Dubai 2k24 🇦🇪☀️

Hello - and welcome back! 🫶🏻

As you can see from the title - yes, I was in Dubai. ☺️🌆 But before I tell you about this crazy trip and everything I experienced, I'll briefly summarize what I did before my vacation, i.e. the rest of the semester break. Then I'll also briefly report on my university results from last semester and then get ready for an exciting travel report. 😅

I'm really sorry that there wasn't a blog post last month, but I was really busy with my exams and then I had to prepare for my trip. 🥲 There's a lot to plan. Especially when you're traveling alone. Well, every single blog post takes time and I want to write them properly. 😉

But now we're really getting started. I actually started February by recovering from my exams. Well, it wasn't that bad, but I told you about the one course where I had to get 50% right to pass. I definitely passed the course (Media Reception and Media Effects Research)! 🎉 The exam in digital journalism also went well. I think a 2.0 is okay if more than half of the course didn't pass. 😅🫣 I was also very surprised because my gut feeling was only half good. I guess your gut feeling isn't always right... To keep it a little shorter: I also passed all my other courses this semester and am looking forward to the 4th semester. Pinch me, time just runs so fast. I've only just started, haven't I? 🫢

What courses can I expect now? There's the cross-media course, where we'll be creating various articles again. But this time only on one topic. For example, there will be a podcast, an Instagram reel, a documentary, a newspaper report etc. on one topic and not on different topics. Then we have media ethics, media law, and of course, my focus on culture & lifestyle. Quite manageable, I would say. 😄 In the next blog entry, I can write a bit more detail about what we have to hand in. But I won't know until the next few weeks. University starts again tomorrow. I'm also doing an elective at 🙌🏻 We'll see which one I decide on. There's interview training or podcasting, where I can continue my podcast from last semester. 🎙️🎧

My hunting report was actually supposed to be broadcast on university radio in February. However, something current was pushed in between. That's why I don't yet know when it will be broadcast. I'll let you know in good time. I'm still waiting for feedback from my professor. ⏳

Then I always find time to cook, bake, meet up with friends, or go on vacation during the semester break. For example, we went hiking with a few women from the community at Schwarzachklamm. That's near Nuremberg. A bit of forest is good for you. 🌳

So, let's get started with my solo travelogue. Do you still have energy? If not, grab a quick coffee or tea and snuggle up on your sofa, and something to hold on to would be good because what I experienced is unbelievable. 😳

As you may know, I go traveling alone from time to time. Why? I just think that when you travel alone, you experience things that you wouldn't otherwise experience than if you were traveling with someone or in a group. Some people might think I'm crazy to travel alone because it might not always be safe or fun to travel alone. 🤷🏼‍♀️ My answer to that is that I can only do it because I know that there is a God up there who sees me and takes care of me. With this trust, I can go anywhere - even alone. The trust that he will get me there safe and sound and bring me back safe and sound. 🙏🏻

On my solo trips, I always experience how God works and how much he holds his protective hand over me. 🫳🏻 When you travel alone, sooner or later you will experience that not everything is in your hands and things happen that may make you despair at first. But God prepares everything and sends dear people by your side who can help you. You're probably thinking: 'Hey Salome, what are you talking about right now? I thought everything was fine and dandy... at least that's how it looked.' Yes, it was for the most part, but I also had a few problems that I had to deal with. I wouldn't share something like that on Instagram, but it's different here. My blog should inspire, be honest, reflect everyday life, and give free rein to my thoughts. Everything I write here comes straight from my head to the keys. 💭👩🏼‍💻 Not a perfect compilation of cool events, but pure life. I'm grateful for you readers and that you keep coming back to share in my life. 💝

So let's get started... Why did I choose Dubai? Good question... I just looked on Google Flights to see when and where the cheapest flights are and Dubai was one of them. 😂 I booked the flight quite late. It wasn't actually clear until mid-January that I would fly. Very spontaneous... I often stay in hostels because they are cheap and you can meet other solo travelers there.

I then set off on February 28th. As usual, I always fly from Munich. It started off well straight away. As I have a monthly train ticket that allows me to use any of the trains in the near surroundings, I didn't want to book an additional train, so I only took the local train. But one of the trains I had to take from Nuremberg to Munich was canceled. 😕 So there I was, early in the morning at Nuremberg station, asking a conductor what I should do now, because booking a ticket for a special train (ICE), which was of course really overpriced beforehand, wasn't something I could see. 😅 I tried to explain to the conductor that I could actually get to Munich Airport at no extra cost, but the train I wanted to take was canceled. Then the conductor looked at me and said: 'Get on and have a nice journey - it's on me.' 😉 How nice I thought... The first experience where God took care of me. I almost spent 60-70 euros more. When the checker came in, of course, my heart started pounding. 🫀 Thoughts popped into my head like: Did the conductor let the ticket inspector know? 🤔 What if he asks? 😧 What do I say then? 🗯️ I got a free ticket? 🎟️ I didn't have anything firm in my hand. But all these thoughts quickly disappeared when the ticket inspector looked at me, smiled, and walked past me. I immediately thought about what Jesus does for us so that we can go to heaven. Let's imagine that the train is heaven, the conductor is Jesus, and the ticket inspector is God. Just as the conductor has given me a free ticket, Jesus has forgiven our sins and ransomed us and given us the ticket to heaven. He has already paid for us. All we have to do is accept his gift. This picture really fascinated me. 😯

Then the next hurdle at the airport. My flight was delayed by 3 hours. Great, I thought... I arrived in Dubai sometime in the middle of the night. I waited at the airport until 5 am and then took the metro to the center. 🚉 I couldn't check into the hostel until 2 pm. So I decided to go to the beach and watch the sunrise. 🌅 It wasn't easy to find public access to the beach. When a woman explained the way to me, I was sure I would find my way to the beach when a young man approached me from the side and asked if I needed help. Did I look that lost? Apparently so. 🤣 I explained to him that I had just arrived and was on my way to the beach. 🏖️ He came with me, and we had a drink in the Starbucks cafe. I thought it was nice to be in company until I had to go to the hostel. What I haven't mentioned yet is that I was super tired. Not sleeping for one night is really exhausting, but I love sleep! 😍 I was already really exhausted. 🥱

When we made our way to the hostel, the next nasty surprise awaited me. 😟 It turned out that the hostel did exist, but it was empty and totally trashed. It was a scam. I just thought, wow Salome... what have you booked there? 😅 I no longer had the strength to get upset, panic, or even burst into tears. Inside me, I had the certainty that God would get me out of there too. So there I was, dog-tired and without a place to stay, with no idea what to do next. It turned out that the hostel still existed a few weeks before my arrival and had to close briefly because the rent was no longer being paid. 💶 When I looked at the man and asked what we should do now, he just said in a calm voice: 'Don't worry, I already have an idea.' 💡 I just thought: 'Cool, I'll be interested to see.' He led me into the building next door to an apartment shared by lots of women. It was like a hostel for women or a shared flat. I was allowed to stay there free of charge for most of my vacation. Wow! Praise the Lord! 😇🙏🏻 I didn't have to worry about anything. Everything was already prepared. How likely is it to meet a guy at half past five in the morning who just rents out apartments? 🤪 Okay, I'll be honest, it wasn't anything extreme, but it's enough to get by on a shoestring. I shared a room with two girls my age who were guest workers in Dubai. During my time there, we also did a few things together. 🤗

You're probably thinking, how did you stay in the hostel for the most part and then where were you? I had to leave the hostel about halfway through because the third guest worker came back. But I already had a plan B. 👍🏻 When I go on vacation somewhere, I usually visit a church there. On the first Sunday, I went to Emirates Baptist Church and told my crazy story there. A Filipino couple had offered me a place to stay with them. 🏠 So then I moved for the last 6 days. Once again, God guided me to meet the right people at the right time. 🕞

I'm not going to go into everything I saw/visited so that this blog entry doesn't get too long, even if it is exciting. 😉 You can see from the pictures what I experienced and the places I went to. I prepared myself well, of course. I had done some research beforehand (which is what journalists do 😜) and wrote down what I wanted to do each day and how I would get to each place, as well as which tours I wanted to do and when. Of course, some things have to be postponed to other days because sometimes something comes up. That's why I always book tours on site first and then shortly beforehand. 🙃

Here is a brief summary of what I did if you are also planning to fly to Dubai. ✈️ My plans included Dubai Marina Walk, Blue Water Islands, The Beach JBR, Souk Madinat, Burj al Arab, Burj Khalifa, Dubai Mall, Sky Views Observatory, Dubai Fountain, Emirates Baptist Church, Dubai Frame, Al Fahidi, Atlantis, Miracle Garden, Desert Safari, Wildlife Sanctuary - Ras Al Khor, Hidden Cafe, Half desert Road, Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Zayed Mosque, Global Village, Riverland, Museum of the future, Kite Beach and Hatta Dam. I did the desert safari, for example, with the two girls from the hostel and the young man who helped me. Ras Al Khor, Al Fahidi, Dubai Frame, Hidden Cafe, and Half desert Road with a woman from the community. I did Global Village with two girls from the same community. That's what I love about solo travel. Getting to know other cultures and other people and being connected with Christians everywhere! 💒

One day we had high water in the city 🌊 so unfortunately, I couldn't do much because public transport wasn't running. Only the metro was running. 🚉

What was the best? I can't even say! 😆 Everything I experienced was great! Even the things that didn't go so well because that's where I notice the presence of God in my life! 😇 Am I now deterred from going on more solo trips? Not at all, I've been encouraged to go on more solo journeys because if I think about it carefully, I'm not alone at all. I prefer to call it solo travel with God. 🧳🙏🏻 Without this certainty, I wouldn't be ready to set off, but with God, I trust myself to do anything, no matter how far or uncertain it seems! Every solo trip brings its own story with it, and I'm already looking forward to my next trip. I don't yet know where it will take me, but I'm sure it will come very soon. 🤗

I hope I can give you a little encouragement to try out solo travel and trust God. He will not let you fall! 🤲🏻

That was a really exciting time for me. 🫢 I've been back since last Thursday. My return flight was also delayed. This time it was a whole 5 1/2 hours. 😰 Friends, it can get even worse. We were actually supposed to take off at 2:45 am. However, our plane left the airport in Dubai at 8:15 am. Once again, I spent the whole night at the airport without sleeping. 🫠 So my sleep rhythm has to find itself again.

If you've made it this far, then you've got some real stamina. 😌

Thank you for your visit and until the next blog entry. 🙋🏼‍♀️☺️