Teaching and travelling around the world

After three days of shopping & walking around malls, eating out and driving around the city, I realized that Dubai is a great place for a vacation when you need the taste of a big city. They really have it all. Just a short 4.5-hour drive from Muscat, Dubai is a true mega-city, sprawled along the Arabic/Persian Gulf with its gigantic skyscrapers, including the beautiful Burj al Khalifa: the world’s tallest tower (no longer the CN tower, too bad, so sad). It can be seen from all over. I actually got goosebumps when I first saw it, cresting the horizon as I drove closer to the city limits. Here’s my best photo of it from afar:

The Burj al Khalifa dominating Dubai's skyline. Flamingos in the foreground.

And here’s what it looks like up close:

Me and da Burj hanging out

And no, of course I didn’t go up in it; I’m scared of heights in a normal building! I’ve heard reports of feeling the sway of the wind in this bad boy, *gulp* … no thanks!

But I’m getting ahead of myself. First thing I did after meeting up with my friend, Eilene with whom I taught in Istanbul, that Monday afternoon, was hit IKEA for some much-needed shopping! In Muscat, there are limited choices for home décor stores, so I was really looking forward to my trip to the closest IKEA, 500 kms away. Sadly, every other person in Dubai seemed to have the same idea. After a few hours of getting stuck behind 8-people families walking abreast in the narrow aisles, I was ready to leave with my purchases, and quickly. But not before one of those cheap soft-serve cones; how do they make any profit on those?!

That evening I suggested we go to the Belgian Café, known for its selection of over 20 Belgian beers and recommended to me by some Muscat teachers. We took a taxi there, as there’s zero tolerance for drinking and driving in Dubai, and the penalties are severe. We figured it just wasn’t worth the risk, and I wanted to be sure I was free to drink as much beer as I wanted! The waterside restaurant had some really nice food, wonderful Belgian beer (I had two at $15 each!) and lovely views of the cityscape, but some of the worst service I’ve ever experienced. I got the feeling we weren’t drinking enough to suit our waiter’s tastes, so he just plain ignored us. But his rudeness aside, it was a nice evening out, chatting and catching up. Here are some of the pretty pics from that night:

Eilene by the Intercontinental and boardwalk

One of the best beers I've ever had: oaky and sweet at the same time. It tasted like a mix between beer and wine.

My rare steak and I had a great view of the Burj al Khalifa, all lit up, reminding me of the Eiffel Tower

The next day, I was off to Dubai Mall, while Eilene went to school to get some report-card work done. The malls in Dubai are so awesome, they deserve their own blog entry after this one, so you’ll just have to wait. That evening, Eilene and I went to check out what Time-Out Dubai Magazine dubbed the “Most Authentic Italian Pizza in Dubai” at Red Tomato. They did not disappoint – it was really good, even if it wasn’t real ham or bacon on my thin-crust meat-lovers pizza. After that, we drove around to check out the night lights. This is what we saw:

The gorgeous Burj al Arab at night, reflects the lights shining onto its big "sail". This is the famous glistening-white, 7-star hotel on the edge of the gulf.

The Jumeirah Beach Hotel, right next door, with its breaking-wave shape is another unique building right on the water

All the mosques are lit and look so pristine.

Driving down Sheik Zayed Road at night is a feast for the eyes. So many tall, beautifully-designed buildings.

The triangle-shaped Emirates Towers, one is a hotel and the other holds offices, including the crown prince's.

The next day, Eilene and I headed off to a unique mall called Ibn Battuta, named after a historical figure… but  you can read all about this in my next blog article about Dubai malls. The drive and metro-ride out there was great; I got to see all kinds of lovely places that I’ll never afford to stay at, unless I marry filthy rich, hmmm… perhaps this guy is available:

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, aka the Crown Prince of Dubai. Gotta love how his photo is just by the side of the highway like this.

Or his dad:

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. Maybe he could use an extra wife?

We drove out onto Dubai’s famous, man-made island shaped like a palm tree that holds Atlantis the Palm and a whole slew of luxury houses on what they call “fronds”, or branches. Pretty swanky stuff!

Atlantis Dubai - I love how it looks similar to the one in the Bahamas, but with an Arab twist.

And now to try to entice my brother into coming to this part of the world:

Part of a beautiful golf course I saw while riding the metro. Well, Mike?

So, all in all, Dubai was a great place to visit – and the best part is, it’s only 4.5 hours away!

I'm curious to see how many more unique buildings Dubai will build... In this photo, (L to R) Burj al Arab, Jumeirah Beach Hotel and the Burj al Khalifa, off in the distance.