Dubai - The Grandest Oasis

Dubai: the playground of billionaires, royalty and me (for a day)! Thank you to my dear friend Laura and her family for hosting me while I was in Dubai. Laura and I worked together on my cornerstone project while in the Peace Corps. She was a key player at UNESCO, who funded the project, so, she is one of my favorite people on Earth.

Laura drove all the way out to Abu Dhabi to pick me up after I did my sightseeing there. In Dubai, she spent a whole day making sure I got to make the best of my few hours.

We went to the Burj Khalifa, the tallest man-made structure in the world, standing at 829.8m (2,722 feet). The structure is super impressive and it’s front yard features a fountain with a dancing water show which just puts the Bellagio in Vegas to shame. Check out the 2015 NYE celebration at the Burj Khalifa.

We also took a drive to the outer rim of the Palm Islands, which is home to the Atlantis Hotel. Near to there is the Burj Al Arab, the sail-shaped hotel on the beach. Finally, I got to ski in the desert at Ski Dubai! This day fulfilled many bucket-list items!

I didn’t get so many photos, despite all the amazing structures. The sun seemed to always be in the wrong place so many of the photos were washed out. Also, everything in Dubai is about being the grandest, biggest, best thing ever, and every structure’s competition is the structure right next to it. The result is that being in Dubai is a bit overwhelming and you start to get a sense that what you see simply can not be captured on a camera. Therefor, I just enjoyed the moment and my time with Laura. Here are a few shots that came out though.