IT WAS KIND of ironic; there I was flying Emirates to Dubai to attend the regional launch of Microsoft’s new OfficeXP, when I suddenly switched channels to find the movie Antitrust was a possible option. The cabin crew must have wondered why I suddenly burst out into hysterical laughter.
The outbound flight was typical of what you would expect with the world’s number one airline, gourmet food, slick service and an inflight entertainment system which included cameras to allow you to see where you were going, the view of Dubai during the landing phase was particularly spectacular. There were also a number of computer games built into the entertainment system. The latest Airbus really was something else. Seating was comfortable enough, and since I’m a little on the large size, the offer of a front of row seat was gratefully accepted, the extra legroom made all the difference.
The flight itself lasted about three hours and Dubai International Airport was a far cry from Larnaca, it was much more Heathrow or Newark. This being my first visit to Dubai, it was certainly not what I was expecting. The only bad part was the sheer distance from the aircraft to the Immigration desk. That said, Julie, a streetwise Dubai expat advised me to jump onto a golf cart and in no time at all I was whizzing past other passengers from the same flight.
My hosts in Dubai, SpotOn PR had done an excellent job, arriving in a strange airport at around midnight is not always a pleasant task and they had arranged for me to be met by Marhaba, a meet and greet service with personnel who find you and take you through the usual formalities and in no time I was waiting for the shuttle service to the Crowne Plaza Hotel, my base for the next few days. The heat was fine, but the humidity hit me pretty quickly, I thought I was melting.
First impressions had me thinking of New York, but with better roads and an eight lane freeway cutting through the centre of the city. Apparently Cyprus’ J&P had a hand in building most of the roads.
The Crowne Plaza is a well-established hotel and five stars really mean five star. The room had all the creature comforts which make life so much more comfortable and the fruit basket was replaced daily. Luxurious chocolates were placed on the bed nightly, apparently they were delicious, or so my kids told me when they ate them, alas my diet does not allow for chocolate.
Breakfast is not normally included in the room price, but SpotOn PR made sure we had a good start to the day. The breakfast buffet was of the like I had never seen, even in the USA. The only thing missing was bacon and sausages of the kind we are used to, being a moslem state beef bacon and chicken sausages were the order of the day. Other than that, you name it, it was there.
The first day was a lazy day, with people arriving from around the region, but the pace soon picked up with a meal at Trader Vic’s a Polynesian restaurant within the Crowne Plaza building. Food was very meze style with lots of new things to try out. The cocktails were pretty mind numbing concoctions and mostly rum based.
Lunch the following day was at the even more luxurious Emirates Tower, a buffet-based affair with some real culinary artistry going into the items on offer. The hotel itself is really luxurious, a six star if ever there was such a thing. Even more amazing were the human fly guys who were cleaning the outside windows of this fifty odd storey building.
A sightseeing tour of Dubai by bus with a stop-off at Dubai Internet City completed the afternoon.
That evening saw a boat trip up Dubai Creek with a night time view of the city, pretty spectacular and a good way to wind down from a busy day.
There was just enough time to rush back to the hotel for a quick shower and change of attire prior to the evening’s entertainment. We headed out in the direction of the Irish Village and passed it heading just down the street to a Lebanese restaurant.
The highlight of the evening was being served Cyprus Halloumi as part of the meze so I did my bit for Cyprus in making sure everybody understood what it was; everybody agreed that it was indeed a very tasty cheese.
Live music soon broke down any inhibitions and our group really got into the spirit of things, singing and dancing to music which sounded pretty familiar, even if the words were in another language. Even the dancing was pretty similar to the familiar Cypriot dances. We danced so much; I eventually had to sit down with a cramp in my leg.
The following day saw the actual launch of OfficeXP, and lunch followed at the Crowne Plaza, a buffet with an international flavour with Middle Eastern, Indian and even Greek food on offer. The main problem was that there were too many things to try, you were spoilt for choice.
We decided to revisit Dubai Internet City as the previous afternoon had been a somewhat hurried affair and this was followed on with a visit to Deira City Centre, a shopping mall which would rival any mall in Europe or the States.
Prices were somewhat confusing as I did not really have the time to understand UAE Dhirams but checking it out later prices were really cheap, practically the same as the duty free in Dubai International Airport, the big difference was that on this particular day, Debenhams had a 25 per cent off sale on the whole store, thereby making it really cheap.
There are other malls and the various souks where bargaining is the order of the day and gold is still sold by weight. Unfortunately time was not on our side so shopping was very much a token gesture this time around. Definitely allow plenty of time to shop when visiting Dubai.
That evening we decided to check out Dubai nightlife. The guys from SpotOn decided on the Planetarium, a disco club attached to Planet Hollywood. This club is pretty exclusive and face control is definitely the order of the day. Our friends from SpotOn really knew their stuff and we passed straight through the waiting crowd and straight into the club.
Imagine my surprise to learn that the DJs that night were none other than DJ Jean and DJ Jürgen, needless to say, we consumed Absolut and Red Bull like it was going out of fashion and partied on till the club closed, leaving barely enough time to get back to the hotel, shower, pack and get off to the airport for the return flight.
Dubai was one big adrenaline rush, and despite the copious quantities of food and drink consumed, I actually lost three kilos in weight during my stay.
The only down part was actually leaving Dubai, the definite wish to go back there sometime soon and also the check-in clerk at the Emirates desk who despite my request for a front of row seat, put me in the row immediately in front of the smoking seats. The aircraft was one of the older Airbuses and the legroom was far from adequate.
Smoking on Emirates flights will cease to happen as of August 1 so that is one less problem, though I do hope that Sheik Ahmed will write a memo to the Emirates check-in clerks instructing them to show a little more consideration towards larger people when allocating seating arrangements.
Having said that, the cabin crew were excellent, quickly responding to my “Houston, we have a problem” as I was struggling to get the meal tray adjusted around me. There is definitely a technique to opening the armrest type of meal trays.
Dubai is a rich mix of cultures with UAE nationals making up a mere 20 per cent of the total population, the rest being expatriate workers. It is crime free and is not as restrictive as some moslem states. Hotel accommodation is not cheap, but then again, you do get what you pay for and Dubai definitely offers value for money in that department.
If it is luxury and exclusivity you seek, Dubai will definitely cater for your every need and will probably exceed your expectations. That said, being looked after by a professional PR firm definitely had its advantages and my thanks go out to the
