So the first week of our Eurotrip was not in Europe. We went to Dubai, which is the city Doha aspires to be, but is nowhere close. Doha: pot holes, round-a-bouts, traffic, rude people. Dubai: perfectly constructed roads, stop lights, no traffic, people are polite-ish. Doha has a way to go. Dubai just has it together. Dubai is the family member in the middle east that made something of itself. It is in Hollywood partying with it's "new" friends. Now, with that said, I don't ever want to go back. There is nothing to do unless you have a ton of money and can stay at the Atlantis Hotel...which we don't and didn't.
Backing up a bit: Leaving Doha. We were leaving from Gate 13. I thought about my Mother and how she most likely would have not gotten on the flight and would have chartered a boat to go home. :) Love you! The flight we were on was an international flight, stopping in Dubai before continuing to DC. Most people on the short hop to Dubai were getting off in Dubai. This was a huge plane - 10 seats across with First, Business and Coach classes. We were all in the back of the plane. Not one person was in front of row 25. We land safely, go to Duty Free for alcohol (because it's super expensive at the hotels), rent our car (a white Toyota Yaris) and make way to the hotel (Sheraton at The Creek). Upon arrival at the hotel, we were upgraded to a room with a creek view. I think this is because of our snazzy Diplomatic Passports, but it's most likely because while we were waiting for our keys, a very inebriated man around the age of 65 came in with a young girl (around 20) who was dressed in a mini skirt, tube top and 8 inch heels. Sidenote: You can't wear this attire in the middle east - no matter where you are. He wanted a room for a few hours with her. If you haven't deduced by now, she was a "working girl." Security was trying to get him to leave, but he kept patting their chests calling them "tough guys." THIS, my friends, I believe, is why were upgraded, but who knows.
This leg of the trip was for Brian so he could get his Advanced Free Fall (AFF) License. Now he is able to jump by himself...out of a perfectly good plane, while plummeting to the ground, at terminal velocity, with nothing but a parachute that may or may not work. "It's totally safe," he says. "No one ever gets hurt," he says. YOU ARE JUMPING OUT OF A PLANE, DUDE! Such the supportive wife, I am. And Mom, his first jump day was April 13th. Yeah.
The first few days, he went to class and I stayed at the hotel. He would come home around 3-4pm and was completely exhausted from the adrenaline rushes all day. While he napped, I went to the Pub in the lobby and had a cider and a real BLT. Dubai sells bacon...real bacon. (Another reason Doha needs to get it together). A local guy was in there and ordered a martini.
This is how it went down:
Man(M): I'd like a martini.
Waitress(W): Gin or Vodka?
M: Gin
...three minutes later
W: Here you are, sir.
M: I wanted the drink with the salt on it.
W: That's a margarita.
M: Oh.
Lauren: Noob.
The next night, we went to the Mall of the Emirates and saw the indoor ski hill and went to see Oblivion, some Tom Cruise movie. You can pick your seat, so we did - with no one around us. Let me preface this story with the first time I went to a movie theater in an Arabic country...cell phones, smacking and non-stop talking the whole time. I swore I would never do it again, but here I was willingly submitting myself to instant bad-moodiness. Brian shhsh'd people the whole time. Cell-phones rang and food was smacked. I was ready for a stiff drink after Tom Cruise saved the world. Here is a pic from the outside of the indoor ski hill:
He had a day off from school the next day, so we went out and about the city. This is when I turned green with envy...over roads. ROADS! You don't realize how awesome traffic lights are until all you are used to are round-a-bouts with asshole drivers. It's the little things over here. We went to the Dubai Mall and toured the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. When we went through security, they took Brian's lighter, but not his pocket knife. Whaaat?? It has the longest continuous elevator ride in the world. Fun fact: I had a movement up there...tallest one in the world, right!? My own record. Here are some photos of the building and views:
Dubai also holds the Guinness Book World Record for the single largest acrylic panel. It's about a foot and a half thick, as well. Here it is:
We were allowed to feed the fish at the aquarium. It was pretty snazzy. They basically charge you $10, give you dog food and you throw it in the tank. This is what happens:
At the Dubai Mall, we ate at Potbelly's. I LOVE this place. Brian and I made a pact when we left that we weren't going to eat from any fast-food, American-y places on this vacation, but I have a beer belly that needed a Potbelly sandwich. It was delicious. We also saw a Texas Chicken in the food court. The logo was EXACTLY the same as Church's Chicken from home, but since we were in the Middle East, they couldn't call it Church's Chicken, thus naming it Texas Chicken. Even though, I don't think Texas is much below a church in their eyes. McDonald's is also racist over here. They have burgers called "The Mexican" and "The Asian." They would be fired if that was their advertising campaign in the States. Big billboards all over town reading "THE MEXICAN - Eat it!" What?
There was a wooden yacht on the Creek outside of our room called "Touch Wood." Every morning, 15-20 workers were all over it cleaning and polishing this thing. It was completely made of wood. Can you imagine the upkeep on this thing in the States? Luckily for the owner, labor is cheap here.
The next day, I went with Brian to his skydiving school to hang out. I wanted to see him in action! It....was....awesome. I still wouldn't do it, but watching these guys do their thing was very entertaining. I sat out there for 8 hours and never got bored. The Skydive Dubai professional team was working that day and doing all kinds of awesome landings and air trickery. I got some pics of Brian in action too...for your viewing pleasure:
Backing up a bit: Leaving Doha. We were leaving from Gate 13. I thought about my Mother and how she most likely would have not gotten on the flight and would have chartered a boat to go home. :) Love you! The flight we were on was an international flight, stopping in Dubai before continuing to DC. Most people on the short hop to Dubai were getting off in Dubai. This was a huge plane - 10 seats across with First, Business and Coach classes. We were all in the back of the plane. Not one person was in front of row 25. We land safely, go to Duty Free for alcohol (because it's super expensive at the hotels), rent our car (a white Toyota Yaris) and make way to the hotel (Sheraton at The Creek). Upon arrival at the hotel, we were upgraded to a room with a creek view. I think this is because of our snazzy Diplomatic Passports, but it's most likely because while we were waiting for our keys, a very inebriated man around the age of 65 came in with a young girl (around 20) who was dressed in a mini skirt, tube top and 8 inch heels. Sidenote: You can't wear this attire in the middle east - no matter where you are. He wanted a room for a few hours with her. If you haven't deduced by now, she was a "working girl." Security was trying to get him to leave, but he kept patting their chests calling them "tough guys." THIS, my friends, I believe, is why were upgraded, but who knows.
This leg of the trip was for Brian so he could get his Advanced Free Fall (AFF) License. Now he is able to jump by himself...out of a perfectly good plane, while plummeting to the ground, at terminal velocity, with nothing but a parachute that may or may not work. "It's totally safe," he says. "No one ever gets hurt," he says. YOU ARE JUMPING OUT OF A PLANE, DUDE! Such the supportive wife, I am. And Mom, his first jump day was April 13th. Yeah.
The first few days, he went to class and I stayed at the hotel. He would come home around 3-4pm and was completely exhausted from the adrenaline rushes all day. While he napped, I went to the Pub in the lobby and had a cider and a real BLT. Dubai sells bacon...real bacon. (Another reason Doha needs to get it together). A local guy was in there and ordered a martini.
This is how it went down:
Man(M): I'd like a martini.
Waitress(W): Gin or Vodka?
M: Gin
...three minutes later
W: Here you are, sir.
M: I wanted the drink with the salt on it.
W: That's a margarita.
M: Oh.
Lauren: Noob.
The next night, we went to the Mall of the Emirates and saw the indoor ski hill and went to see Oblivion, some Tom Cruise movie. You can pick your seat, so we did - with no one around us. Let me preface this story with the first time I went to a movie theater in an Arabic country...cell phones, smacking and non-stop talking the whole time. I swore I would never do it again, but here I was willingly submitting myself to instant bad-moodiness. Brian shhsh'd people the whole time. Cell-phones rang and food was smacked. I was ready for a stiff drink after Tom Cruise saved the world. Here is a pic from the outside of the indoor ski hill:
He had a day off from school the next day, so we went out and about the city. This is when I turned green with envy...over roads. ROADS! You don't realize how awesome traffic lights are until all you are used to are round-a-bouts with asshole drivers. It's the little things over here. We went to the Dubai Mall and toured the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. When we went through security, they took Brian's lighter, but not his pocket knife. Whaaat?? It has the longest continuous elevator ride in the world. Fun fact: I had a movement up there...tallest one in the world, right!? My own record. Here are some photos of the building and views:
Dubai also holds the Guinness Book World Record for the single largest acrylic panel. It's about a foot and a half thick, as well. Here it is:
We were allowed to feed the fish at the aquarium. It was pretty snazzy. They basically charge you $10, give you dog food and you throw it in the tank. This is what happens:
At the Dubai Mall, we ate at Potbelly's. I LOVE this place. Brian and I made a pact when we left that we weren't going to eat from any fast-food, American-y places on this vacation, but I have a beer belly that needed a Potbelly sandwich. It was delicious. We also saw a Texas Chicken in the food court. The logo was EXACTLY the same as Church's Chicken from home, but since we were in the Middle East, they couldn't call it Church's Chicken, thus naming it Texas Chicken. Even though, I don't think Texas is much below a church in their eyes. McDonald's is also racist over here. They have burgers called "The Mexican" and "The Asian." They would be fired if that was their advertising campaign in the States. Big billboards all over town reading "THE MEXICAN - Eat it!" What?
There was a wooden yacht on the Creek outside of our room called "Touch Wood." Every morning, 15-20 workers were all over it cleaning and polishing this thing. It was completely made of wood. Can you imagine the upkeep on this thing in the States? Luckily for the owner, labor is cheap here.
The next day, I went with Brian to his skydiving school to hang out. I wanted to see him in action! It....was....awesome. I still wouldn't do it, but watching these guys do their thing was very entertaining. I sat out there for 8 hours and never got bored. The Skydive Dubai professional team was working that day and doing all kinds of awesome landings and air trickery. I got some pics of Brian in action too...for your viewing pleasure:
After his day of jumping, we were hanging out on the patio at the school, watching peoples' landings when all the sudden we felt like we were on a rocking chair. The entire patio started swaying...it was the tremors from the earthquake in Iran. We felt it for about 20 seconds...it was pretty awesome.
We made our way back to the hotel and packed up all of our summer clothes to mail back to Doha. It was going to be much colder in Europe and since we were backpacking, we didn't want to carry the extra weight. Plus, I was going to need room in my bag for souvenirs. :) Here is where I am going to vent. Google Maps can eat it. We drove all over Dubai looking for a DHL location. According to Google Maps, they were all around us! But, no, they were not. Finally, from the heavens above, we see a DHL van parked in a lot. The driver was walking back from a coffee shop to his van and we cornered him. He told us where to go, which was a few blocks away, but not listed on Google Maps, and we were 25 pounds lighter! We were in bed by 7:30pm that night...ready to go to Europe the next day!
For more picks of Brian's skydiving, please visit this link: http://sassy-pants.smugmug.com/Other/Brians-AFF-April-2013-Dubai/29136939_BMX7Vv#!i=2481069675&k=jQxv5pP
For more picks of our Dubai trip, please visit this link: http://sassy-pants.smugmug.com/Other/Dubai-April-11-17-2013/29137461_8t2Lth#!i=2481134407&k=4n4bm32
