Friday, May 7, 2010

Tall Buildings, Hotels, and Excess – OH MY!

Here at Hello, Dubai we are equal-opportunity bloggers which is why when our fantastic friend Jessica offered to donate her own thoughts and pictures regarding her trip here we were happy to oblige.  Take it away, Jess.....!


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I missed the volcano and landed in Dubai!!

After a dubious 22 hours of travel, flying full speed southeast to escape the cloud of volcanic ash, I arrived safely in Dubai. A sleepy-eyed Matt was there to scoop me up and welcome me into a land of sparkling skyscrapers, fountains that dance to Arabic music, $30 martinis, designer man-made islands, and construction as far as the eye could see…. Or at least up to where the barren desert begins.

Since my body had no idea what time or day it was, I couldn’t agree more with the first activity planned - a “Sunday brunch” at the polo club. What a brilliant idea for a Friday afternoon!


Though a strong start, guess how many hours I lasted before Matt had to hook me up to an IV of coffee?

Don’t think for one second I was going to fly all the way to the Middle East and not try to bury a 4-wheeler in the sand! Despite explicit instructions from Matt on how to avoid this, I could not help but get myself stuck over and over and over again.

“I know you explained this to me, but why does it keep happening?!!”

Next I will play the role of American tourist who begs shop keeper in Gold Souk to try on some of his golden spectacular, then makes him take her picture wearing it, while at the same time cheering for the hometown baseball team….. Go Phillies!

I’m trying to rationalize buying this necklace by thinking of all the appropriate places I could wear it? So far I’ve come up with: any client meeting, Saturday afternoons in the park, scuba diving (instead of weights), anyplace I may lose my shirt but still want full coverage, weddings, Bat Mitzvahs, funerals, and if I ever get the opportunity to ride a float in the Macy’s Day Thanksgiving Parade - wearing this would be a must! (Though maybe not the ring, it’s a little excessive don’t you think?)

I loved the energy and organization of Dubai Creek, the life-line of the city. Would you believe that behind where I stood taking this picture there is a state-of-the-art receiving area that tracks and funnels these goods precisely where they need to go? You shouldn’t, I’m lying.

I had a fantastic time staying in the Hello Dubai Bed and Breakfast! The view was to die for, the activities plentiful and entertaining, and my hosts Matt and Katie are without question, worth flying half way around the world to visit! A huge THANK YOU to them both for having me and letting me share in their Dubai experience.

From the balcony at Chateau Mueller-Shaver, Dubai + 1 Jessica Yuspeh

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1 comment:

udjim said...

'Glad to see I'm not the only one Matt had to dig out of the sand dunes.

As a pinch-blogger, Jessica is a great choice. I'm sure Dubai will never be the same.