After more than a year in Dubai, we finally hosted our first guests! (More of our family and friends should come visit before we leave. ;) ) My sister and her husband stayed with us on their way to Italy from the States, and it was so fun catching up with them and exploring Dubai with tourist's eyes. You know how you can live somewhere for a while and then still not do the most well-known attractions until you're with someone from out of town? That was me the whole time they were here.
We went to Jumeirah Mosque for a fantastic tour they do most days at 10am and 2pm. I'm adding this to my list of must-do activities for Dubai - we had an excellent tour guide and for just 40 dirhams per person (about $10) we got the full mosque tour, Emirati refreshments, access to the small museum and gallery on site, and henna. The tour was very family friendly, with a room of the mosque set up as an area for young kids to play that S loved once he found it. Our guide was very knowledgeable and explained the UAE and Islam very well - no prior knowledge needed for visitors. If you do the 10am tour like we did, you can pop over to nearby La Mer and walk along the beach and have a nice lunch. (You can also swim if you bring your swimsuit to change into and the weather is nice! There were so many people enjoying the water when we went.)
After that, we took our guests to Dubai Miracle Garden (one of my favorite attractions from when M and I visited Dubai many years ago), a garden with stunning, enormous flower sculptures that's only open during the winter. Then we took them to the classic Global Village, which is like a theme park with pavilions for countries and continents around the world. As you can imagine, the gifts and food options are as diverse as the theme. It's so big it's hard to explore it all in one visit. Funny enough, my sister visited me in Kenya many years ago and finally wore down sandals she had purchased there and adored, so at Global Village she popped over to the Africa pavilion and bought more sandals she already loves.
While I went to church on Sunday, my sister and her husband went to Aura Skypool, a 360-degree infinity pool where they enjoyed the sunrise and breakfast. I've never been there, but they said it was a gorgeous view so I might have to give it a try. That afternoon, we embarked on an overnight desert safari with a company called Platinum Heritage that many friends and colleagues recommended to me. We found their reputation was well deserved, with the whole experience running like clockwork and executed perfectly.
We started with a driving desert safari in a vintage Land Rover. In my younger days, I used to go dune bashing (i.e. driving fast up and down sand dunes) with my friends, but when I learned about how damaging it was to the desert ecosystem I couldn't in good conscience participate any more. I want to help conserve the beautiful desert landscape so future generations can enjoy it as much as I have, and that's why choosing an eco-friendly tour company is so important to me.
We saw unique animals native to the desert in this region, including the majestic Arabian oryx. As the sun set, we enjoyed a falcon show with a professional falconer and learned about the importance of falconry historically and culturally in the UAE. At the end, we got to take photos with the falcon, named Shadow, and even take a look at his passport (because yes, apparently these falcons do have actual passports and many Gulf-based airlines allow them on planes).
Following our sunset falcon show, we reached our Bedouin-inspired campsite that provided henna, Arabic coffee, camel rides, and an outstanding Emirati traditional dinner.
After that, we had a stargazing session led by an expert who pointed out the many stars and planets we could see. They even had shisha for those who were interested in smoking. We spent the night in very comfortable accommodations - they reminded me of the luxury safari tents we'd experienced in Kenya.
The next morning, we enjoyed a fabulous breakfast and breathtaking desert sunrise. The sun somehow seemed to rise faster in the desert than it normally does... Or maybe it's just that it's been a while since I was up early enough to see the sunrise.
Then, we returned to the city. My sister and her husband went to enjoy a luxury couples' hammam spa treatment I recommended. Later, we explored the massive Dubai Mall and ate delicious food in the Chinatown portion, which was just starting to get decorated for Chinese New Year. We took the metro from there to Dubai Expo City for the event that prompted me to ask my sister to visit in the first place: a Green Day concert! When I saw the advertisement, I couldn't believe it. I didn't realize Green Day, a band we had listened to when we were younger, was still making music - let alone touring. The opening act was The Offspring, another band I hadn't heard in ages. The concert was packed with people, and although I had a ton of friends attending I didn't see a single one of them in the crowds. I had so much fun with my sister and her husband. When "Wake Me Up When September Ends" started playing, I was struck with what a special memory this was that I would cherish forever.
The next day, we walked around Old Dubai including Al Fahidi Historical Neighborhood and the Gold Souk just a short abra (i.e., traditional boat) ride across the river. When nighttime came, we went downtown to see the light show at Dubai Fountain.
Then, we did a Burj Khalifa tour and enjoyed the views of Dubai from 148 stories high! I'm so glad we booked this tour at night so we could enjoy the experience of seeing the city lit up. One thing that always strikes me about the Arab world in general but especially Dubai is how late everything is compared to what I'm used to: things open later and close later, and even babies stay up way later than I would expect as an American. From the tallest building in the world, you can really see the city bustling after it gets dark!
And just like that, our visitors had to get back on the plane and head to their next destination! The time flew by way too fast, but at least we spent it well. I just found out one of my best friends will visit me later this year, and I already can't wait to play host again!
