What We Did > What We Did (7)
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Roaming the Mall
This is actually what we spent most of our time in Dubai doing, since there really is not much else to do there. So, we mall hopped throughout our stay from City Center Mall, to Emirates Mall (largest in the middle east) to Wafi Mall. I must say they all started to look alike, but at least we were beating the heat.
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Ski Dubai
Well, we never got around to skiing this indoor ski slope, but we did have lunch at the cafe and watch other's come down this amazing attraction.
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Desert Safari
Absolute classic excursion not to be missed. From four wheeling it over sand dunes, to watching the sunset over the wasteland, to a camel ride, an Arabic dinner and some hookah smoking, to ending with a belly dancing performance, this was a real blast and a great way to get a taste of the desert and culture.
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Walking around the Park Hyatt
The only reason I consider this something we did, was because the amount of time it took us to get from one place to the next in that hotel really was an excursion. We also walked along the Dubai Creek to dinner one night from the hotel, which was very nice.
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Hookah Bars
It's hard not to smoke the hookah in Dubai since it's such a common part of the culture. We enjoyed a coupoe evenings puffing on this water pipe.
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Jumeriah Beach Flop
Okay, we schlepped all the way over to Jumeriah Beach so we could see and walk around the area. BUT, they inform us once we get there after our 30 minute taxi ride that it will cost $40 per person just to get into the area and see it-- lets just say we $%#%ed that, snapped our picture in front of the Burj Al Arab, and were out of there.
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People Watching
Now I know this is implicit to every place we go in the world, but being in Dubai was a different level of people watching. Only 30% of the population are native to the UAE, which means 2/3's are from everywhere else in the world -- it was insane seeing soooooo many different people. Also, I was constantly in awe of the clash of the modern world with traditional Arabic culture -- still can't get over seeing men in traditional gard, hanging out at McDonalds and smoking cigarettes.
