So here is how the trip unfolded:
We were thrilled to learn that Emirates Airlines was coming to Seattle so we held off on the trip a month so we could take the March 1st inauguaral flight from Seattle direct to Dubai. We were also excited because some of our good friends parents (Dale and Susan) were also planning a trip to Dubai and we told them how fun it would be if they were on our flight. Well, they ended up booking it so that was great! What's crazy is that by the end of our vacation we had ended up literally traveling around the world. We went east to Dubai from Seattle and continued east back to Seattle on the return. When you combine a fifteen hour outbound flight with a twelve hour time difference it can make for some terrible jet lag but thankfully we were upgraded to business class and when we arrived to the airport to find a full flight with only four seats on the whole plane empty, we were even more excited about the upgrade. Emirates has now joined Singapore for us as a favorite airline but it's hard to dislike any airline that offers beds on such a long flight... Oh, and new favorite airport...definitely Dubai at least if you are flying into the Emirates terminal. AMAZING!
A few weeks before the trip our friends from NYC, the Butler's, had asked us about upcoming trips we were taking. For quite some time we've talked about vacationing together but we just hadn't been able to pull something together...until now. They were able to grab a flight out on the same day we did and hang out with us in Dubai for those four days. Unfortunately they weren't able to continue on to the Maldives as they had left behind four kids and a couple nannies but the days we had with them were a blast. They were happy to just tag along and deal with my obsessive planning and thankfully Bill took on the job as driver and navigator which was a good thing since he did a fantastic job at it!
The highlights included:
We spent our first morning heading out to the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi. It's about an hour and a half outside of Dubai and pretty much desert the whole drive...until you come upon this magnificent spectacle. The ladies aren't allowed to enter the inside of the mosque without the coverup so thankfully they have them freely available before you enter. We were all amazed at the reverence and spirit that could be seen and felt as you walked through this amazing place. It was absolutely beautiful.
Before we made it to the mosque, we got a bit distracted by a much more worldly place...Ferrari Land! It's the UAE's answer to Disneyland...We just popped in to check it out and decided we must come back with the kids sometime soon!
Next it was on to the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world where we had a reservation at At.Mosphere. This is a bar/restaurant located on the floor below the observation deck. Nothing like enjoying some drinks this high in the sky. I had made reservations for just before sunset but unfortunately I didn't realize that Dubai get's dust in their weather report and that dust can prevent one from seeing a beautiful sunset. Regardless we had a fantastic time. Thankfully not even dust could prevent a spectacular view of the fountains going off some 160+ stories below us...
The next day we decided we'd test out going to church in Dubai, an LDS church that is. Unfortunately Jack and I aren't very good about attending church when on vacation but Bill and Anne had made the suggestion and it was a good one, at least until we arrived to find out that Friday is the sabbath day in Dubai not Sunday. Whoops! We figured most of the members in the area were probably expats. We were looking forward to hearing about how life is living in Dubai. Well, maybe next time! As you can see the building doesn't look like a typical western LDS church but was very cool.
After that we were off to the souks. Souks are another name for 'arab markets'. They have gold souks, spice souks, fabric souks, etc. The souks are located in old Dubai which quickly became one of our favorite areas. The creek runs through this area so we decided to take a dhow (small boat) across the creek to the other side where there are more souks and shopping. It was really quaint and at scheduled times you'd hear on speakers around the area the prayer call.
After exploring the souks it was off to High Tea at Burj Al Arab. This is supposed to be the only 7 star hotel in the world and judging from the experience we had there I could see why. First of all you can't even get through the front gates unless you have a reservation either at the hotel or at one of the restaurants or spa. I had pre booked this before we left on the trip and asked Susan and Dale if they'd like to join Bill and Anne and us which they did. It was great to spend such a beautiful day on top of an another amazing work of architecture enjoying the views of the world islands and the Dubai skyline. Definitely a must do and so glad we did it! If you look closely in the background of the photo of Jack and I at high tea you can barely make out the 'world islands' in the background. I also loved that the rack they brought out all the scones and treats on was in the shape of the Burj. Super fun times!!!
I was surprised by how beautiful the water and beaches are in Dubai. I guess Atlantis wouldn't just pick anywhere to put a resort...
There were two malls we explored while in Dubai, the Mall of the Emirates which you would assume was the largest in the world if for one reason it has a ski slope in it where people ski. Yes, ski and it even has a black diamond run so we're not talking just a magic red carpet for kids... But not even an indoor ski slope was grand enough to ensure you the title of world's largest mall. No that title went to the Dubai Mall. Being that we didn't have unlimited time on our hands or a lot of extra luggage space we didn't spend a whole lot of time at either but we were shocked to realize that these were only two malls out of approx. 20 in Dubai!!! Both were very impressive and super clean! As we walked around though we wondered how many were locals and how many were tourists being that both malls were packed full of people and the majority seemed to have cameras on them. We were also shocked by how many Ferraris, Bentleys, Lamborghinis, Maseratis, and Range Rovers there were driving around the streets of Dubai. Never did you see some Honda or Chevy driving down the road. It was crazy. At the mall, the valet would be packed with all these fancy cars. And none of them were old models. They were the newest and greatest!!!
One of the highlights of our trip to Dubai was our Desert Safari. We had pre booked this with Dale and Susan and were so glad we had. The trip would have been a whole different experience had we not been doing it with them. It started off with a 45 minute drive out to the desert. I couldn't even begin to tell you where in the desert we were but it was desert. Upon arriving at the destination, it was a bit unorganized but us and a bunch of other tourists just laughed about it. The safari began with us all piling into a bunch of Toyota Landcruisers for some dunebashing. This was so much fun! They have roll bars built into the inside of the cars because apparently rolling your cruiser is something that does happen. They flatten the tires a bit and away you go. It's like a rollercoaster on sand. Our driver was fantastic and thankfully we arrived at the main event in one piece.
At the main location there were camel rides, sand surfing, henna tattoos, dinner, and a night show. The night ended with us all piling back into the Landcruisers for some more dune bashing and returning us to our bus where we were driven back to Dubai. The funniest part was never during the whole excursion did anyone welcome us, explain how the day would unfold, direct us on what to do, etc. I think every aspect of the safari was subcontracted out so the drivers were clueless about the food and the food servers were clueless about the night entertainment, etc. It was complete disarray but everyone still seemed to have a great time.
When trying to figure out where to stay in Dubai I was torn. We love Atlantis and to be out on the Palm sounded cool but people did complain that it was a bit out of the way when traveling to all the hot spots. According to all the reviews I had read about various hotels, the Grosvenor House came up #1. It was located in the harbor area of Dubai which is the newest part of Dubai and was a great part of town. The hotel was absolutely beautiful and we had a corner room with fantastic views out to the Palm and of the harbor area. We would have loved to spend just a couple more days exploring the beaches and harbor area more and perhaps spend a bit more time in Abu Dhabi but we stayed long enough to remind us that we'd love to someday return with the kids. Here are just a few final photos of some of the cool buildings and scenes of Dubai, some taken from the balcony of our hotel room looking towards the Palm Islands and Atlantis. one taken from the Palm, and others taken down at the base of our hotel around the harbor.
So while out and about we'd see people in the outdoor dining area of restaurants all smoking from these bong like things. I approached some guys that were smoking from them while we were out one day and they said they were called hookahs and used to smoke flavored tobacco. It's not like you show up to a coffee shot with your own but rather you'll find a big stash of them off to the side of the coffee shop. When it came time for Jack and I to decide on some trinket to bring back from the trip (a tradition we started years ago), we narrowed it down to some herbs and spices or a hookah. Well you can guess what we returned home with...but it does fit in well with some of our other trip tokens!
I had to take a photo of this!!! A GOLD atm. Seriously, I wonder how often someone walks up and takes out some gold from the atm!?! Crazy but cool in some kind of funny way!
Next it was on to the Maldives!!! We had a morning flight that went direct from Dubai to Male and took about 4 1/2 hours. We had had our City fun and were now looking forward to some relaxing beach time and boy did we find what we were looking for...
The Male airport is located on an island separate from the main town of Male which is on another island. Apparently there has been a lot of unrest and tension between the people of Male and the Maldivian government. We knew this before arriving but had been assured we would never see any unrest because upon arrival at the Male international airport, you are quickly taken to the sea plane terminal where we jumped on another 1/2 hour seaplane ride to Mirihi, our first resort. The Maldives is made up of over 400 islands with only half or so of those islands inhabited. The amazing thing is that each resort is it's own island which also means that getting to and from a resort requires a seaplane or speed boat transfer. Since we were traveling so far, much like Bora Bora, I didn't want to mess up the hotel so went with the top two hotels in the South Ari Atoll which is the area known for the best snorkeling and diving. They were located just a half hour apart by speed boat which was nice and allowed us to experience a smaller sized resort and a larger sized one. Both had fantastic house reefs and wonderful accommodations. We were amazed that everyone we talked with had traveled half as far as us yet were staying in the Maldlives for an average of two weeks and rarely would you find someone that have switched resorts midway through. Most were europeans however all spoke English and the preferred currency was the US dollar which was amazing to me considering less that 2% of the total tourist population that travels to the Maldives is from the US.
Our first stop was Mirihi. Mirihi is a small resort with only 36 total villas. They made us feel right at home. Bastian was the guest services manager and daily he would check on us to make sure everything was going well. We loved the food at this resort. Each night the chef would come out and visit with the guests offering up his recommendations and favorite dishes. It's a mystery to me how these resorts function so perfectly. They only get one food delivery a week and how they predict the amount of food guests will eat and what items they'll choose is beyond me but everything ran smoothly and we decided by the end of our stay here that we definitely would return. After just a few nights we found ourselves sad to leave the wonderful staff that had made our visit so nice.
One of the excursions we had planned before our arrival was a whale shark excursion. I knew whale shark season was almost behind us but for a pretty penny the resort offered a day trip out and the hope was that they'd find some (the boats all radio to each other) and we'd get to snorkel with one or two. As it turned out they weren't having much luck finding any but near the end of our day word had gotten out that one had been spotted. All the boats rush to the area and of course I was the first one off our boat with all my gear on and camera ready to go. Even with my quickness, I caught the back of the whale shark as he was fleeing through the water. There was no hope for Jack who was stuck behind a couple that spent two minutes too long trying to get all their gear organized while standing at the exit. There were just five of us on the excursion plus the three man crew. I did get some video footage of the whale shark and after snapped this photo which is hard to see him in but was still pretty cool!
Poor Jack trying to take control of his motion sickness while on the excursion!
Next stop: Lily Beach! After a half hour long speed boat transfer from Mirihi, we arrived at Lily! It was clear from the moment we pulled up that we had picked another great place to stay. After checking in they take you on a tour of the grounds via golf cart and take you out to your bungalow. I remember when we were booking our bungalows in Bora Bora I had been reminded to request one that was closer to the entrance of the pontoon rather than at the end. The end ones are very private but because they are at the end, it is a long walk to get to them. Well, when booking the Maldives I had neglected to make that request but Instead I had focused on requesting a bungalow with the quickest access to the reef and lots of sun. Well be careful what you ask for because as we sat on the golf cart passing each bungalow and getting farther down the pontoon, I kept thinking back to the advice I had received in Bora Bora. We ended up being in the last bungalow before you get to the sunset suite bungalows which meant for a long walk but indeed we had all day sun and great access to the reef. The walk ended up being fine and Jack even hijacked a workers bike a couple times and we were able to call for a golf cart whenever we liked. The bungalow was amazing. I knew beforehand it would be but the photos never do them justice.
After getting settled we quickly got in the water to snorkel and once again were amazed by the underwater world that exists in the Maldives. Absolutely unbelievable. What made it different from other places we've been were how many schools of fish we swam with and the variety of fish there. The coral formations and colors were beautiful too. We definitely could see why both resorts were named as having the best house reefs in the Maldives.
Each morning after breakfast we'd take out either a canoe or the catamaran style paddle boat and circle the island. Then we'd hit the main pool for it's fabulous views and yummy food before heading back to our bungalow for some snorkeling and relaxing/reading on our deck. It was pure relaxation.
We found the food at this resort to not be as good as MIrihi but when you go from a boutique resort to much larger resort, I'd have to imagine food is the first thing to be compromised. It's not that it was bad but it definitely catered to european and asian taste more than american. We did love our night at Tamarind, which is their specialty Indian and Asian restaurant that had amazing food.
Included with our stay at Lily we went on a snorkeling trip which we determined the snorkeling back at the resort was actually better but I had heard this would be the case. We also did a sunset fishing trip which was a blast. We headed out with about 7-8 other couples around sunset. We each were given some fishing twine and bait. Fishing in the Maldives is certainly no deep sea fishing... Well, within a few minutes Jack felt a tug and sure enough he landed the first fish of the group! To my amazement I caught the second one a few minutes later but unfortunately the fish I caught had to be released back into the water because they said it wasn't edible. Then I got a second bite but when I pulled it up out of the water it consisted of the head of a fish only. Clearly something bigger got to it before I got to this fish. By the end of the trip over half the group had caught something and it was always exciting to see what would get pulled out of the water.
Some of many, many, photos we took...
When you take close to 700 photos on a trip it's really hard to narrow them down...as you can see! But this post gives you a small sampling of some of the fun times we had. The part of the trip we least looked forward to was the travel home. Everything had been direct up until this point but on our return we knew we'd have to make a stop in Sri Lanka which I wasn't too thrilled with. When we arrived in Sri Lanka we decided that with an 8 hour layover we'd best purchase club lounge access until someone alerted us we could actually stay in the onsite hotel that was just up one floor. Sure enough we went up and they rent you a simple room in 6 hour incraments. We had to laugh but it worked. In actuality we probably only got three hours of sleep but it was far better than hanging out in upright chairs for those eight hours...
So here are some of the final shots from the trip home! (I loved that our pilots both coming and going never wore shoes!)
One of the most picturesque parts of the trip was the seaplane ride to and from Male. Here are just a couple shots from above. This first photo is of Lily Beach from the plane and the second one is of another resort we passed over:
A truly deserted island:
The city of Male:
The airport:
Nothing beats going on vacation with the exception of coming home to three fabulous kids and this...
I could not close this post without thanking my awesome parents for always being so willing and happy to come watch the kids while we take off and travel to fun places. Most of the time we take the kids but every year to year and a half Jack and I make certain to get away with just the two of us. This is only possible because of my mom and dad! We love you and the kids loved having you!!! Thanks for filling in for us!
