dubai

“The words you speak become the house you live in.” – Hafiz

It seems a little silly to write a blog about Dubai considering we were only there for about 36 hours. However, there is a good chance we will never go back and so I would like to at least remember what we saw. We arrived at the crack of dawn and ended up wandering around waiting to check into our hotel for a much needed nap. When we finally ventured out we saw a bit of the old town and walked along the creek. We stopped for a coffee and an orange basil juice concoction while watching the old boats scoot thru the canal. We stopped for a thali at an Indian restaurant and later followed it up with our old standby – the falafel.

We were both in a funk. I had pushed making our couple hour layover into a couple day layover, but we were both so tired we were finding it hard to enjoy. My impression of Dubai was a meeting of the old and the new, moreover the new pushing out the old. It felt a bit like one huge shopping complex. And malls they had. Malls with ice rinks and aquariums and skiing. Within the glass air-conditioned skyways you could look out and see the the palms and construction below. All that construction has produced some impressive feats – the Burj Khalifa and Burj Al Arab are what immediately come to mind.

After a somewhat lackluster day we found a bar, Trader Vic’s no less, and settled in for a couple strong cocktails. This helped to shake off some of the malaise I’d been feeling all day. Tiredness and an extra sensitivity seemed to be following me. We were heading to Nepal for a month long meditation retreat – might as well indulge once before a month of abstaining.

Ezra’s best creepy look?

The next morning we went for more of the tradition than the flash. A walk to the fish market was mostly memorable for the queasiness the smell induced. Then the gold souk and an old historical house. Of course what trip would be complete without a Dunkin’ Donuts coffee before hitting up the airport.