Day Three.
The whole experience in Dubai was completely surreal and definitely foreign! As I’ve said before, aside from our honeymoon cruise to Mexico, I have never been out of the U.S., so this trip was HUGE!!
We landed in Dubai at close to 7:00 pm local Dubai time. We had an 11 hour layover, so Emirates Airlines provided us with hotel rooms and meal vouchers. We hustled through the crazy-shiny Dubai Airport to clear Immigrations and then load onto the bus to head to the hotel. At the hotel, we put our stuff into our rooms, ate dinner, and then left for a 2-hour tour of the city. I slept for only about 2 hours that night, so I was really exhausted and over-emotional when we were leaving Dubai the next morning, but I am still so grateful that I was able to experience a little bit of the Middle East just to say that I had been there!
My thoughts/initial reactions to Dubai:
-Everything is shiny and new in excess
-Culture shock was palpable for me when I realized that Christians are a definite minority in an Islamic country
-110 degrees is really hot!
-I have a boring palate, so I am not a big fan of trying new and foreign foods…but the buffet was free, so I was thankful
-I struggled to not immediately judge the religious practices of the people (from the head covering, hijab, to the full body covering, burga). It is very different to see Muslim women in America wearing head scarves than it is to see the Muslim women in the Middle East completely covered except for their eyes. I have heard many Muslim women here in the U.S. say that wearing the hijab is their choice and is not oppressive, so I really tried to remember the difference in cultures and not make judgements, but I will honestly admit that it was hard.
-I am thrilled that I can say that I have seen the world’s tallest building AND I have put my feet in the Persian Gulf!!
-I’m not a fan of the room-card-in-the-slot-to-turn-on-the-lights system
-I prefer toilet paper to the traditional bidet…though I didn’t actually try it, I saw the mess it made in the public restrooms!
-15.00 dirhams (about $4.50 USD) is a lot to pay for a grande black coffee at the Dubai Starbucks…and it wasn’t even that good!
Here are the pictures to accompany the Dubai experience!
This is the only picture I took inside the airport. I started to take another one, but then Peter saw me and said that I could have my camera confiscated by the airport authority…yikes! That was the first realization that I was not in the States anymore! Anyway, see how shiny?
My first-ever Visa stamp in my passport!!
This is the strange system. You have to put your room card into the slot in order to turn on and keep on the lights in your room. Obviously, it conserves energy when people are not in their rooms, but if your roommate leaves and takes the card, you are in the dark. I know from experience! (I love you Mandy!) =)
Our room at the Millenium Airport Hotel…
One of the MANY prayer rooms that I saw at the hotel and the airport…
Trying new foods. I have no idea what any of this really was, except for the salad!
I did love the desserts!!
Our tour was on a bus. I thought we would make many stops and even walk around quite a bit, but we didn’t. Not only did we not stop but at a few places, but the minimum speed limit there is 60 kph and the max is 100 kph (and our driver seemed to prefer the latter), so many of my shots are at warp speed!
I’m pretty sure this is the Dubai World Trade Center…
Dubai Jumairah Mosque…
This was our first stop, where we saw the famous Burj Al Arab and ran out to touch the Persian Gulf…
Our second stop was at the Atlantis Hotel-Dubai, where we went inside and walked around. It was absolutely unbelievable! I can’t fathom the amount of money that city brings in on tourism alone!
This was our final stop, where we were able to see the Burj Dubai…the world’s tallest building. It was super humid, so my camera was fogged up on the inside…yikes!
It was really late when we returned to our hotel room, and we had to be up and ready to leave by 5:00 am, but I still took some time for pictures before I laid restlessly in bed for a few hours!
Typical bathroom…
Sandy shoes from the Persian Gulf…
This was the morning of the 20th. I was sleep deprived, but smiling because I was flying to Africa that morning!!
This was the hazy view from our hotel room. I don’t know if it’s the sand or the humidity, or both, that creates such a haze over the city, but here it is…
Next stop: Kampala, Uganda!!