We planned a short trip to Dubai while the kids had a long weekend at school in the middle of May. The main goals of the trip were good eats, good shopping, good movies and the waterpark.
We flew the low cost carrier Air Arabia from Yanbu to Sharjah, then took a 30 minute cab ride to Dubai. Even though the desert is still a huge part of the landscape, the feel of the Emirates is completely different. The roads are nice and well-marked while the drivers, almost unanimously, follow the rules of the road. The driver from the airport was an older gentlemen who didn’t speak much English. The view soon started to resemble Houston; large buildings, wide roads and spaghetti noodle interchanges. Range Rovers were a dime-a-dozen. I used my phone’s GPS to get the driver to our AirBNB. We had booked a flat close to the Burj Khalifa (see the pictures for the view from our balcony), the Dubai Mall and the Dubai Fountains.
Our first order of business was a walk to the mall. We were hungry and ready to catch a movie. The mall is huge, and hard for a pedestrian to enter. We walked around a bit, tried a few dead ends, then finally made our way through one of the parking garages and into the mall proper. We were amazed by the number and variety of stores. The people were even more varied and impressive. There were niqabis and then there were some who fell far short of the required dress code of covered shoulders and knees. I told Greene that this place was the real Silicon Valley.
We grabbed some PF Changs for supper and headed to the theater. Captain America: Civil War was the one everyone wanted to see. We bought tickets and headed up the escalators to the theater. We had to wait a few minutes before being allowed in. The comfy seats made sleep a possibility, but the movie kept everyone awake. We headed back to the flat and turned in for an early morning.
We left the next morning for Atlantis and the Aquaventure Waterpark. The kids had spotted this early on in our discussions of things to do in the Middle East, and they were not disappointed. We rented a small cabana for the day that included a hammock, table & chairs, big bean bags, water, and fruit. We were right next to the big family rides, so we all headed up for the first big wet drop. The lines were short, so we hit as many rides as we could.
We went on a Thursday, and the lines remained short all day long. We spent the entire day on the slides and lazy river, only breaking long enough to eat some lunch. All the kids rode even the most intimidating slides. The parents, well, we skipped a few.
We left at closing time, grabbing some Starbucks on the way out. The driver took us back to the flat and we changed for dinner. We walked across to the Old Town Dubai shopping area, which is not Old but the architecture is a nod to the true old town. We enjoyed Claws BBQ, taking in 3 orders of ribs, a pulled pork sandwich and shrimp po’ boy. We were all wiped out after the long day, but we decided to go catch the fountain show. We were all very glad we did. The show was amazing and the crowds gathered around the fountains were impressive in number.
The next day was mall day. One day isn’t enough. I drank 3 gallons of coffee, Cade was amazed by the 3CPO lego at Hamley’s, Macy tried to act like she wasn’t having fun shopping, Drew’s feet never touched the ground (until the bags got heavy enough to return her to terra firma) and Greene had the pleasure of taking us to her favorite spots from her previous visit with Melissa. She introduced us all to Pappa Roti. Macy, Cade and I took in another movie, The Jungle Book, while the two Sephora addicts got their fix.
I started feeling pretty rough while drinking my 22nd carafe of coffee and hanging out with Cade. The girls were getting henna art on their hands. We attempted to walk through the Carrefoure, but I just wanted to get back to the flat and rest. The rest of the family made due with popcorn and snack food while I headed to bed.
We headed out the next day refreshed and relaxed. The Sharjah airport is much smaller than the Dubai airport, so coming and going were quick and painless. We got back on Saturday, and the kids had another day off school to enjoy, while I headed back on Sunday. Dubai is a great place to visit, but very expensive. It was a fun weekend, and the waterpark alone was worth the trip.
From Tennessee To Texas to Saudi Arabia 