I left Singapore at 9:15pm on Malaysia Airlines. Stopped in KL and arrived in Dubai at 3am Sunday morning. It's amazing how I don't think twice about traveling anymore! Though, I must say, it was a shock when I found out the flight I was getting on was also flying to Beirut. It was crazy to think I was headed to Beirut, and that's when I fully realized I was flying to the Middle East!
I stayed with the Olson's, who I know through a good friend from college. I've had the pleasure of visiting the Olson's on three different continents now: I spent a week with them at the beach in Florida, where they lived for a year or two; I also spent some time with them in London when I was staying there for the summer. Now I have a pleasure of staying with these citizens of the world, yet again, in the U.A.E.
Because I arrived in the middle of the night, the Olson's instructed me to pick up a "package" at the front desk of their apartment complex. Hidden in a copy of the Economist, was a key to their flat. I let myself in and found my way to the study (thanks to arrow maps Mrs. Olson left for me on the floor). I was in a dream state when I heard Mike calling my name in the morning.
On Day 1, the Olson's took me to the famous Mall of the Emirates (if you recall from an earlier blog post, I had the fortune of a 7 hour layover in Dubai, and I hopped in a cab, did a whirlwind tour of the city in a cab at night, and spent some time wandering around the Emirates Mall, to check out the indoor ski slope. Well, I didn't have the heart to tell Mrs. Olson I'd already seen Ski Dubai, and feigned amusement instead). Mrs. Olson also showed us the theater and arts complex that's attached to the mall, where we saw a photography exhibit called Dubai 1962 (by a Japanese photographer, Y. Kawashima). These photos depicted a very different Dubai than the one you see today.
That night we met some other expat families (Oil Tycoons and the like), and had coffee with them at a Starbucks located at another Housing Complex (JBR). Sadly, this is what you do in Dubai. Go to expat hangouts and people watch with a coffee outside housing developments. Later, the Olson's took me to see the beach, drove out to The Palm, and drove by the impressive Atlantis Hotel (this is the hotel with a shark in the lobby).
Dubai Day 2
I woke up to a pretty lazy morning, where we lounged around and read by the pool. After lunch, we headed to the Dubai Creek (aka "Old Dubai"). Here is where you start feeling like you're in the Middle East. Mike and I took lots of pictures (hence what you see on the blog!) We walked around and went to the souks (the marketplace. think of the character in the opening of Aladdin, but not as obnoxious!) We saw all the spices and teas, and one vendor even explained what each of the spices were and the teas were good for, etc. I tried a chocolate covered date (dates are big in the M.E.). Mike was shopping around for sunglasses, so we got led to a couple of shops tucked away, mostly in second or third story shops in surreptitious alleys; all offering the latest in designer hand bags!
We then went to the gold souks, which Dubai is known for. The Olson's kept telling me how pure gold is yellow gold, but Westerner's are more used to a silver gold, so the yellow gold looks fake to a Western eye. Because of this, a lot of the souks started selling both types of gold.
We took a water taxi (see pictures of the boats that carry about 30 men) across the creek and saw the Fabric souks. We ate dinner along the creek (yummy hummus!) And we got ready for the big event of the evening: the Moscow Hotel.
Yes, the Olson's took me to a Russian Nightclub. Awesome. And there is nothing Mr. Olson could have said that would have prepared me for this place! The Nightclub was called the Bolshoy, and it was the favorite hangout of Mr. Olson's best friend and business associate. It was this man who invited us along for the night. The Bolshoy has an all-you-can-eat Russian buffet on Monday nights, so we took full advantage! The servers are all dressed like Russian officers in the days of Anna Karinina. There was one maitre 'd like server who stood out, because he wore a black-velvet cape over his uniform, and he had this smarmy expression on his face the whole time. When we arrived, there was a sax player (and keyboardist) playing cheesy covers, mostly elevator jazz. Eventually, two Russian singers joined in the mix.
Our host put Mikey and me at the end of the table (the side extending out onto the dance floor). I wasn't quite prepared for what this meant. I sat next to a man named Tinker--another "associate" who trained fighters in various Middle Eastern locations (i.e. Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, etc) His wife, who was also there, is Russian. She explained the food to us. And we ate a lot of unidentifiable food at that.
As we're enjoying our food, disco lights come swirling around. Cue Atlantic City type music and enter giant women dressed in clown suits with giant peacock feather hats! It was then that I realized that I should have drank more before this show!
pre-recorded music. The second dance was a wedding motif; just one man and woman, ballroom style. Others were "the cleaners," set to 1950s music. The tall Russian man came out with a mop, and the chick came out with a dish rag and wash basin--lots of movement filled with sexual innuendos. A favorite of mine was the WWII Women Officer motif. But my all time favorite was the Umbrella dance (no, not Rhianna). It was well choreographed, but the tight leather outfits were a bit disturbing...
The dancing was decent, but not altogether polished. I much more enjoyed watching the clientele. Lots of pairs of men came in to be eroticised by the women. (Though none of this seemed very erotic compared to our Western standards.) It was fun watching the face of this one man who sat at the very edge of the stage. He clearly thought he was hot stuff, and was fully absorbed in the entertainment, as he made eyes at every woman who came his way. Some scantily clad women confidently strutted into the room like they owned the place, headed to meet their rich benefactors, no doubt. There was even an Emirate man who was there, met by a Western-dressed woman.
So there you have it! The Moscow Hotel! A trip to Russia and back...in the United Arab Emirates.
(For Day 3, check out the Abu Dhabi posting!)
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