We entered Dubai somewhat unconventionally by driving across the Al Hajar mountain range that separates Oman from the United Arab Emirates. The drive was long—16 of us in a 17-passenger van plus some of our luggage that didn’t fit in the trailer that we were pulling for six hours—and included an inconveniently-long delay in passport control on the Oman side of the border. But, eventually the craggy, brown mountains faded into desert landscape and before too long, the iconic outlines of Dubai’s skyline came into view.

The stay in Dubai was barely longer than 24 hours. Upon arrival, we went straight to the Dubai Mall to stretch our legs (not hard to do in the world’s largest shopping mall) and go up in the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest man-made structure. I am not afraid of heights, so going onto the observation deck of the Burj wasn’t too intimidating for me. Fortunately, we were there on a fairly sunny day, so the 360-degree views were stunning. Honestly being up that high was a bit surreal. The cars on the ground looked so small and distant that there wasn’t much connection with life below.

We went to Five Guys for dinner, a bit to my dismay, but everything in Dubai was EXPENSIVE and we had a limited per diem as a group. I suppose that after three weeks of traveling (to England, India and Oman) there was a bit of comfort in a burger and fries. In general, I just prefer to eat local cuisine as I travel. That being said, I’m not sure there were indicators of “local” culture and life in Dubai. Everywhere we went (which admittedly wasn’t too many places given our short stay) was very international and import-heavy. It was as if one of every “thing”—restaurants, retailers, car, etc.—were plucked from around the world. I saw some unique architecture, but was overall disappointed by the seeming lack of regionally-unique things.

We stayed at a Holiday Inn a bit outside of the main city-center which was attached to another mega mall. The accommodations were very nice and people-watching in the lobby was superb as multiple professional basketball teams were also staying in the hotel for a competition series.

I think my favorite thing about Dubai was attending the Sunday morning service at Fellowship Church Dubai. We went to the 10am service held at the Jumeirah Creekside Hotel and enjoyed fellowship and a great message among an international congregation of expats and other visitors. There was something very special about attending a service in a nation were to be a Christian is illegal, but there is obviously some tolerance for people of other faiths. In that moment, I was aware how great of a privilege it is to live in a country that despite its many faults, allows its own citizens to worship freely.

SDG

p.s. Wondering the context of this visit to Dubai? This was one of the nine countries my group visited on the 2023 International Business Institute, for which I was the program assistant. Interested in learning more? Read about my own undergraduate experience on the trip when I participated in 2011.