Dubai

Perhaps the greatest contrast of cultures faced us as we left India and headed to Dubai for a few days of fun.  As you have seen in the blog, India is a beautiful although somewhat chaotic land. We would quickly learn that Dubai is, well, absolutely nothing like that. 

Dubai is one of seven emirates in the United Arab Emirates.  What, you ask, is an emirate?  Well in simple terms, an emirate is a territory or province that is ruled by a Muslim monarch.  Dubai is located on the southeast coast of the Persian Gulf.

Dubai is an energizing and glamorous metropolis that has grown steadily to become a global city and a business and cultural hub of the Middle East.  Although Dubai's economy was historically built on the oil industry, this has expanded dramatically and much revenue now comes from tourism, real estate, and financial services.  The city has become home to many skyscrapers including the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa.  While there are many over-the-top structures in Dubai, the one that is perhaps most mind-boggling is the indoor mountain - Ski Dubai.  In addition, Dubai proudly boasts the only seven star hotel in the world and many sprawling shopping malls.  

Of course, it will not surprise you to learn that Dubai is also the most expensive city in the Middle East.  For the first time since leaving on this journey, we suffered sticker shock at every turn.  We were reminded of what we had "forgotten" while traveling Africa and India...this trip would have been very short if not strategically planned.  While $50 can last days in Africa, it is out of the pocket and gone in a flash here in Dubai.  This is not a complaint but a reality.  However, the RTW Adventure Family was here to rock it out for two days. And that we did.  

We arrived in Dubai on Thursday night February 6th.  After making our way to the hotel around midnight, we all hit the sack and prepared for a full day ahead.  By 8am on Friday, we were walking the Mall of the Emirates and taking in the sights, sounds and wonderful smell of the structure.  The smell was coming for the dozens of bakeries, coffees shops and restaurants serving breakfast.  We must admit, it was a welcome sight to our taste buds and bellies.  Breakfast included three courses...Starbucks, a French bakery and IHOP.

With our bellies full, we were off to...an indoor ski resort.

Gearing up for one of the activities that Mabret, Roman and Dad have truly missed while traveling.

The "mountain" looking back from halfway up the lift. 

Approaching the top.

The boys doing their thing.

A selfie on the lift.

After exhausting ourselves on the mountain, we ate a good lunch and relaxed a bit.  Katie took the boys to a movie while mom and dad grabbed a drink and chillaxed. Thanks, Katie. 

We finished the day by actually going out on a date.  Sushi was calling.  More thanks to Katie.

Day two brought a 6am wake-up call as we had tickets for the 7am elevators to the observation deck at the top of the Burj Khalifa.

A view from the top.

The sunrise.

Good times and makin memories.

The mall which is part of the Burj Khalifa complex has an impressive aquarium (and silly boys).

The mall is also home to the flagship store of our new family empire.

Next stop was Soccer Circus.  An impressive indoor soccer training facility which included this penalty kick simulator in which the boys worked together to take penalty kicks aimed at the figures shown in  the picture.  Each time a figure is hit, it drops beneath the floor.  

We finished the day with a movie (Frozen) and dinner.

A busy and memorable stop in Dubai.