Dubai

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Here we are, flying into Dubai! I met some new friends. (Two girls doing my program met me at the SF airport, and two more met us here coming from LAX.) Emirates is super nice- 2.5 meals, unlimited drinks, a huge personal tv screen. We have an overnight layover, and the airport pays for everything- our hotel, transportation, food. Apparently night layovers are fairly common, so we took a 2-hour night tour in a cab. Our driver says Dubai is split into five different "cities"- one commercial, one residential, etc. There is very little crime because it is such a wealthy city and brand new (the oldest building isn't even 25 years old!) On our tour we drove by a mall with an indoor ski run, the Jumeira mosque, the homes of the royal family, including the palaces of the Sheikh and his two sons, and the gulf ocean. The sand was nice and the water was WARM! Although it was 11:30pm, there were people simply lounging in the ocean. Tough life.. We drove past many 5-star hotels. Dubai has some hotels that are 6 and even has a 7-star! Our driver said everything was gold-plated in one room, even the toilet seat. We also drove by palm island, a man-made residential island in the shape of a palm tree with villas on the fronds, all with their own private beaches. CRAZY!

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