Burj Al Arab

Burj in Arabic means tower, therefore the hotel’s name is the Arab Tower. We made reservations at the Skyview Bar for Friday the 8^th at 7 PM. Earlier that day we went to the mall so I could find a dress to wear and so Derek could find a shirt. After the mall we came back and ate dinner and got ready to go. A taxi picked us up at 6:30 and we headed to the hotel. About 15 minslater we arrive at the hotel. You have to have a reservation to even drive up to the hotel (they have a security guard and a list at the gated front entrance). You walk into the front lobby where everyone you walk by greets you- “Hi Sir/Madam, have a good evening.” There is some open space in front of a collection of water fountains. On either side are fish tanks the size of walls. An escalator takes you up to the second floor where there are elevators to the guest floors and the restaurant floors. The Skyview Bar is on the 27^th (top) floor of the hotel. We arrived just as the sun was setting, which made for a great view of the ocean. The express elevator to the bar was incredibly fast. It took less than 30 seconds to climb 27 floors!

Window seats were available first come first serve. We were among the first people to arrive at the bar that opened at 7 PM and were lucky enough to receive a window table. From the windows you could out for miles of the gulf. To the left was the Palm Jumeirah. It was really cool and totally looked like a palm tree! We were shown to our table and then were handed menus that I swear weighted 10lbs! They of course carry a large variety of drinks and offer a mixologist that will make a special drink to specific to your tastes. Since we were celebrating being in Dubai, Derek and I each started out with a glass of champagne. Of course it was delicious. During our first drink a waiter came by and gave us a complimentary sample of “snacks”. There were mini chicken burgers, mushroom tarts (they looked like keishes), and a humus type dip. For our next drink, I order a peach Bellini and Derek had a King Fisher beer. His drink contained rum, whisky, something fruity, and for an extra kick, some curry. Both once again were very good.

The next thing the waiter brought to us was a mixture of nuts. They used a 4-tier display type dish where each tier was something different. The top one was a water chestnut cracker type thing that had a spicy flavor. The next two tiers had cashews and the bottom tier had glazed roasted almonds. For our next round of drinks I ordered a glass of red wine called Billie Billie Shiraz and Derek had a King Fisher beer. We were going to go home after this but decided we’ll probably only do this once in our life we might as well stay for a little longer. The wine I had was so fantastic I just had to have another glass and Derek ordered another beer, but this time it was a German beer called Erdinger.

Next we headed home. The hotel has taxi’s that are available for all of their guests and diners. So we took a taxi home. This was no ordinary taxi- it was a Lexus! What I found most interesting was that the fair was very similar if not exact to that of a regular taxi. Our ride there cost 40 Dhs and the ride back in the awesome Lexus taxi was 50 Dhs (Derek told him the wrong exit for our apartment so we were driving a few minutes extra!) After drinks we came home and changed to go out with some people from work.

Burj Weekend Thursday- 400

All of the tourist books and online sights mentioned a trendy place in the Fairmont Hotel called “The 400 Club.” Even people at work had mentioned going there; especially because the Fairmont is across the street from out apartment. A guy we met in Abu Dhabi at the island party lives in Dubai and we’ve kept in touch through Facebook. He mentioned that he would be at 400 on Thursday so we figured this would be as good a time as ever to try it out.

We took a cab to the Fairmont that cost us a total of $2- it was that short of a ride. If it wasn’t 110-115 we could have walked. We walked up to the front door and there were groups of people standing around out front having trouble getting in. We went up to the most official looking guy with “the list.” After telling him it was only me and Derek, he let us right in. Good thing Derek has me with him, because they don’t usually let only guys in.

Inside was totally crazy. It is what I imagine all the fancy bars/clubs look like in LA. There were “Reserved” tables around the entire outside. The inside was filled with dark reds and blacks. The walls in the hallway to the bathroom were black crushed velvet. The bathroom had an attendant there to help with anything you might need. Like every other club here everyone bounces around and dances the whole time! It’s so much fun- you don’t have to worry about someone looking at you and making fun of your dancing. The crowd is so eclectic; there are people from literally all over the world. We ended up never finding our friend. It turns out he had a change of plans and we didn’t get his message until the next day. We still had a good time and that’s what matters!

One Week to go!!

With only one week left I decided to make a list...

10 Things I’m Going to Miss About Dubai/UAE:
1. mango everything
2. the nightlife- everyone dances here!
3. “house” music and the Lebanese
4. daily fresh made bread
5. twice a week free maid service
6. the generous hospitality everywhere
7. all the different shopping areas
8. the big city buildings
9. the beach/the gulf
10. relaxing evenings after work aka. no homework!

10 Things I’m Looking Forward to at Home:
1. my Blackberry (it’s my best friend and I miss it! lol)
2. Friends/Family (of course- it’s going to be nice to see familiar faces)
3. No more humidity/hot weather(feeling like you’re drinking every time you take a breath is not something you get used to)
4. Good “Texas” food- wings, BBQ, I want a big fat juicy steak
5. Not buying bottled water- USA=Free water!
6. my CHI hair straightener (it doesn’t work here because of the plugs or something- I’m tired of wild and uncontrollable hair)
7. Ice in my drinks
8. my own bed- soft fluffy pillows and blankets
9. Washer/Dryer aka. having it only take an hour to do laundry
10. a dishwasher

Fujairah

Someone at work told us that the most beautiful of the Emirates is Fujairah and that if we had time the beaches there were great. Last weekend we drove the two hours east to the coast. The drive was beautiful. There are mountains all the way up to the beach. So when you are in the water facing land you see large mountains in the background. On the way there we drove through the Emirate Sharjah. So we've been to 4 of the 7 Emirates- not too shabby I must say!

The ride there was quite interesting. We haven't found a great reasonably priced road map of the UAE (I think that goes along with their horrible driving here). We turned around a number of times and were pretty much driving blind the rest of the time. We finally arrived at the Sandy Beach Hotel where they let us use their beach and facilities for 75 Dhs. It was a nice, sunny day; about 51 degrees celsius (which equals freaking HOT!!). The ocean was a nice refreshing temperature but the pool was like warm bath water. We played in the ocean for a little bit and then played the paddle game on the sand. The rest of the afternoon I laid in the sun reading my book. Derek took a kayak to a rock island that was fairly close to the beach. He rented goggles and fins so he could do some snorkeling and take pictures underwater with his new camera. The drive back was a lot better but it still wasn't a perfect straight shot. After a long day in the sun we made it home and went straight to bed. I'll tell you what- this super hot weather sure takes the energy out of ya!

Saturday

On Saturday we figured the best way to see the city was to head to the mall! After getting lost and actually seeing the city we finally ended up at the mall.  We spent most of the afternoon exploring the mall and picking up some things here or there. At the mall we ate lunch at Fuddruckers. We were starving at the time but the food was delicious! Sometime before dinner we headed back to Dubai and decided to go see the new Batman movie. 

For dinner we decided on the Hard Rock Café. The food was delicious and atmosphere was awesome. In the middle of dinner they played the cotton eyed joe! Derek wouldn’t get up and dance with me, but I did take a video of the waiters doing a line dance.  We made sure to do the obnoxious tourist thing and take lots of pictures. After dinner we went to another mall to see Batman. It was a great movie. Totally scarier than I was expecting but definitely good! I would recommend it. After the movie we uploaded all the pictures and made sure Daniel had all his stuff packed. Daniel left Sunday morning and Derek and I headed into work. Overall it was a great weekend. It was so nice to see someone I knew and for Derek and I to have the company of someone beside ourselves.

Friday

On Friday we took the hour drive to Abu Dhabi. We got there about 2:30 and met up with a friend of Daniel’s that he met at A&M. We took a boot about 15 minutes off the coast to this beautiful island. The island had a pool and a nice grassy area where they had a barbeque set up.  Our ticket included transportation to the island and all you can drink and all you can eat from 2-10pm. Good thing I brought my conservative bathing suit because I’m pretty sure the guys were wearing more scandalous bathing suits than I was!

There were people from all over the world there; America, Germany, Australia, England, and many more. The “Island Party” was much like the club we had been to the night before. Everyone was dancing and having a great time. I don’t know where they get the energy- they never stopped moving! The food was delicious as well. Of course nothing compares to Texas BBQ, but there was so much to choose from. After a long day in the sun we decided it would be best if we stayed in a hotel and had a chance to explore Abu Dhabi the next day. There were a handful of people in the pool that had waterproof cameras. I first saw one during Spring Break, but there were like 3 at the island party. We found out that only Olympus makes them and they range from $300-$500. The camera is shockproof, water proof, and freeze proof- it’s the coolest thing ever!

That night Daniel and I went to a place in the Embassy Palace called “Embassy.” Derek stayed in and went to bed (how lame I know!).  The inside was amazing, just like a palace should be. We met Daniel’s friend there and some of the new people we met on the island. Once again they played “bumping house” music and everyone was bouncing around. It was a great time! 

Thursday Night

Daniel got into town around dinnertime. He dropped off his bags and we met with Derek to decide on somewhere to go for dinner. Daniel knew of this area that is modeled after the old Arabian markets. Thankfully most of it was indoors. There were little shops selling a variety of items, as well as many restaurants. One of the girls we work with told us to go to this area because al the restaurants, shops and bars are all within walking distance.

After getting turned down at one restaurant because Derek was dressed in shorts (they had a dress code) and having to wait 45 minutes for another, we decided to eat at an American looking place called Brewster’s. The cool part about restaurants here is that if there is a list they take your cell (“mobile”) phone number and call you when your table is ready! I don’t know why they don’t do that in the US; it’s the smartest thing I’ve seen in a while. Dinner at Brewster’s was good. They had wings so we tried them as an appetizer; they were good but nowhere near as good as Texas. After dinner we headed home to get ready to go out for the night.

Daniel knew of this place called Elegante that played good music and should be entertaining. The nightlife here is a lot like that in Europe. They play “house” music and everywhere you look people are bouncing about (dancing). To me the techno songs they play sound the exact same. I do like that everyone here dances. As a whole it seems like the crowd is a lot more confident and carefree compared to the US. We met some interesting people- some from Egypt and from Lebanon.