It has been quite some time since my last post. The main reason is that since Allison left for the UAE I have had nothing too exciting to report or post after her departure. The other main reason is that I lost my camera during our trip to Washington DC in January so I didn't really get to take any pictures when I went to Chicago or New Orleans earlier this year.
So I bought a new camera and a ticket to the UAE to go visit her...
Day 1
Getting to the UAE would not be easy. My options were to spring up 2k for a nonstop ticket (only one airline offers this), or to go with 1 layover which suited my current budget. Luckily my layover out of LAX was through KLM which is the national airlines of Holland which meant a layover in Amsterdam. I was quite worried about the potential for Euro B.O. on the plane but was shocked that the plane was entirely full of really quiet non stinky Europeans. Flying international is way better than domestic, it's like nothing else. The food is really good, everyone is nice and courteous, I even was lucky enough to have an empty seat between me and the other couple in my row. After having a few Heineken's in Schiphol International I had one more flight to my destination. Abu Dhabi.
I arrived in Abu Dhabi about 22hrs from my departure from LAX. First thing on my agenda was to buy as much Duty Free alcohol as permitted to give to Allison as a housewarming gift. The UAE does not officially allow you to purchase alcohol because of Muslim law, it's only supposed to be sold in hotel bars and to citizens with an Alcohol permit in which they keep track of how much you purchase. I was told in the Duty Free store that I could only purchase 4 liters so I picked up a few bottles and headed through customs. Proceeding to the Abu Dhabi customs booth I flashed my passport, received a stamp and continued my journey to my bags where I quickly found out that nothing in this country makes sense. After grabbing my bags I walked through a small exit into public, no searching my bags, no interrogation. It was odd. I was in the Middle East for the first time and it was good to be out of an airplane.
Day 2
Woke up fresh and ready to explore on my first full day in the UAE. Muslims are an odd bunch. They have a call to prayer every day (yes every day) 5 times a day. Once before sunrise, one after sunset... and a few scattered in between, you get the picture. Each mosque emits the call to prayer through loud speakers which consisted of a guy singing (sounded like rambling to me) for about 3 minutes on average. There is a mosque conveniently located outside Allison's apartment so there was no avoiding this call 5 times a day. Unfortunately there are mosques about every 3 blocks throughout the entire city so there is really no way to escape this at all. Other than that the UAE is very nice and clean. There was zero graffiti, trash, homeless people, or any of the normal problems a large city has. The weather is similar to Las Vegas in the summertime but air conditioning everywhere which made it bearable. People treat you nice (maybe it's because I'm white, who knows), cabs are really cheap, the food is great, water is crystal clear, and the country has some of the greatest attractions on the planet.
Allison had our itinerary set for the 4 days I was there. Even though she was not too stoaked to go to Ferrari World, she had a good time I think. Ferrari World is the home to the worlds fastest roller coaster, the Forumla Rossa. This ride launches you from 0 to 150mph in 4.9 seconds and holds the record for the fastest roller coaster in the world. After the ride was over we both felt an almost out of body feeling for nearly an hour, the ride was so intense....so naturally I went another time later in the day by myself as she watched. The rest of the place was oddly uninhibited by anyone, we walked onto every ride without any type of line. The entire Ferrari World park is covered by a 2 million sq. ft. rooftop making it the largest indoor amusement park in the world. I cannot imagine their monthly air conditioning bill.
For
dinner we had reservations at the Al Qasr BBQ in the Emirates Palace.
The Emirates Palace holds another UAE record for most expensive hotel
ever built at just over $4.1 billion. It was extremely beautiful and
quite large. Everything was covered in gold and there were huge elaborate hallways decorated in typical Arab fashion. We even stumbled upon a gold vending machine, first of it's kind. You could actually buy gold from it.
Our dinner at Al Qasr BBQ was on the beach. There were about 4 tables per hut with each hut being connected by wood plank walkways above the sand. We had the entire hut to ourselves for most of the 2 hr dinner which was great and the temperature at night was a steady 75 to 80 so it was actually quite nice.
Day 3
After a wonderful homemade Allison breakfast (that I have really missed) we headed to Saadiyat Island which is home to the St. Regis hotel. It was a beautiful day with the exception of the wind, so being on the beach was not really an option. We decided to hang out by the pool there and meet a few of her friends that live in the villas at the St. Regis. After hanging out for a bit we made our way north 90 miles into Dubai.
An error in the registration at the hotel gave us a really awesome 19 story beach view room which was incredible. Even though Dubai is only 90 miles north of Abu Dhabi, it's an entirely different world. Way more crowded. Giant billboards lace the entire freeway starting about 20 miles out of the city. Our hotel was situated on an island south of downtown called Jumeirah Beach Village which is still considered Dubai. Jumeirah is one large stretch of sand laced with hotel after hotel. The sunset was one to remember, and so was the dinner.
Allison booked a late dinner reservation to a place called Pierchic which was on a pier just south of the Burj Al Arab. Dinner was one of the best meals I have ever had. We both got fish and drank wine while we enjoyed the view of the gulf and the Burj Al Arab. The Al Arab is a famous hotel with a helipad on top that transforms into a tennis court. It claims to be the only 7 star hotel in the world although the official rating system only goes to 5.
After dinner we went to a club called Trilogy. I'm not too much the club type of person but in Dubai it was so much different that any other club experience I have previously had. The main stage was blasting techno and the main event of the evening was a DJ named DJ NYK who is from India and apparently quite popular. Everyone in the place was going nuts, singing every word, it was a crazy vibe. After dancing and few rounds of cocktails we we decided to head to the roof. It only got better because the DJ on the roof was playing nonstop old school late 90's hip hop. We shut the place down and had the best time until the sun nearly came up.
Day 4
We had a major decision to either stay another night in Dubai or go back to Abu Dhabi. To make that decision easier we decided to hit the beach for some lunch and a beer at a place called Baristi Beach Bar in Jumeirah Beach Village. The sun was out as usual and we relaxed a bit before deciding it would be better to head home rather than stay in Dubai one more night. It would have been pretty expensive to go out and party all night again plus Abu Dhabi sounded nice and relaxing.
Before we left we did get to go see the Burj Khalifa which is the current tallest building in the world. It's a 163 stories and over a half mile high. Seeing it from the freeway coming into town looked fake, even seeing it up close was hard to get in a picture because it was so tall. The entire compound surrounding it is bordered by a giant mall, fountains, and huge buildings that were actually dwarfed to the Khalifa. The mall was pretty intense as well. It has multiple stories and was bigger than any mall I've ever seen, even housed a gigantic aquarium inside of it which is multiple stories tall and which you can walk through it via a large tube. This mall of course is one of the worlds largest (go figure, they have a thing for setting records here). By this time we were ready to head back to Abu Dhabi......
Upon returning to Abu Dhabi we had a relaxing Lebanese dinner at Allison's favorite place in the marina which was walking distance from her apartment. The food was nothing like I have ever had since I have little or no experience with middle eastern food. I don't have any pictures to show since I didn't want to look like "that guy" at dinner taking pictures but I will say that we ordered about a half dozen things that were her favorite and I enjoyed them all. We smoked sisha and relaxed for a bit before walking back to her apartment and retired after a long day.
Day 5 & 6
The final day was open ended, no plans. Allison had never explored the cornice which is a long strip that borders the coastline of Abu Dhabi which was about a mile from her apartment. We attempted to ride bikes and jet skis but we were informed that they were closed for the summer. Ha. Yes like I said earlier nothing in this country makes sense.....but I guess when it's 110+ degrees no one comes outside so they close for the summer. I got a bunch of things to take home and we spend the rest of the day drinking a random selection of beers neither one of us have ever tried from her local underground liquor store.
The next morning I left to come home and 35+ hours later in the same clothes I arrived in Long Beach. Having 2 layovers was not fun and I would pay the extra to not have to do that again if I had the choice. From Abu Dhabi to Amsterdam I was lucky enough to have the emergency row on Etihad Airlines and with no one sitting next to me that made it even better. Talk about luxury compared to the next two flights.
In the end it was a great trip.
So I bought a new camera and a ticket to the UAE to go visit her...
Getting to the UAE would not be easy. My options were to spring up 2k for a nonstop ticket (only one airline offers this), or to go with 1 layover which suited my current budget. Luckily my layover out of LAX was through KLM which is the national airlines of Holland which meant a layover in Amsterdam. I was quite worried about the potential for Euro B.O. on the plane but was shocked that the plane was entirely full of really quiet non stinky Europeans. Flying international is way better than domestic, it's like nothing else. The food is really good, everyone is nice and courteous, I even was lucky enough to have an empty seat between me and the other couple in my row. After having a few Heineken's in Schiphol International I had one more flight to my destination. Abu Dhabi.
I arrived in Abu Dhabi about 22hrs from my departure from LAX. First thing on my agenda was to buy as much Duty Free alcohol as permitted to give to Allison as a housewarming gift. The UAE does not officially allow you to purchase alcohol because of Muslim law, it's only supposed to be sold in hotel bars and to citizens with an Alcohol permit in which they keep track of how much you purchase. I was told in the Duty Free store that I could only purchase 4 liters so I picked up a few bottles and headed through customs. Proceeding to the Abu Dhabi customs booth I flashed my passport, received a stamp and continued my journey to my bags where I quickly found out that nothing in this country makes sense. After grabbing my bags I walked through a small exit into public, no searching my bags, no interrogation. It was odd. I was in the Middle East for the first time and it was good to be out of an airplane.
Day 2
Woke up fresh and ready to explore on my first full day in the UAE. Muslims are an odd bunch. They have a call to prayer every day (yes every day) 5 times a day. Once before sunrise, one after sunset... and a few scattered in between, you get the picture. Each mosque emits the call to prayer through loud speakers which consisted of a guy singing (sounded like rambling to me) for about 3 minutes on average. There is a mosque conveniently located outside Allison's apartment so there was no avoiding this call 5 times a day. Unfortunately there are mosques about every 3 blocks throughout the entire city so there is really no way to escape this at all. Other than that the UAE is very nice and clean. There was zero graffiti, trash, homeless people, or any of the normal problems a large city has. The weather is similar to Las Vegas in the summertime but air conditioning everywhere which made it bearable. People treat you nice (maybe it's because I'm white, who knows), cabs are really cheap, the food is great, water is crystal clear, and the country has some of the greatest attractions on the planet.
 |
| Downtown Abu Dhabi |
 |
| Cool Circle Building |
Allison had our itinerary set for the 4 days I was there. Even though she was not too stoaked to go to Ferrari World, she had a good time I think. Ferrari World is the home to the worlds fastest roller coaster, the Forumla Rossa. This ride launches you from 0 to 150mph in 4.9 seconds and holds the record for the fastest roller coaster in the world. After the ride was over we both felt an almost out of body feeling for nearly an hour, the ride was so intense....so naturally I went another time later in the day by myself as she watched. The rest of the place was oddly uninhibited by anyone, we walked onto every ride without any type of line. The entire Ferrari World park is covered by a 2 million sq. ft. rooftop making it the largest indoor amusement park in the world. I cannot imagine their monthly air conditioning bill.
 |
| I know, I know...I could not resist |
 |
| The MOST insane ride I have ever been on! |
Our dinner at Al Qasr BBQ was on the beach. There were about 4 tables per hut with each hut being connected by wood plank walkways above the sand. We had the entire hut to ourselves for most of the 2 hr dinner which was great and the temperature at night was a steady 75 to 80 so it was actually quite nice.
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| The other huts surrounding us |
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| View behind us of the Persian Gulf |
 |
| Gold to go - A gold vending machine. Yes you're reading this correctly |
Day 3
After a wonderful homemade Allison breakfast (that I have really missed) we headed to Saadiyat Island which is home to the St. Regis hotel. It was a beautiful day with the exception of the wind, so being on the beach was not really an option. We decided to hang out by the pool there and meet a few of her friends that live in the villas at the St. Regis. After hanging out for a bit we made our way north 90 miles into Dubai.
 |
| A sandstorm coming in from Dubai |
An error in the registration at the hotel gave us a really awesome 19 story beach view room which was incredible. Even though Dubai is only 90 miles north of Abu Dhabi, it's an entirely different world. Way more crowded. Giant billboards lace the entire freeway starting about 20 miles out of the city. Our hotel was situated on an island south of downtown called Jumeirah Beach Village which is still considered Dubai. Jumeirah is one large stretch of sand laced with hotel after hotel. The sunset was one to remember, and so was the dinner.
 |
| View from the hotel |
 |
| Atlantis Hotel in the distance. This is at the top of The Palm which is the man made island that sticks out into the Gulf |
 |
| Cool fountain inside Dubai Mall |
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| This was all no joke. Crazy Muslims |
Allison booked a late dinner reservation to a place called Pierchic which was on a pier just south of the Burj Al Arab. Dinner was one of the best meals I have ever had. We both got fish and drank wine while we enjoyed the view of the gulf and the Burj Al Arab. The Al Arab is a famous hotel with a helipad on top that transforms into a tennis court. It claims to be the only 7 star hotel in the world although the official rating system only goes to 5.
After dinner we went to a club called Trilogy. I'm not too much the club type of person but in Dubai it was so much different that any other club experience I have previously had. The main stage was blasting techno and the main event of the evening was a DJ named DJ NYK who is from India and apparently quite popular. Everyone in the place was going nuts, singing every word, it was a crazy vibe. After dancing and few rounds of cocktails we we decided to head to the roof. It only got better because the DJ on the roof was playing nonstop old school late 90's hip hop. We shut the place down and had the best time until the sun nearly came up.
 |
| Burj Al Arab in the distance |
 |
| Burj Khalifa - Tallest building in the world. Really neat to see at night |
Day 4
We had a major decision to either stay another night in Dubai or go back to Abu Dhabi. To make that decision easier we decided to hit the beach for some lunch and a beer at a place called Baristi Beach Bar in Jumeirah Beach Village. The sun was out as usual and we relaxed a bit before deciding it would be better to head home rather than stay in Dubai one more night. It would have been pretty expensive to go out and party all night again plus Abu Dhabi sounded nice and relaxing.
 |
| The "twisty" building on the right was a personal favorite |
Before we left we did get to go see the Burj Khalifa which is the current tallest building in the world. It's a 163 stories and over a half mile high. Seeing it from the freeway coming into town looked fake, even seeing it up close was hard to get in a picture because it was so tall. The entire compound surrounding it is bordered by a giant mall, fountains, and huge buildings that were actually dwarfed to the Khalifa. The mall was pretty intense as well. It has multiple stories and was bigger than any mall I've ever seen, even housed a gigantic aquarium inside of it which is multiple stories tall and which you can walk through it via a large tube. This mall of course is one of the worlds largest (go figure, they have a thing for setting records here). By this time we were ready to head back to Abu Dhabi......
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| Burj Klahifa is far away yet it dominates the skyline. Unreal how tall it really is |
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| Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan - this guy was posted all over town. I called him the chief. |
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| Our 3rd attempt to get a good photo, one of my favorites |
Upon returning to Abu Dhabi we had a relaxing Lebanese dinner at Allison's favorite place in the marina which was walking distance from her apartment. The food was nothing like I have ever had since I have little or no experience with middle eastern food. I don't have any pictures to show since I didn't want to look like "that guy" at dinner taking pictures but I will say that we ordered about a half dozen things that were her favorite and I enjoyed them all. We smoked sisha and relaxed for a bit before walking back to her apartment and retired after a long day.
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| Allison's balcony view |
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| Front entrance of her apartment |
Day 5 & 6
The final day was open ended, no plans. Allison had never explored the cornice which is a long strip that borders the coastline of Abu Dhabi which was about a mile from her apartment. We attempted to ride bikes and jet skis but we were informed that they were closed for the summer. Ha. Yes like I said earlier nothing in this country makes sense.....but I guess when it's 110+ degrees no one comes outside so they close for the summer. I got a bunch of things to take home and we spend the rest of the day drinking a random selection of beers neither one of us have ever tried from her local underground liquor store.
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| The Corniche |
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| crazy chocolate store |
The next morning I left to come home and 35+ hours later in the same clothes I arrived in Long Beach. Having 2 layovers was not fun and I would pay the extra to not have to do that again if I had the choice. From Abu Dhabi to Amsterdam I was lucky enough to have the emergency row on Etihad Airlines and with no one sitting next to me that made it even better. Talk about luxury compared to the next two flights.
In the end it was a great trip.
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