Today started very early. As my things were all packed, I just got up, put on some clothes, brushed my teeth, and headed out the door to my waiting Grab. I was a few hours early for my flight, but they let me check-in anyway, and I vacillated between states of consciousness. I took a few laps around the airport. Then it was time to board my flight to Oman. I found my seat, having a whole row to myself. Ordinarily, this would not mean that much, but I was flying aboard a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. It was amazing. Instead of window shades, the windows automatically tinted to your desired opacity. I stretched out and fell asleep. I woke up for lunch, then fell asleep for the rest of the four-hour and thirty-minute flight.
I was a little worried about flying as there were problems with the neighbor across the Gulf, Iran, and the United States government could not guarantee my nor anyone’s safety in the air. But I landed in Oman without any problems. We were warned on the plane that it was Ramadan, the celebration of the prophet Muhammad’s first revelation commemorated with a lot of praying and fasting and that non-believers should refrain from eating in public. I figured, when in Rome. I walked around the Oman airport, and it was interesting to see the juxtaposition of Western garb with the flowing white robes of other passengers.
I got on the next flight to Dubai, which was hardly as spacious as the Dreamliner as I was crammed in the middle seat. It was just an up and down flight, but as we approached Dubai with the aforementioned geopolitical gamesmanship, we had to circle a bit to let the tower know we were a friendly flight. We landed with no problems, even if there was a bit of haze. I got my bag, went through security, where the enforcement officer gave me the side-eye for some reason but still let me in the country; then I hailed an Uber.
The thing about Dubai is that only the upscale Uber Blacks are available. I started talking to my driver as I could see the silhouette of the city through the haze. He seemed to open up when I told him we were paison, as I drove for Uber in the States. Dressed quite smartly in a black suit and tie, he told me he was from Nigeria. I asked him how he liked Dubai. He said it was a lot better than home. Given the Boko Haram situation, I can understand. I then asked him about the biggest question on my mind; the deal with booze. He chuckled as he told me that as long as people do not drink in public nor be stupid, there is nothing to worry about. He told me that he would love to take a nip, but unfortunately, he works all the time.
I finally got to my hotel even though there was no set address (?) and checked in. When I got to my room, I got my laundry together, then donned my suit and took a swim in the rooftop pool. It was a tad unsafe as the lifeguard used an electric power washer, whose extension cord was precariously close to the pool. I got out as I feared for my life enough that day. I put on some clothes and took a little walk around the neighborhood. I saw a port in the distance, but more interestingly, business cards were strewn all over the streets with scantly clad women of horizontal refreshment asking that if I were interested in a good time, to please call. Dubai was hipper than I thought. I walked past a mosque where people were getting ready to break the fast for Ramadan on my way to a nearby mall. I found my way to the Carrefour supermarket beer section, but upon closer inspection, every single one was non-alcoholic. I then went to the food court and had my dinner in the non-muslim/children section behind several moveable partitions. If I didn’t, as an adorned placard informed me, I would have been subject to a fine and arrested.
I walked back past the mosque where the call to end the fast was being sung, which was very beautiful. I walked around some more, bought some water, and came back to my room. I then went to the lounge to see if I could get a drink. I leaned in and asked if there were alcohol available. The host leaned right in and said, not now, but he could get some if I was around at 10 pm. I told him I would probably be asleep by then. He nodded. I came back to my room, and I set up some tours to see the city over the next few days.
When I got back to my room, I discovered two things. The first was that there was an arrow on the ceiling. Remembering my world cultures class, I realized that the arrow was pointing West to Mecca, the holiest site in the Islamic world (not East) so that those so inclined knew in what direction to pray. Secondly, I looked through both bedside tables and answered an age-old question that I had: In Muslim majority countries, did they keep Korans in hotel rooms? The answer was no. It says more about the Gideons than I realized.
The next day I woke up early and went and got the provided breakfast. It consisted of feta cheese, chicken nuggets, cucumbers, smoked cheese, hashbrowns, and hot milk tea because I could not read Arabic confusing the milk with water. After breakfast and cleaning up, I dropped off my laundry at the front desk and headed out. It was already 80 degrees at 9:30 in the morning. I headed over to the metro station, passing a few Ferraris as I walked. I got on the immaculate metro and sped through this futuristic desert paradise. I then arrived at the Burj Khalifa.
At the time of this writing, the Burj Khalifa is the tallest tower in the world at 829.8 meters or 2722.44 ft. I saw it piercing the sky and the haze when I initially drove to my hotel, but it was awe-inspiring standing at its base as the sun beat down. That majesty had a price however as they wanted $150 to go to the observation deck. So, I skipped it and went to another crowning achievement of the Emiratis, the Dubai Mall.
Having lived in rather affluent places in my life, such as Los Angeles and Philadelphia with their Beverly Hills and King of Prussia respectively, I was used to experiencing opulent shopping establishments. This place blew them all out of the water. It is the largest in the world in regards to floor space. Tucked within the seemingly endless corridors of commerce with the likes of Prada, Dolce, Gucci, Armani, Ferragamo, and basically every other Italian designer, there was an aquarium, an ice rink, four-story waterfall, and a 26 screen movie theatre. It was spectacular. After stopping at a kiosk to get a postcard for my nephews, I headed back to the Al Fahidi metro station by my hotel. I then made the error of traveling alone to the Bur Dubai Souk.
The Bur Dubai Souk, also known as the Textile Souk or the Old Souk, is a single, expansive indoor corridor of vendors, selling mostly fabrics but also souvenirs. Now, to say that the vendors were pushy was an understatement. I have never experienced anything like it. Vendors would come out of their stalls as I was walking by and insult me in probably the only English they knew for not stopping to view their wares. They were incredibly passionate about what they were selling and felt deeply offended that I would not stop and haggle.
I headed back to my hotel and got my laundry for $55, which was exorbitant even by Emirati standards. I would have washed them myself if my shower had I had hot water. The fact that there was no hot water in a desert still perplexes me to this day. But I had no time to pout, for I had an adventure waiting for me.
I met my driver, and we set out to pick up the fellow passengers for this voyage to the outskirts of Dubai. As we passed through utter desolation covered in red sand, the driver put on the radio. I was shocked to hear not only pop music but English. However, I should not have been given that the Emirates was a former British protectorate. What was fascinating is that there was an advertisement discussing Eid or the end of Ramadan. One ad was a woman complaining about her children breaking the fast with sweets. The second ad was for a film that was being released. Much like in the States, how we have our tent poll dates for big film releases like Memorial Day and Christmas, here it was Eid.
I was reminded of a conversation I had when I was working as an extra on the show House, MD. I was talking to a former Merchant Marine by the unusual name of Johnny Tremaine. Having been all over the world and piquing my interests with his travels, Johnny told me about his several trips to Dubai. He said that the people he talked to in the oil business that intimately knew the Emiratis shared that they understood that the oil would not last forever and they needed to diversify. The Emirates is the media capital of the Middle East, hosting news, sports, and a few Mission: Impossible and Fast and the Furious films as well as supplying capital to Hollywood. They are also working on bringing more tourists with theme parks and other attractions.
We finally arrived at our destination, the entrance to the desert dunes. Our driver got out of the SUV and let some of the air out of the tires to better grip the sand. And with Fergie and the Black Eyed Peas singing Boom Boom Pow, we headed deep into the desert. This was a bit of a personal challenge, besting my fears as I was still having some mild flashbacks from my auto accident. But I held my breath as I was in a front-row seat as our SUV went up, over, and around these giant windswept dunes. He took a turn a little too hard, and I banged my head against the window, but I was OK. We stopped halfway through so we could try dune surfing which was fun. After a few more minutes, we stopped so the driver could refill his tires. I decided to climb a dune and see what I could see. What I saw on the other side of the dune were the remnants of a campfire with a few liquor bottles around it. I took a three-sixty view and saw absolutely nothing. I figured that if people were that desperate for a drink to come out to the middle of the desert, then more power to them.
When the tires were completely refilled, we headed to an oasis. We were doused with rose water as we entered, a very Middle Eastern custom. There we were offered camel rides, the chance to meet a falcon, and as much shisha as we could smoke. However, I did not inhale. There were a lot of us, at least 50 people all sitting at separate tables. We were invited to try some other Arabic delights like dates and soft drinks, but we needed to take our seats for the floor show, which included dancing and fire-eating. We had dinner, and I made friends with a British couple sitting at my table. At the end of the night, they even turned off the lights so that we could see the stars. When this part of the night concluded, we headed back to the city. On the way, we passed an Emirati military base as well as the Sheik’s palace.
For some reason, the next day, I woke up early yet again. Although I was satisfied with my romp through the dunes and my shisha at the oasis, there was still more of the Emirates to see. My driver picked me up 40 minutes before I was supposed to meet him, which was no problem as I am usually early for everything.
On our way to pick up more travelers, he gave me the low down of Dubai. As we were driving along the streets, he pointed out cars, usually foreign and very expensive with three-digit prefixes on their license plates. He informed me that true Emiratis owned those cars. He told me that only 20 percent of the people that live in Dubai were actually born here. The second-largest demographic was Indian. Apparently, they do not allow people who were not born here to become passport-holding citizens, even if they were in the country for decades. The driver joked that if they did, it would become the United Indian Emirates overnight. He said that the Emiratis were better to immigrants than Saudi Arabia. In that, if there was ever a legal issue, the law always sides with the House of Saud.
He also told me about the interesting nature of construction in Dubai. The Emiratis know full well that there is a lot of money laundering when it comes to construction costs. They look the other way because they know that in 50 years when either people leave the country or their lease expires, they cannot take the buildings with them. It then becomes owned by the state.
Given the neighborhood with Saudi Arabia sharing a large land border and Iran just across the Gulf, the UAE takes security from terrorism very seriously. Since they are trying to bring in more Western tourism, they know they would never recover their good name if something were to happen.
I thanked my driver for the copious amount of knowledge he shared, then met my bus mates for my ride to Abu Dhabi, the city’s name meaning Father of the Gazelle. As we traveled, my official tour guide gave us an accelerated course on the history of the Emirates. On December 2, 1971, Sheik Zayed of Abu Dhabi convinced the other seven Emirates to band together to protect their oil interests. With their powers combined, they became the United Arab Emirates. They even named a street for the event by my hotel. Because of this, the house Zayed was given administrative rights to the Emirates. He became the President, and the office passed to his son and will continue in this fashion. Dubai is the second most powerful and has the prime minister, which also passes down the line by primogeniture.
Our first stop was the Grand Mosque. As a celebration of Zayed’s contribution to the Emirates, he constructed a grand mosque in his name. Unfortunately, he never had a chance to pray in it. Construction began in 1996 and ended in 2007, with the Sheik dying in 2004. He was buried in the courtyard of the mosque. The majesty of the building was astounding. Marble was imported from Italy, Greece, and Macedonia. The chandeliers were from Germany, with the largest weighing 12 tons. The carpet was from Iran and took 12 people two years to weave. There was gold leaf and precious gems mounted in wall fixtures. The whole mosque could contain 56,000 people at one time and was designed slightly off-kilter to align with the same axis of the Kabba in Mecca in Saudi Arabia. The construction costs are a secret, but from what I know of Persian carpets and German chandeliers as well as artisans being flown in to work from all over the world, I bet it was in the billions.
To get to the actual mosque, we traveled through an underground passageway and cleared security. Since it was a holy place, women were expected to cover their heads. Honestly, it was one of the most magnificent holy places I have seen. The expansive design and intricate work were breathtaking. It was also incredibly slippery as the marble was very polished.
As we were traveling to our next destination, our tour guide shared with us more information. After a tumultuous century, the Emirates discovered oil in 1960 and started exporting it in 1962. While there is no income tax in the country, there is a VAT tax. I learned that much like in Singapore and Hong Kong, no one owns property but simply leases it from the government for 90 years. Another interesting aspect is that outside of their Free Zones (an area that encourages foreign investment and residency as there are no taxes,) if one wants to start a business, they need an Emirati sponsor. For example, let’s say an Indian gentleman wants to open a restaurant in his neighborhood; he needs an Emirati partner. And by partner, I mean that they just have to sign on a line and collect 51% of the profits. This is a reason why many are so rich here. A sponsor can sign 5, 10, 15, 1000 contracts and get 51% of the earning without having to put up any capital.
As we continued on, the bus stopped by the Presidential Palace. Since these mighty men were practicing Muslims, they follow the tenants of taking multiple wives and making sure they were all treated equally. By the presidential palace, four identical palatial beach houses/mansions/palaces were in a row. Our guide smiled and said that each mansion was for one wife.
We stopped at a mall for lunch. As it was still Ramadan, they had moveable partitions around the dining court like in Dubai. This was a day for wonderment because one of the restaurants in the food court was a Philly Cheesesteak place. I could not believe it. I ended up having shawarma but was still impressed.
We continued on to the Louvre Abu Dhabi, then to the new Ferrari amusement park before heading back to Dubai. Our guide then told us about the World Expo that would be coming in 2020. The modern equivalent of a World’s Fair, Dubai was set to host guests from around the world for 182 days. It was essential that the Expo go off without a hitch as Dubai was doing a lot of construction. I then hopped a van and was brought back to my hotel. With all the ground I covered in Abu Dhabi, sadly, I never found Nermal.
After getting dropped off at my hotel, I decided I needed a drink. I headed out to the local convenience store, purchased a pomegranate non-alcoholic beer, and came home after dinner. It was time to test yet another theory about life in Muslim countries where pornography is illegal. Simply for educational purposes, I hopped on the world wide web to see what I could find. The government blocked every site I tried and explained in great detail why they were doing it. However, flipping on the television, paradoxically, they were advertising both breast enhancement cream (with the cleavage pixilated) as well as a men’s “length” cream. This was indeed an interesting country.
The next day, I got up and decided that I would take a bus tour of the city as there was still one part I really wanted to see. Unfortunately, I could not get a virtual ticket, but after a lengthy wait, I had the hotel print out a hard copy. I then headed out into the already scorching day.
I walked to the Burjuman, a giant mall, and chitchatted with the tour operator as we waited for the bus to arrive. He seemed nice and did not mind probing questions from a tourist. So I asked about the booze and hookers. He said that Dubai was home to over 200 nationalities and that one of the most important aspects of the region is hospitality. While not their cup of tea, the Emiratis want everyone to be happy and enjoy themselves.
Riding on the highway, I noticed two perplexing structures. The first was what I would later find out was called the Dubai Frame. It is a giant picture frame, the largest in the world, meant to symbolize that Dubai was pretty as a picture. There was some infamy around it as the artist that designed the work for the competition had it stolen by the Dubai government, apparently. The other structure was the Museum of the Future. What could be interpreted as an eye was a large silver-colored oblong shape wrapped in Arabic calligraphy. I was continuing to be impressed by the constant novel and exciting things I was seeing here.
The first stop on the tour was to a kind of Dubai history museum that talked about life in the Emirates before the discovery of oil. It was an impoverished country, and its first trading partners were the Iranians. Due to their expansive coastline, they were adroit fishermen. They even had a pearl diving industry that unfortunately was made obsolete by the Japanese company Mikimoto that pioneered the manufacture of artificial pearls. Seeing the writing on the wall, the Sheiks needed to diversify. They started allowing foreign planes to use the country as a landing strip and invited other countries with the know-how to start exploring for oil, seeing how well Saudi Arabia was doing. Oil was discovered in 1966 but started being exported in 1969, and that is when everything changed.
I got back on the bus, and as we were driving from Old Dubai to New Dubai, a small expanse down a highway with a desert in the middle, I noticed the temperature on a sign. It was 50 degrees Centigrade or 122 degrees Faranheight. It was the hottest I have ever been. But it was not intolerable as it was a dry heat. We continued on to New Dubai. My ticket allowed me to disembark and take a little cruise through some canals, then out to the open ocean which I really enjoyed.
Returning to the bus, we headed out to The Palm. I remembered reading about these fantastic man-made peninsulas basically done by dumping huge rocks into the water, then building on top of them. It was a lot bigger than I expected. As we toured along the frond, we made it all the way out to an Atlantis resort at the end, turned around, and came back.
After we headed to another stop which is one of the main reasons I came to Dubai, the Burj Al Arab, the world’s only Seven Star Hotel. Its instantly recognizable and iconic sail design juts towards the sea. Built on another artificial island, the Burj also offers a few one-of-a-kind ammenities. While it has an underwater restaurant only accessible by submarine and multiple aquariums and dancing fountains in the lobby, they also offer one of the most expensive hotel rooms in the world. The Royal Suite is a 780 square-meter suite, set over two floors, is decorated in 22-karat gold, and comes with a private dining area and butler, spa, private lounge, and numerous staff to answer your every beck and call. The price tag for one night is $28,000.
Since the Burj is a refuge for the ultra-wealthy and since I was not a guest, this time I was not allowed to enter to see it for myself. However, I was able to disembark from my bus at a nearby beach and look upon its splendor from afar. It was as gorgeous as I thought it would be. As I walked along the beach, dipping my toes in the Arabian Gulf, dodging huge jellyfish, something caught my eye. In the distance, there was a barge upon which I could see movement. Upon closer inspection, I saw that the movement was a bulldozer pushing large boulders off the barge into the sea. Dubai was making yet another island.
After my stop at the beach, I caught another bus and drove around town some more. With the accompanying audio guide, I learned a bunch more about this country in rapid succession. Apparently, in Dubai, one needs an alcohol license to BUY alcohol, not sell it. After a get-together at an Emirati’s home, not to be rude, it is customary for when it is time for the guests to leave, the host will light incense. There is a dispute as to what the actual body of water is called that separates Arabia and Persia. Some call it the Arabian Gulf; others call it the Persian Gulf. Currently, 7% of the UAE of the GDP is based on oil. 300 million gallons of seawater are desalinized every day here. And finally, the flowing robes of the Emiratis are called Kanduras or Dishdasha. Since they are trendy in this part of the world, one can tell the wearer’s country of origin by the type coloring of their head tie known as a shemagh, the Emertati preferring the red and white styles.
I continued my bus ride well into the night, making sure to take every circuit at least twice. Taking a loop around the Burj Khalifa at night was beautiful, with its lights piercing the night sky. We then drove back towards the Burj Al Arab, and the entire building lit up in different colors. It was spectacular.
My rides being over, I knew it was time to head back to the hotel. Even though it was about 8 PM, the metro was still packed. It was there where I was crammed up against a rather popular gentleman, as his “cellphone” vibrated continuously (and loudly) for the entire 15-minute ride….
I arrived back at my hotel. While it was not $28,000 a night, it was still my home sweet home in Dubai. As I got ready for bed, I turned on the news and saw that a bunch of South Korean tourists had died when their ferry boat sank in the Danube in Budapest. It was very sad as this came right off the anniversary of that other ferry disaster.
My time in the Emirates almost complete, I curled up into bed even though I knew I would not be sleeping long. I had a Pegasus to catch.
