UAE – Dutcher-Dash

Sunday, May 26

Sweet sleep, a non spicy nibble at breakfast, and a long rest resulted in the best I had felt on the trip. My goal was to have one day that I was well.

The conference hotel was Conrad (Hilton) and very fancy. Walking on the sidewalk in the UAE 111 degree heat, I loved the blast of sweet, cold air every 30 meters from the doors of restaurants and hotels that we passed. I ordered chicken soup thinking it would be the next step in my eating but it was a cream based soup, not clear. My tummy was rumbly in the afternoon but at dinner, as soon as I took one bite, I could feel damage to my stomach. Not a fun night.

Monday, May 27

I had pre-purchased Birj Khalifa tickets months ago so I managed the nausea and Ubered to the tallest building in the world. After being deposited at the “entrance,” I wandered the Dubai mall to find the actual entrance to the ascension point, passing every luxury brand store in existence e.g. Balenciaga, Gucci, Prada.

Because I was early and had tickets to the very top, I was shown into the sky lounge which has atmospheric music, pumped-in scent, and free nibbles & drinks of which I couldn’t eat 🙁

The handsome host collected the 8 of us in this VIP lounge and escorted us to the elevators while reciting the history and facts of the building in a posh English accent. The elevator ride to the 148th floor went quickly, having to change elevators at floor 124.

The views were amazing and well above the smog line. The outside deck temperature became unbearable so I wandered inside to a service of snacks and drinks. The usual drink one ordered here is cappuccino because they add an image of the Birj Khalifa in the foam. I sadly could not have the coffee but enjoyed the view.

After an hour on floor 148, I joined the masses on floor 125 for 30 minutes and 124 for another 30 minutes. I knew I had to get out of there on my own energy so I didn’t want to push my limits. The route out included going down the elevator, through the mall, around the dancing fountain, and through the souk to find a taxi. I passed out for 2.5 hours in the hotel.

Tuesday, May 28

Let’s try eating again. I finally had a day when my digestive tract wasn’t in pain. Taking the train, we tried to go to the museum but found it closed upon our arrival so we wandered the souks and DH2 purchased an outfit for me. We rode in river taxis and took the train back to the hotel after which DH2 returned to his conference.

I had been reviewing tourist options and tried to order a “The View at The Palms” ticket only to find that neither of my credit cards would go through. I called the bank but they said it wasn’t their issue so I had the hotel make the reservation for me. I had one hour before the entry for my time slot closed so I walked out to get a taxi. The fucking valet put me in a private car which I didn’t realize until we were on the way. He didn’t know the correct entrance and by the time I got to the entrance, I literally had 2 minutes to spare. Grrrrrrr.

I think I got the wrong level of ticket because I didn’t get to see the whole palm island visual in one view. The platform is constructed in a way that you can see 1/8 on the palm at one time. It was of course bloody hot and no one was willing to engage with me to take my pic. The Ferris wheel attraction was hard to photograph because of the smoggy air. There was a hot air balloon that randomly rose and lowered in the distance. I did enjoy the hotel shaped like a sail, which had rooms starting at $3k. I could have stayed later but because I knew it would be a long way out and home, I did not stay for sunset.

Wednesday, May 29

Did absolutely nothing in the morning. For lunch, we took the train to the Dubai Mall where the walk from the train to the mall was completely indoors aided by a moving walkway. We ambled around the fountain but then returned home to get out of the heat.

For dinner, we met with the conference host and his family, at a restaurant we learned about in an episode of “Somebody Feed Phil.” My stomach was still unhappy so I ate rice. We returned to the Birj Khalifa to watch the dancing fountain show.