Happy Election Day, everyone. But let’s not talk about that. When we arrived at Dubai airport, there were numerous signs and TVs telling everyone that it was mandatory to download a particular app that would notify them when their covid test results were in. Nicole was never actually able to link it to any sort of account, and mine never refreshed to indicate anything other than “in progress.” Fortunately, we thought this was odd and went directly to the website of the company that did the test instead. There we discovered that we did indeed have results for our tenth covid test, and they were negative. If we waited for the app, we would have spent our entire time in Dubai in our room eating pizzas and devouring a giant toblerone.
With our new found freedom, we exited our dwelling for the first time, and ventured to the other side where we spied the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building.
It’s difficult to convey with photos just how big it actually looks. It absolutely towers over everything around it. One look at it, and there’s no doubt that it’s the tallest building in the world.
Nearby was the Dubai Mall and air conditioning. Nicole lost a pair of sunglasses somewhere between Ngorongoro Crater and Istanbul, so we got her a new pair. It’s easy to get lost in the mall, especially since it’s considered the biggest in the world. There are some 1200 stores according to the internet, so it must be true. I was going to try and also get a cheap SIM card just to get an Emirati mobile number to schedule a rapid covid test, but then we discovered that the next available appointment wasn’t until the end of November. Sigh.
During a brief respite back at our place, I did some more research on covid tests. It’s really kind of a mess because I’ve tried to schedule something over the phone, and they tell me I can only schedule through the app (which doesn’t work). There are some clinics that would allow walk-ins, but nothing super convenient. We ended up taking an Uber to the Al Fahidi historic district. There was a place there that was listed online as taking walk-ins 24 hours a day, but when we got there, they stated it had just shut down at 5pm. We missed it by about five minutes. This test is just not meant to happen.
Since we had come all that way, we decided to check out this so-called historic district. In both of our minds, we were expecting something on par with the Grand Bazaar or spice market we had seen in Istanbul. In reality, it was something far different. Most of the buildings we saw were not authentically historic, but made to look historic — something like an Aladdin-themed land at Disney.
While there were some authentic buildings, they housed museums that were now closed. Many of the other buildings housed stores that sold things like rugs or lamps with an extra air of authenticity added via an aggressively pushy salesperson. It eventually morphed into another mall of sorts. This city really does like its shopping.
As it got darker, we caught an Uber back toward the area of the Burj Khalifa and the Dubai Mall. After 6pm, they do a light and fountain show every thirty minutes. It is a Bellagio-esque display set to music that also has some sparkly lights and displays that illuminate on the Burj itself.
After working many different angles to try and get a rapid covid test to go to Abu Dhabi, we are beginning to think they just don’t want us. Between the issues with apps, scheduling problems, and turnover time dilemmas, it’s now virtually impossible to include Abu Dhabi as part of our trip. It’s a situation that makes me want to drink, but this is just not possible. Alcohol is virtually nonexistent here. And despite Dubai having a reputation as the playground for the rich, I have yet to see any adult beverages anywhere. The closest I’ve seen thus far was a mocktail mojito made with straight up juice for the same price as a real cocktail. I do recall a music video where rapper Flo Rida is partying on a yacht in Dubai, but now I suspect he and his crew were just pounding juice in all the scenes. It’s like he got table service at the club, and then ordered everyone bottles of the finest juice. As many know, I too enjoy a nice glass of Florida’s Natural, but if the results of this election drag on or get ugly, I may need something a bit stronger.
passports & pepto bismol 