Following Istanbul our next stop was Dubai. We'd been there before in 2008 and I think it's fairly safe to say that we didn't think much of the city back then. But our friends Dean and Hamsah have lived there for years and we were finally in a decent position to go for a visit.
We were on a flight that arrived in Sharjah (the next emirate over from Dubai) at 02:05. We sat outside the airport in the warm night air amongst dozens of Pakistani and Indian expats, trying to access the airport wifi, which we learned could only be done using a code obtained on the far side of passport control in the departures area only.
Although we argued strenuously that we'd known what we were getting into when we booked it and that getting to their place ought to be our problem as a result, and despite our communications issues, Dean very kindly came and picked us up at 03:00.
We spent a week in Dubai. And mostly because we got to spend time with Hamsah and Dean (and kids Alina, Adam and Zoe), we enjoyed it more than on our previous visit.
We were staying in downtown Dubai, which didn't exist when we were last there. And downtown Dubai actually has sidewalks and pedestrian crossings, and when it's not furiously hot outside (like in late November, for example) it's even modestly pleasant to walk around. We were within walking distance of the mall of Dubai, with its huge lagoon, dancing musical fountains (and free wifi for playing a bit of Pokemon Go). And of course the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, which looked smaller than I'd expected, probably mostly because it was completely surrounded by dozens of 50+ storey towers.
We made a return visit to the Dubai Creek area, busy with gold and souvenir sellers, dhows crossing back and forth or coming and going from the gulf and tourists arguing with dinner cruise sellers about exactly what they'd been promised about their boat trips.
And unlike last time we visited, there are actually (very!) nice and accessible public beaches (prior to 2010 there weren't really public beaches with facilities and good access, so if you wanted to visit one your only options were private beach clubs or hotels). I went for my first swim in the Persian/Arabian Gulf (the naming of it is a subject of much contention between the countries on each side). The water was very, very warm, and clearly much saltier than the Mediterranean, leaving the body with the same sort (if not magnitude) of oily feeling as the Dead Sea. (Incidentally, they take the idea that if you're not in sight of the ocean your togs are actually undies, with signs along the boardwalk right behind the beach saying that wearing swimming costumes [only] is prohibited while walking along it).
While there were new attractions to our visit, like on the previous time, I think the biggest attraction in Dubai was eating. Cheap or fancy, Dubai is a great place to eat food from all over the world (both figuratively, as in cuisines from many different regions and literally, as in most of the food eaten in the emirate is imported).
During our stay we ate fabulous Pakistani, Lebanese, Japanese and South Indian food, drank quite a bit of pretty good coffee, and we had brunch. Expat brunches in Dubai are kind of legendary. They take place on Friday late morning to afternoon, and they have, to varying degrees, become bacchanalian feasts. Ours was out on the famous reclaimed palm tree shaped suburb extending out into the gulf. Brunches at fancy hotels with "drinks packages" don't come cheap. We had two for one discounts from the Dubai equivalent of the Entertainment Book, which brought the damage to around NZD100 per person. I think we got our money's worth though, eating huge quantities of Ceviche and sashimi and Wagyu roast beef and French cheeses and drinking similarly vast quantities of Gin! and tonics, red snappers, wines, beers… everything on offer really. At Dubai drinks prices I suspect that our food and the last three or four drinks apiece were effectively free!
In addition to being silly with the adults, I also had a lot of fun being silly with Adam and Alina and making Christmas decorations and watching ridiculous movies on TV.
The week passed by remarkably quickly and it came time for us to leave. Or at least try to. First we struggled to find the bus station for the bus to Oman. Then to figure out how to buy tickets. Then we discovered that, being the Sunday after a long weekend in Oman, tickets were sold out for the next three days. Then finding the other bus company that does the route. Then finding that they too were sold out for the day. Then spotting a taxi with Oman plates, but also with a driver who wanted around NZD400 to do the trip. And finally deciding that the best option was to forego one night of our non-refundable hotel booking in Muscat, buy tickets for the following afternoon and enjoy one final night in the company of our friends.
The next day Hamsah drove us to the bus company office ("Bus departs at three, but be there at two, because it could go any time after that…"). And with a couple more hugs, farewells and assurances that we'd see one another soon, we were finally on our way out into the desert towards Oman.
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