The house we stayed at was on a man-made beach but as you can see in the picture I have posted, Dubai has it all; beach, suburbs, city and desert. They even have the very first indoor ski resort. It is truly a breathtaking country.
We got to do so many things one would not expect to do in just one country. We went dune bashing (driving Jeep four-wheelers through the desert dunes), soaked up the rays on the beach, rode camels, and smoked hookah in the middle of the desert with our family. The locals are very friendly too. Many would expect Dubai to be predominately Arabs, but there are a fair amount of other cultures as well. While there, we showed respect to the culture of the locals. For instance, it would be inappropriate to wear tank tops and very short shorts. People certainly wore more casual apparel in the city, but walking around the suburbs, the locals would stare you down, or whistle at girls to make them feel uncomfortable. So just don’t do it.
Dubai is known for various other things; The Burj Al Arab, the Burj Khalifa, and Ski Dubai. The Burj Al Arab is one of the nicest hotels in the world. The eight star hotel is located right on the Mediterranean and has its own unique shape. Dubai also holds one of the tallest buildings in the world called the “Burj Khalifa”. Yes, many of you have probably seen it in Mission Impossible when Tom Cruise climbs it from one window to another. Not the smartest thing, in my opinion. While visiting Dubai I thought the indoor ski resort called “Ski Dubai” was a very cool accomplishment. It is attached to one of their biggest malls and has one long slope. It may not be as fun for advanced skiiers or veteran snowboarders, but the experience of skiing in the middle of a desert is pretty darn cool.
I got to experience all of this and much more in this wonderful country. So when people tell you that Dubai is just a pile of sand, don’t listen. They have developed so much over the years it’s insane. My mom told me that the first time she went to Dubai (probably 20 years ago), there was nothing there. Just homes and desert sand. They have obviously advanced much since then which is pretty impressive.
I really enjoyed your post on Dubai! My cousins have been there and told me that it is a fantastic place to go (especially for the duty-free in the airports haha). I can only imagine how it is to ski in the middle of the desert. I don’t know how they do it, but I heard that the ski area is so cold that it is necessary to wear your winter parka. Would you say that’s true? One thing, though, that makes me sad is that Dubai is currently on a severe downturn and they say it will never be the great city that it once was. When you went to Dubai was it at its high point or one of its down points?
Aww thanks!! It really is! The duty-free is dangerous.. I bought so much stuff there when I went haha but yes it is true! They rented us full ski suits (winter jacket and snow pants) to stay warm! It was really weird being dressed in many layers because you left the mall in just shorts and a tank top. My second trip to Dubai was my spring break of 8th grade so in 2008 I think? It seemed like it was at a high point at the time but then again, I was an 8th grader who only cared about the activities we were about to do and not the city itself and how it was doing haha but I would recommend everyone to head over to Dubai either way because it is a city that everyone should be able to visit and have the same amazing experience I had!
It was a great idea, I think, to pick such an unconventional tourist destination to talk about! I feel like people sometimes get caught up on the typical ones: New York, Paris, London, etc., so this was really refreshing and interesting! I never thought of Dubai as a tourist destination. I have one question for you though. I’ve traveled alot, but I’ve also lived abroad, and I find that there is a very important distinciton. Dubai seems like a very cool place to travel to, but would you live there? I wonder if I would be willing to go to see it, but would be extremely reluctant to try to become a part of it. What do you think?
Thank you! I will most likely be talking about those other places in future blogs since my Passion blog is about places I’ve traveled to haha but I wanted to start off with interesting, and unique blog posts! To be honest, I never really put any thought into living there. I would consider studying abroad there for a semester but I’m not really sure! They have everything but the culture is definitely a lot different than American culture. I’m a sucker for Middle Eastern culture (I absolutely love it there) and would definitely go back and visit but living in the U.S. all my life, I’m not sure if I would be able to adjust actually living there…