Making our way to Africa from Nepal meant connecting through somewhere in the Middle East. The cheapest fare ended up taking us through Dubai, where we opted for a 24-hour layover, giving us just enough time to see what all the fuss was about. Dubai was significantly bigger than I realized, a city of 3 million plus people that sprawls along the Persian Gulf. With its paved roads, new cars, and high-rise buildings, Dubai was a stark contrast to our few weeks in Nepal. While I am sure it doesn’t take much effort to spend a pretty penny in the city, we limited our expenses to getting around the massive city, starting, where else, but the mall.
Not just any mall, the Mall of the Emirates is about as pristine of a shopping location as you’ll find, with every name brand you can’t afford and every activity you’d never think of (like an indoor ski slope). Fresh dates of all sorts and kinds fill the supermarkets while stained glass lines the ceilings, it’s all quite the sight. From the indoor mall to the outdoor, we made a pit stop for a fire-red sunset on the beach before arriving at the Mall of Dubai, spread out at the foot of the Burj al Khalifa, the tallest building (by far) in the world. Seen from miles away, like something out of a Star Wars planet, the Burj towers above the city and the plaza. We arrived just in time to see the Bellagio-esque water light show, as the tower itself illuminated with lighted patterns to the beat of the music. The plaza buzzed, with fine dining and flagship stores all around. We were truly in another world, not quite sure we belonged with our smelly shoes and 3-day old shirts.
With the glitz and glam of Dubai behind us, we made our way to the souks, where the storefronts were more muted, even if the merchandise was just as extravagant. The window displays of the tiny stores of the gold souks contained enormous pieces, with massive gemstones and necklaces that looked more like some sort of golden body armor, while the spice souks contained every exotic spice you can name. The smells ruminated down alleys to catch your nose, while the bright shining gold took care of the eyes. A bit more haggling and hard selling made us feel more at home as we came away with some new spices for the kitchen, but no gold body armor, unfortunately.
A quick boat ride across the creek on an old, traditional dhow felt miles and borders away from the lavish lightshow that was the city center. A walk through old town, where our restaurant of choice ended up being out of everything we wanted and the street-food vendors hawked whatever they could to the passers-by, made it feel like perhaps we’d found more of the real Dubai.
With our $1.25 dinner-bag of fried everything, we called it a day.