I went to Dubai for my 30th birthday in 2017 and had an absolute blast. A friend from work went with me, my best friend joined us from Nigeria and we stayed with an old friend who was living there at the time. Roundtrip tickets from Austin, Texas were $965 per person, on Emirates.
The first thing I want anyone reading this post to know is that this post exists thanks to email receipts and Chiki's photos. I have very poor memory that continues to decompensate over time. Unfortunately, this is one of the few trips I did not document in writing so I have little to no memory of most of what I've written here. So, think of this as a photo dump. I can tell you most of what we did but I can't speak to what most of it felt like. Secondly, we somehow all had trash phones so photo quality is trash. Read this as a "catch up" story, not necessarily for recommendations. Like I said though, a good time was had and these are just poor quality photos and videos of what I think were high quality moments.
We worked it out so our flights from the US and Nigeria would land in Dubai at about the same time, late at night on Sunday, January the 22nd. We picked up the rental and I drove us to Funmi's house. I couldn't find parking and I was too exhausted from the long flight so I got off the street and parked in the dirt. The next morning (Jan 23rd) after breakfast, giggles and selfies in the elevator, we headed out to explore.
Unfortunately, we were reminded the hard way that Dubai is quite literally in the desert. Any parts of the road not tarred is desert sand. So me thinking I had parked the car in dirt was me parking the car in fine sand. It took an hour, the grace of a stranger, tow cable and some of the building staff to get the car out.
Once we were out, we went shopping! I don't know where this is but they had a tiny elevator that took us up to the part of the store where they had nicer things. I don't remember buying anything.
That evening, we met up with a dear friend who also happened to be in Dubai at the time. Hassan is a vibe and then some. We had some snacks, teas/virgin drinks and hookah.
On Tuesday the 24th, we went to either the mall or an old, gold market but I don't remember which one specifically. That night, we went to Burj Al Arab, the only 7-Star hotel in the world.
From there, we went to XL Dubai
On the 25th, Denisa, Chiki and I went to Abu Dhabi. First stop, Sheikh Zayed Mosque. It is the largest mosque in the United Arab Emirates and so, so beautiful.
From there, we went to Yas Island. It is a leisure island and one of the largest tourism projects in Abu Dhabi. Yas Island holds the Yas Marina Circuit, which has hosted the Formula One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix since 2009. First stop, Yas Mall for lunch and shopping. Yas Mall is the largest mall in Abu Dhabi. We had Taco De Casa at the food court.
Later on, we went to Ferrari World.
It is the world's first Ferrari-themed park and features Formula Rossa, the world's fastest roller coaster.
We stayed in City Seasons Al Hamra Hotel and shared a Deluxe Suite for $151.61. It had a living room with dining area, 1 bedroom with 2 twin beds, another bedroom with a double bed and 2 bathrooms. Chiki says they also had a loaded buffet for breakfast and we spent hours there the next morning, stuffing our faces. From the photos, it looks like we got a lot of bang for our buck. Current reviews show it's gone down over the last 7 years so this is definitely not a recommendation.
On the way back from Abu Dhabi on the 26th, we stopped at Dubai Miracle Garden. It is a flower garden in the district of Dubailand.
Afterwards, we stopped at Dubai Mall on the way home. We headed straight to The Waterfall/Human Waterfall... it is a work of art consisting of sculptures of men diving in front of a waterfall.
That night, we went to Global Village. Dubai Global Village is a shopping, dining and entertainment attraction that hosts events, has food from all over the world and celebrates multiple cultures. It has pavilions decorated in the styles of different countries and continents. You could spend hours there just marveling at the attractions.
Friday, January 27th... MY BIRTHDAY!
We went to Palms Beach Jumeira for lunch at The Observatory of Marriot Hotel on the 52nd floor.
Then we walked the Marina.
That night, we we had dinner at JW Marriott Marquis Hotel, tallest hotel in the world (at the time). It has fun little corners for photos so we started out with pictures for the gram.
We then went to dinner in another part of the building.
I'm quite upset I don't remember much from this trip because it looks like we had so much fun.
Saturday, January 28th
We slept in and had a super chill day while Denisa went to ride camels in the desert. We headed to the airport at about 11pm for our 1am flight and said our goodbyes.
