All semester we have been waiting for this trip and after a stressful week of midterms, papers, projects, and immunizations we were finally ready to get on the long flight to India…but not without a weekend trip to Dubai via Emirates Airlines. You would think that a nearly 15 hour flight would be horrible, but thanks to Emirates, it was a GREAT trip. Three movies (Up in the Air, Blind Side, and The Fantastic Mr. Fox) and incredible service – less the availability of water! – made me never want to take another airline. Ever.

So a weekend in Dubai probably would have meant an expensive hotel room but lucky enough I have a friend who has a sister who was a friend whose father lives in Dubai and is generous enough to host us for a couple days. Come to find out they live on The Palm Jumeirah on one of the palms (namely).

So the first night we are greeted with huge smiles and parental instincts: After giving us a tour of the place, we are each given a beer and a sit down meal which they prepared specifically for us. They didn’t even eat! After dinner we head out to meet up with someone that Morgan knows who is currently living here. We head out to a place called Barasti, which is a huge bar right on the beach. Pretty cool place but everyone noted that it could have been anywhere in the world given the lack natives, strong British contingency, and pumping music (mostly American songs turned into house beats). Getting there at 11pm, having a few drinks and very enjoyable people watching, 2:30am came up on us quickly. We wanted to get an early start to the day, so we decided to head home instead of heading to another bar or even staying til close. Getting into bed felt oh so good after a long day of traveling and losing 10 hours in the process.

The next morning our temporary parents had for us a pot of coffee and a breakfast casserole (which I’ve never had before, but loved!). It was a great start to the day. On the agenda was a trip to the Gold souk, a famous market known for its jewelry and textiles, so that I could barter for a digital camera. Not known for them but they were available and I was able to get a camera and a memory card bundle that constituted a 45 dollar discount to what I would have paid for it in the states. I say job well done, if I do say so myself!

Next was lunch in the Dubai mall (the biggest mall in the world) and then on to the Desert Safari in a 4×4 doing some Dune bashing. This safari was not your typical safari, but basically just a whole bunch of 4x4s in the desert driving vertically and sideways, spinning out and above all making people sick (well only saw ONE lady hunched over losing her lunch). During the trip we did some sand boarding, rode a camel and watched some belly dancing. It was a pretty eventful day and is hard to believe that we’ve only been in the City for 24 hours and have already done so much.

After a long day everyone heads to bed early, knowing that tomorrow will be another long day filled with a city tour, indoor snowboarding, dinner with the temp ‘rents, and then a flight to Delhi at 10:30pm landing at 2:40 am. And then the real experience begins. 10 days of non-stop madness in India before a 4 day break in Goa. Bring. It. On.

Highlights of Dubai