UAE & India (2/10) – Hello Tomorrow

UAE & India 2015

1. Make Tomorrow Today, Please
2. Hello Tomorrow
3. Top of the World
4. Feasting Like Camel Nomads
5. Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
6. Saadiyat Rhymes with India
7. Fifty Shades of Brown
8. Yes They Do!
9. The End Is A New Beginning
10. UAE & India Extras

You can only count to yourself “3 hours in, 13 hours to go” so many times before going insane.  Fortunately, while it sure didn’t feel like it, 16 hours was a finite number.  Hello Sunday evening.  I thought you’d ever come.

We only had to do so many lavatory diaper changes, per child.

And there were only a handful of near-misses where entire trays of hot food almost fell on our feet.

Then, with our hearts still beating, we arrived at DXB.

Cost of this photo?  $0.
Being alive to see it?  Priceless.

Like many people, I had never heard of Dubai before the self-claimed 7-star hotel became an Internet sensation.  Not long after that, it was the palm-shaped man-made islands.  Then water slides in the dessert, then skiing slope in the dessert, then the golden Lamborghinis, then the world’s tallest building…  The name became synonymous with extravagant miracles (who doesn’t love those?) before we even knew where Dubai was on the map.

Dubai is also interesting because the city’s fame far surpasses that of its country.  I got a lot of confused looks when I told people about visiting the U.A.E..  When I called CitiBank about my travel plans to the “U.A.E.”, they put “Italy” on file instead.  Spelling it out could only make it worse, as the word “Arab” simply doesn’t resonate well with many Americans.  But if I say Dubai, everyone knows it and becomes interested in my trip.

Anyhow, we finally arrived.  After strolling through this gigantic, clean, modern, but boring airport, we braved 20 yards of evening heat and jumped on a taxi.  Shortly after, we arrived at  our hotel – Radisson Blu Downtown Dubai.

Upgraded “Business Class” Room.

Evening view.  Construction downstairs seemed to be going around the clock.

The upgraded room came with the view of Burj Khalifa.  Note how many cranes occupied the skyline.

Alright.  That’s it for day 2.  The fun begins when we wake up!