Wow, looks like I am back staring at the WordPress window for the first time in two months. My blog writing is very limited these days, but as I said there's no excuse; I hate the phrase "I don't have time". It's just not true. I could be blogging, but it is just not a priority at the moment due to lots of exciting projects at school, which I will someday share in this poor, little, neglected space of mine. Anyway that is for later, but...

... speaking of time, back in June I dropped my Consumer History (snore) class and this freed up a Wednesday - Friday. Since a random five day weekend occurs once in a blue moon, I knew it was time for an adventure. With just 20 days until the holiday began, I started day dreaming about luxury holidays at a beach resort. I'd be soaking up the sun and sipping ice cold cocktails, far, far away from school. Then my financial student status slapped me right back into reality. So, I went back to the drawing board and thought about who would want to travel with me. With the short notice and the timing, my friends here were not options. Solo travel was also out of the question. I've been there, experienced that, and once was enough. Then, I decided to message my oh-so-fabulous, world-traveling best friend Shushu, who was living in Dubai for the entire summer with her family. Since it was both Ramadan and scorching hot in Dubai, the flights were actually pretty affordable on such short notice. Before I knew it, I was on a plane to "The City of Superlatives" (maybe the most apt nickname ever).

After the red-eye flight, which included a layover in Istanbul, I arrived feeling pretty roughed up. Shushu and her husband, Aryan, were waking up for work when I arrived, so I just snagged their spot in bed and had myself a little nap with a proper view.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="574"] I got my luxury vacation after all.[/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="566"] That view though...[/caption]

Since my friends are grown-ups with real jobs, I had a half-day to myself to kill. Naturally, I headed straight to the Dubai Mall to visit the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa. The entrance to At the Top is actually through the mall, and upon entering I was immediately blown away. Living in Germany, I sometimes miss the excessive, consumption culture found in large U.S. cities, and the Dubai Mall was perfectly over-the-top. At the time, I did not realize that this over-the-topness actually extended throughout the entirety of the new Dubai. My first thoughts about Dubai were that, in a way, it was like Vegas, at least with the desert and extravagance (although it is even more extravagant). The malls are pretty happening places, but due to Ramadan, Dubai was a little toned down in comparison to its normal self. The malls serve as desert oases due to the air conditioning (actually everywhere is air conditioned, even the bus stops), which is much appreciated in the (104F/40C) heat.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="1151"] The Dubai Mall[/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="1020"] The Dubai Mall[/caption]

After oohing and aahhingg (sadly, mostly about all the wonderful American eating establishments that I miss oh so much - HELLO SHAKE SHACK!), I decided to save the shopping for later and go to the top of the Burj. I'm just going to go ahead and say that I bought the first and second deck, but I would suggest saving the money and just going to the first deck, but really either way you are just damn high up.

At the Top, Burj Khalifa

First Deck (level 125): 125 AED*

First + Second Deck (levels 125 + 148): 300 AED*

*starting prices

The Burj Khalifa is simply jaw dropping. A tour guide took us to the top and briefly explained the history and some fun facts about the structure, such as that it is a whopping 555 meters tall.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="1020"] It is astonishing how small the other skyscrapers seem in comparison.[/caption]







After my At the Top experience, Shushu met me for lunch. The plan was to go to Shake Shack (pretty much the whole reason I went to Dubai. I am kidding. Or am I?), but to my serious disappointment, it was closed for lunch during Ramadan, as were most establishments. Luckily, we found somewhere to dine, a tasty British franchise called Baker & Spice, where they had the windows covered up respect those fasting. After lunch, we did some shopping and sightseeing before heading home to meet the rest of the crew.



[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="851"] Shushu and I had high tea at Fornum & Mason in London together, so it was fun seeing this cute branch in Dubai![/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="574"] Just your average gold Lamborghini[/caption]

During the evening, we headed over to start our evening at 360° near the Burj al Arab, famously known as the 7 star hotel. Dubai is just full of man-made eye candy. We later on met some other expat friends of theirs at the Stereo Arcade. Every establishment in town is so well designed. With the eating and drinking culture, I felt like I was back home in the U.S., which is always a nice feeling as an expat.



[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="566"] my wonderful, world-class hosts[/caption]

When Shushu asked what I wanted to do in Dubai, I requested two things: 1) eat at Shake Shack and 2) water activities. She told me that we could do both, but it was actually too hot for the beach or a boat. Then, I suggested jet skiing and although she had never done it in Dubai, she did some good ole fashioned Groupon-ing and found us a great deal on a jet ski adventure. Little did we know, we'd be cruising right around the Burj al Arab. Jet skiing was definitely the highlight of the trip. The water felt great in the desert heat and we had a ton of freedom to splash around. Shushu vowed to now take all visitors jet skiing because it is simply the best thing to do in Dubai (fact).





After jet skiing, we decided to continue our water enjoyment and go for a dip in the pool at their residence. I think one of my favorite outrageous Dubai moment was hearing that the cool the swimming pool down. That is how damn hot it is. That is also how much money people have to spend.



[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="566"] Or maybe this gold vending machine is the more outrageous than the swimming pool cooling.... you decide[/caption]

The next day, we went for a quick trip to Abu Dhabi (casual). But due to this already massive photo dump, I will save that for a follow-up post. After getting back, we did some more sightseeing and shopping, this time at Royal Fashion, Souk Madinat Jumeirah. This shopping center is surrounded by canals with gondolas, because why not?





The coolest thing I found about Dubai is that you can get anything there. You have the old, the new, and this massive mix of international cultures that brought their own flavor to the city. I literally laughed out loud when I saw the Chili's and Joe's Crab Shack. I got hooked on the middle eastern mint lemonade. I had the tastiest blackberries I've ever eaten. My taste buds were all kinds of stimulated. The best dinner of the trip was at Fume in the Dubai Marina. The watermelon duck salad changed my life.





On the last day of the trip, we headed to the old part of the city, Deira, where you can also find all the gold markets and all the cheap knock-offs you could dream of stuffing your suitcase with. I can't lie, we did not last long here because you don't last long anywhere outside in the Dubai summer heat.









Our final adventure was dune bashing (also found the deal on Groupon). Our driver picked us up in his Toyota Land Cruiser and we drove about 1 hour outside of Dubai where we met the other dune bashers. While we waited, we opted for a little ATV ride because I am a boy and love things with motors.

Warning: the dunes are much steeper than they appear.

After the ATV ride, we hopped back in the Land Cruiser to finally drive deeper into the desert for dune bashing. It was truly a wild ride and mega props to the driver for keeping it fun and safe. Every time you slid over a due, you were sure the car was going to flip, but somehow we always landed back on all fours. There was lots of screaming in the car and it was way crazier than I expected. I can definitely recommend it as an activity, but if you get car sick I would definitely skip this one. Our final stop on the dune bashing excursion was a cook out with traditional dancing and hookah.





[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="1020"] They have to let much of the air out of the tires before driving into the dunes.[/caption]













After an awesome four days in Dubai, I said by "see you at Oktoberfests" and headed to the airport to finally get my Shake Shack (worth the wait) and head back to Munich. I cannot recommend two red eye flights in a week, but it was totally worth the trip.





I always read mixed reviews about if Dubai was "worth visiting" on travel blogs. First, I think everywhere is worth seeing at least once. Second, I loved Dubai! In fact, I loved it so much that I was basically telling Shushu and Aryan that they had to live their after wrapping up their studies in Boston so it could be my winter escape. There truly is something for everyone there to enjoy and if not, well we all like eating and you can definitely eat your heart out in this town.

Have you visited Dubai? Is it on your list?