Dubai, a bit exaggerated

The largest city in the United Arab Emirates and the capital of the emirate of the same name. It is known for its expensive luxury hotels, mega skyscrapers, and architectural marvels, such as the artificially created hotel island Palm Jumeirah. Every year, new malls and hotels open here to attract more tourists with money (what else?). There is something for every budget, and the sky is the limit. Rumor has it that the oil is not flowing as well anymore, resulting in the ongoing tourism and luxury boom. Since I only had a 3-night stay here, I couldn't do much. On the first day, April 10, 2017, I arrived at Dubai International Airport at 19:10. After about 2 hours, I was at the hotel and went to bed.

On April 11, 2017, Tuesday, I took the driverless metro to Dubai Mall, one of the largest shopping malls in the world, with a retail area so large that I didn't get lost, but spent 1-2 hours trying to find the exit. Anyway, there is an abundance of food courts, clothing stores, jewelry shops, a water zoo where you can even dive with sharks, and an ice rink where occasional ice hockey events take place. You can spend a whole day here without getting bored, and if you do, you can simply go to the on-site cinema. Every half hour, starting at 6 PM, there are water shows by the Dubai Fountain, which last for about 6 minutes and are set to different music.

Since I'm already in the vicinity, I like to take a look at them before viewing the nighttime skyline of the super-emirate from the Burj Khalifa. I don't want to talk about the price you have to pay to look out from the currently tallest building in the world. But if you're in Dubai, you should do it. The price increases at sunset. Luckily, it was already dark, so I could save some money. I paid the entrance fee and was led through two security checkpoints, similar to those at the airport. A familiar procedure. Hat off, belt off, empty all pockets, where is the ticket that has already been checked twice? Oh yeah, in my left hand. Fortunately, calming tea was served in a lobby before all this nonsense. Doesn't work! There is a big fuss made about this attraction. We march in single file through the hallway equipped with queue barriers, which reminds me a little of airports or amusement parks. Then through a slowly rotating revolving door, through which only ONE person can pass at a time, before being allowed to wait for the elevator. This elevator is only allowed for 20 people, but we are 100. I won't say anything... Well, it's nice, the number of each floor is projected onto the elevator doors. So you can see when it's your turn.

It's time, the doors open, passengers get out and in. Here we go. The interior of the elevator is partly a huge screen that shows how high you are at the moment, based on silhouettes of other famous tall buildings. Eiffel Tower, Empire State Building, and so on. This ascent to the 125th floor takes 90 seconds or a minute and a half. The doors open and you can go to a lobby that leads to an observation deck for taking photos. Only the brave come here, and the braver ones can go to the gardener, to the 148th floor where they are greeted with small snacks and a refreshment drink. Of course, through a separate elevator, it goes without saying. Here, at a height of 555.7m, the chaff has been separated from the wheat because there is an open-air platform here. My opinion about the view: pretty cool! Everything is secured, you can't accidentally slip and fall out, the platform is equipped with large glass louvers through which a stronger or weaker wind blows depending on the weather. Time for taking photos. Here you can find all sorts of cameras, from simple mobile phone cameras to super-duper-high-end-mega-mass-destruction-system DSLR cameras, operated by appropriately equipped tourists. So, I took the photos, it was nice, had a good laugh, and went back to the hotel to sleep.

April 12, 2017
Today, I'm not doing much! After the exhausting day yesterday, I decided to test the hotel's pool. And it's on the roof, it's the only one. 12 o'clock, 38°C, and all three sun loungers are reserved with towels, let's call it that. One thing was clear to me immediately, Germans have invaded here. No problem, I carefully placed my towel in a suitable place and entered the 10m long, 3m wide, and 1.7m deep swimming pool. How many times do I have to swim back and forth to cover my 2000m? I don't care, I'm on vacation. I can also calm down the screaming kids at the edge of the pool because they don't scream underwater... As if the parents of the two Kevins and Schackelines had anticipated my plan, they brought the brats out of the depths of the hotel rooftop pool to eat. I took the opportunity to 'reserve' a sun lounger. The sun is already burning a bit... After a few minutes in the sun, I went back to the air-conditioned hotel room. Hungry! I went to the supermarket two blocks away to buy food. Cola, cheese, sausage, and bread. Oh right, they only have white bread here. Doesn't matter, I'm hungry! In the room, I looked at the groceries again and checked the expiration date of the bottle of cola. Nothing special happened.

April 13, 2017

Today, I have to check out, the flight is at 2:30 in the morning. I pack all my stuff and ask at the reception if I can leave it here until the evening. No problem, it will be taken care of and I receive a small coat check ticket with a number on it. Just don't lose it! What now? City tour with the expensive red buses! Said and done... It's not that expensive, they have 'all inclusive spring water' here, ole ole. There are three routes that go through the desert city, and just like everywhere else, you can hop on and off at the stops. So three hours pass with a lot of information about the former pearl diving city. We passed by the world's largest flag, the Burj Al Arab (this mysterious hotel that is supposed to look like a sail) with its famous helipad, from which Tiger Woods hit a golf ball and some Formula 1 driver burned his tires, allegedly there was bla bla bla. We also went to the artificial palm island (Palm Jumeirah), through some other district where the apartments are so expensive that when buying such a property, you get a Lamborghini including a parking space as a gift. The tour continued in this way, informative but somehow useless. Anyway, in the near future, there is a manned Mars mission planned on a certain anniversary of Dubai. That's just how they are, don't know what to do with their money. In the evening, I pick up my luggage from the hotel and head to the airport. Once I arrive, I take out my MP3 player from the small backpack, right? I mean from the big backpack, not? Haha, I forgot that one compartment in the small backpack, no, I didn't. Then it must be somewhere between the laundry in the big backpack. Also not. Did I search the bag with the electronic stuff properly? Now I did, but no MP3 player. How much time do I have left? Oh yeah, enough. After completely emptying and filling up both backpacks in the terminal, I put the big backpack on the conveyor belt for boarding/check-in, get my ticket, quickly check the time again. It's going well, 23:40, still plenty of time, and then I walk briskly to the metro station, asking when the next train to the city departs. I ride to the city. Arrived. What time is it? 0:15, perfect! Quick step to the hotel to ask if a Sony MP3 player was found in room 510 and if I can have it back. The housekeeping is no longer there, please call tomorrow. Alright, I will, fjdn! (This is not a typo, fjdn is the abbreviation for: auf jeden Fall) What time is it? My phone says 0:40, which means one hour and 50 minutes until boarding. So roughly 45 minutes to the terminal, a good 45 minutes for security check, that's a total of one and a half hours, so I can take my time... No kidding!

The timing was perfect until the terminal, but then I miscalculated by 15 minutes. Instead of the planned 45 minutes, I only needed 30. What am I going to do with all this time here at the gate? First, the duty-free shop! I heard alcohol is expensive down there. How much can I bring to Australia, 2 liters, great! So 2 bottles of gin. Lucky me, a sports bag is included for free with one bottle. Alright, still 20 minutes left, what to do? Oh, look, there's a Heineken bar and football on TV. Everything is fine... Ordered a beer, drank it, delicious. 10 more minutes and there's a long line at my gate, I can order one more. Also delicious. Now, to the gate. Show the ticket, where is it again, oh yes, in my wallet. Why isn't it moving? Are you kidding me? Security check! In the gate area, to pass the time a bit more? Well, of course, there's no other choice. This security check is manual, without devices, they pat you down and shine a light into your backpack, drug residue test on your clothes and hand luggage. Now everything is done, boarding, sit down, take off. Australia, here I come!