The original plan was to sleep in, wake up to a lazy breakfast and go for a swim before getting dressed up to the nines (according to the dress code) to have high tea at the Burj Al Arab (the iconic Dubai building that looks like a sail). Unfortunately my inability to find a suitable pair of shoes in Turkey had killed that dream. We had managed to procure a pair of pants, a shirt and a pair of dress shoes for TC in Turkey. I had brought the dress and accessories with me from home so all I needed was the shoes. The shoes, my kingdom (or room at The Palace) for some shoes.
As we wandered outside the air-conditioned confines of the hotel into the hot Dubai sun, I was concerned I would be dripping with sweat and completely over shopping by the time we made it to the nearby mall. The planners had thought of that. Between us and the mall was an indoor souk (although it wasn’t really a traditional souk rather what we would usually call and arcade with small stores selling souvenirs and conveniences – a bit like the arcades that take you from street to train stations. But nicer. Much, much nicer.
Concerned that we wouldn’t leave ourselves enough time if we had breakfast at the hotel (or enough room for the splendid afternoon tea we were expecting), we decided to grab some breakfast in the food court at the mall. The closest thing I found was a McDonalds breakfast burger. Curiously, it tasted like chicken and wasn’t exactly the most impressive meal of the trip. It did, however, steel me for the task at hand. The mall was huge so there was no way I was going to have time to even scout the shoe shops first. I took a storm and conquer approach, hitting the shoes shops one by one as I came across them until I found a pair of suitable shoes. There they were in Nine West (about the third or fourth store I entered, a pair of smoky blue leather and suede Mary Jane wedges – a perfect match for the dress I had brought. Mission completed, we vowed to return to the mall on day two. (Baby’s out on Bail – The Amazing Crowns – formerly known as the Amazing Royal Crowns, this tune is a bit blues, a bit hardcore and a whole lot of rockabilly – just the right mix to dance your ass off – perhaps even in my new blue suded shoes?)
After a suitable amount of primping and preening, we caught a taxi to the Burj al Arab. The building is spectacular as you approach it. The sail stands out on the horizon and the blue stripes on its façade are just the right amount of Arabian flourish without being kitsch. The same cannot be said for the interior. I expected a modern iconic building like this to have a simple modern interior but it was a showy kaleidoscopic collection of colour, pattern and copious amounts of gold that seemed completely incongruous with the building’s exterior.
The High tea we had booked was in the Sky Lounge right at the top of the Burj Al Arab. A night club after dark and a destination for decadent high tea during the day. The sky bar is surrounded by windows with a view out over Dubai and the coastline that’s home to the man made palm island. There is only one problem – the sea mist and desert sands made it difficult to see very far. It was still a spectacular view and you could make out the palm just up the coastline.
We sat in the middle of the room but the floor to ceiling glass meant there was loads of light flooding in and a view out across the ocean (or at least of the sea mist). Comfortable chairs to relax in with our finery and it wasn’t too long before the champagne was poured and we were served a delicious plate of berries and cream to accompany it. Then there was the tea – an incredibly extensive selection – it ran to about five pages. I love a good Earl Grey with afternoon tea so that’s what I chose. TC, who is not a fan of tea, chose a hazelnut iced coffee instead. TC had been concerned that we perhaps should have had lunch in case afternoon tea was a tasty but small portioned affair. He needn’t have worried.
The berries were followed by a slice of beef wellington with a horseradish sauce. Next up , on a tiered platter shaped like the Burj Al Arab were a selection of traditional tea sandwiches – smoked salmon, tuna salad, egg and chives, cucumber; some mini gourmet sandwich rolls – roast beef with caramelized onion and béarnaise, meat loaf with pickle and chicken salad, crème brulee carrot cake, fruit cake, two shortbread; and peteit fours – a tart with orange flavor and crème, chocolate with cream encased in chocolate, a blueberry cream tart with white chocolate, and spiced pineapple on top of a tart. And just in case we were still hungry there was a selection of freshly baked fruit and plain scones served with clotted cream, blueberry jam, lemon jam and strawberry jam flavoured cream. Finally there were chocolates that we couldn’t fit in. The whole selection was scrumptious and while I had my favourites – the roast beef roll and the spiced pineapple tart – that was based on my own tastes rather than the (high) quality of the fare presented to us.
After consuming at least two pots of tea during the afternoon, a restroom stop became an absolute necessity. And as you’d expect with high tea in a five star restaurant in one of the service industry capitals of the world, the very posh toilets included attendants to hand you fluffy towels to dry your hands. A very different experience to the squat toilets in Turkey, where the toilet paper goes in a bin next to the toilet because of the poor plumbing.
When we went to pay the bill, I was presented with a red rose – all part of the service – but a nice surprise nonetheless. When we arrived at the ground floor, the concierge arranged a limousine to for us. The limousine driver stopped at the security gate to allow us to take some pics of the hotel, including snapping one of TC and I in front of the Burj. He also offered us a tour of city but we decided to decline the offer, opting instead to head back to our hotel for a relaxing dip in the pool. The limousine trip cost about twice that of the regular taxis but was a lot more comfy and had much better air-conditioning.
While it was quite long, the elaborately tiled pool was also fairly shallow so much more suited to a resort vibe than exercise. The Bedouin tent experience from the previous evening had given way to more of a beach cabana vibe, with plenty of attendants to lay out the towels on the pool bed for you. There was a group of Emiratis in the tent next to us, just shooting the breeze. It was incredibly hot so a dip in the pool was just the ticket before heading back to our beautifully appointed room to quite literally chill out. While we were out our laundry had been delivered in much better condition than the rest of our clothes that were forcefully shoved into our backpacks so the zipper would clothes. In contrast the laundry delivery came with our neatly pressed t-shirts on hangers and our folded underwear wrapped in brown paper and tied with a bow like a surprise present. (Asking for it – Hole – one of the best songs about rape or abuse ever written and part of one of the best put together albums of all time – Live Through This.)
After a bit of a rest, we decided to head out to the Indian quarter, where many of the guest workers lived, shopped and ate to see the other side of Dubai. We caught a taxi down to the area where the garment district was supposed to be and we just got the driver to drop us in a random spot and started exploring. We wandered past rows of gold souks, and eventually found what I was looking for – the garment district. Disappointingly, the fabric stores were mostly attached to tailors so it was really about choosing a fabric to have something made rather than seeking out gorgeous fabrics. And a lot of the fabrics were for the Indian guest workers with lots of lolly coloured lace and bright patterns – not really my purview.
We kept wandering with the idea of perhaps finding somewhere to eat although neither of us were really that hungry thanks to our extravagant high tea. We did pass by a sign for the local version of McDonalds which had a variety of vegetarian options advertised including an ice cream cone (1AED), a vege pizza mcpuff (2AED) and a vege supreme burger (3AED). We decided to head towards the river where we hoped to find some riverside restaurants. Alas we were on the wrong side for that. What we found were lots and lots of boats promises river cruises but not a soul to be seen.
As we wandered we got hotter and hotter and by now we were dripping with sweat. We walked for what seemed like miles along the river bank as the signs of life became less and less. Eventually we decided to head away from the riverfront, walking through some historic buildings that looked as though they would be teeming with people but this evening they were deserted as were the roads. Eventually came across taxi and managed to flag it down. By now we were exhausted from the heat and decided the best course of action was to head straight back to the air conditioned comfort of our luxurious hotel room.
After a suitable rest time, we decided to have dinner in the hotel’s Thai restaurant. This was an upmarket experience with wine matching and white table cloths with a view of the Las Vegas style fountain between the hotel, Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall. There was of course a regular fountain display replete with appropriate music and lights. The restaurant was on a pontoon that jutted out into the fountain. The meal lived up to the grandeur of the surroundings and afterwards we enjoyed the later version of the fountain show from the patio outside the room. Then it was time to snuggle up in one of the most comfy beds I have slept in and enjoy the last night of luxury.
We decided a bit of a sleep in was in order followed by breakfast on the deck of our hotel (with sunglasses, coffee and plenty of water). Then it was time for a leisurely stroll to the mall to grab a USB for the wedding videos and to check out the sandcastle building comp in the square outside the hotel. The first one was a sandcastle of the Burj al Arab, the Dubai landmark that keeps featuring in my life. There are a number of odd places that seem to have a repeating presence in my life – Goulburn, Germany and the Burj Al Arab (needless to say I appreciate the second two more than the first). We discovered a produce. Market in the town square and wandered through marvelling at all the different deli items on sale. Dan was beside himself when he found a cart selling sugar coated cashews.
