There are obviously no direct flights between Detroit and Dhaka -- I actually don't think that there are any direct flights between the the U.S. (or North America, or well the Americas I am probably safe to say) and Dhaka. Our original travel schedule was an intense 30 hours total traveling time and 3 flights (a layover in NY and Dubai).
The flights to Dubai (by way of JFK) were pretty uneventful. The Detroit to NY flight ended up being an hour late because another plane accidentally parked in front of our gate.
The 11 hour flight from NY to Dubai on Emirates Airline was really nice. I had my own TV with tons of movies to choose from (I watched The Invention of Lying, which I highly recommend) and I was on an exit row and an aisle so had tons of leg room.
I ended up sitting next to a little Indian girl returning to India from a 4 week vacation in the US. Her parents were busy with their baby so the entire flight so I almost felt slightly like a babysitter. She asked me to help her with the TV, her tr (“make it play a kids movie”). She ended up watching The Little Mermaid three times in a row (and yes – I admit I watched it once as well).
We arrived in Dubai around 8pm (our flight to Dhaka was to leave at 2AM) and met Charlie's friend Kassem, and his cousin Abud. They picked us up and took us around the city, showing us the Dubai Tower, the Atlantis resort and dinner to Savage Garden a Colombian themed restaurant (not the Australian pop duo from the 90s) that had a salsa band. Kassem hadn't seen Charlie in about 5 years, so he offered to pay to extend our ticket for a day. Emirates Airline obliged, and so unexpectedly we now had a full day ahead of us in the city. We returned to the Columbia restaurant and spent the rest of the night drinking, which in my case was really stupid as I had been up for 24 hours and was dehydrated from flying. (So you can probably imagine how I was feeling the next morning...)
The next day we spent the day sightseeing, starting with Ski Dubai. Yes -- Dubai has indoor skiing inside a mall. Whenever I see commercials for absolutely terrible movies, like Hot Tub Time Machine, I always wish that I could have been a fly on the wall of the meeting where the movie was pitched. This is how I felt while watching people in ski gear going up ski lifts in a place where there is basically year round sun, and the the heat can get up past 120 degrees.
Dubai is a city of extreme extravagance and luxury, unlike anywhere else I have ever been. It's closest U.S. equivalent is Las Vegas minus the seediness (as in no sex and gambling) but that doesn't do it justice. It is more like if every Vegas casino on the Strip was like the Bellagio and the entire city of Vegas was like the strip. It was a great place to spend the day and I had a blast.
Some Highlights:
-dipping my toes in the warm water of the Persian Gulf
-Watching the Dancing Fountain (think the fountain in front of the Venetian but bigger of course) dance to Time To Say Goodbye
-Having a drink at Nobu in The Atlantis Resort (unbelievable luxury)
-Eating at KFC (much improved from the US, and no Double Down sandwich (Yes -- this one does seem to buck the trend, but I do love KFC)
It was great and very unexpected way to start my trip. Although going from one of the richest places in the world to one of the poorest in less than 6 hours was quite possibly the biggest culture shock of my life...
No comments:
Post a Comment