Monday, June 4, 2012

Weekend #2 (Sparknotes Edition)

Hey! So it's already the second day of the third week of work, but I realized I needed to share what my weekend consisted of:


  • Thursday: 
    • After wandering around the Dubai Fountain, unable to find the restaurant that we had planned on going to with 2 for 1 dinner, we ended up at a Lebanese restaurant overlooking the fountain again. I'm telling you, every time the fountain goes off, it is astounding.
    • At 8:15, we headed over to the "Top of the World" at the Burj Khalifa. This is the path up to the observation deck. Absolutely amazing view, at the 124th floor, 38 floors higher than the Empire State building.
    • We went to Karma Kafe, a bar and lounge in the Souk Al Bahar. After having a drink there in what was a surprisingly relaxed setting, we wanted to head over to the Library Bar, a place that has been billed as one of the top cigar bars in the world, just to see what the hype was about. After hopping in a taxi and heading to the Ritz-Carlton, we realized we ended up at the wrong hotel, and went wandering around, finally ending up in the "DFC"- Dubai Festival City. We found one of the top bars for young workers in the city, Caramel. Called it an early but successful night.

Pictures from the Burj Khalifa:











Karma Kafe:

Caramel:

Dubai Festival City:

  • Friday:
    • After waking, doing my Latin, and getting in a quick workout, we headed to brunch at Long's Bar in the Towers Rotana. Brunch is a huge deal, apparently. Delicious food.
    • In the late afternoon, we were picked up by DRT, our desert safari tour company, from the Mall of the Emirates. After an hour drive out of the city, we pulled over at the side of the road, when three SUVs pulled up next to us in the sand. We switched from our 15-passenger van to the SUV's, which were outfitted with roll bars along the inside roof. We quickly sped off, drifting down the dunes, fishtailing, having an amazing time. We eventually ended up at the "bedouin" camp, where we were able to ride a camel (so cool!), watch belly dancing, and  eat a feast of Middle Eastern food. We sat with three Pakistanis from our bus, who were some of the friendliest guys of this trip yet. They told us that they had never been to the States, and that we were actually the first Americans they had ever met. Unfortunately, when I updated my phone's software, I lost both pictures and videos from the trip, as well as the email from one of the guys, so I lost their names and any way to contact them...
    • After returning and taking a quick shower, we decided to head out for a bit. On a whim, we decided to head to Atlantis, on the Palm Jumeirah (the palm-tree shaped island). We were going to check out the closing party for Nasimi beach, b/c it was featured on TimeOutDubai.com, but ended up at N'Dulge night club instead. After a slow start when we got there (about 11 p.m.), the place got crowded around midnight. We got curious when the staff started bringing out bottles with sparklers lit in them, so I asked- they were bottles of Dom Perignon that went for 3500 Dhs, or about $1000. Lisa asked one group of four guys what they were celebrating- they were just here in Dubai for the weekend to get away from Kuwait, where they work. They invited us to join the group, and it was a pretty amazing night.


  • Saturday: 
    • We went to the Jumeirah Beach Park for the day. $1.25 equivalent to enter a paradise of white beaches, clear and refreshing oceans, and an amazing day. Slept, read, relaxed, and decided that I would be ok with living in Dubai.


All in all, an amazing second weekend.

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