United Arab Emirates

We landed in Dubai after a (mostly) divine flight from Johannesburg with Qatar Airways in their outstanding business class. While the food, service, and seat had all been fantastic, we hadn’t been able to sleep as much as we were hoping thanks to severe turbulence that had Sarah clutching her armrests instead. Instead of arriving on a full-nights sleep in our lovely lie-flat bed, we landed with bloodshot-eyes and some serious sags, on at most, two hours of shut eye. Meeting one of our best Swiss friends at the airport, we hurried to our Airbnb to ditch our big bags before going to explore one of Dubai’s biggest attractions, its mall! Now I know what you’re thinking, “Really? A mall?! Why would they fly all the way there to go shopping??”, but I promise it’s part of Dubai’s many attractions. The Dubai Mall is one of the world’s largest, boasting literally everything you could possibly need – from high-end shops to restaurants, gyms, and even a medical center. The mall wraps shopping highlights from numerous countries into one big building. There are dozens of European, American, British, Japanese, Indian, and Asian brands all sharing one space. In our first hour roaming the colossal mall, we enjoyed coffee from a Japanese cafe (%Arabica), shopped at American stores (Apple & New Balance), and had lunch from a Taiwanese restaurant (Din Tai Fung). Walking around the mall is an adventure on its own, as the immense corridors spread out over 5.9 million square feet. Incredibly we hit 10,000 steps in our day just by moving back and forth between stores. Before we knew it, we’d spent the better part of the whole day inside, making a few purchases and ogling the fish at the Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo. The upside of this was that by the time we noticed how long we’d been here, the sun had set and the temperature outside was slightly more bearable than the desert highs during the day. Finally getting some fresh(er) air, we stopped to take in the Dubai Fountain Show in front of the Burj Khalifa. The show evoked memories of the Bellagio in Vegas, but the fountains impressed nonetheless. Scents of delicious meals rolled in from the restaurants behind us as we watched, fueling our next mission: dinner at Roobaru. Roobaru was started by a graduate school friend of ours who emigrated to Dubai several years ago. It is a self-described “Freestyle Indian Restaurant” and truly, it does not disappoint. Over the course of the next several hours we indulged ourselves on paneer, butter chicken, lamb, and scrumptious carbs. We sampled seven dishes and many drinks between the three of us, all agreeing we’d order each one again in a heartbeat. Our meal started winding down around the same time as our eyelids started losing their ability to hold themselves open, signaling it was time to finally end our (nearly) forty-eight hour day.

Waking up on our first morning in Dubai, we impulsively decided to rent a car for the day and make the quick, one hour drive to Abu Dhabi to see what this Emirate had to offer. Picking up the car turned into a bit of a hassle, but about an hour later than expected, we finally hit the road south to Abu Dhabi. The rental car guy had warned us not to drive over the speed limit, as the hundreds of speed cameras would catch us and fine us almost $200 per infraction. Luckily, our larger problem was staying above the minimum speed of 120 kph in our small, Chinese-built, crossover. Our first destination in Abu Dhabi was the Louvre. While technically not a part of the iconic Parisien Louvre (it’s only licensing the name until 2047), the collection and architecture of the museum emulates French elegance. The museum is unique, as the main collection is not arranged by region of origin or style, but rather chronologically, offering a visual comparison of what was happening in classic cultures during the same periods of history around the world. This method places Greek antiquity sculptures alongside Phonecian burial coffins and Indian Buddha heads, allowing the visitor to easily compare sculpture styles and skill around the world in the same period. We needed at least three hours to view the museum’s relatively new galleries and airy design – a truly unique melding of European and Islamic architecture, all underneath a 7,000 ton metal dome.

Leaving the Louvre, we drove across town to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. Our excitement to see this famously beautiful structure was building on our drive over as the sun was starting to lower in the sky. With desert tangerines painting the streets, we parked our car and confidently walked through the underground mall to the visitor’s entrance of the mosque. We didn’t even get both feet past the entry door before mosque security blocked us, informing us that Sarah’s long-sleeve shirt was too see-through to be permitted. A shirt, mind you, that she had already used when visiting mosques in Oman, Jordan, and Egypt. Reluctantly she ran into the shops (yes, the mosque has a mall) and bought an overpriced abaya. As we reached the front of the queue again, we were stopped once more, now because our other friend's dress exposed her ankles when she walked…Funny how this wasn’t caught before. Now feeling a bit frustrated, we turned back once more to grab a copy of the same abaya off of the rack. The ladies now cloaked from head to toe in their matching abayas and Jackson in regular pants and a t-shirt (that seems fair, right?), we made our third attempt. Thankfully, the third time was the charm – we flew past the entrance without a problem. Strangely, we didn’t just fly through there, but were suddenly being waved to the front of every line, around other tourists, and past “priority” groups. Perhaps Jackson’s darker features and entourage of women in matching Islamic attire gave us new identities to security, and we were no longer in the mosque to take photos, but to pray. With our new VIP status (or maybe it was an invisibility cloak?), we headed upstairs to the main event. The Grand Mosque was definitely living up to its name, with over 82 domes, 1,000 marble columns, and the world’s largest hand-knitted carpet in the main prayer hall. The inner courtyard’s marble is inlaid with a beautiful, intricate flower mosaic of tulips, lilies, and irises. Moving through the mosque’s many grand spaces, we were impressed with its floral details, pristine design, and sheer size. That said, the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Muscat, Oman remains our favorite, boasting opulence through its history and simple beauty instead. Shedding the abayas and long clothes, we enjoyed a short, but tasty dinner at Cafe Arabia before hopping back in the car and driving home to our Airbnb in Dubai.

Our final full day in the Emirates started off, interestingly… After dropping Sarah and Stella back off at the Dubai Mall for Sarah’s Apple Store appointment, Jackson attempted to return our rental car to the Grand Hyatt without cell service or navigation assistance. He was feeling confident, as he’s usually pretty good with directions. However, on this day, things did not go to plan and soon he was catastrophically lost – driving in circles, swearing at the world, and searching for his exit in Dubai’s web of on- and off- ramps. In the end, a nine minute drive ended up taking over an hour and left Jackson sweaty with frustration. Finally returning to the mall and many questions from the ladies, Jackson plopped down at %Arabica for a much-needed cup of coffee. Much of our final day in Dubai was spent in the same way as our first, wandering the mall as we slowly crossed items off our lists. In the late afternoon, we returned to our Airbnb for a late swim as the sun receded into the dust over the Persian Gulf. Eager to not waste a day, we ventured out one final time towards old-town Dubai and its many souqs. We decided to visit the Grand Souq, as it was still open for several hours, and had “Grand” in its name. What could go wrong? Well, as far as souqs go, it was pretty disappointing. It was full of cheap touristy plastic, a thousand versions of the same headscarf, and in your face stall owners. We briskly moved through it, and when we quickly reached the other end, we thought about throwing the towel in and returning to our cozy Airbnb. Instead, we kept walking just a little bit further and suddenly found ourselves in what felt like the old city. Similar to most things in Dubai, it was like a movie-set recreation of the old city, but they had done a decent job of recreating a night market from a hundred years ago. The shopping experience was also much more enjoyable, with owners hanging back to let you look before bombarding you with questions or sharing their prices. Jackson was very tempted to buy a traditional outfit complete with thawb, shemagh and agal, but $100 felt a little steep for a display item.

We had one final, brief morning in Dubai before bidding adieu to Stella and flying off to Qatar, so we filled it with a delicious breakfast from Cafe Villa 515. Once again, Emirati food did not disappoint, as this final (expensive) brunch featured even more top tier dishes. We gorged ourselves on pistachio coffee, avocado toast, and omelet in the cafes' calming, green space. Saying farewell to our Airbnb, our cab took us once more through Dubai’s heart. We kept our eyes outside the car as we passed the Burj Khalifa, Museum of the Future, and Dubai Frame one last time. This city may feel like a fever dream, like a strong wind might blow off its facade, but somehow you find yourself believing in the illusion.

Qatar

Our time in Qatar was exclusively for rest and relaxation. We had used our Fine Hotels & Resorts $200 reimbursement perk on our American Express Platinum card to cover the cost of our night at the Waldorf-Astoria Doha West Bay. Our perk guaranteed us early check-in, late check-out, a room upgrade on arrival, and $100 back on food & beverage purchased at the hotel. We stepped into the impressive lobby of our new palace, quickly checked-in as they wished us “Happy Honeymoon!” (oops, there we go again…), and immediately retreated into our silky soft bathrobes once in our room. Our time in this magnificent hotel was almost totally spent inside our 55 square meter (592 square foot) oasis, with only a few brief trips to other parts of the building. Near sunset on our first evening in Qatar we bravely ventured out of our room up to the hotel’s Emerald Pool on the 43rd floor. The pool, like everything else in this hotel, felt brand new, some of the green pool tiles still covered in protective plastic. The pool’s floor-to-ceiling windows offered us a view of the sun setting, not beneath the horizon as usual, but into a wall of dust above Doha’s skyline. For dinner on our only evening here, we climbed one floor higher to the top-floor Chinese restaurant, Yun. To celebrate Jackson’s grandmother, we started our meal with some classic margaritas, an alcoholic toast we hadn’t had the chance to have in Abu Dhabi or Dubai. As expected, everything we ate at YUN was delicious, a bit overpriced, but exceptionally tasty. Unfortunately for our waistlines, we (once again) made the mistake of over ordering with greedy tummies and later getting stuck with enough dishes to feed an elephant. We slowly picked our way through our feast of small plates, while watching as Doha’s glass city lit up in a control panel of different colors. Capping off our evening, we returned to the hotel’s lobby and visited the Courtland Bar, where it happened to be ladies night! The deal was outrageous: ordering one small snack plate got us (well, technically Sarah) two classic cocktails for free! Margaritas galore!

On our second (and last) day in Qatar, we finally caught up on some of our missing sleep from the past week. Once awake from our deep slumber, we shuffled downstairs to the massive breakfast spread, eagerly loading our plates with hummus, mutabbal, and falafel one last time. When the Waldorf finally kicked us out around sunset, we went to see one of Qatar’s highlights, Souq Waqif. We didn’t really have any high expectations for this market, as we’ve seen more souqs than most in Oman, Jordan, Egypt, and the UAE. Arriving there though, we knew this one might stand out above the rest. Our first view was of the “Falcon Souq” – yes, you read that correctly! In front of us were several shops, winding down different alleyways, all selling falcons and their accessories, including little falcon caps and stands finished with either real or fake grass. Falcons are a culturally important accessory in Qatar, so much so that they’re the national bird and symbol. This strong bond traces its roots back hundreds of years, as falcons were and still are used by Qatari bedouins as hunting companions, with excellent falconry considered a symbol of nobility or prowess. Next door to the Falcon Souq, we found the Souq Waqif’s horse and pony stables, full of beautiful Arabian horses and their stumpy cousins. While standing near the horses’ parade grounds, we spotted a company of soldiers parading their camels in front of the Amiri Diwan. We watched them guide their camels around the grand lawn, as the sun set and illuminated the skyline of modern Doha behind them. Their show was an apt visualization of the duality of old and new Qatar, existing side by side. Leaving these camel comrades behind, we ventured further into the Souq, passing through kitchenware, bird, pet, fabric, and gold markets, all twisting their way through the structures of the market. The variety of goods sold here far outpaced those sold at many of the other souqs we’ve been to, and its weathered feel brought up memories of the Nizwa Souq in Oman.

As the evening turned to night and we sipped the last of our karak chai, we soaked up the beautiful mystery of the Arabian world one last time. Sad to leave it behind, we double-backed to our hotel to collect our bags on the way to Hamad International Airport. Arriving well ahead of our scheduled flight time, we were whisked through private business class check-in, security, and immigration areas, before making our way to Qatar Airways Al-Mourjan lounge. We spent our final few hours in the mid-east soaking up the luxurious lounge, indulging in a pre-flight dinner, and thinking ahead to our next exciting chapter: South America.

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