I hadn’t been in a Muslim country since visiting Egypt in 2002 and I was extremely excited to get back to that part of the world. First stop, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. When the plane touched down, I had the familiar feeling of arriving in a place I’ve never been before. A lovely mix of excitement, anticipation and a little nervousness at what’s to come. Not knowing much about Dubai other than what I’d seen in the glossy photos in my travel magazines, I couldn’t wait to get off the plane and see the city for myself.

After a full day of flying, I should have been feeling exhausted, but that couldn’t have been farther from the case. My first indication that I was in a different part of the world was seeing the airport customs officials dressed in the traditional dishdasha rather than the military-type uniforms I’m used to seeing in Western countries. The dishdasha is the long white tunic worn by men in many Muslim countries. (All in all a VERY good look on the men as my friend/travel partner Jen and I agreed after a few days in Dubai.)

After getting through passport control I easily met up with Jen who flew in from New York that same day. From the airport we went to Samer’s apartment. Samer is an old friend of Jen’s who graciously let us stay in his large 2-bedroom apartment in the Burj Dubai neighborhood. He basically turned the keys over to us as he was working in Qatar the entire time we were there. But before leaving us to explore the city, he started us off on the right foot by taking us to chill out at the pool in his building. Of course given the extreme heat (summer in the Middle East is no joke), we didn’t last terribly long at the pool, but it was a good way to relax without actually falling asleep which would have thrown us off schedule. Next Samer took us to the Dubai Mall area where we had a relaxing lunch with some of his friends. Almost a little too relaxing as there were definitely times when I was having a hard time keeping my jet lag from taking over.

After lunch, Jen and I figured it was a better to just keep going rather than head back to the apartment to catch a nap. We went on to wander around the Dubai mall for a few hours, then back to Samer’s place to shower, before heading out for dinner at a Lebanese restaurant. We wrapped up the evening with a few tropical cocktails at Trader Vics. Yes…Trader Vic’s. Definitely not where I saw myself soaking up Middle Eastern culture, but hey…the place was packed and the drinks looked good so why not. Of course we paid for our non-stop behavior the next day when we slept 14 hours in one go. Ah, jetlag always wins in the end. How bizarre to wake up at 5:00 pm and realize you’ve slept an entire day away! Oh well…just in time to head to the next mall (this time the Mall of the Emirates) for more shopping and eating.

Shopping and the mall attractions are things that the Dubai city planners have taken very seriously. Now of course we have malls in the U.S. of all sizes and levels of quality, but seriously…they just can’t compare to Dubai malls. Of course there’s the famous Dubai Ski in the Mall of the Emirates complete with ski lifts and real snow, but there’s also an entire entertainment zone with better rides and games than I’ve seen in many stand alone parks in the US. The Dubai Mall has a labyrinth-like gold souk, a shark-infested aquarium and a huge ice rink watched over by an enormous painting of Sheik Mo, the UAE Prime Minister. There are stores from all over the world (i.e. Harvey Nichols, Carrefour and even Nelly’s Applebottom Jeans store) not to mention fashions and products I’d never heard of before.

But for me, the opportunity to do some top-notch people watching was more exciting than the actual shopping. I was most fascinated by the different styles of dress found throughout the city. From short skirts and tank tops to women completely covered in burqas which exposed nothing but their eyes. Many men walked around in jeans and t-shirts or suits, but just as many wore the traditional dishdasha mentioned earlier. I found it most interesting to see a family where the husband and children were dressed in Western attire, while the wife was covered from head to toe in more traditional dress. I am curious if it was the husband’s or the wife’s decision that she dress in such a conservative manner compared to the rest of her family. Jen and I also were curious as to how the veiled women went about eating in the food court. Did they sneak the food under their veil or lift it for a while to get a few bites of pizza or hamburger? But try as we might, we just couldn’t catch anyone dressed that conservatively actually eating anything.

While Dubai is a fairly liberal society when compared to other Muslim cities, you still can’t just go a get a drink at any corner restaurant. Only hotels are allowed to serve alcohol…and trust me, there is no shortage of hotels in this city. So after you spend the day in the mall, most people going out on the town will head to a hotel for dinner, drinks or dancing. The Burj al Arab is probably one of the most famous hotels in the city. Tall and distinctly shaped like a boat’s sail, this is the epitome of luxury. Or at least that’s what they’d like you to believe. And you can’t just stroll in there and check it out for yourself. You need to either be staying at the hotel or have a reservation at one of their restaurants to even get on the property. Of course, Jen and I couldn’t pass this up. So we shelled out way too much money for a reservation for drinks at the cocktail lounge, high atop the hotel. While the drinks were good, they were way overpriced and after sundown the view is basically non-existent as nothing on the ground is really lit up. And while they may have been aiming for “glitzy” inside the lobby and restaurant, it instead ended up being closer to tacky. Well, money can’t necessarily buy taste. I’m glad I got to check out the Burj al Arab, but was definitely more impressed by other hotels like the One&Only and the Al Qasr.

While I truly enjoyed exploring Dubai, I can’t help but compare it to an odd mixture of Disneyworld and Las Vegas. Everything is so new and clean and well-maintained. I almost felt like I was on a movie set. That I would come around a corner and find that everything was just a very realistic backdrop. If you’re looking for “gritty” you won’t find it too easily. We took a trip to the downtown area of Dubai that was a bit more like real life; where not everything looked as if it was just painted the previous day. But still it was a far cry from the crumbling but character-filled alleys of Cairo that twist and turn through that city.

One constant in Dubai is the construction. Cranes and half completed buildings dominate the skyline. Workers in yellow jumpsuits and hard hats are present on jobsites throughout the city. But while Dubai seems to be obsessed by growing skyward, they have done a pretty poor job on the ground. The city is very spread out and hard to navigate. Oftentimes, you have to drive 10 minutes in the opposite direction from where
you want to go before you can find a place to turn around. I can’t imagine trying to navigate those roads on a daily basis.

Dubai remained our base as we traveled on to Djibout and Oman, but more on those places in their own postings. Although I’ll never claim that Dubai is the most culturally rich place in the world, I still had a great time and can definitely see going back there again. Either for a short trip or maybe even to live as an expat for a little while. Given my interest in the hospitality industry, this would be an ideal place to get some more hotel business experience. You never know!