Arrival

So we (FINALLY) arrived in Dubai after an 8 hour flight from London. First off, can i Just say that British Airways sucks royal ass. We were cramped back in steerage (Coach class to make it more PC), and they came on the intercom right after takeoff and informed everyone that, while the in-flight entertainment system worked for those in first and business class, those of us unlucky blokes sitting in the back would not be able to utilize the in-flight entertainment system due to some glitch or equipment malfunction. I hope those people in business class and 1st class were comfy in their fully-reclinable seating while sipping their martinis and watching the latest episode of the British Office, because those of us in coach were not so comfy. Not to mention that the seats recline waaay to far back so I had Audrey's head resting in my lap the entire time. Brilliant space planning, BA...

But, alas, we got to Dubai safe and sound. We got our Toyota rental car and off we were to the hotel. Or so we thought. As it turns out, (or at least as it appears), the city of Dubai did not exist five years ago, because the ENTIRE city is under construction. Imagine building Manhattan concurrently with Las Vegas attractions and the congestion and street confusion of Los Angeles. But we got the scenic tour of Dubai which allowed us to find not only an ACE Hardware AND IKea, but we also found several Starbucks, a Chili's (my personal favorite - if only i can get a away for a moment to go get an Oldtimer...), TGI Fridays, and several other chain restaurants (coincidentally, most of these chains don't exist anywhere chic in LA so you have to go out of your way to find them. Like to Burbank. Bleh). So we get to the hotel. Its beautiful and enormous. There are (3) hotels that make up the Madinat Jumeirah resort: The Mina A' Salam (our hotel), Al Qasr (reeeeeeeally nice), and Dar al Maysaf (bungalow style living for the world's elite...). You can travel via boat throughout the complex. Like Venice(ish).

Got checked in and our rooms weren't ready yet so we had lunch, went to the Fitness center, and then after our rooms were ready, we discovered that, YES, my room looks over the Arabian Gulf and the Burj al Arab. The Burj is about 2 football fields away from my balcony. Jealous??? :-)

View from my hotel room...


The drive from airport to the hotel.