Dubai :: Day 2

Hey all,

I’m glad to hear so many of you are reading this blog! It gives me great joy to hear that others are interested in my experiences and want to learn about new places. My second day in Dubai was quite eventful, and my bed is looking more appealing by the minute. First though, I will attempt to describe where I went and what I did today.

After a good nights sleep (I believe I’ve finally beaten jet-leg), I woke up this morning and went on the hunt for some breakfast. I ended up having a lovely omelet with olives and other vegetables in it, and some iced coffee. After that, I met up with some new friends to go to the Mall of the Emirates. I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but I knew that there was a reason that everyone says, “You must go to the malls when in Dubai”. I thought, okay, let’s see what we have here.

To be succinct, it did not disappoint. After hopping on the convenient and very modern metro, we arrived at the mall after only two stops. We walked through a glass bridge that took us straight to the mall, and thus entered. The Mall of the Emirates is beautiful, upscale, and pretty much has anything you could ever think of. I constantly lost my sense of direction it was so big. I made sure I took a bunch of pictures, because I knew my words would not be enough to describe the place. In it were your classic worldwide chains, from Lacoste to Coldstone Creamery. You name it, it was there.

We ate lunch inside the mall at a Lebanese restaurant, which was delicious and consisted of Lebanese hummus, tabbouleh (a salad type thing), olives, and shish taouk; which is chicken with spices in a wrap. We walked around the mall for a while and picked up some things we needed at the supermarket, which was inside the mall like any other store. After spending a few hours at the mall, it was clear we would never really get to all of it, and so we decided to head back to AUD to rest until evening.

In the evening, we went to the Jumeirah Beach Residence, or JBR. The best I can describe is an ocean front area that houses numerous residential high rises, upscale hotels, and a plethora of restaurants. We got there just in time to see the sunset, which was gorgeous. The sidewalks were beautifully cobblestoned and were lined with palm trees. After getting some hazelnut gelato, we took a nice walk on the beach. From the distance you could see the Atlantis resort, as well as a few islands of the famous palm tree.

Since we skipped dinner (no, the gelato did not count), we took a short walk to the local McDonald’s that was in a business building. I had a McArabian, which can best be described as a gyro type pita wrap with chicken, vegetables, and a tzatziki like sauce. It was easily the best thing I’ve had from McDonald’s in years. For now, I’m headed off to bed and am looking forward to what tomorrow brings.

Blessings,

Andrew