First Weekend in Dubai

So one week has come and gone here in Dubai. It's incredible to believe. Work is off to a good start, there is so much going on -we are trying to keep it all in check. However, much like everyone in the free world, it is all we can do to make it to the weekend.

We went out to the Madinat Jumeirah to a place called Bahri Bar. Madinat Jumeirah is this huge resort/mall/entertainment venue. Think the Forum at Ceasar's Palace and River Walk in San Antonio - excpet infinitely nicer. Safe to say that anywhere they can possible create a canal or river or something water related, consider it done.

As you walk through the compound, there are a multitude of prayer rooms. You may know, Muslims pray five times a day, and they make it very easy for people to find a place to do so. (i.e. right next to a restaurant). I am very intrigued by this culture and am learning more and more every day.

Bahri Bar is a tapas restaurant overlooking one of the canals. The moment I walked out onto the patio, the view is just truly incredible. Yes, it is the Burj Al Arab at night. And while you get the essence of the view - this picture in no way does it justice. I realized that the picture I have at the banner of this blog, was in fact taken from Madinat Jumeirah. We had a really nice evening, actually celebrating a colleagues birthday, drinking wine and eating yummy tapas. I have become a fan of Hot Mezzeh, which is really a whole bunch of appetizers like minced lamb stuffed in filo, falafel, chicken tendoori and other stuff that I really had NO idea what I was eating. Thank God that I am an adventurous eater, because I honestly don't know what I'm eating half the time. While we were there, I met this guy whom I had seen on TV the night before on the local version of 'The View' called HerSay. Note: one of the hosts is the sister of someone I went to college with! Anyway, this guy is in Dubai shooting a pilot for a new TV show - apprently a mix of America's Next Top Model and Extreme Makeover...for Arab women. We exchaged numbers, so I'm hoping I'll get to meet up with him again - would be a great contact to have!!

Thursday night, my team and I went out to dinner at the Dubai Marina Walk here by the hotel. Went to a restaurant called Chandelier. We sat outside on the patio and all shared a hookah. My coworker Dustin had never smoked a hookah, so it was fun to be there for his first experience. He took to it like a pro. I don't know if it was the hookah or the fact that I was finally able to just kinda sit back and relax or that I was looking onto a plaza that was a true melting pot of cultures and languages - but I had the realization. HOLY COW, I'M LIVING IN DUBAI!!!! It just seems so surreal. It's a feeling I have quite often while travelling (i.e. holy cow, I'm at the Luevre...holy cow, I'm crossing the Berlin Wall). I was glad to hear, upon voicing my amazment, that my team mates felt the same way.

After dinner, we went back to Madinat Jumeirah to go clubbing at a placed called Trilogy. Much to our surprise, we were met with velvet ropes and people that were WAY too important for themselves to give a damn. I saw the registration table and figured that it was a 'private club' like what some areas of Dallas have. You apply for a 'membership' and walk right in. NOT HERE! At Trilogy, you have to fill out an application, hand over a copy of your passport or Visa and then, after about four weeks time, you will receive an email or text message informing that your membership is ready. Only then could you go back and actually enter the club. Seriously????? Mark my words, we'll go back once we get our membership and will probably be let down by the hype. I hope for the best though. Defeated, we walked on to another bar called JamBase. After waiting in line for 30minutes, we finally got to order a drink. The place was actually quite nice. It had a live band that played a mix of popular songs from Ace of Base to Cool and the Gang. The female lead singer was amazing.

Friday I awoke to some horrible screaming. Dubai had a wicked wind storm all day Friday. It was truly insane. I walked out the hotel for a quick trip to the grocery and I was almost knocked down by the gail force winds, not to mention assaulted by sand. Esra and I took a cab to the Mall of Emirates. This mall is huge. It has quite a few of the stores we have in the States as well as some local flavor. If you've heard of Ski Dubai - the world's largest indoor ski 'resort' - it is here at Mall of Emirates. More to come on that later, because it is truly amazing and I can't wait to actually go ski. The trip to the mall was worth it for the people watching alone. It is hard not to get desensitized to all the different cultures because it is the norm, but truly facinating to see/hear/smell all cultures in one place. It ranged from Americans, Aussies, Germans, Indians (dot, not feather) moderate muslims and very strict muslims. You will see women with the basic Abaya over regular clothes (surely, these young girls are wearing Prada underneath the frock - I can only imagine judging from their shoes) to the traditional women in abayas and face veils. Many of these women truly only have slits along the eyes. It can be a little intimidating, however, after you see about 30, you kind get used to it.

Random learning point - Using too much laundry detergent (i.e. what we would consider normal in the states) causes too much foam and you trip the electricity in your suite..........twice.