UAE

Don’t Look Down

Standard

Welcome to the fourth installment of my email series about my adventures in Dubai. These are all emails that were sent in October of 2016. Don’t Miss my previous updates as well!

Prior to arriving in Dubai, my friend and I had done TONS of research (I know you’re shocked) about the best way to go up the worlds tallest building; The Burj Khalifa. We knew it was a “must do,” but we weren’t sure how to accomplish the task without spending all of our money.

The best time to go up in the building is at sunset, and they know this, so they charge an arm, a leg, and another arm. We simply felt we could not justify paying so much, to just go to the top to look out the window. We wanted to feel like we got something for our cash.

So we settled on the bar; Atmosphere.

fullsizeoutput_34b2

There were a few reasons this became our choice:

  • The bar is the highest in the world sitting on story 123
  • Our money got us actual alcoholic drinks (alcohol is hard to get)
  • It was a more unique experience than an observation area
  • To go, all you had to do was simply make a proper reservation (ours was during sunset)

The only catch was the minimum spend that was required. Ugh, sneaky smart restaurant owners. Our actual reservation was for an A La Carte dinner and we could choose to spend our minimum however we wanted, which I also liked.

In the end, we settled on drinking our minimum rather than eating. Who is surprised? No one? I didn’t think so. And I know we both feel it was the right decision. We had a few Cosmos (seriously so good) and then a fun mixed drink that was orange. They were all delish!

img_2888

Amazing drink at Atmosphere

We were lucky enough to sit by the window that overlooked the dancing fountains and we got to enjoy a sunset from 123 stories in the air. It was a rather clear night, so the photos were pretty great. And once the fountains started, we pressed our faces right up to the glass to watch them, it was really cool.

When all was said and done, we spent a bit more than our minimum, and I personally spent the most I ever have on six drinks and a side of fries. But hey, who needs to eat!? Really though, we both thought it was worth it, and would absolutley do it again. Thanks Atmosphere!

Just for reference the Burj Khalifa is 163 stories tall. Yes, 163. Yikes!

…feet back on the ground, catch you next time…

Advertisement

The Wheels on the Bus

Standard

Please enjoy part three of my Dubai adventures, adapted from emails sent in October 2016.

Monday morning, October 10th was our first morning in Dubai. We arrived at night, hadn’t gone anywhere but our hotel and we were bears looking for food in the winter hungry. We needed food/coffee before things got ugly. So what did we do? We went to the Dubai Mall. Not to be confused with the Mall of the Emirates (more on that later).

Yeah, I hear you saying to yourself she’s in mother f*ing Dubai, and she’s going to the MALL?!? But this my friends, is not just any mall. This is a combination of EVERY famous brand from around the world AND an aquarium and ice rink, all rolled into one hugely massive building. Guys, they have everything you could ever want. Including Ben’s Cookies! It’s phenomenal.

But let’s face it, we are American, (and why pretend to be someone else, when it’s just who you are) so we had some Caribou Coffee for breakfast. Yes, we did, and I’m not even ashamed. I did burn my tongue though, I hate that. As we were about to leave, I noticed a group of moms with their kids over in the corner. One had two children, both dressed in Ohio State gear, so I obviously had to say something to her. I learned the whole group is married to Emirates Pilots, and they are all living in Dubai. This lady of course was actually from Michigan, but her husband was from Ohio. The world is really so small.

You are probably wondering now what the weather is like. So I’m in the desert. But it’s a tropical desert. What the what does that even mean?!? Well it means it’s hot as F, but also humid as F. Fantastic. There is literally NO way to look good and be outdoors. Not possible.

So to continue on our path of being tourists/westerners, we got a ticket for the Big Bus tour. You know, the double-decker kind that go all over the place. Ruby was our sales lady and she cut us the best deal (right) for a week-long ticket. We got our headphones, free water (SCORE) and headed up to the top to see how long we’d last before actually turning into sand.

Not going to lie, this was a great choice. Dubai is SO spread out that it’s impossible to get a feel for the city before you come here, trust me we tried.
First view of the Burj Khalifa
There are three lines to take, so we did one on Monday and ended back at the Dubai Mall. This is also where the Burj Khalifa is and the famous fountains. Think Bellagio in Vegas, but bigger. And they do two shows an hour. One set to traditional music and one set to a pop-song. Our first experience was a Celine and Andrea Bocelli duet, it was magical.
fullsizeoutput_34a8fullsizeoutput_34a9

And guys, I’m pretty sure we had Texas Roadhouse for dinner ‘merica!

Until the next time!

Are We There Yet?

Standard

Oh Hey There. For those DYING for the continuation from my last post (the infamous major airport meltdown on the way to Dubai), here is the next installment. As a reminder, this series is a set of emails that have been adapted from a trip I took in October of 2016. Enjoy!

Good morning Zurich! Sadly I only got to see your airport and really only one terminal, but it seemed nice. One day I’ll actually make it a destination…just like everywhere else.

We had about an hour and a half to grab a bite to eat and get to our next Swiss Air flight. One thing I have always appreciated about Europe is the ability everyone has to queue without needing to be told every five minutes what to do. Everyone quietly lined up to board the flight with no fuss. It was delightful. Zurich was freezing, so I got a 45 second taste of winter to hold me over for a few months.

Sadly on this flight my friend and I were not sitting together, but I lucked out with bulkhead seating, score! Our flight was so easy it was just long. With about three and a half hours left, I was way over being on a plane with nowhere to go but to hang out with the crew in the back. Which we did, for a few minutes chugging water.

The craziest thing was our flight path. We flew over Turkey, a bit of Syria, and then down the border of Iraq and Iran. But we landed early and made our way to the passport control area. I’m so used to flying into the UK or Europe, that I was prepared for any questions they might have asked. The guy hardly even looked at me, stamped my passport and sent me on my way. Our bags were already waiting for us at baggage claim, so we got some Dirham (cash) and made it to the taxi line. 20 minutes later we arrived at our hotel, good ole Radisson Blu Downtown Dubai. Our goal was to make it to the hotel and have a drink at the rooftop bar. Despite being extremely exhausted, we had some Cosmos and they were super yummy! Expensive, but yummy.

Side note: the Dirham’s are impossible to figure out. Just not worth even trying. I have no concept really of what stuff costs, just that it’s more than what I want to spend on a sandwich.

Anyway, after 28+ hours of travel, we were BEAT. Shower, sleep, exploration in the morning.

Zzzzzzzz…..