First Impressions...

As we all know, first impressions are everything – and Dubai certainly knows how to make an impression.
I was extremely busy in my first few days in Dubai so here is a basic breakdown of what I have been up to and what I think so far...

·    Thursday lunch with my new work team at the hotel I am staying at (Holiday Inn Safa Park) – while I was really jetlagged, it was great to meet everyone.

·    I needed to get phone credit & a data plan so I headed off to the Mall of the Emirates with Tom, a new recruit from the UK. This mall was rather impressive with a large indoor ski hill inside, amongst other things.

·    Thursday night my consultant Jason took me out for dinner and drinks at the Marinet complex – hotels, stores and restaurants. Jason has been with PIC since Sept 2010, from the UK, 38 yrs old, married with two teenage boys, very nice – easy to get along with.

·    Seeing as the weekend in the UAE is Friday and Saturday, Friday was a free day to explore.  Later in the afternoon, Tom and I went to a market area called Karama, where there is a large selection of genuine fakes and bargaining for good prices. For those that know about my shopping escapades in China, discovering that this existed here in Dubai was a major bonus – perhaps I wouldn’t have brought 3 large suitcases with me haha.

·    Afterwards, we headed to the Dubai Mall – the worlds largest shopping mall; there are so many stores, restaurants, services and areas in this place, it is incredible!!! There is a large aquarium – with the largest acrylic glass panel, a huge skating rink, a Sega theme park, cinemas, and so much more. Surprisingly, there are plenty of stores and restaurants from back home such as Costa Blanca.

·    We were supposed to go to a birthday party, but the birthday girl had a little too much fun in the afternoon/evening & needed to rest, so instead a few people got together at a bar called Cabana’s on The Palm – the island shaped in palm tree. From there we went to a popular Western club, and then continued on to a Ministry of Sound club called Sanctuary inside The Atlantis. Fun filled night.

·    Saturday while I was rather hung over & jetlagged – tricky combination there, I still managed to go explore in the afternoon to see the Burj Khalifa – the tallest building in the world, and the surrounding areas. I must say that from a distance it isn’t so impressive, but up close it is pretty neat – in the daytime and at night – but I have yet to go to the top.  

·    The Armani hotel is inside the Burj Khalifa – where everything is designed by Giorgio Armani. Apparently, if you like the furniture and other things in the room, they can be purchased.

·    Saturday night I just prepped for my first day of training on Sunday ! Nice and relaxed evening, although I was so excited to start work that I did not sleep...yikes.

What do I think so far !?!?!?
** I think I very much like what I have seen up until now !!! **

While everyone in Ottawa is freezing, I am enjoying beautiful weather with a warm sun and slight breeze – about 25 degrees during the day. It is rather humid here – that was a bit surprising since I was expecting a dry heat. The dry heat will come in the summer where it is apparently unbearable to be outside. I was also surprised to see so much sand in the city – I did understand that the city was built on the desert, but it was still surprising. There are palm trees everywhere, beautiful flowers, grassy areas, parks, and beaches ! Sadly, I have not been to the beach during the daytime yet - plenty of time though :)

I see Dubai as a great combination of my favourite Asian cities, with some North American flare, and obviously, a Middle Eastern twist. English is spoken everywhere so it is easy to communicate with people – signs are also in English. In terms of food, you can get just about anything and everything here – including pork. Alcohol is not available everywhere and is more expensive; it can be found in certain restaurants & hotels. And, there is certainly money in Dubai!!!  

I was worried that Dubai would be too restrictive – but with so many Westerners here, it is rather open minded. Of course, we must be mindful of the culture here, but it isn’t as strict as I had expected.  There is call to prayer 5 times a day, but to be honest, I have only heard it a few times since being here...

Unfortunately, the Internet is expensive in my hotel room so images will follow in another post. I have started my work training so I will try to post in the next few days about that :)  

xox <3 xox