Dubai

Now this is the 3rd arab country I have been to, but it is soooooo different. Partly because it is very modern, and mostly because it is so RICH!! It just screams money!! The cars, the gold, the buildings, the shopping.... I cannot believe this place! Dubai is really a playground for adults. We arrived at 630am Thanksgiving morning and ordered in breakfast (masala dosas) and took a nap. We headed off to Mall of the Emerites...a HUGE mall, also home to SKI DUBAI. A ski slope in the middle of the desert? Crazy..ski lifts and all. There are many many souqs (markets) here, and I wanted to check out the Gold souq. I have grown to love the bling bling 22k gold that everyone wears on this side of the world....and there was more than I could look at...I did try on some different rings, but didn't find "the one" . We did however, find some other stuff....
We met Ajay at their house, got ready to go out and drove to the Jemeirah hotel....which is where we took this great shot of the Burj Al Arab Hotel (the famous 7 Star hotel)Ajay wanted to take us to a place called 360 degrees. It is a round, open air bar/lounge literally in the middle of the water. There is a little walkway from the hotel about a 1/4 mile. It has 2 levels and white couches and chairs, sheeshas everywhere, a dj spinning hot house music and unbeatable international people watching.

The BEST part of this place, though, and the reason this place was almost surreal, is that the Burj Hotel is right there. (also in the middle of the water) It's a Dubai landmark, shaped like the sail of a sailboat. It is all white, but used as a canvas for a spectacular light show at night. And we were in the perfect spot to see. In fact we were on a dance floor in the foreground.

The drinks were "normal" club prices. ($10) but boy did they pack a punch. I had 3 vodka tonics and was really feeling it. Smita and Nami only had two and were feeling equally buzzed (Nami drunk). Actually all 3 girls were out in the car on the drive home....poor Ajay.

The next day we hung out at the gorgeous Jemeriah Beach. The people watching was great here too. I really dont think they sell mens bathing suits here, because 98% of the men were in cotton underwear??? I got a photo of some arabs strolling the beach, I just loved the contrast of my bikini....I think they caught me..... Here behind the 3 models is the tallest building in the world (as of today) and is still under construction.

That night we took a drive an hour into the desert to Bab Al Shams Resort. I had read about it in my lonely planet guide and the others were also interested.....we had no idea it was going to be such a sensory overload when we arrived to one of the 4 restaurants, se llama Al Hadheerah.When walking in there we about 50 arab men just sitting in the sand talking for affect. We walked under the arch, into the open air restaurant, where an elaborate buffet awaited. We were seated at a table with cushions, and not even knowing the price, we knew we had to stay.

In the near distance on a dune of sand, a caravan of camels went back and forth (again for affect) There were camels two steps from our table that we could ride too.
I have decided that I LOVE CAMELS!! They are really cute, and I love how they fold their legs to sit and their feet are like pillows. We ordered 2 Sheeshas, one with mango and the other with mint tabacco for our table. Its amazing that I detest cigarettes and LOVE sheeshas.

Oh yes, there was more......Bellydancing. Sure, I'll get up and dance ....afterall, I did take a bellydance class at OSU .......True, a long time ago, but somethings you never forget! Ofcourse I was inspired all over again and Smita and vowed to take classes in ATL.

Ok 3rd night in Dubai was just as exciting! We did a Desert safari, this is a must do while in Dubai. It actually was the cheapest night we had too. A guide picked us up from the apartment at 330p and we again, headed out to the desert. First for a little "dune bashing" as it is called! They let out some air in the 4 runners tires, and we zoomed up and down these big-ass sand dunes, seemingly ready to tip over several times. Sort of like a roller coaster, yet it felt more unsafe! There was a lot of screaming coming from the girls. We stopped at the top to check out the sunset and take some snaps. I did pull out a bag for a sand sample. The first desert sand in my collection. (now up to 41 bottles)There were hummers, 4 runners, 4 wheelers, and we even saw a dune buggy. They all travel in caravans incase one gets stuck (this hummer did) Here Nami and Ajay pose:After we got our fill, we drove to the "camp" where a dinner buffet and several activites were set up. This is a huge business, and goes on everynight during while the weather allows. We came at the perfect time of year, it was mid 80's and DRY.

We got Mendhi on our hands.

rode more camels.......and dressed up in burkas.......they say you are more sexy when you leave more to the imagination???

We were inspired with MORE bellydancing...never enough, if you ask me.

Sorry, if you are getting bored with this trip......but I have one more day.....the day I spent more on lunch that I ever have spent.....and will probably ever spend in the future. Where? You guessed it...back to the Burj Al Arab....... this time during the day.

Its like this.....pay the $100 just to get into the lobby, OR make a reservation at one of the restuarants and use that money towards something ...the logical answer...eat, right? SURELY we would be able to have a nice lunch (1pm Sunday being the only reservation available the whole weekend) for $100 per person!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

I had to lift this pic from the internet, because once you leave the lobby, no cameras are allowed. ("to protect the privacy of our guests")

The restaurant AL MAHARA " is seafood avant-garde..thank you very much! It is circular with the most beautiful aquarium in the middle. The food, I must say, was 7 star. When we looked at the menu and saw that one entree was $90, dessert $25 and a glass of wine was $25, we knew what we were in for....BUT when in Rome.....you only live once, right? All four of us just went for the 3 course meal at a special prie of 380 Dirhams (im not going to do the conversion for you) There were several tempting options on the menu. I started with tuna tartare, a cold leek and potato soup, and the sea bass. We said screw it and after finishing the 1st bottle of El Coto ....a white Rioja de Espana, and ordered another.....why skimp now?

I hope you enjoyed this little taste of the middle east. I highly recommend Dubai, a city of "firsts" for me. Its funny, I spent more in 4 days in Dubai than 2 weeks in India. Well, there ya are!