United Arab Emirates | Dubai
Hello Dubai! What an experience you are! As we headed east and left Europe for the final time—on this adventure—we knew that we couldn’t miss going to Dubai. We have heard so many good things about the city that it was on our MUST list from the very beginning, and it didn’t disappoint.
View from the airplane landing in Dubai
Known for its futuristic skyline, luxurious lifestyle, and rich cultural heritage, Dubai is an unforgettable experience. If you’re an adventure seeker, a shopping enthusiast, or someone looking to bask in luxury, Dubai has something for everyone. To us, it felt like Las Vegas, Nevada, but on the beach. But like Vegas, we would recommend it in small doses. In the modern parts of the city, it is an alter to consumerism and excess, and while this makes for a lot of fun experiences and great, great restaurants, it gets a bit exhausting. We found ourselves really thinking back to our experiences in other Muslim countries like Morocco and Turkey that had great energy and vibrance, but a bit more modest way of life. That said, the feats of civil and geotechnical engineering and architecture are truly a marvel and something worth seeing. On the flip side, we would imagine it comes at quite the environmental impact to the coastal and marine ecosystems.
That said, we’ll focus on the people, places and experiences that are what make Dubai like no other city in the world.
View from our hotel room terrace
Our Dubai Itinerary:
Day 1: Arrive in Dubai…eventually
Leaving Florence, Italy turned out to be a hot mess. Due to local weather, our flight was delayed and delayed, then finally cancelled. The airline put us on a flight to Munich, then on to Dubai. While the layover was not a big deal (we were originally going to fly through Frankfurt), it meant we weren’t going to get to Dubai until the next morning. The other challenge was that they booked us on a flight out of Bologna, Italy, instead of Florence. This meant that we now had to get back to the city center of Florence to get on a train to Bologna. Florence has a decent tram system, with a dedicated line that goes from the airport to the city center, so that was easy enough—except that we had all of our suitcases. We booked a train ticket on the tram and when we arrive at the train station, the train was running behind. We had plenty of time before our flight, so we were more annoyed than worried. We finally get on the train about 30 minutes late for the 45-ish minute trip to Bologna and hopped in a cab from the Bologna train station to the airport.
One thing to know if you haven’t travelled much in Europe—they won’t even open a station to check in and check bags until 2 -3 hours before the flight. We were there about 3.5 hours ahead of our flight. 😫
We waited patiently and as one of the first in line, we had a very nice person helping us get resettled on our new flight itinerary. We shared our experience so far and found that there were seats available in business class for both legs of the flight. This was a godsend because as I mentioned, we were now on a redeye from Munich to Dubai, which is about 6 hours. After the day we had (which wasn’t over), we needed to be able to sleep well.
Then the flight to Munich was delayed about an hour! We finally made it to Munich with time to spare, mostly because the flight to Dubai was delayed to to some maintenance on the plane. We were just about out of steam at this point. To add to it all, we had stayed in the EU up until the very last day that we could on our visitor visas, and we weren’t sure what would happen if they sent us to a hotel for the night to get on a plane the next day —when we were technically overstaying our visa in the EU. Luckily, the plane finally boarded and at 11:30pm (after 16 hours of travel just to get to Munich) and we were in the air in the comfort of our business class seats.
We arrived at 7:30am in Dubai, both having gotten at least a little bit of sleep. We were determined to push through the day so that we can try to erase the 3 hour time change and resulting jet lag, so we planned nothing for the day but a bit of sunshine and relaxation on the beach. We were so tired by the end of the day that all we wanted was some comfort food, so we happened to find a Chipotle near the hotel. After that whole ordeal, we don’t think Chipotle ever tasted so good!
Note: We reflected on the fact that this was the first real impactful travel debacle of those first 7 months in Europe. We thought that was pretty amazing considering all the planes, trains and automobiles we had taken to explore the 17 countries we had been to. Looking back at our life of travel even pre-sabbatical, there were maybe two other times we could recall where there were significant disruptions to our plans. One was flying to Australia from LAX over Christmas in 2016. Not only was it chaos because of the holidays, but there was bad weather…and a bomb threat. The other—you guessed it—was leaving Italy in 2009!
Valerie and Jeremy in front of The Dubai Frame
Jeremy and Valerie in the “eye” of The Museum of the Future
Day 2: The Dubai Frame and The Museum of the Future
We didn’t have a ton of time in Dubai, so we had to prioritize what we both really wanted to see. The city is relatively stretched out from north to south. For example, from the airport in the north to the Marina where we stayed in the south was a good 30 minute cab ride (without traffic). Each of the “big” sites to see were also 10-ish minutes apart by train or cab. You can walk within each of the little “zones,” but it is by no means a walking city. On the norther most tip of the city is the Dubai Creek and the Old Village, where the city actually originated. We started just south of there at The Dubai Frame. This is a 150 meter/492 foot structure that quite literally frames the old village if you look through it to the north and the modern city if you look through it to the south. It is really just a tourist attraction, as there aren’t any functional offices in it, or on the way up, just an observation deck along the top. Once at the top, the views are quite stunning. It was a great place to get a birds eye vantage point of everything on our first full day of exploring the city. Even from 5 miles away the Burj Khalifa (world’s tallest building) towered in comparison to the surrounding structures. If heights don’t bother you, there is a long strip of plastic or glass along the center of the observation deck and when you walk on it goes from white to clear, and you are staring 500 feet straight down!
View straight down from the observation deck
The Dubai Frame (and Valerie in front of another “GIANT Thing”
Next, we hopped on the elevated train heading south to the Museum of the Future. The Museum of the Future is first a structure that immediate catches your eye from the road, or the train, or where ever you are standing around it. It is known for its striking oval-shaped structure, which we learned symbolizes innovation and endless possibilities, with its hollow center symbolizing the unknown, representing the future yet to be written. The facade is covered in calligraphic Arabic inscriptions, which are quotes emphasizing the importance of progress and vision. The museum combines AI, robotics, and immersive experiences to explore themes like space travel, climate change, health, and futuristic technology. Unlike traditional museums that focus on the past, this one is dedicated to envisioning and shaping the future. We are not typically people who spend all day wandering museums, staring endlessly at exhibits, and while went through this place similarly, there were a number of immersive and interactive experiences that are undeniably beautiful and thought provoking.
Museum of the Future from the outside at night
The “Vault of Life” exhibit features 2,400 “specimen” jars (not real specimens, just etched in crystal)
Exploring the future works up quite the appetite! Good thing we had dinner reservations just a short walk away at this really amazing restaurant called Amazonico. Amazonico was recommended to us by our friend from Florida, Tony Moses (who happens to be a fantastic chef—if you’re in south Florida, make your way to his restaurant Giordi in Stuart). We were so glad that he did! The food and the whole vibe is inspired by the Amazon, blending Latin American flavors with Mediterranean and Asian influences. It was fantastic! In the top 5 of meals we have had during these travels for sure.
We grabbed a cab on the way back to our hotel. I mentioned this because our driver was the friendliest, most lovely human. He is from Pakistan, but lives in Dubai because there is more opportunity and higher wages. His wife and young children still live in Pakistan along with most of his extended family. He works for a month or two, sending most of his wages back to his family, and flies home to see them every month or two. This was actually a common theme we found when we spoke to locals. So many of them are from other countries, away from their friends and families, but working hard to give them a better life. Despite how tough this might be from day to day, everyone we came across were so welcoming, warm and eager to tell you more about Dubai and themselves. They are proud of where they live, what they do for work and go out of their way to help you. We know that there is no denying that they want you to spend your money. This is their livelihood at the end of the day, but traveling as much as we have these past months we have come to know when people are going through the motions, not really wanting to help you, and when they are authentic. The people in Dubai are authentic.
Day 3: Beach and Shopping
Feeling the jet lag kicking in, this day was about taking it slow and relaxing a bit. Valerie spent the morning on the beach while Jeremy worked on the photo gallery and his other professionally focused blog, The Long Commute.
Day 4: Beach and Shopping — Cocktails at Atmosphere in the Burj Khalifa — Boat Ride in the Dubai Fountain with light show
Valerie took some more time on the beach before we went to the Dubai Mall to have lunch and wander around. This mall is MASSIVE. It is situated at the base of the Burj Khalifa, so this was also our first up close look at it—more on that later. The mall has a giant outdoor fountain very similar to the one at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, it has a 3 story waterfall and art installation inside, an aquarium, an ice rink (Jeremy was dying to have a skate, but sadly did not), and every luxury brand store you may or may not have heard of. We didn’t buy much, as we still are only limited to our 4 suitcases, but the urge to splurge was undeniable. That said, you can also understand the need for such a large facility with so many indoor activities. We were there in winter and it was still around 80 degrees most days. It was lovely for us to explore outside, but you can imagine how much you need indoor activities to escape the heat during the summer.
We had lunch at our favorite dim sum place that is easily found all over the world, Din Tai Fung, overlooking the lake and taking some time to just people watch until it was time for the Burj Khalifa.
Valerie and Jeremy in front of the Burj Khalifa
As the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa stands at 828 meters (2,717 feet) tall. It has a total of 163 floors above ground. We had reservations at the restaurant and cocktail lounge, Atmosphere, on the 123 floor (almost 1500 feet up). We were there for cocktails as we watched the sun set over the Persian Gulf. It really was breathtaking. We highly recommend getting a reservation at Atmosphere if you plan to visit Dubai!
Jeremy and Valerie enjoying cocktails at Atmosphere on the 123rd floor
Below is a time lapsed video of the sunset, but it doesn’t do it justice. The only thing we can equate being that high in a building to is what it looks like to fly over a city in a helicopter.
Sunset from Atmosphere in the Burj Khalifa
Thoroughly inspired by those views, we rode the elevator back down to the ground floor. These elevators are among the fastest in the world. 123 floors took less than 60 seconds! We then made our way to the outdoor fountain, previously mentioned, where we boarded a small boat to watch their light and water show from the water itself. The show as quite the spectacle. It was not only lights in and around the water with dancing water cannons shooting up from the man made lake, but the Burj Khalifa itself is covered in LED lights that make it one jaw dropping display shooting into the night sky. Many of the pictures we took of the Burj Khalifa lit up at night don’t even seem real. They look computer generated, but we assure you, these images are not altered or filtered in any way.
The Burj Khalifa lit up at night
Dubai Fountain water and light show
Day 5: Departing for Singapore
We had a slow morning in preparation for an afternoon flight to Singapore. A day or two prior, Jeremy received an email from Emirates airlines offering us an absolute steal of a deal if we wanted to upgrade to business class. After 7 months of travel and still feeling the jet lag from Europe to Dubai, we splurged. It was the most amazing flight of our lives. The large seats and amenities of business class are one thing, but in these Emirates Airbus A380s, the upper deck also has a bar! We are not just talking about drinks delivered to your seats, we are talking a proper stand up bar with a bartender. It was a great way to stretch your legs and not be stuck in your seat the whole time. We also met some lovely people from South Africa, and had a chat with them for quite some time. We don’t know about you, but meeting people on a flight is usually only by proximity because they are sitting so close to you and you might need to ask them to move so you can go to the toilet.
A very happy Valerie in business class
Bar on the plane!
Dubai is a blend of tradition and modernity. It offers everything from world-record-breaking skyscrapers and man-made islands to traditional souks and desert adventures. We definitely got caught up in the extravagance of it all, but we wouldn’t change our experience there for anything! We would definitely return so that we can explore more of the surrounding desert and the old city.
Cheers to Dubai! Where To Next?
