And for the ultimate attitude adjustment….. DUBAI !!

Women of the world, I say to you, one week in Dubai, and your stresses will be but a distant memory. (ok, men too, but as long as you like to SHOP!)

After another red-eye flight back from Mauritius at midnight (what dork invented the all-night flight?!), we hit Dubai and then our hotel at about 7am. With check-in time not for another 8 hours, and our “suite” still occupied (the only reasonable thing left in Dubai was a suite at the 3-star Regents Palace hotel…not very fancy but surprisingly cheap, very roomy, and right on the beach), the hotel directed us to their Bedouin-style “hospitality” tents where we slept off the flight for a very very long time.

The first thing I noticed once I was coherent again is that Dubai is kind of like Orange County, California (the “OC”), but with an Arab twist. It’s endlessly under construction, yet clean and organized, everyone speaks English (even the signs are in English), lots of shiny new buildings, nice homes, many Americans, and TONS OF SPANKING NEW SHOPPING MALLS.

To be honest, I tricked Soenke into going to one of these fine malls with me… my pretence being that I wanted to see Robert Fisk, a famous (and controversial) war correspondent who was doing a book signing at the Mall of the Emirates. Now, I’d never buy one of his books, because he bugs the living daylights out of me, but he’s famous & thought provoking so I at least snapped a photo of him on my way to all the shops…

The craziest thing about mall shopping in Dubai is that they look just like any fancy American mall (even down to the outlandish Christmas décor at this time of year), BUT they are filled with Arab guys in white robes and red/white checkered headscarves cruising the halls together…just as many women in black robes & headscarves…plus scads of western women in Prada and Manolos. It’s such a contrast! Dubai is 80% inhabited by expats, so you get ALL types here.

I power shopped like I hadn’t done since Paris. Soenke gamely dragged my bags around like a pack mule. But then suddenly he discovered the SKI SLOPES. Yes, Dubai (that *desert* city) has indoor skiing at the mall…. presumably to entertain the men while the women spend all their money. Soenke hit the slopes for a few hours of manmade white stuff, while I kept draining my bank account. We topped off the day with an incredibly satisfying dinner at CHILI’S… yes, that southwest American chain restaurant that you only miss once you don’t have it anymore!

So with my stress level now at an all-time low, we took it even a step further: Wild Wadi’s Waterpark. This was 5 acres of pure attitude adjustment, positioned within spitting distance of the excruciatingly posh, 7-star “Burj Al Arab” hotel (which you need to pay 50 euros to even step in the door). Comfortably seated in our innertubes, we were flanked by businessmen and children alike, cheering and laughing and hollering our way through the endless water tubes, chutes, tunnels, falls…. every few meters there were employees in the water with straw hats and big smiles ready to push you on your way, each one from another country (the most asked question … “where are you from?!”). As a matter of fact, I don’t know that I EVER met any employees ANYWHERE in Dubai who weren’t from somewhere else! It’s such an international city, where anything goes and anything is possible!

Fighting the crowds of the Dubai Film Festival (which we largely ignored, being too busy with waterslides and, later, camel riding) , we did manage evening champagne and tapas at the Bahri Bar of the ultra chic “Mina A’Salam” hotel. Anyone who is anybody has a great view of the Burj Al Arab – which makes sense since it’s built in the shape of a stylized catamaran sail and is uplit with alternating colors at nighttime - and Mina A’Salam was no exception.

We did tip our hats to the Film Festival by attending a non-festival movie – an Indian flick at an authentic Indian theatre. We had hoped for a Bollywood creation (those crazy Indian dancing-singing-romance musicals), but instead got a hard-edge, VERY LOUD movie about a kidnapping in Bangkok. While the story was interesting (what we could grasp, given the mostly Hindu script), our ears gave out by intermission and we fled.

I admit that we missed the gold souks, the spice souks, all the souks….. why? Because we were running out of time and there were dunes to be bashed! On our last day, we signed up for the totally-not-to-be-missed “desert safari” day, which was the best 85 euros I’ve ever spent. Our cool Hindu driver picked us and another German couple up in a gigantic 4×4 and headed for the desert. 45 minutes out into sandy nothingness, we went offroad and met up with 15 other 4×4s, who proceeded to WILDLY attack the undulating sand dunes for about an hour. It was AWESOME. The sand had a distinct red tinge to it, which made it especially vivid against the blue sky. We stopped to greet camels, watch the sunset, take photos, run up and down the dunes (getting sand in places where it certainly doesn’t belong)… then proceeded to a bedouin tent camp with low tables and pillows positioned on colorful Persian carpets. We had Arabic appetizers and dinner, belly dancing, henna painting, and even some apple shisha (smoked in the water pipe, a.k.a. the hookah pipe). It was sooooooooo exotic, and sooooooo fun! My favorite experience was the camel-ride-under-the-stars, which we enjoyed in solitude (except for the Bedouin dude who led our camels). I really felt like Lawrence of Arabia heading across the desert to Wadi Rum !

Alas, the next morning at the crack of dawn we were dragged, kicking & screaming, away from the glorious sunshine and warmth back to wintery, cold, snowbound Germany! (we’re recovering…slowly…)

Photos follow:

I am happy to say I got my feet wet in the Persian Gulf!

Robert Fisk signing his new tome for worshipful fans:

Gorgeous Christmas decor in Mall of the Emirates:

Local shoppers on the go:

But what’s THIS, skiing in the middle of the desert (and in the middle of a MALL no less?!)

Soenke amuses himself while I shop:

I did some good work here!

HERE WE COME, WILD WADI! (but not this particular ride since the guy said it would rip my swimsuit top off…)

View of Burj Al Arab from the comfort of our innertubes:

A stroll nearby to the ritzy Jumeirah Beach Hotel:

Drinks and tapas at Mina A’Salam’s Bahri Bar:

NOW FOR SOME DUNE BASHING:

Whassup, camels?!

The Bedouin camp:

Soenke enthusiastically greets the sunset: