We woke up on the opposite side of the clock from the United States, which meant virtually all the polls (or poles if you’re the president) were closed, so we avoided most of the tension and buildup. Nevertheless, everyone we see seems to ask us about the election, so we can never fully escape.
Yesterday I had purchased a groupon to the Dubai aquarium and underwater zoo, as they call it. Like most things in this city, it is one of the biggest in the world. It begins with a massive tank that you walk through via tunnel. They don’t just do one shark of a certain species and a couple fish of another species, Dubai likes to have an entire shiver of sharks, and whole schools of fish.
While the big tank was impressive, we discovered that the exhibits continued two floors up inside the Dubai mall (which as you remember is also the biggest mall in the world).
We really got our money’s worth out of it. Apparently our tickets also included something called penguin cove, which gave us a sort of “behind-the-scenes” look at penguins swimming back-and-forth like they were crazed. After all, they’re just as nervous about this election as we are. They couldn’t stop pacing back and forth, though eventually a few launched themselves up onto the ice, only to slip back into the water when they lost their footing.
We also got to see a fish hospital where the aquarium rehabilitates sick fish and such. Then we got to see a feeding, which got us a bit wet from all the splashing.
There were numerous other exhibits that had everything from bats to hedgehogs to weird looking turtles. They spared no expense.
After our visit to the aquarium, we hopped on the metro to the Mall of the Emirates. Yes, it’s another mall, but this city really takes its malls seriously. When it does a mall, it DOES a mall. The Mall of the Emirates is quite a bit smaller than Dubai Mall. It only boasts something shy of 700 shops, so it obviously has a more intimate feel. Inside is Ski Dubai, an indoor ski slope. Shockingly, it’s not the largest indoor ski park, but it is still much larger than you might be picturing.
We were issued socks and gloves that we could keep along with a packaged set of snow pants and jacket. Nicole is shown here with her own gloves and hat, which are standard packing items for trips to Dubai. She did the ski package, whereas I did a cheaper “snow park” pass which allowed me to spectate and participate in some other snow-themed activities. I basically had the indoor snow park equivalent of “Basic” economy written all over me. My wristband gave me very limited access, but the nice folks working there kept opening gates and things for me to slip through so I could see Nicole better.
They let me ride the chairlift with her — even though it wasn’t part of my package. Also, Nicole hadn’t skied in about 25 years (give or take), but Dubai seemed like a fine place to hone one’s winter sports skills.
The slope itself was much larger than I thought it was based on my initial vantage point from down below. The slope you see curving to the left in the above photo actually continues for 1.5 km and descends the equivalent of a 25 story building. As for the indoor temperature, it felt very much like winter. In fact, it brought back feelings I have not had in more than a decade. My breath was visible, my fingers numb, my toes frozen in the cheap socks I was issued, and snot dripping into my mask. And as far as masks go, this city is by far the most compliant with mask usage. And we are talking 100%, no matter what activity you are doing. 100% masks all the time. It’s something Americans would never be capable of doing without incessant complaining about their “constitutional rights.” Everything is sanitized and hand sanitizer is everywhere along with temperature checks. And that whole thing people like to do with their nose hanging out of their mask? Virtually non-existent here. So again, when someone asks, “What else could America have done?” A lot, and it wouldn’t have taken much.
After Nicole returned her skis, poles, and boots, we continued other adventures such as a bobsled run that was surprisingly violent, an inner-tube run that was surprisingly violent, and we watched other people get into giant inflatable balls and roll down a hill so violently that we decided not to partake.
After a solid few hours freezing at Ski Dubai, we left the Mall of the Emirates and headed to the Taj Dubai hotel, which is close to our own apartment. Our decision for this visit to the Taj is based on Nicole’s research that there was a rooftop bar. With bars come rumors and murmurings of adult beverages. And shortly after Trump called for a halt to counting votes and declared himself victor, we needed a good drink.
Unfortunately the beer selection was somewhat limited to some bizarre stuff like this Desperados beer that’s evidently made in France and flavored with Tequila. It’s either as good or as bad as it sounds. It also cost somewhere in the vicinity of $10, so an expensive cheap beer at that. It was clear that the UAE is not a place to find a new local microbrew, but we were appreciative to find something. After our drinks, we popped a frozen pizza in our now functioning oven, and relaxed for the rest of the night. And America, please don’t do anything stupid while we sleep. Thanks.
passports & pepto bismol 