TRAVEL BLOG December 2nd, 2021 - DUBAI

 

12/2/21- Quick history lesson. Dubai was formed as a fisherman’s village in the 1800s but rapidly started developing after oil was found in the region in the 1960s. Since then it has become one of the most sought after travel destinations in the world.

Fast forward to today and we can clearly see how many people flock to this city as they're everywhere, and there's no rhyme or reason to how they walk or stand. It’s like everyone knows you can’t stay out of others way so why try. People cut you off only to walk slowly in front of you hand-in-hand with the ones they're with, or they dart at you when coming from the opposite direction.

We wake up around 11am as we went to bed late and needed the sleep. After settling our plans for the next few days we decide to hit up the Mall of Emirates and a place called Dubai Ski. We buy the tickets online (which was a chore because they didn’t accept either of my Capital One credit cards and had to use my backup) and head for the elevator. This is where the day starts out crazy as we wait ten minutes for one to show up and barely squeeze in when it does.

Then, the elevator proceeds to stop on every other floor (keep in mind we were on the 29^th floor to start), and with a full load already nobody else can get on, so we are greeted with disgusting looks every time. Finally, we reach the bottom thankful that we didn’t leave anything back in our room that we had to go back for.

We first look for food as we haven’t eaten at all yet, but our GPS acts up and brings us to the wrong area. Deciding to go straight to the mall, we try to use our phone to call an UBER only to find that neither of us has service (even though the Roaming has bars and we switched our service over to GSM). Literally stuck, we ask a taxi driver to take us to the mall and he points to the Metro and saying, “Take that”. Um, okay. Guess he didn’t want to drive that way.

The metro was easy enough as we purchase our tickets and find what direction to go on the Red Line. It was only two stops away for a few dollars so worked out. At the mall, we walk around what seems like a hike to find the food court and are excited to see Charley’s subs. I’ve never been to a place where it’s so confusing to find anything even though they have signs written in English. It’s like you have to hunt around to find a hidden sign somewhere, and with our phones not working we were at their mercy.

With our bellies full, we ask a lady at a nearby counter to point us in the direction of Dubai Ski, and are there within about ten minutes. Luckily I was able to get a few minutes of free Wi-Fi in the food court so I could pull up my email with the ticket info on them, otherwise we probably would’ve been stuck.

Dubai Ski is an indoor ski resort built inside the mall. That’s right, a ski resort built in the desert. We left New York in the winter to come to Dubai to find snow. How’s that for ironic. The temperature is extremely cold, with actual snow throughout the entire place, which is why they provide all of the equipment and clothing we’d need (jacket, pants, shoes, gloves and even socks). We dress up warmly and once we walk into the large hanger-like room, we realize just how cold it actually is. Brrrrr!

At first we weren’t blown away as the kiddy rides were up front, but around the corner we see what we were looking for, the ski-lift. This is a five plus minute ride that takes us to the top of the slopes, unfortunately we weren’t there to ski but for the other rides. We stay on until it drops us back at the bottom thankful we were able to get the grand overview of the place.

We then stand in line to get a two-person tube to slide down the snow bank in. The ride was short but very fun, enough for us to do that a few times. Then we ride the giant ball that rolls down the bank with you inside. It starts off having to jump head first into the blown-up, padded ball before it’s released downhill. It was a good one.

With our bodies frozen, we step out into the main lobby area to warm up for about ten minutes before heading back in. This time we take the ski lift up to the mid-level section and find a tube ride that slides down hill while flying around curves. At one point I thought the thing was going to flip over, but somehow it manages to stay on track.

The last ride was the zip-line and was very fun to do. I was initially told I couldn’t hold onto my camera, so I tuck it into my jacket, but as soon as it releases I take it out and start filming. Sharece went after me and I was able to catch her coming down the zip-line the entire way. What an awesome way to end this adventure.

With our bodies completely numb, we take off our gear and head into the mall to look for a selfie-stick for my GoPro camera. The one I brought to Dubai Ski broke when I had it tucked in my pocket. Luckily, I didn’t have to use it there but I will surely need it tomorrow. The store we find only had one for around $40 US, but it comes with accessories that seem useful enough.

Tired from the day out, we look for our return Metro ticket but neither of us can find them, which is very strange. We talk with an attendant and end up buying a card with multiple rides on them for cheap, so it worked out regardless. Two stops later, we’re back at our hotel. I called Sprint to find out about our service and they have no answers, so this ordeal looks like it’ll last for several more days.