Dubai - United Arab Emirates

The idea of visiting Dubai is something that has been in my thought for many years. I can’t quite describe why nor is there a reason why Dubai and the UAE has crossed my mind several times in the past. From friends and family, I have received the hint of “I think Dubai could be a place for you, why don't you move there?” on a multiple occasion. I tend to prefer destinations that have a rich culture, old history and where you can mingle with locals. Dubai in particular is quite far from my general preferences. Dubai only discovered oil in 1966, which resulted in the city becoming more vibrant and business-centered. Before that the entire area was mostly desert, while today there are skyscrapers (1344 of them to be exact) as far as your eyes can see. The UAE barely have any locals left, in comparison to other nationalities. While UAE has a population of approximately 9,6 million, only 11% are local UAE citizen, while people with Indian nationality is dominating at 27%. Isn’t that crazy? More interesting facts are that Dubai residents are a youthful bunch, as 58% is aged 25 to 44, and 70% are male and only 30% women. The high proportion might be due to males who have left their home countries and family behind to pursue a career in Dubai.

With this said, I’m sitting at a cold 7 hour flight from Amsterdam to Dubai. I have several reasons to be excited about this trip. Not is it only my 41^st country, my first time in Dubai, but I will be meeting up with friends that I have not met in 5,5 years. Diana I met recently, as she lives in Germany. Abdallah and Mahmoud have both been living in North Africa and as Mahmoud has recently relocated to Dubai, we all had an idea to visit him and meet up all together. All four of us used to study in Seoul, South Korea together and we spent several days a week together. Now we finally all managed to make the time to come together. We will spend a week in Dubai and probably visit Abu Dhabi during this week. 

As I arrived I was welcomed by Mahmoud and Abdallah and together we took a taxi to the hotel. Our first evening was spent by just walking around and dinner of course. Diana arrived late in the evening. On our first day we walked around our area Jumeirah Beach, before getting picked up at the hotel. We spent the entire afternoon and evening in the desert watching performances, having dinner and just spending time together after 5,5 years. The evening was finished at the Dubai Mall watching the fountain shows and at the rooftop bar at Four Points by Sheraton.