Fountains, Food, and Fishes

Apparently Dubai likes to combine tourism with shopping, which if you think about it, is a pretty smart thing to do. I'm beginning to understand why they like to put things like ski hills and aquariums in their malls, because people will come for one and stay for the other. Genius! Free marketing for all!

Today, I got to see the Dubai Aquarium, which is at the other big mall called the Dubai Mall (I was at Mall of the Emirates yesterday). The Aquarium is 3 stories tall, the largest in the world (of course, it's Dubai), and costs 30 bucks to go in. Um, no thanks. I took the poor man's admission price and just gandered from behind the velvet rope. Admission only buys you the chance to walk through it. Which is kind of neat, but not necessary. Especially for that price.

It was cool to see, but I have a feeling the one in Toronto is cooler, as seen from all my friends' Instagram feeds (Note to self: I need to go see it myself, because I want some #jellyfishselfies!)

It was therefore no surprise that in the middle of this mall, in addition to the aquarium, there is a skating rink. I immediately thought, "cool! This plus Tim Horton's...if I just stay inside I can hardly tell I'm not in Canada!" Until upon closer inspection, all the arab women were skating around, abayas fluttering in the breeze like it ain't no thang. You definitely wouldn't see much of THAT in Canada.

After that I was off to Mango Tree, which had epic, awesome Thai food. But that wasn't even close to the best part. I sat at a table on their balcony, right at the front and centre, while the Burj Khalifa (tallest building in the world) towered above me, and had the best seat in the house for the Dubai Fountains. The whole thing was straight outta the Bachelor playbook. I'm not kidding, that ran across my mind several times. I kept looking around for a rose to appear on the table! I mean, the setting was so magnificent and romantic, I could've been on a date with Juan Pablo and still been fawning over it (for anyone who watches the show, you'll know what I mean...he was the worst.) Exhibit A:

I need to explain about the fountains. I haven't been to Vegas (yet--plans are in the works for my birthday this year!) but I've been told it's similar to the fountains at the Bellagio. All I know is it was the most epic way to have dinner I've ever seen. There was a show every 20 minutes, and each time it was different. Different pattern, different music. It was truly spectacular, and a must-see for anyone who visits. Fellas, you're welcome. I've just found your anniversary/birthday/proposal venue.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/gJY7grCjCNU]

Dubai or Not To Buy

...I'm embarrassed for myself, don't worry. I love a good terrible good pun, what can I say? Today was spent doing Dubai's national pastime: SHOPPING. We all know I squealed in delight when I discovered this fact (and I may or may not have brought an empty suitcase inside another suitcase for this purpose).

I knew the shopping would be good; I didn't know it would be THAT good. They literally have every store that I like back home, and then tons that I've never heard of! Needless to say, I made off with a small fortune in tax-free goodies.

Another neat thing about the mall? There's a SKI HILL inside. No joke. I remember seeing it featured on the Amazing Race a few years back, and was dying to try it out, but due to my recent adventures in acetabular repair, I decided for my hip's sake it was best to take a pass this time around. I promise you I will be back to test it out in the future!

After making off with a small fortune in tax-free purchases, I headed to the Dubai marina at night for some sheesha and food. No booze because if you remember, it's only sold at hotels. It was pretty chilly, but luckily Dubai has an extremely strong patio game, and are fully prepared for "winter" with heat lamps and luscious blankets for all.

(Sorry for the poor photo quality in some of these, but there are times when you just don't feel like lugging your DSLR around with you. Someone invent an iPhone that can take DSLR-quality photos, and I will pay the premium for it!)

I took a stroll after dinner and found the only thing that could make me homesick: Tim Horton's. I can't believe they have one here. AND they know what a double-double is! (That fact won me a bet, and free coffee as well!)

I could get used to this!

K.

Good Morning, Dubai!

I awoke this morning to TWO wonderful and foreign delights: sunshine, and WARMTH!

Anyone who is familiar with global warming will know what a horrifying and never-ending winter we've been having north of The Wall in Canada. So to wake up to blue skies and sunshine?! Sign me up!

Today was a lazy day, getting over any residual jetlag and exploring a bit while also thinking of what I wanted to see during the short time I'll be here. First up? Umm Suqeim Beach.

The weather was actually not warm enough to lie in the sun or anything (and I was nervous about testing the Western boundaries after my airport debaucle) so I donned my summer blue jeans and a cardigan and went to explore. It was windy so the kite surfers were out in full force:

They are in the midst of building a running track, although for now it seemed reserved for groups of Emirati men to gather (and point & whisper "infidel!" as I strolled past, sans abaya).

At the end of the beach was the Burj Al Arab, one of the iconic buildings in the Dubai skyline, and the world's first (? only?) seven-star hotel. You'll notice Dubai is a fan of world records. If it's possible to outdo something, especially another country, they'll do their best. (Most fireworks on NYE record of 445,000 by Kuwait? Dubai smashed it this year. Tallest building in the world used to the the CN Tower in Toronto? Not anymore, thanks to the Burj Khalifa.)

The evening was spent at a place called Madinat Jumeirah, which is this strange, kitschy, yet oddly beautiful complex.

Built to resemble a traditional souq, it's a weird mishmash of touristy tackiness, yet you can't help but admire the architectural beauty that went into it. With the Burj Al Arab as a backdrop, it's quite the place to have dinner.

I dined on steak & foie gras, a true testament to all that is Dubai: you want it, you can get it here.

I was reminded yet again of where I was when I saw the following sign on many restaurant doors:

Toto, we're not in Toronto anymore.

K.

Arriving in the UAE

When you quit your job, and are lucky enough to have a few days off before your new one starts, the most logical thing to do is obviously book a trip. Halfway around the world. Somewhere you've never been before. Where did that land me? In the land of opportunity, mystique, and SUN: where else, but Dubai!

First things first: whoever said that booking flights last-minute is a good idea was a LIAR. $1956 dollars later...I was on a plane. Connecting through Heathrow to Dubai (no directs available, in part because Emirates holds a monopoly on that route for the time being). Because of the recent ice storm, Emirates was completely booked. Unless I wanted to fly Business class for $7k. I have a job, but it ain't THAT well-paying! Ugh. Someday I will be able to afford a suite on an Emirates Airbus...and then never buy one because that's a waste of money! Think of all the travel you could buy yourself with ONE ticket!

So I get there and have to pass through the visa-on-arrival process. Which took forever, but seems even longer after traveling almost 24 hours and arriving in the middle of the night. Nevertheless, when I finally had my turn, they took my photo as is protocol, and the nice Emirati informed me he would send it to me so I could Instagram it. Am I THAT #obvious already here?

As some of you might know (if you know me in real life), I suffer from chronic migraines. They suck, almost nothing works, but Tylenol 1's seem to do the best job at making me functional when one happens. That being said, T1's are a combination of acetaminophen (Tylenol), caffeine, and codeine, so they're definitely stronger than aspirin. You can buy them over the counter in Canada though, no prescription necessary, no big deal, right? I *may* have had some in my bag for the trip, cannot confirm nor deny..

I passed through the final check, no questions asked. I only found out once in the country that I *may or may not have* just smuggled contraband into the country by accident, and if they had discovered my activities in the airport, it carries a mandatory 4 YEAR jail sentence. Terrifying!!! I was off to a rocky start. So folks, drugs are very bad here. Including ones that are fine in your home country. Be extremely careful!

I was so rattled I didn't take advantage of the duty free, which is a real shame, because the UAE is a Muslim country and you can only purchase alcohol at hotels or if you have a special license. Oh well! Lesson learned on two fronts.

Next up, my first full day in Dubai! Can't wait. Stay tuned...

K.

3 Countries, 2 Continents, 1 Travel Day

Think about it. Istanbul is straddling Europe and Asia. I'm flying to Dubai, in the Middle East. Then India. Busy day for me! Waiting to board my flight to Dubai. Hungover, tired, and stressed. Trying to leave it behind.

The plane is massive, and full of people that clearly do not know how to travel. Relax, they're not going to leave without you, and it's not a big deal whether you're the first on board.

No free wifi at the airport sucks-I'm finding it's really hit and miss and totally depends on the country. Also unaccounted for is the difficulty in finding a free socket I can charge my electronics with. At the hostel, you're barely in your room except to sleep, so I don't want to leave stuff like that out while I'm not there-it's too tempting. While I'm sleeping its the same problem-I'm afraid ill wake up to an empty charger.

So basically if i want things charged, I have to sit in my room and wait. Naturally, I'm about to board a 10 HR flight with a dead iPod and an iPad at 14%.

The flight is delayed about a half hour, which isn't too bad; I have a 2 HR layover in Dubai, so it should be fine.

I get on the plane and find my seat, which is at the very front of a section so there's no one in front of me and I have a ton of leg room. Score! As I'm unpacking and getting settled, a steward comes and asks if I would mind changing seats so a family can use the space for a basinette. Well, I would mind, but I'm not that much of a jerk so I agreed. I got a window seat and an empty one next to me, and they gave me the food being served in business class. I sipped free champagne all flight, so it worked out alright. oh, and they had a charging station in the stewards' bay, so they charged my iPad for me while i was on the flight.

We land about an hour and a half behind schedule and now I'm getting antsy. I don't know what the pilot was doing, but I did not purchase a ticket with a scenic night tour of Dubai.

We land and taxi into the plane's parking space, which is obviously the furthest point from the terminal I need to be in. There are shuttles waiting, and these took us on another half hour drive to get to the terminal. Now it's getting close.

I walk in expecting to be filtered into a separate direction for connecting flights, but everyone is being told to go the same way. I take the escalator up to see the longest line of security I have witnessed on this trip so far. Easily a two hour wait. I was faced with a moral dilemma: do i wait my turn, like a good Canadian, or do I throw the 'bows up and make something happen? I mean, everyone was in the same boat as I...

Elbows were up and I crosschecked my way through many disgruntled passengers to let security know i was going to miss my flight if I wasn't bumped to the front of the line...usually they do this for you in Europe or north America if you're catching a connecting flight, but either way I thought once I brought this to their attention I'd be sent straight through.

That would be a false assumption. He just pointed to the line and said "what do you expect me to do? They're also all waiting." that was the last straw for me-I pushed past him, threw my bag on the security belt, scooted through the scanner, and was on my way. No one stopped me, which proves the whole thing was just a disorganized disaster. Not cool, Emirates. Not cool. You WILL be hearing from me, and i do expect something to be done about this. Not the service I paid for.

I put my head down and literally sprinted to the gate for my connecting flight, which was on final call and at the very end of the terminal.

Much smaller plane, middle seat, surrounded by 3 huge Indian guys. Doesn't look like I'm getting much sleep tonight. Note to self: stop booking night flights! They make travel so much harder and tiring! Unless I were flying business class, in which case, note to future rich self: fly all night!

I really wish I had been on a direct flight from Istanbul to Chennai. This whole transfer business makes it so much tougher. Also difficult and not pictured: taking money out before I get to India. Let's hope they have ATMs by now...I remember there was a point in which they didn't have computers in their banks, and everything was kept by hand ledger.

I slept for most of the taxi ride, although we had to stop for a bathroom break at some point. The cab pulls over to this roadside stand with refreshments and says it's in there. In where? This is a shack! Yeah...We walked behind, through a metal workshop, into the sketchiest room I have ever been in in my life. Straight out of Hostel or the Saw franchise. Corrugated metal on all sides, no light, flies buzzing above the hole in the ground that was to be the toilet. GREAT. What choice did I have? Thank god I bought that roll of Charmin To Go in Shoppers before I left on my trip.

TMI? That's India for ya.