On our way to Africa we decided to have a week in Dubai to stay with Ryan's sister Erin. Not knowing much about Dubai or the United Arab Emrites, we were interested in what life was like for Erin who move to Dubai around the same time we started our trip.
Keen to learn about the culture we looked up the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding and looked into what sessions they had available while we (and mum and dad) were in Dubai. Fortunately they had a lunch which we happily booked into. Lunch started with everyone sitting down in a traditional dining area for the emirates with a large selection of food stretched out in front of us. We were then served local coffee (which was prepared using green bean and hence more like a tea) and a date before been offered the main meal. The traditional food consisted of chicken and fish biryani and a chicken and vegetable stew saloona followed by ligamat a desert which resembled a small donut ball. While maybe not the most inspiring meal of our trip it was enjoyable, and throughout the meal we were giving ongoing explanation into the Muslim and emirate culture and plenty of encouragement to ask questions. If you ever find yourself in Dubai, even just a short stop over, we highly recommend looking up the centre and booking in for a session.
After a quick tour through the gold and spice souks in the old town we then moved into the new part of town to see what Dubai is really famous for - SHOPPING. Straight to the mall of Dubai we were astounded at the sheer size and selection of shops, it was like all the best shops from all over the world had moved in - Victoria Secret, Bloomingdales (with a small magnolia's bakery cafe), the Cheesecake Factory, Hermes, Mui Mui, Chanel, Zara, Top Shop, Kate Spade, Coach just to name a few! Not only is there an amazing array of shops but the mall also has an impressive fountain and aquarium, in case you need a break. Understandably, we soon lost track of time and it quickly turned into night time without us noticing, which meant it was time to wander outside and watch the fountain display out the front of the Burj, one of the highest buildings in the world at 830m high.
One place we were keen to try out was the Cheesecake Factory where Penny works in the TV show The Big Bang Theory. While we didn't see Penny we did enjoy a delicious Pulled Pork Burger, a 'small' salad with chicken, avocado and onion rings and of course a snickers cheesecake. After all this I also came across Magnolia's bakery in Bloomingdales, so I thought a take home selection of a red velvet cupcake and a spiced pumpkin whoopie were in order!
Needless to say Dubai was absolutely nothing like Australia, but it made us feel the closest to home for a long time as we were able to get things that were hard to get in other places in the world, have some home cooked meals, shop in places more like what we have at home and laze around with family. We even manage to get some Vegemite - sent over by Sharon and Rodney.
- Louise -
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ReplyDeleteHurry up and come home already. I have reached the limits of managing my jealousy and each post is now shaving a year off my life in envy overload. I don't eat well or exercise much so I don' have many too spare.
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