Wild Weekend--Dubai, UAE

We cashed in some frequent flyer miles and went to Dubai last weekend. Dubai is the "Las Vegas" of the Middle East. It is only about a 45 minute flight from Doha. It felt like being in Doha...if we went through a time warp 10 years into the future. It is just a lot more developed and "Western."

We had a GREAT time. We stayed at a hotel connected to The Mall of the Emirates. It is one of the largest malls in the world. It also has an indoor ski resort. We had to check it out. As soon as we got settled we hit the slopes. We got a two hour pass--which was plenty--the "resort" has two runs. It was pretty crazy skiing indoors, but a lot of fun.

Our friends, Rich and Amy Bangerter, have lived there the last two years. We had dinner with them and then went to the Gold Souq. It was good to see them.


The next day we slept in, had breakfast and did some shopping. Jon surprised me by making reservations at a seafood restaurant at the Burj Al Arab hotel. You have probably seen pictures of it before--it is shaped like a sail boat. It is suppose to be one of the nicest hotels in the world. We thought about splurging and staying there for one night....until we found that it was at least $1500 a night!!! Lunch there was splurge enough for us. It was incredible. The restaurant had a huge aquarium in the center.

We spent another hour just walking around the hotel and watching the water fountains. It was nice to pretend we lived this life for a little while.

After a long day of shopping, Jon finally found something to get excited about...

We had a really great time in Dubai. We are so grateful for all our blessings and all the opportunities we have had.