, our kid now sniffs at a six-hour flight. I know, we’re lucky bastards. You don’t have to tell me twice.
We strapped into our seats on the big-ass A380 and Braeden immediately started exploring the video options on the seatback entertainment system. Ice Age, B’s favorite movie, was on the list, so he queued that up and kicked back for the flight. The trip went by very quickly and in no time we were landing in Dubai.
Our flight got in just before midnight and we quickly grabbed our bags and a cab. We checked ourselves into our apartment, broke out our toothbrushes, cleaned up, and racked out.
The next morning was our usual first-day routine: breakfast, SIM cards, and groceries.
Really quickly, though, we should take a “pause for the cause”, as Little Joe Cook used to say. It’s worthwhile revisiting where we’d spent the previous two months: on a tiny island in the Indian Ocean, surrounded by local food and local goods. For eight weeks.
Suffice it to say that once we hit the ground in Dubai we were ready for some old-fashioned Western-style consumption. Our first move was to find an American-style breakfast joint where we could get eggs, bacon, and waffles, and we found one down by the beach.
On the way there, though, we stopped at a Starbucks, partly because we got lost (we didn’t yet have phones on the local network) and partly because we hadn’t seen a Starbucks in two months. J got a latte, B got a “pouch” (one of those blended fruit pouches he loves so much), and I got access to Starbucks’ wifi, which helped us find our breakfast spot.
Eggspectation was a very popular, very busy joint down on Jumeirah Beach, a stretch of beautiful white sand lined with bars, restaurants, shops, and parks. We didn’t have to wait too long for a table and soon we were snarfing down a delicious Western-style breakfast.
Our bellies full, we headed to the Marina Mall’s Etisalat kiosk for SIM cards, and then, drunk with the power of the internet, we swung by the local Carrefour to stock up on groceries for the week.
At some point during the day (when she was fully glitzed-out by the glamour of the ridiculously opulent Marina Mall) I broke the news to J: it was extremely difficult to get alcohol in Dubai. Like, nigh impossible.
As in, it wasn’t available anywhere unless you went to a hotel.
I remember the moment vividly. We were on the escalator when I told her.
“What do you mean?” she asked, a look of complete confusion on her face.
“Dubai is dry. You can’t buy alcohol here in stores. They don’t serve it in restaurants.”
“What?” She was looking at me hard now.
“Umm.” I paused. For a long time. “You can’t buy alcohol here.”
There was another long pause as we reached the top of the escalator and stepped off onto the second floor of the mall. We started walking, then she looked at me again.
“I don’t understand. How?!?…” she trailed off.
I explained the whole thing to her again. She was silent for a long time. For the rest of the day she would only shoot me the occasional confused stare and say, “But I don’t understand…”
So we didn’t drink much in Dubai, which actually turned out to be a nice respite from our time in Mauritius with Hurricane Matthew and the Joyous Genius, when it seemed impossible to keep a liter of rum in the house.
Our week in Dubai was busy. It was quite a change going from a place where we could leisurely take in the sites whenever we liked to visiting a city where we had to try and see everything in one week.
It was exhausting but fun, and after we took care of the essentials we made sure we visited a couple of malls, including the Mall of the Emirates, where we had lunch at The Cheesecake Factory (sad but true) and sat in a booth with a view of Ski Dubai, an enormous indoor ski hill in the middle of the desert. Braeden glued his face to the glass for the entire meal, watching the skiers and snowboarders rip down the little hill.
We also spent a full day at Atlantis’ Aquaventure Park, a wonderful water park where Braeden spent the entire day tearing around the kids’ play area, zipping down water slides and climbing the various stairways, ladders, and cargo nets doused in a constant spray of water. J and I managed to do the Leap of Faith, Atlantis’ version of the “grab your junk and plummet straight the f**k down” waterslide, and the three of us spent a good hour cruising the lazy river around the park, which came complete with intervals of awesome rapids that had Braeden screaming with laughter.
The Biggest of Everything
A couple of days later we hit the largest mall in the world (by square footage, anyway), the Dubai Mall. We tooled around the shops a bit, checked out the huge aquarium right in the middle of it all, and then headed for our real goal for the day: the Burj Khalifa.
For those of you unfamiliar with the Burj, it is (for the moment, anyway) the tallest building in the world, and ever since we told Braeden we were going to be in the city that housed the tallest building in the world, he was enthralled. The questions poured out of him for months:
“Daddy, how tall is the Burj?”
“Mommy, can we go all the way to the top at the Burj?”
“Mommy, can you see the Eiffel Tower from the top of the Burj?”
It was adorable. The questions kept coming and we answered them all as best we could, and we even spent some time online giving him a taste of what the Burj was like and how it measured up against some of the other tall buildings we’d visited.
So when the day finally came to visit the Burj and we told him what was going down, he was excited. Buddy the Elf on Christmas excited.
The line wasn’t too bad and we were quickly whisked into a darkened elevator that was lit up like a disco. We flew up 124 stories in less than a minute and when the doors opened we stepped out and gawked at the vista before us.
The tickets we purchased allowed us access to the observation decks and terrace on the 124th and 125th floors. From the terrace just outside the elevator on the 124th floor we could see nearly all of Dubai spread out below like Legos on a sandy blanket.
[Aside: All of the pics I’ve ever seen of Dubai with clear blue skies have obviously been released by Dubai’s office of tourism and were taken on one of the rare clear-air days in the city. Most of the time Dubai is covered with a thick, dusty haze that makes it difficult to see more than a few miles.]
We’ve been in a few tall buildings before – most recently the Willis Tower in Chicago – and all cities look very similar from up high, but it was still very cool to see Dubai from up top. We stared at the Arabian Sea, the Burj al Arab, the Palm Jumeriah, and a gorgeous sunset for quite awhile from all angles, and we explored both levels of the very well done observation decks of the Burj.
Braeden got his fill and then we jumped back in the elevator for the trip back down to street level.
It was near dinner time so we headed across the way to the Souk al Bahar, which had a string of restaurants overlooking the fountain. We were hoping to score a table for dinner where we could also watch the fountain’s first show at 6:30 and we got lucky at Serafina, another “chain” restaurant in Dubai.
The table was great, though, and the food was excellent. And to top it all off, because the Souk was attached to a hotel they served liquor, so we had a couple of drinks with dinner.
The night darkened and Braeden, fully aware that there was going to be a show at 6:30, kept asking, “How much longer, Daddy?”
Promptly at 6:30 pm the fountain started hissing vapor and lights began to glow beneath the surface of the water. The Burj gleamed overhead and the strains of a beautiful Arab song rang out. Suddenly, the music kicked in full blast and the fountain burst into action. We watched, rapt, for five minutes while the fountain danced, jumped, exploded, and pirouetted with the music, and we burst into applause when it ended, along with the crowd that had lined the banks of the fountain.
We turned our attention back to dinner and waited for the next show at 7:00, but within minutes we saw that another show had started: the Burj itself had become a swirling, glittering blaze of light, first awash with one set of capering designs, then morphing into another, equally beautiful display.
We watched another fountain show, finished dinner, ambled around in the Souk to check out the stores, snagged some ice cream, and headed back outside to watch one more fountain show before returning to our apartment for bedtime.
Back in a Box!
If you’ve been following the blog or Instagram you know there was no CrossFit gym in Mauritius, and while the folks at iLifeFitness in Flacq were very kind and patient with the crazy stuff I did with their equipment, I was eager to get back into a gym where I could drop weights and do pull-ups without getting stares and breaking my toes.
There were several CrossFit gyms in Dubai and I had decided I would spend all of my time at Reebok CrossFit Lifespark because it was the closest gym to where we were staying. However, they had an event going on the first day I wanted to train, so I skipped over to CrossFit Duo over in the Marina and joined them for a 7 am class.
The gym was great, the coaching fantastic, and I “enjoyed” the workout thoroughly. I decided, though, that while I was in town I might as well try Lifespark, so I did, a few days later, and had a lot of fun there as well.
Juliann then told me that she had found a retailer that sold No Bull trainers, and the store happened to be located inside another gym, CrossFit Alioth. I desperately needed to get out of my $10 knockoff Chucky T’s and I was missing my No Bull’s, so I pulled another Joel Goodson, said “What the f**k,” and dropped into Alioth for a workout as well.
Alioth, run by former Games athlete Taylor Rank, was huge, well-equipped, and impressive. Taylor himself was a super cool guy, and once he saw that I could handle some stress he pushed me, and it was fun. I bought my shiny new No Bulls after the workout, put them on, and tossed the knockoffs in the trash before hopping in an Uber back home.
Alioth would have been my gym of choice to finish out the week, but it was a long way across town and it didn’t make much sense to continue going there, so I opted for LifeSpark for the last few days of our stay.
[Note: Two weeks later we were in Thailand and I started seeing pictures of Annie Thorisdottir, Sam Briggs, and Sarah Sigmundsdottir working out at Alioth while they were in town for the Dubai Fitness Championship. I was more than a little bummed that I missed them.]
A Desert Safari
One of the last things we wanted to do before we left Dubai was a Desert Safari Tour. After looking over a few providers on TripAdvisor we selected Arabian Adventures for their consistently high ratings.
We were picked up by Rohit, our guide, at our building at 3pm. He drove us out to the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve, a nature reserve about an hour from the coast. Our vehicle joined with a caravan of about 30 other trucks, and after everyone had let some air out of their tires, Rohit fired up the SUV and turned it onto the reservation.
From this point on there were no roads, only paths through the windblown dunes. This is where the typical Arabian Adventures Desert Safari involved 30 minutes of “Dune Bashing”, stunt driving at high-speeds over the dunes while passengers hang on as best they can.
I had read about Dune Bashing and figured that, being prone to carsickness, I wouldn’t be able to take it for very long. So Rohit suggested we try some of the gentler stuff for 5 minutes, then we could head over to the camp if we had had enough.
We agreed, and about five minutes after we left the convoy behind, Rohit grinned, said, “Here we go,” and took a sharp turn off the path we were on. He headed straight up a 30-foot dune, took a sharp turn just as we reached the crest, and barreled back down at top speed. The SUV hit the bottom of the dune and surged up the next, engine screaming as Rohit powered through the gears, expertly guiding the truck up to the top of the next dune. This time, though, we went flying right over the top and down the other side.
Braeden, Juliann, and I all screamed with delight as if we were on the world’s coolest roller coaster. Rohit put the vehicle through its paces, tearing up one side of a dune and either flying up and over, giving us a brief view of the sea of dunes spread out around us, or turning sharply at the top and tearing back down, sand spraying up in waves six feet high all around us.
It was a blast, but after a few minutes in the back of the SUV in the desert heat I was beginning to feel sick. Rohit stopped five minutes in, looked at Juliann with a huge smile, and asked, “You wanna go five more minutes?”
“Yes!” she fairly shouted, and off we tore. Braeden and Juliann squealed with delight and I just hung on, feeling alternately elated and sick as f**k.
Five minutes later Rohit slowed the truck and turned onto a well-worn path between the dunes.
“Well, what did you think?” he asked.
“That was awesome,” Juliann beamed.
Braeden chimed in with an enthusiastic, “Yeah!”
I just grinned weakly and gave a thumbs up. I’m glad we did it, though, it was quite an experience.
Since all of the other vehicles were dune bashing for 30 minutes and we only did 10, we had a few minutes to kill before we headed to camp, so Rohit took us on a nice drive through the desert just as the sun was going down. He pointed out some amazing Arabian Oryx, several gazelles munching on desert shrubs, and a few plant experiments being conducted by the Reserve. We hopped out to take a few shots of the desert at sunset, then headed over to the camp.
We were the first ones to arrive, and Rohit took the time to show us around, pointing out the various stations where we could get Henna tattoos, where the food and drink would be served, where we could smoke Shisha (though he recommended we didn’t, and we didn’t require much persuasion), etc.
Then he brought us over to where the camels were lined up for rides so we could get one in before the crowds arrived. J and Braeden had ridden a camel before at the Bronx Zoo, but this was the first time I had ever been on one. The ride itself was relatively brief and uneventful, not very unlike riding a horse, but the mount and dismount was an adventure all its own.
As we learned, camels stand up from a kneeling position by straightening their rear legs first, which pitches the rider forward at a severe angle, so if you’re not ready for it you’ll take a sweet header right into the sand. The staff prepared us for it, though, by reminding us to lean backward when the camel stood and then knelt again at the end of the ride.
As we were finishing our camel rides the rest of the convoy started pouring in, and we dismounted and headed inside the camp to reserve some seats for dinner where Rohit had suggested we should, right by the dance floor.
Juliann and Braeden got some Henna tattoos (Braeden actually got one, then he decided he liked it so much that he got two more), we took photos of the camp, then sidled over to the bar to get some cold beverages.
We had a few more minutes to wander the camp and explore, then the announcement was made that appetizers were being served. Our plates were filled with at least six or seven different types of local bites, including falafel, stuffed grape leaves, hummus, and roasted chicken. They were all delicious, and much to our surprise Braeden tried a little bit of everything.
The dining area was comprised of dozens of low tables with cushions set on rugs around an open central area, which was covered with one huge rug. This was the performance space for the upcoming belly dancing show.
As we tucked into our delicious appetizers we struck up a friendly conversation with the couple next to us. They were in their fifties and from Belgium, and we chatted about their travels and ours, their kids and ours, and our impressions of Dubai.
Dinner was served a short time later and consisted of several delicious dishes, including lamb, roasted chicken, beef, salad, tabouleh, and freshly baked Middle Eastern bread. The food was incredibly good and we enjoyed every bite.
It was dark by this time and the camp glowed with torches, small campfires, and lanterns. Suddenly music began to play, the lights came up on the dance floor, and the belly dancer appeared. From the moment she started her 15-20 minute show Braeden didn’t take his eyes off of her. She whirled, gyrated, bent, and swayed, smiling at the crowd and flashing winks at choice moments. It was a great show, and when it was over we rose and made our way to the camp exit where Rohit was waiting for us.
By this time it was 8 or 9pm and we were all pretty tired, but we talked briefly and excitedly about the whole tour and how much fun it was, then we all lapsed into satisfied silence and watched the desert fly past and disappear into the night.
The day before we were scheduled to leave Dubai for Southeast Asia was Thanksgiving, and we were intent on having as close to a traditional Thanksgiving dinner as we could. Juliann learned that Ruth’s Chris (yep, they have all the chains in Dubai. Everything. Sunglass Hut? Yep. Dean and Deluca? No problem. Dunkins? Of course.) was serving a Thanksgiving Dinner menu that day, so we made reservations and headed over.
We got there early and it was quiet, and we dug into some turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and cranberry salad, albeit with a Ruth’s Chris-Dubai twist. It was what we were looking for, and in the absence of family – the most important part of Thanksgiving – it was the best we could get.
The next day we rose, packed up our backpacks, and headed to the airport. Our week in Dubai was many things: busy, glittery, jam-packed, overstimulating, and satisfying.
But it was never boring.
We probably would have enjoyed it more if we had spent two weeks there and experienced things at a slower pace, but we guessed that a week would be sufficient and we were wrong. Lesson learned.
We had a great time and made some fantastic memories in an incredible place. And Braeden now has a new favorite building, which is going to be hard to top.
Next up: Thailand!
