Dubai!

After a few days of recovery from my way-too-awesome weekend, it is time to tell you about my trip to Dubai! I drove there with two of my friends from work on Friday afternoon. I have certainly commented on the driving here in Al Ain, but it is really nothing compared to Dubai. People drive scary fast on the highway, but it is easy to stay away from them there. It gets a bit hairy when you get into the city, though. To start with, there's the roundabouts. The giant, 5 lane across, 15 exit roundabouts. I knew it was going to be an issue when my GPS was telling me to "Take exit #7". You should not have to count the number of exits on a roundabout to figure out where to go. So, while simultaneously trying to figure out which exit to take, you must keep up your speed in a circle, while trying to get over in the lanes (where people will not let you in), while getting honked at and trying not to kill your wonderful new friends. The worst moment was when we got to an intersection and stop light with 5 or 6 directions coming off the highways and the power had gone out...meaning no traffic lights. Everyone just sat there for a moment and then people slowly started to go. We made it through the weekend but the driving part was crazy stressful.

Apart from the driving, it is an amazing city. It's funny how you can drive only an hour and a half outside Al Ain (aka...the middle of nowhere desert) and you feel like you are back home again in North America. Everywhere you look are giant, shining buildings, huge malls and beautiful beaches. We saw the Burj Kalifa (the tallest building in the world), went to Dubai mall, went to a bar on the beach and a nightclub in the city and swam in the Persian Gulf on Jumeirah Beach. Dubai mall is AMAZING! It has 1500+ stores including a giant fish tank in the middle of it, international stores, the biggest food court I have ever seen, a huge candy store, and a gold souk where you can buy anything-no matter how extravagant. We spent about 4 hours in the mall and didn't even see half of it. It is a shopper's dream. The other mall, Mall of the Emirates, which we didn't make it to boasts a full, indoor ski slope. That will be next on the list to see.

We stayed in a hotel with a spectacular view from the 24th floor and spent a day lazing on the beach.

The water was perfectly warm and lovely and it is covered with white sand and beautiful, original looking shells and bits of coral reef. Everywhere you go you see tourists and expats from around the world, so it is a nice place to go to escape the "true" middle east, which has it's own difficulties on a day to day basis. It is a fast-paced, expensive place, so I don't know if I should ever live there, or I may go into more debt. But visiting, on the other hand...Dubai will probably see me every weekend!