BYE, BYE 2015 ... HELLO, 2016

Once again, it is time to look back on 2015 :

Seattle
Daytona Beach/Boynton Beach
Spain (Madrid/San Sebastian/Barcelona)

Italy (Milan)

Croatia (Split/Zadar/Dubrovnik)

Montenegro

London
Big Bear Lake
Paso Robles

New York City

Dubai/Abu Dhabi

and look forward to 2016:

Rancho Mirage

New York City 

Laguna Niguel

South Africa (Capetown/Kruger/Sabi Sand/Johannesburg)

Zimbabwe

Mauritius

Cleveland

And an island somewhere (Turks & Caicos??) in November we hope ...

May all your travels be memorable for the right reasons ... thank you for taking this journey with me!

UAE Visit - Part 2 (aka Can You Top This?)

After spending the first four of our "Arabian" nights in Dubai (see previous post), it was time to make the approximately 75-minute drive to neighboring Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates.  It is a straight shot on on a wide and modern highway from one emirate to the next; one needs to pay attention to even know a different state has been entered.

Clearly there is no question that Dubai is dwarfed in size to Abu Dhabi; the former definitely has the greater population, development, tourism and pretty much everything else.  But there is neither the extensive coastline nor two huge attractions that one finds in Abu Dhabi:  Ferrari World (the largest indoor amusement park in the world),The Grand Mosque (the largest and most revered in the UAE), and Yas Marina, site of the Formula 1 race which was our raison d'etre for the trip to begin with. 

Yas Island:  F1 track; Marina; Ferrari World in rear (red roof).

As is typical with attending any huge event, hotels can dictate unique terms: premium rates, full prepayment with no refunds or steep cancellations, etc. After much research, the Ritz Carlton Grand Canal (pool at right) got the nod to avoid all of the above, plus be situated halfway between the race site and the more central "downtown" area of AD.

The stay got off to an inauspicious start with a lengthy delay for our accommodations, and then rejecting the room due to location (doesn't Club level mean actually being close to the Club for meals and snacks included with the rate?).  After the hubby got the hotel GM involved, they could not have been more accommodating (the first night gratis and the spa treatment were much appreciated) and the subsequent digs were excellent.  

At Cipriani on Yas Island; the hubby hung with the boys until 3a.m. to see rapper 50 Cent perform in the private club upstairs

At Stars & Bars with friendly Saif

We were privy to what life is really like in AD courtesy of Matt Haffner, son of longtime friends from home, who has been living and working in AD for several years.  I asked Matt for his job description, to which he indicated he functions as a go-between for foreign companies wanting to do business in AD (principally of a defense nature). Matt works for one of the leading families in the country (a son and Matt are college buddies).  For a young man in his 20's to have this opportunity -- including travel to many other parts of the globe -- is impressive.  He will eventually return to So. Cal, as he considers that "home" and doesn't foresee that changing.  I know his parents are happy about that! Matt was integral in our decision to visit as we knew there would be unique access. I felt a bit like the proverbial den mother during dinner at Hakkasan, the highly acclaimed Asian restaurant in the Emirates Palace Hotel (right) where most visiting dignataries stay -- John Kerry had been there the day prior.  Matt's friend and colleague hosted 10 of us, including two of his brothers and various friends from college, NY (literally just off the plane) and Dubai.  I freely admit it was fun taking a short spin in the brother's new car -- just hours in his possession -- a Rolls Royce Wraith (another is seen at right). This beast of a car cornered like a sports car and went just as fast -- we asked Igor the Ukrainian driver/bodyguard to slow down a bit. The car's ceiling was lit up with stars plus there is an umbrella hidden in the door in case of rain. We were told that few are impressed by these types of vehicles because so many are present. We were fortunate to have a driver and (regular) car provided to us for seeing AD.  Our first stop was the Grand Mosque, the largest in the UAE and probably elsewhere.  The main room can accommodate 7,000 worshipers on the world's largest rug (everything seemed to be described with superlatives), plus the chandelier has the highest number of Swarovski crystals in existence. Many areas are segregated, but genders may co-mingle in various places although the hubby and I were admonished for touching during a photo (PDA is prohibited at the Mosque and other public places such as malls).  The traditional garb is provided for both men and women in order to be fully covered.  I thought my long pants and large scarf would suffice, but not even close; plus I wasn't even allowed to pose for a photo with the mosque in the background without my head covered. We did as asked in order to follow the country's customs.   Views of the Mosque, both outside and in.  The structure is enormous and is visible from quite a distance. Above is a glimpse inside the main room; left is the imposing crystal chandelier. The F1 itself was a bit anti-climatic, as Lewis Hamilton had already secured 1st place for the year prior to this final Grand Prix.  Unlike Indy, Daytona or the Kentucky Derby for that matter, there is little suspense in the actual event.  Yet it is still quite the spectacle, with the fastest single-seat racing cars on the planet.  An Etihad Airlines A380 jet performed a low flyover (test run shown above) at the start of the race which was pure theatrics, with small trailing planes spewing smoke in the country's colors.  The most remarkable aspect of this particular race is the how the track proceeds around the Yas Marina, and literally goes under the Yas Viceroy Hotel.  The track is the turquoise line below ..  As for the "Can You Top This" aspect, that was abundant in the array of yachts, cars, women (Amal Clooney lookalikes/wannabes), jewels and all the other collectibles favored by the crowd ... well, at least many that we saw.  As for us, it was a very diverse and most interesting place to visit and talk to people from so many different cultures, but the hubby and I were quite happy coming home to our pretty good life in LA ...    Hard to believe those shown above are private vessels (not cruise ships!); Italian sports cars were nearly ubiquitous. The menu and food at left wasn't exactly a home-cooked meal, but kudos to our friend's establishment in the Yas Marina for even knowing it was Thanksgiving, much less attempting to serve all of our creature comforts.  Cost was about $27 USD.

UAE Visit is a Series of Firsts - Part 1

Who knew that it was possible to plan and execute what most would consider a major trip without a significant amount of advance planning?  Not me until this year.  Typically deciding on the next big destination might be two years in advance for me and the hubby.  So going to such an exotic locale as the United Arab Emirates -- specifically Dubai and Abu Dhabi -- with only eight months' advance notice is considered practically spur-of-the-moment in my lexicon.

The timing for this particular trip was dictated in order to attend the Formula One race in Abu Dhabi, especially after experiencing the Daytona 500 (see previous post) earlier this year.  Booking the air via Amex Platinum was the first of several "firsts" (the companion ticket costs taxes only when the cardholder's ticket is purchased in biz or first class; travel must originate in the U.S.). Any airline that flies to the destination is available, and the prices are all over the place depending on whether there is a stop plus other details.  I used Air France for LAX-Paris-Dubai -- roughly a third the price of Emirates or the other Gulf carriers (Etihad and Qatar).  Since this was barely a week after the horrible Paris murders, others questioned the itinerary but we were going. Period.

First stop:  Dubai.  After traveling some 20 hours, we were whisked to the beautiful Oberoi Hotel, located in the Financial District.  The Oberoi hotel chain is ranked #1 by Travel & Leisure. Most of their locations are in India (their Udaipur property is the World's #1 ranked hotel in the same poll) with a smattering in the Middle East and Indonesia. With the endless choice of accommodations available, why there?  I wanted to vet the chain, plus I booked a 1,300 sf suite for the same cost as some miniscule rooms in Manhattan. No other reason necessary ... Most impressive: answering the door to a housekeeper delivering shaving cream. Why?  The staff noticed the hubby's can was nearly empty.  And finding notes that they took the liberty of hanging up our garments. Have at it!  Special thanks to Concierge Jayesh for all of his help ...

A look inside Ski Dubai at the Mall of the Emirates -- only 700 or so stores at this mall!

Getting the lay of the land was achieved by hiring a car and driver to show us the various highpoints. There are currently 11 million visitors per year, and that number is expected to climb as high was 25 million by 2020. Hence the astounding amount of building -- not just more skyscrapers -- but entire cities and waterways are created in record time.  Jobs of all levels are plentiful here with workers from India followed by Pakistan comprising the largest numbers of foreigners.    Dubai lays claim to many superlatives: the world's tallest building (Burj Khalifa at 160 floors); largest shopping mall by stores (1200 at the Dubai Mall); largest flower garden (Dubai Miracle Garden -- remarkable considering this is a desert); most expensive hotel (7-star Burj al Arab from the Jumeirah group) where no one can just peruse the lobby. I know because I tried to talk our way in and couldn't get past security.  I would add Dubai is one of the cleanest places I've seen; both littering and graffiti are punishable by steep fines (think Singapore). Not to mention a big one: it is very safe!!

		From the 125th floor, the high rises below look like dominoes.  The view left was from our hotel.  Travel tip:  If you go, get the Fast Track tickets to go up. The lines, particularly to catch the sun setting over Dubai, can be very long .. it is well worth the $$.

Pretty sure I heard the camel complaining ..

Our very able guide Mohammed drove us out of the city (at which point we were just 50 km from Oman) for a modified "desert safari," including riding both the sand dunes and a camel.  We drove ourselves in the ATV (left) but the true experience was Mohammed driving his Toyota Landcruiser on the larger dunes.  I was both carsick and scared but the boys were having great fun traversing the dunes. I preferred the outlet mall which was the next stop ...

A couple of great meals below: left is sushi, fish tacos and wonderful fried chicken at Catch in the Fairmont Hotel -- they have NYC location as well; right is Armani Ristorante at the Armani Hotel in the Burj Khalifa.  This was Armani's first ever hotel location.  The veal medallions (center right) were exceptional, as was the hubby's pasta (bottom left).

 

While some might find Dubai a bit Vegas -- everything lit up, so many tall buildings, luxury shops and exotic vehicles, it is so much more.  If you enjoy meeting people from other cultures this is the place to be.  Out of the nine million population (total for the UAE), only one million are actually from the country; the rest are foreign born and nearly everyone speaks English.  If you're looking for ancient history, look elsewhere for the 1970's are considered "old."  And don't get me started on another desert where there is an abundance of water.  California -- get with the desalination program already!  Next post from neighboring Abu Dhabi...

Above: Family friend/Abu Dhabi resident Matt Haffner on our first Dubai dinner at Catch Left:  nothing says Dubai like this building