I was afraid to even change planes in Dubai, when it first came up as an option of how to get myself from Miami to Bangkok. But I went out of my comfort zone and booked a roundtrip ticket on Emirates to Bangkok with a middle-of-the-night connection in Dubai.
Then I remembered that I had a classmate from SAIS, Terri, who had moved there with her husband. I reached out to her and she said, come and stay with us for a couple of days. So I called Emirates and changed my ticket to spend two nights and one day in Dubai. Emirates lets you stop over in Dubai without any additional penalty.
My flight out of Miami was scheduled to leave at 11:30pm and by 9:30pm the kiosks selling water and magazines were shuttering up in MIA. Waiting at my gate, I reached out to another classmate, Patrick, also living in Dubai, to see if he wanted to get together. He offered to pick me up at the airport and drive me to Terri’s – so nice – as I was getting in around 11pm and he had to fly out the next morning.
My impressions of Dubai are going to be just that: impressions. Before going there, the only thing I knew about Dubai was that Roger Federer lived there during some of his high-earning years, so I knew it must be tax-free, and good enough for Roger. Everyone had told me how wonderful Emirates Airlines was. What I can say is that those flight attendants were really put-together. I would maybe wear that much makeup if I were say going on stage. Their outfits were attractive with their red caps attached to a white scarf, tailored blouses and skirts, and pretty red leather heels. During my 15-hour flight, while toggling between episodes on Netflix, there was a podcast/ infomercial on Dubai. I found this very interesting. In addition to talking with the latest NYC restaurateurs opening restaurants in Dubai, they also interviewed the chief of police. They said that if I were a tourist renting a car in Dubai, and if I happened to get into a minor fender bender on the highway, I should not stop and take down the other person’s information; I should simply drive to the next exit and service station and the expect the other party to do the right thing and exchange the necessary information. (Just sayin’ that would not happen in South Florida).
Upon landing, we all got off the plane (after everyone in Business and First class had been deplaned). I stopped into the ladies’ room. It was very clean and modern with 5 stalls with floor to ceiling doors (unlike the kind in the states where you can duck under to see where your small child is). The first four doors were occupied so I raced into the last one to find: a hole in the ground : a porcelain hole in the ground toilet with two little pedals, like I had seen in Italy in 1981. This struck me as quite a juxtaposition from the ultra-modern airport but what did I know? And on the back wall of the bathroom was what looked like my kitchen sprayer. (I was told this is a bidet of sorts). I learned on my trip home that, guess what, not all of the toilets were like that! Four of the five were “western toilets” but the furthest one from the entrance was, let’s just call it, “traditional.”
The Dubai airport is very modern with lots of glass and stainless steel and soaring ceilings and opulent columns going up three stories. The airport was in full-swing at midnight. I looked up at the flight board to see a full schedule of flights leaving all morning long – truly a 24/7 airport. Going through immigration, the officers were in long robes with two black cords around the head covering. I learned that this is their dress uniform, like wearing a suit to the office. I searched for the nearest ATM and unnecessarily changed about $150 into Dirham. I later learned that it is practically a cashless society.
On the highway, the cars seemed very large to me, like in the US. They drive on the right side of the road as well. I must have been expecting something similar to Europe with their smaller cars. It was like SUV central. I learned that a weekend activity in Dubai is going off-roading in the desert. For this reason, when you get your new car in Dubai, one useful add-on is a stainless steel undercarriage: who knew?
I was explaining my apprehension about visiting the Middle East to my friend Patrick. He told me that it was so safe in Dubai that when he goes into McDonald’s and wants to save his seat at an empty table, he leaves his iPhone on the table to save his spot.
My friend Terri greeted us at the door to her beautiful modern apartment building. My lovely room with floor to ceiling windows looked over a marina and it could have been a very nice part of Miami. She and her husband Salvatore were such wonderful hosts, taking me to the old part of town. We visited a building from the 1860s and visited a couple of museums, including the perfume museum. They have a long history of perfumes, scents, incense etc, and I couldn’t help think that the pre-air conditioning summers at 114 degrees farenheight summers may have contributed to this tradition. The weather while I was there in January was lovely, cool at night like in the 50s but low 70s during the day. People were dressed modestly but it didn’t at all feel oppressive to me. Before going to the old part of town I was sure to wear a dress which covered my knees and had cap sleeves. While there, we walked past a mosque and there were tons of men outside during the call to prayer.
At one of the museums, they explained how important trade has been to Dubai. It sits on the Arabian Gulf (formerly known as the Persian gulf at least to us Americans). At some point, Iran was going to put tariffs on their trade. Dubai decided to remove any tariffs so my take away is that much of the business came to Dubai. They also made a big deal about how great it was that the rulers had the foresight to dredge a body of water which traveled through part of the city. It was a desert, but it seems like much less of one with water running through it.
The big villa that we visited, built in the 1800s was built with coquina squares (coral reef) covered in cement. There was a healthy breeze in the old part of town and the towers on the building acted as cooling towers. The roofs on the square towers were slanted so that the breeze would be captured and redirected below to cool the rooms.
We went from the old town to the famous Palm, the development created in the bay in the shape of a palm. There was a beautiful observation deck, which I thought would be great for the next incarnation of “An Affair to Remember.” We walked through a mall to get there. Malls are big in Dubai. Once again the weather may contribute to that, but it also has something to do with it being a place to socialize. At dinner we met up with another classmate, Chris, who had lived in Dubai for almost ten years, and was back for a conference. I had some of the best Lebanese food ever!
Some other fun facts about Dubai is that it is 90% expat, so it is mostly international, mostly immigrant. Living in the United States, Dubai felt like a far-away land, but perhaps we are the ones who are far away. One reason that the airport is so busy is that Dubai is a four-hour flight to something like 80% of the world’s population. I had never thought of it like that. Travel does that to me, it makes me think.
Chris and I were on the same flight to Bangkok the following morning. Terri and Salvatore sweetly got up at the crack of dawn to drive me to the airport, where I would meet Chris. As Chris was flying business, I went to the completely separate entrance to the airport for Business and First Class customers. That struck me as so crazy, but good for them, those passengers didn’t have to get to the airport until 45 minutes before departure. As Chris hadn’t arrived yet, I got nervous and made my way to the economy part of the airport where I must say the lines were much longer!
On my way back from Bangkok (keeping these stories separate so I can keep the photos straight), I connected in Dubai again. My flight was supposed to arrive at 1:00 AM and the connection was leaving at 2:15AM. My first flight was late and as I couldn’t find the gate agent who was supposed to “help me”, I missed my second flight. As I wearily told the connections desk agent, I feel like crying, although I couldn’t cry – he said don’t worry, mum we will put you up in a hotel. So I went to a hotel, which I think was owned by the Emirates Airlines. Once again, everything was operating as if it were noon, full staff, all airport stores open, airport hotel gift shops open(selling everything from luggage, to burkhas to bikinis.) I have never been to Vegas, but this is how I imagine it, open all the time. They checked me in, and thanks to vertical integration, I think it is called, they knew that my flight was at 2:15am the following morning. Ok, they said, we think a good checkout time for you would be at 11PM. How civilized and logical. I got to sleep for a few hours, meet up once again with Terri and Salvatore for lunch and a walk, and I got to rest before my flight. I even felt safe enough to take the metro by myself. Terri helped me buy my ticket. We bought one for the “gold car”, the first class of subways, and she explained that there was also a woman’s only car. But the train came so quickly that I just jumped on the regular car. It was fine. There was a sign: no eating or drinking on the train, no gum chewing or a fine of the equivalent of $30. I was on my way to see the Burj Khalifa so I got to walk through parts of the Mall of Dubai, complete with shark tanks and ice rinks. When I saw the lines winding around and around, I thought, why not save something till next time. I would recommend a stopover in Dubai. Next time, I will go to the desert and stay in some desert hotel, ride a camel and star-gaze.