United Arab Emirates

December/January 2013/14: For our New Years long weekend, we decided to finally see what Dubai was all about. Previously Canadians needed a special visa to go there, due to a dispute with Canadian airports and Emirates planes. But they had just settled something about 6 months earlier, and now we can get a visa on arrival. 

May 2016: It was our last couple of months in the Middle East, and we still hadn't seen Abu Dhabi. So we took a weekend with friends to visit another part of the Emirates. We found it much more relaxed here compared to Dubai, and did a lot more activities that didn't involve giant malls.

Dubai

We had to work on New Year's Eve, so we flew out that night. A short flight, but you can imagine the number of people trying to leave Kuwait that night. We got to our hotel just before midnight, and after a rushed check in we went up to the rooftop (I think midnight hit while we were exiting the elevator), where there were drinks and a little party up there with a screen showing the World Record number of fireworks (Dubai wanted to beat out Kuwait...the previous record holder, which we were able to see the year before). Our hotel was attached to a mall, as well as a tram line, which was super convenient. We spent one day on the Hop On, Hop Off bus, which had two lines. One was the beach route, which was beautiful, and also took you to the Atlantis hotel and the Burj Al Arab hotel, which were insanely busy so we did not get off the bus. The other route had some interesting stops, including a gold souq and some more malls. We spent a lot of time at Dubai mall on another day, which is absolutely MASSIVE. I had previously broken my ankle, and just had my cast removed on Christmas Day, so my foot looked like a balloon by the end of the day. We did so much walking. But it's honestly pretty incredible to see. Outside the mall are fountains that have a water show every 20 mins (very Vegas-like), and you can get a good view of the Burj Khalifa. We did not go up it, because Trevor doesn't like heights, and honestly, you're looking down at a flat desert. We see enough of that every day. We just didn't think it was worth the money and the wait time at that point. Maybe if we go back again we'd do it.

dubai info

• There is a dress code for malls (no shorts, or short dresses/skirts, and no sleeveless shirts)
• Alcohol is only served at hotels

abu dhabi

This was a great weekend. We arrived during the day, and since it was a holiday, a lot of restaurants and shops were closed. We stayed at the Ramada downtown, which was a decent hotel. If you want to stay at a nice hotel with bars and nightclubs, then go to Yaz Island. It was a little difficult finding somewhere to grab some food and drinks (we arrived on a holiday, so many places along the water were closed). But we managed, and met up with a friend we knew from Kuwait, and now lived in Abu Dhabi. That night we visited the Grand Mosque, which is pretty breathtaking. They were very strict though (no couple photos), but we spent a lot of time admiring the beautiful mosque. The next day we went on a desert excursion tour. It was pretty cool. We got picked up in a 4x4 jeep, and driven right on the sand. After stopping to let some air out of the tires, we then spent a good 30-45 mins going up and down sand dunes. It was pretty wild, and there were some pretty steep dunes! But if you tend to get carsick (like I do), I'd recommend sitting in the front seat. After riding the sand dunes, we stopped at a camp for a buffet dinner and entertainment. It was a great day. Our last day there, we woke up early and went kayaking through mangroves, which was so peaceful, and lots of fun. Then our friends headed to Dubai, and we went to one of the famous brunches of Abu Dhabi. Everyone we know who's gone to UAE has gone to a buffet. They are held at some big name hotels, and there's a set price for whatever type you choose (champagne, or beer and spirits). We chose the champagne (obvs), and had endless amounts of champagne. When one bottle was finished, they'd immediately bring another. We were there for probably 3-4 hours just drinking and eating. Oh, and the food is AMAZING. Everything you can imagine, and it was all so delicious. As I'm sure you can guess, we passed out right when we got back to the hotel. That evening we managed to crawl out of bed and meet some friends at another hotel for some drinks.