Winter Break part 1: Dubai

Happy 2016 everybody!

Now that I have finally made it back to Poti, I can give the people what they want- 1,700 words on my latest adventures abroad. I got to take a break from the motherland to spend time with friends, defrost, and expand my daily culinary options. It was time well spent, and a much needed break. Let’s relive it all together now:

Day 1: Tuesday

Most planes in and out of Georgia are scheduled for the wee hours of the morning 2-6am (no clue why), but we lucked out with a rare afternoon flight. That meant that we got to enjoy our time in Tbilisi before leaving the country. Mostly that meant that I had time to go to a movie theater and finally see Star Wars VII, a great way to start off my winter vacation. (Don’t worry, I’ll still be here when ep VIII comes out…) In addition to seeing Star Wars we also visited the Tbilisi baths and got cleaned up and scrubbed down in preparation for our flight, all trips should start off on a relaxing note. It really makes a difference.

We're coming to the UAE

Dubai isn’t very far from Georgia, we are in the same time zone, however, in the interest of saving money we had to book a more indirect flight and had to have layovers in Baku, Azerbaijan and Doha, Qatar before landing in the UAE. Once on the ground at 10:30pm we were excited to get out and see the city, but first we had to wait in plenty of lines to get our visas from a small man with one of the most prodigious unibrows I have ever seen.

- I’d like to take this moment to tell you about the Georgian slang for a unibrow- mazda. They call them mazdas because a unibrow looks like the Mazda symbol- I find this to be hilarious.

Thanks for waiting up for me Dubai

We finally made it through security and into a cab headed into Dubai, however our driver didn’t know his way around all that well and I didn’t end up at my friend’s apt until after midnight (sorry Rach!). My friends Rachel and Sean have recently moved to Dubai for Sean’s work in the consulate and they scored an amazing apartment with a remarkable view of downtown Dubai. A great place for me to spend the next three nights.

Day 2: Wednesday

The view doesn't get old

My day started with a bowl of cereal and milk (my first in almost 9 months!) and some great time catching up with Rachel. We then met up with the other PCVs who were staying in a hotel, and we all headed out to Abu Dhabi for the day. We got a later start that we’d planned on, so we didn’t have as much time to sightsee, but we did get to go to the Grand Mosque which was high on my to-do list.

The Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi

It was my first visit to a mosque (minus the Taj Mahal) and we had to make sure to abide by the dress code, the girls ended up putting on abayas just to be safe. The mosque was enormous and stunningly beautiful. A lot of great craftsmanship went into its construction. There were amazing example of wood and marble inlays and various carvings as well as crystal chandeliers and the world’s largest hand woven rug.

Abu Dhabi, capital of the UAE

Following our visit to the mosque we headed to the 7 star palace hotel where we wandered the lobby and ground floors. It was definitely a fancy place, they even had a “gold ATM” where you could purchase bars of gold. There was a lot more to do and see in Abu Dhabi including Ferrari world and outposts of the Louvre and Guggenheim museums, but we were tired and hungry and needed to get back to Dubai.

Rachel (baby Jack) and I in front of the Palace hotel

That night we kicked off our culinary quest with a trip to Rosa Mexicana a familiar Mexican restaurant from DC which happened to have a location in the Dubai mall. While it wasn’t the best Mexican food I have ever eaten, it was still Mexican food and I loved it all- enchiladas, guacamole, and salsa. Oh the memories of fresh Mexican in the states!

Alex hated every minute of this photoshoot

Day 3: Thursday

We were limited on time since it was NYE and crowds would be flocking to downtown. Our Dubai to-do list was actually quite short, so we decided to visit a local shopping district known for its knockoffs and see what deals we could score. The guys weren’t looking for much in particular, just some sunglasses, but Alex however was looking to score on some purses.

Gold ATM from the previous day 

We’d enter a shop and begin to browse the selection and then without fail we would be invited upstairs to some small room where they kept the “good stuff” and then someone would show us dozens of knock-off products. In the end we all scored new sun glasses, and Alex even grabbed a purse or two.

A very comforting sight, and taste

After our shopping “spree” we headed back to the mall to continue our food tour. The object of our desire- Five Guys Burgers and Fries, with a pit stop at Magnolia bakery before. The mall just happens to be the largest in the world, so finding these locations was no small task. However, when we made it to Magnolias and I got my first spoonful of banana pudding, all of my cares just melted away. I was instantly transported back to the East coast and to the Upper West Side of NYC were I frequently purchased the same divine dessert.

Still good even though they weren't Idaho potatoes

Once my craving for banana pudding was satisfied we embarked on our burger quest. Unfortunately the mall was closing off the sections Five Guys was in to prepare for NYE and we were turned away. However, none of us were deterred and we devised our plan for getting beyond the barricades. A short while later after some smooth talking and some solid look-like-you-belong-here acting we made it into the restaurant. I don’t think a burger and fries has ever tasted so wonderful in my entire life. It was almost an out-of-body experience.

Some famous building photobombed us

The rest of the day was then spent relaxing at Sean and Rachel’s while we waited for the NYE celebrations. We watched Jurassic World together and Rachel made some delicious cookies. Then we bought ingredients for a mango salsa and started to prepare dinner. Rachel and Sean slipped out to go to a small party and we were left to prepare the rest of the food.

"We didn't start the fire"

Around 9:30 we were milling around the living room and I turned around and noticed some fire outside of a nearby building. I moved to look closer, I thought it might be an early firework show. However a soon found myself shouting, “Hey, that building is on fire.” We then rushed out onto the balcony where we watched the Address Hotel go up in flames. It was a surreal experience and also very disconcerting since we were unable to help and also in a similarly tall building.

The show must go on!

Needless to say, the burning building stole the show for the rest of the night. The mood was more somber, the appetites less ravenous, and the conversation more focused on the present than the future or past. While the building burned there were moments of loud explosions and falling debris. Several times we wondered if the nearby mall was also on fire.

Hard to tell which building is on fire

Come midnight the city decided to proceed with the fireworks, we were shocked. The entire show was fairly short and not nearly as impressive as we had hoped. The burning building remained in the foreground the entire time. The previous year the Dubai show ranked as the largest firework display for NYE, I got the feeling that they had toned it down this year due to the fire. While it wasn’t the NYE show we had anticipated, I am sure it will go down as one of the most remembered.

Day 4: Friday

In the Muslim world, Fridays are the day of worship and when people tend to visit the mosques. Due to this the local Mormon congregation meets on Fridays and that is where I found myself at 9am on Friday morning. The services was familiar and comfortable, but it was strange to be there on a Friday rather than a Sunday

Still smoldering in the morning

After church we went out for brunch at my favorite NYC brunch spot, which also happened to have a location near Sean and Rachel’s apartment building. I now want to come back to visit Dubai when I have real money to spend because I am fairly certain that they have everything I might possible want to do or eat all in one city.

Late that afternoon I said my goodbyes to Sean and Rachel and then headed out where my friends came and picked me up in our rental car and we headed out of town towards our next destination- Oman!