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I just thought this ad was HILARIOUS!!!Today was a busy day! I had planned to sleep last night, but I wound up finishing some work (invoices) until about 3am; then I read until about 8:00. My clock is really messed up! I thought for sure I'd be out by now, but I guess since I only usually get 5-6 hours of sleep a night, plus a nap, I can handle it. I hope!
So, I got up, took a shower, and unpacked some of my belongings. I am supposed to be here for a month, so I guess I should start making this place a little more cozy. I only have about 5 hangars though! I decided I needed to get out. I got dressed, wearing my favorite long burgandy hippie-ish strapless dress with a gray sweater. I took a few deep breaths, and walked out the door.
At the front desk, I was able to exchange some of my American money for Dirhams: $150=525AED. I felt rich! It is amazing how some things seem way more expensive and some are next to nothing. For instance, using my Visa, I paid 48AED for my brunch buffet yesterday, and 28AED for ALL of my groceries at
the supermarket. I try to think of the rate as somewhere between a 1/3 and 1/4. Which means my brunch was about $14 (expensive) and my groceries were about $8 (ridiculously cheap!).
Anyway, the concierge pointed me toward the metro which would take me to the Mall of the Emirates. You can see the ski slope from my balcony, so I thought I could just walk, but I was interested in trying the metro. Plus, when I mentioned just walking, the guy kind of smirked... Another deep breath and I walked toward the metro station, which is right across from my room. It was about 10am and getting a little hot, but still not unbearable yet. I walked in and was kind of overwhelmed! The place was huge and clean! I saw a little kiosk and purchased my ticket (4AED); the Mall was only one stop away.
I had a little trouble going through the gate until some guy showed me what to do. He was very friendly and told me which side to go on and talked a little while we waited for the train. He was from Pakistan and he said he had always wanted to
Mall of the Emirates
lots of high end retail that I just was too scared to even look at... go work in Canada where his cousins lived, but as his parents' only son, they wanted him to work in Dubai where the money was. He was a little overly friendly, but he was nice so I indulged for a few minutes. He told me the best places to visit, which I just kind of brushed off as I had a little trouble understanding him and I think he was just making conversation. I was glad of the women and children only car when the trian arrived. I thanked him again and we were off.
Even the exit from the train to the giant mall was overwhelming. Everything just seemed so nice and thought out. And the entire walkway is lined with windows, so you can see everything. For miles! The mall was GIANORMOUS! My sisters and I went to the Mall in Edmonton about 10 years ago, and I think at the time, it was the largest mall in the world; this place didn't seem so much bigger as fancier. Beautiful landscaping, a huge hotel and lovely colors.
I was, again,
overwhelmed, walking inside. There were soooo many stores and I recognized few of them. So, I
My hotel
This is the back side, facing the metro, of my hotel Cassells. The front is fancier and opens onto a somewhat busy street just kind of made the circuit. I was mostly starving, but it didn't appear that the restaurants were open yet. I went to the Cinema and got a ticket for Snow White and the Huntsman. I had an hour to kill, so headed to the food court, doing another little circuit, and could not decide on what to get; the places also were dead so I felt weird going up to them. And I refused to go to McDonald's or Pizza Hut or Burger King. One girl at a fruit stand asked me if I wanted something, so I got a coconut and pineapple smoothie; she seemed very nice and the fruit looked good and fresh. Unfortunately, I'm positive there were bananas in there, which I cannot eat. Why do all smoothies have friggin bananas??? Even when they don't say it! The smoothie was 22AED (almost as much as all my groceries and I had to toss it).
I still had about 45 minutes, so I continued walking and saw the indoor ski area. I took some pictures and stood to watch for a minute. It looked like fun but very surreal... Then I spotted an H&M - the
Ski Dubai
The famous indoor skiing park in the desert mothership!!! Oh yes, I browsed, tried on some clothes and wound up buying two shirts and some "trousers". 269AED=$74
Then it was time for the movie. Sitting in a dark theater, with a popcorn and soda is one of my most favorite things in the world. I hadn't had assigned seats since going to England and watching Kill Bill, but I like it. Especially when the theater is not overly crowded. The movie... Eh. It was ok. Kind of disappointing. In fact, it was just plain weird. The lines. The acting. The special effects. Lame. But even a bad movie is fun. Except for Fred Claus - damn you Fran!!! 😊
I was starting to get a little tired but on my way back I spotted "Boots" - another familiar sight!!! So, I stocked up on advil (YAY), mascara, and a hair brush. I made my way to the metro station, taking pictures along the way. Successfully bought my ticket and walked straight to the platform. Oh yes, I am an old pro at this by now. Except I forgot the name and number of the station I was going to. So, I just told the ticket lady
My metro
Remember: #33 and Sharaj BG or something... I was going "that way" and was the first station. She knew what I was talking about...
After getting off the train, I spotted a mini market where I stocked up on water, gatorade, chex mix and noodles. Wow - my diet is awesome lately.
Anyway, this post may be a bit boring, but I did take some pictures for you!!!
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Robo
non-member comment
keep up the blogging
enjoying the blog. be careful out there please. i could wrap my head aroung that mall! what is HM (the mothership). We are going to san francisco this weekend. pale in comparison!