Dubai

So I just got back from a weekend in Dubai. Very interesting city. A little overhyped, I think, but the group that I went with - CMUQ faculty and staff - was pretty cool. (I know I still owe a vacation post about Hong Kong, but its taking me much longer!)

We covered most of the Dubai basics in the three days we were there - the first day we took a boat ride on the river that cuts the city in half, and then we wandered around the souq (market) area for awhile before eventually going to Jumeirah, a famous beach and shopping area. We hung out on the beach until sunset and then went back to the hotel and crashed.
from the boat cruise, the Dubai business district and the old-style fishing dhows - a pretty common sight all over the Gulf, actually.












the gold souqs :-) the middle necklace can be yours for the low low price of $12,000USD











On Friday, we went back to the public beach at Jumeirah, where we relaxed in the sun and I didn't get sunburned! That afternoon we went to Wild Wadi ("wadi" is Arabic for "seasonal riverbed"), a waterpark that has a decent number of slides and a wave pool. We had a good time running around the park, and floating on the lazy river. It's also in the shadow of the Burj al-Arab hotel, probably the most luxury hotel in the world, which definitely provides a nice background to the lazy river.
The Jumeirah mosque













Andrew and Ryan have a "how much sand can you hold in your hands" contest












On Saturday before our plane left, we went to the Mall of the Emirates - most ridiculous shopping experience I've ever seen. Super expensive stores, moderately priced shops, world famous brand names and locally famous Arabic designers. Multiple food courts, a toy store with gigantic stuffed mammoths and camels, a huge arcade area, and to top it all off - an indoor ski slope. Yeah. Crazy. Tim and I even rode an indoor rollercoaster simulator in the arcade at the mall!
The interior of the mall of the Emirates.




















The stuffed mammoths















Ski Dubai, the indoor ski slope in the Middle East













Obviously I had to go to Dubai, because I'm so close. Now that I've seen it, I could definitely go back on a weekend when I want to just get out of Doha and relax. Go to the beach, maybe back to Wild Wadi... if I ever make a huge amount of money, then the Mall of the Emirates. Doha could definitely learn something in the way of highway construction and quality English language bookstores. But in the end it was pretty much more of the same. The common complaints about Doha were only compounded in Dubai - traffic is awful, the "money can buy happiness" mentality, and the lack of real cultural opportunities such as quality theatre. I'd rather live in Doha and visit Dubai. But for a relaxing mini-vacation, really it has everything you could ask for. I did hear a rumor that you could get real bacon there, too, but didn't manage to get my hands on any...