6/13/16
At this point in the trip I have lost all sense of time and day. After a 13+ hour flight from Chicago, Andrew, Harry, and I were ready to stretch our limbs and check out Dubai on our 12 hour layover. We regrouped with Katrina, Diane, and Austin, who arrived just minutes after us from the West Coast. Stepping out into fresh air was a nice surprise...when the fresh air was actually a steaming oven not even black mold could enjoy. After a solid 15 minutes of confused sprinting around the arrivals area, we finally hopped onto the shuttle for our hotel. I have no qualms about embarrassing myself in front of locals, so I chatted with folks at the currency exchange and transportation info to get more deets about exploring Dubai. It was then that I realized how grateful I was to be in a city where most people did still speak English. Not for long though.
It was brainstorm time. Harry the Navigator, Diane the Mapkeeper, I the Treasurer, Austin the Bodyguard, etc. We each had our roles. I had some 165 dirhams to spend, and we had learned from the hotel desk that the mall and Burj Khalifa would close at midnight. It was already past 10. While waiting for a cab, we checked out our rooftop pool which had an amazing view of the city skyline on one side and the bustling goliath of an airport on the other.
We took the taxi to the Dubai Mall, aka the largest mall in the world (by total area) and most visited building in 2011. It was stunning. The waterfall, the fountains, the lamborghini display, the gold decorations, the high-end designer shops, the waterfront promenade overlooking the city’s crown jewel, the Burj Khalifa. It was simply awe-inspiring. I remarked that I could definitely envision myself wanting to live here one day. Then again, as I understand from my Cultural Anthropology classes, Dubai’s economic progress outpaces its social progress. While less conservative than surrounding regions, things like identifying as homosexual are still punishable up to death.
But it really was in one word: opulent. So much light. So much glamour. Maybe it was only the Burj Khalifa, but the entire city seemed to sparkle. We walked around the promenade and down a path of string light-wrapped palm trees before heading back.
Though we were only here for a short while, we certainly got our taste of the City of Gold.
At this point in the trip I have lost all sense of time and day. After a 13+ hour flight from Chicago, Andrew, Harry, and I were ready to stretch our limbs and check out Dubai on our 12 hour layover. We regrouped with Katrina, Diane, and Austin, who arrived just minutes after us from the West Coast. Stepping out into fresh air was a nice surprise...when the fresh air was actually a steaming oven not even black mold could enjoy. After a solid 15 minutes of confused sprinting around the arrivals area, we finally hopped onto the shuttle for our hotel. I have no qualms about embarrassing myself in front of locals, so I chatted with folks at the currency exchange and transportation info to get more deets about exploring Dubai. It was then that I realized how grateful I was to be in a city where most people did still speak English. Not for long though.
It was brainstorm time. Harry the Navigator, Diane the Mapkeeper, I the Treasurer, Austin the Bodyguard, etc. We each had our roles. I had some 165 dirhams to spend, and we had learned from the hotel desk that the mall and Burj Khalifa would close at midnight. It was already past 10. While waiting for a cab, we checked out our rooftop pool which had an amazing view of the city skyline on one side and the bustling goliath of an airport on the other.
We took the taxi to the Dubai Mall, aka the largest mall in the world (by total area) and most visited building in 2011. It was stunning. The waterfall, the fountains, the lamborghini display, the gold decorations, the high-end designer shops, the waterfront promenade overlooking the city’s crown jewel, the Burj Khalifa. It was simply awe-inspiring. I remarked that I could definitely envision myself wanting to live here one day. Then again, as I understand from my Cultural Anthropology classes, Dubai’s economic progress outpaces its social progress. While less conservative than surrounding regions, things like identifying as homosexual are still punishable up to death.
But it really was in one word: opulent. So much light. So much glamour. Maybe it was only the Burj Khalifa, but the entire city seemed to sparkle. We walked around the promenade and down a path of string light-wrapped palm trees before heading back.
Though we were only here for a short while, we certainly got our taste of the City of Gold.