I am excited to announce that The Hyatt Guy is now JoePro Travel! You can find our future adventures and the continuation of our Maldives Trip Report on joeprotravel.com
With this, our foray into the points and miles world expands beyond the luxury of Hyatt to numerous chains, and we'll bring you plenty of varied reviews. More details about our future and our new vision can be found in the "Low-Down" and "About Us" sections.
After our short stint of sleep, we were up again at 6:00 to prepare for our day in the desert. The decision to book a desert safari stemmed from Points MD's blog post on his desert safari in Abu Dhabi. We knew we wouldn't have time to complete the safari while in Abu Dhabi, so we booked with Platinum-Heritage Dubai. Platinum-Heritage offers a variety of tours and safaris from the modest desert safari to a luxurious overnight-safari and hot-air balloon ride, to an exotic Bentley tour of the city. Kim and I settled on the Heritage Falconry and Wildlife Morning Desert Safari.
Our first task for the morning: to put on our protective gear and to lather every exposed inch of skin in sunscreen.
Our guide Paulo met us in the lobby of the hotel at just past 6:45. Paulo was in his early twenties, fun, friendly, and knowledgeable. We loaded up in the SUV and took off towards the desert preserve, but not before stopping at the nearby Hyatt Regency to pick up another passenger (who happened to work for Hyatt IT).
The drive from the hotel to the Reserve would take an hour, but after 35 minutes of driving through the desert and camel spotting, we noticed a raceway to our right. We inquired of our guide and he wanted to show us what it was for. We pulled into the Dubai Camel Racing Club and began a slow crawl around the parking lot. All around us were groups of men leading camels along sandy pathways. We noticed some small packs mounted on some of the camels, and Paulo explained that they used to use children for camel racing, but that was extremely dangerous. Now they used robots. Paulo also gave us some info on Camels costing hundreds of thousands of dollars that belonged to Dubai Royalty.
After driving around for 10-15 minutes in the lot, we continued onwards for another 20 minutes or so until we arrived at the gate to the Dubai Desert Reserve, a Reserve which spanned four country borders. We got out of the car and stretched our legs. We also reapplied sunscreen as needed. Paulo opened the gate and led us to where we'd continue our tour: on 1950's vintage Land-Rovers.
Paulo gave us all head-protection: Keffiyehs for the men and Hijabs for the women. Then our group of five loaded up and we took off across the Dunes. It was an exhilarating 5 minute drive to the presentation site, and we drifted and bounced the whole way over, taking in the warm morning air.
We arrived at a flat portion of desert, where a rug and pillows had been set out for our comfort. As we waited for our presenter to set up, we all posed for a group photo:
Gyrfalcon
We took our seats for the falconry presentation shortly after 8:00. The presentation lasted a little more than an hour. It was entertaining, informational, and by no means overstretched. Even with the small amount of sleep we had we were able to stay alert through the whole thing. Our presenter demonstrated lure swinging, wherin she swung a tether with food attached and the falcon attempted to snatch the food mid-air. She explained the long process of training falcons and spoke of their habits, habitat, and diet.
We had a chance to see a Gyrfalcon, a Barbary Falcon, a Desert Eagle Owl, and a Kestrel. We interacted with both the Desert Eagle owl and the Gyrfalcon, while the Kestrel was allowed to freely roam our heads.
Desert Eagle Owl
Common Kestrel
The presentation wrapped up, and the safari team began to pack up. Before jumping back into the Land-Rovers, we grabbed a sand sample from a nearby dune. Then it was a five minute drive over to the main camp, where we'd take a 5 minute camel ride before breakfast.
Our camel took a liking to Kim after she scratched its neck. We snapped some photos and continued into the main camp to use the restroom and enjoy our morning meal.
As we entered the main camp, we were offered Arabic coffee, as was tradition. We took our seats at some benches and were served a traditional Arabic breakfast: an Emirati khameer bread.
Next was the wildlife spotting. We shoved our belongings under the seats of the Land-Rovers and were off once more, struggling to keep our head-protection on in the wind. We passed by a sign for the Al-Maha resort, situated on part of the Reserve. Then we spotted the wildlife: Arabian Oryx. There were several groups of Oryx across the Reserve, and a few Arabian Gazelle as well. Paulo noted that the Oryx thrived in the preserved, but were critically endangered in the wild. We snapped some photos here and there, and also stopped the Land-Rover underneath a tree so we could climb an overlook, giving us a view of a mountain range in neighboring Oman.
Arabian Oryx
Arabian Gazelle
We made one last stop for more photos where the Oryx were resting by some foliage, then set out to the main gate.
After our long day out, it was time to head back to the hotel. We transfered from the Land-Rovers into an SUV and started out of the reserve around 11:20. With a short stop to drop off a guest at the Hyatt Regency, we arrived back at the Park Hyatt around 12:15.
Kim and I with Paulo at the end of our Dubai Safari.
We said farewell to Paulo and went back to our room to drop off our things and to change our sand-drenched socks.
I took a ton of video during our Safari, and have compressed it all down into 2 videos. The three videos below are a 2D High-Quality version, a 3D Okay-Quality Version, and a 2D Presentation of the 3D Okay-Quality Version (complicated, huh?)
Our recuperation from the morning was short-lived. Soon we went back to the lobby to get a cab to Old-Town Dubai.
The driver took us to where we presumed we wanted to go, though really we were uncertain exactly where it was we wanted to go. Our chauffeur from two days earlier had mentioned a spice-market, and that is what Kim had her hopes on finding. But such a place was nowhere in sight. Instead, we had our driver drop us in front of the Dubai Museum- a fort that was seemingly at odds with the nearby residences and businesses.
The museum was the largest conundrum we faced on our journey. We arrived at a place we hadn't expected to visit. But at the entrance we found that admission was less than $1. So we paid it.
We walked around visiting various rooms at the top of what we learned was the Dubai Fort, and after 10 or so minutes, I figured we were done. But then we found the stairs. The stairs took us down into a subterranean level, where a maze of hallways took us through an extensive history of Dubai. A mixture of artifacts, exhibits and taxidermy were entombed in this labyrinth. The taxidermy was either poorly executed, poorly kept, or just plain old. The rest of the displays were informative.
For $1, this offered more than an hour trip through history, even if the whole thing seemed out of place and bazaar.
After our visit, we continued our search for the fabled spice market. What we found instead were several vendors selling clothing, fabrics, foods, and a variety of knock-off products... among other things.
We journeyed as far as we could, sometimes searching back-alleys to see what kind of fabrics were being sold, occasionally passing the same vendor twice. When the sun threatened to make its mark on me, we started a search for a cab, but is was another 15-25 minutes before we truly put in the effort needed to hail one.
Our ride was the single time we felt ill at-ease, with a driver a bit too aggressive for my tastes. Regardless, we arrived at the hotel unscathed, and our Dubai journey came to a close.
Between a trip to floor 148 on the worlds tallest building, to a desert safari, to high Tea at the Ritz, our Dubai adventure was both exciting and exhausting. I'd recommend several of our activities to anyone who asked, and there were hundreds more we had not the time to partake in (indoor skiing, anyone?). I'm certainly inclined to return to this country of extremes one day, hopefully not to distant from now.
After some early afternoon R&R, we grabbed another hotel town car for our trip to the Ritz Carlton. On this lovely Friday afternoon, we arrived to a rather quiet hotel lobby. It took us a few minutes to figure out exactly where tea would occur, and finally we found someone to assist us. The host asked us if we'd prefer to dine indoors or out, and given the darkness inside, and the great temperature outside, we decided to eat on the terrace. The host led us to our table, and we were handed our menus.
Maybe it's typical, but it's the first time I'd
seen cigars on the menu.
We decided quickly on the modest Traditional Treat, and kicked back on the beautiful terrace to await our delicacies. We took the time to view the menu in its entirety to find they offered smoothies, hot chocolate, various juices and even cigars!
In the meantime we enjoyed the view of the grounds, with the sea in the distance, just beyond the hotel beach. Families played croquet on the lawn of the resort, and at one point we noticed skydivers nearby- though we did not perceive just how close their base of operations was to us. (See google maps- Ritz Carlton Dubai, to discover what I mean)
We also spent some time admiring the china, until the waiter brought us water and the tea we requested. I opted for a Nuit D'Ete tea, which the menu described as a "Blend of hibiscus flowers, apple bits, rosehip peels flavoured with raspberry, strawberry and cream flavours." It was satisfactory, but failed to convert me to a "tea person".
Kim chose the Rooibos Caramel Toffee, listed as "A sweet blend of South African rooisbos with toffee caramel flavour and sunflowers, to deliver a rich, comforting drink to rival any scrumptious dessert. Caffeine free."
Soon, our food arrived:
We took our time enjoying our treats and tea. We split all the food items in half so we could both try a little of everything. As the time passed, the sun came in and we were obliged to move on, so as not to be burnt to a crisp.
On our way out we asked a bellhop how to get to the local tram station, and he pointed us in the right direction. After a short walk, we found the tram, figured out the ticketing instructions and were on our way to the monorail connection station.
It was while on the tram that a station agent duly informed me that I was sitting in an area for women and children only, and that I would need to move. I quickly obliged, and found a spot to stand during the short trip.
We exited the tram near the monorail station, and traversed our way around, navigating through a bunch of construction. We made our way through a parking garage and followed signs to the monorail.
We purchased our round-trip monorail tickets and got on-board for the ride to the Atlantis Dubai.
The monorail took us past numerous shopping centers, affluent suburbs, and perpetual construction situated on the man-made behemoth called the Palm Jumeriah. After a few short stops, we approached the Atlantis Dubai:
Here we spent some time traversing the oceanfront road and exploring some of the shops and restaurants of the massive resorts. Had the evening not been closing in on us, we would have also considered a venture to their massive next-door waterpark- which, like their counterpart in the Bahamas, features a water slide that travels through a shark tank.
Roof Artwork at Atlantis Palm Jumeriah
As the sun set, we made time for some selfies in front of the hotel, then we made our way into the resort. We kept our stay relatively short, as we still wanted to make it to the Dubai Mall to do some more wandering and to see if we could find a shop that had piqued Kim's interest on our first visit. So after observing the Gold ATM, (broken down), and slithering through various restaurants (nothing that called loud to us), we wandered for about 30 minutes in the labyrinth of hallways and then caught the monorail back.
We made it back to the main station a short while later, and followed signs downstairs to waiting taxis. Some like-minded tourists followed us (we looked like we had a clue, anyways) and others inquired about where the taxis were, and we invited those people to follow us. We and our troops landed in the parking garage, where taxis and town-cars awaited unsuspecting folk such as ourselves. The ride in the town car turned out to cost us double what we were charged on our way over, despite our destination being only two-thirds the distance. Fortunately we had split the ride with a couple from Holland, and so the damage was slightly less humiliating. The driver let us off at the Dubai Mall, where we continued our day's adventures.
The ride from the monorail to the mall took about 20 or so minutes, and we arrived there at approximately 8 P.M.
We had to find our bearings upon being dropped off in the parking garage. Upon walking into the mall, we seemed to be at the entrance to a movie theater. But we weren't sure how to access the main part of the mall. After walking around and travelling up and down seemingly random escalators, and in the process passing by a Sega Arcade (which we were blissfully unaware was part of an entire indoor theme park), we finally got back into the main mall. In our exploration we found a section dedicated to comic-book type stores, a hall full of suspended umbrellas (only from the top, we could not find the path to go underneath them), and a multi-story fountain.
After wandering for more than an hour, searching for the store that Kim wanted to find (we never did find it), I grabbed a snack from Angelina's while Kim used the restroom.
The snack I found was called "Babylone", and while it looked great on the outside, the inside stunned even more.
The snack was approximately $12 U.S, which certainly seemed high on first glance. The item is essentially a mini-cake. Except inside the velvety red exterior was a vanilla mousse filling. And inside of the filling was a strawberry core. Despite what may appear to be a crazy price tag, I couldn't help but finding myself return here after dinner to pick up another. Of course, if such a delicacy is not to your liking, they had plenty of other treats ready to go.
After the snack we followed the crowds to view the Dubai Mall Fountains. Essentially the Bellagio display on steroids, this spectacle did not disappoint. We arrived outside as one show was ending, so we stuck around for the next one to start (shows play in 30 minute intervals).
The interval gave us time to set up some camera equipment (tip: we found out we weren't supposed to).
The show we caught the end of was a remix of Diana Ross' "Ain't no Mountain High Enough". After waiting around for 20 minutes or so, a rendition of "Mon Amour" by Shiraz was up. We enjoyed the entertainment: a five minute show, and then started our search for dinner.
Video of "Mon Amour", for tablets and phones.
Use rotation lock to watch vertically.
It didn't take long, and I began to laugh as we saw a restaurant my cousin had worked at in L.A: Katana. With a perfect view of the Burj Khalifa and a perfect temperature for the evening, we approached the hostess and asked to be seated outside. We were informed that we would not be able to drink on the patio, which was fine by us.
As we took our seats, I placed a phone call to my cousin in L.A. I informed him that the restaurant he expected to help open had indeed opened. He was shocked at the revelation. Being that the restaurant was on the backside of the Address Hotel, which caught fire on New Years Eve leading into 2016, the restaurant had suffered a delayed opening.
After placing our order, a manager approached us and let us know that he had spoken to my cousin, and that if we needed anything to let him know. We talked about the restaurant and how empty it was. Of course, it was approaching 10:30 P.M, but the next door restaurant was bustling. The manager explained that their official "Grand Opening" was slated for a week or two from then, and they were currently going through their "soft opening". In fact, if you visit their website you'll see that their menu PDF is titled April 2nd, 2016, and we dined on April 8th.
We talked with the manager about the hotel fire and our L.A Katana experience (good).
Our food came in due time, a noodle appetizer and a few sushi rolls for our entree.
Ebi Yakisoba (Panfried Noodles with Jumbo Prawns)
Green tea cake with Carmel, coconut ice cream
Matcha Green Tea Fondue
While we ate, Michael Jackson's thriller played in the background during another fountain show at 10:30. The final show played at around 11:00, and then the tower stopped sharing it's magical lighting and went plain. We finished our meal and were then visited by the chef, who was insistent that we try a specialty dessert of his creation and asked for our thoughts. (Good, but not my typical dessert choice). We also discovered that similar to our dining experience at the hotel restaurant, servers had to be summoned in order to get the bill. The crew at Katana was fantastic, and the food was enjoyable enough. But the view can not be beat.
View from our table.
We left the restaurant at just about midnight, right as they were closing up for the evening. Despite already indulging in desert, I decided we had to bring some more of Angelina's pastries back to our room. So on our way back through the mall at 12:30 A.M we picked up another Babylone and one of their specialty pastries with a chocolate fondant topping. (We both agreed the Babylone was the better of them)
MINE! ALL MINE!!! MWAHAHAHA.
On our way out.
While the bakery was still open, most of the mall had shut down at midnight, and now Kim and I wandered the mostly desolate halls of the building. We navigated to where we had been dropped off the day before, knowing there would be cabs available to us. We passed in front of the massive aquarium tank, and that's when Kim pointed out the ceiling to me: fiber-optic stars lit up the night above us.
360 of Dubai Mall interior at Aquarium. For full image, click HERE
We then walked by the information booth and I snapped a photo of the massive directory.
It was nearly 1 A.M when our taxi pulled out of the front of the mall and passed the Burj Khalifa, and our morning desert safari was scheduled to pick us up at around 6:30. It would be a tiring but enjoyable day ahead.
Check out the following video for clips from the monorail to Atlantis (and a penny crusher at Atlantis), the indoor waterfalls at the Dubai Mall, some of the fancy lighting at the Burj Khalifa, and a preview of the fountain shows "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and "Thriller":
Clips from our second day in Dubai
Next up: Days Ten Through Twelve Part 4- Dubai recommendations/information: Platinum-Heritage Falconry Heritage Tour. The Dubai Museum.
In the meantime, here is a friendly reminder from the Palm Jumeriah Dubai Monorail Station:
After dropping our belongings off at our new room, I anxiously made my way back to the lobby with Kim. I was concerned that our plans may not come to fruition, and that the limo company might have bailed given that we were 5-10 minutes late. I scanned the driveway at the lobby entrance, and though I noticed a few Cadillac Escalades, none matched the appearance of what I specifically ordered: https://www.dubaiexoticlimo.com/escalade_sedan.html
We stepped back into the lobby, hoping that they were just running late. Soon after, our phone buzzed. It was the limo company informing us that our driver was outside looking for us. We took the short walk back outside and found him. Our relief was short lived. He guided us over to one of the standard-equipped escalades that I had already seen. Given that the cost for the ride was a steep 3500AED for the 7 hours, I was not willing to pay full price for a lesser ride. After confirming that the Escalade in the photo was not available, the driver offered to negotiate. I made him an offer several hundred AED lower, and he accepted.
I am still convinced we paid far more than necessary, but we enjoyed the drivers company, and he acted as our guide as well as our driver. As the pictured Escalade divides the passengers from the driver, the lesser model proved a better option for our tour.
Before anything else, we had to make a pit stop at the Dubai International airport. As I explained in my post Lufthansa First Class MUC-DXB, after reaching to curb in Dubai, we realized we forgot our 3 hats. But there was nothing more to be done at the time, since the plane had yet to be cleaned out.
The guide who led us from the gate to the curb (a first class service), called us in Abu Dhabi to confirm that our hats would be waiting for us in lost and found, so I had our driver take us there. Fortunately I had already visited the lost and found the day we arrived to check for our hats, so I knew exactly where to go. I picked them up, disappointed that they had been folded to fit in a square cubby, but happy to have them back nonetheless.
The pit stop took about 15-20 minutes. Then, as we weren't entirely certain what we wanted to do, our driver suggested the Burj Khalifa to start. We decided that was our best bet, so he took us the 20 minute drive over.
He dropped us off at the front of the Dubai mall and told us to call him when we were done. We then began the process of navigating the worlds largest mall and most visited leisure destination in order to find the entrance to the Burj Khalifa. On our entrance we immediately were drawn to the gigantic acrylic panel housing an aquarium. We decided against purchasing tickets but couldn't help but gape at the massive structure... in a mall, no less.
We continued meandering and searching for signage for 10-20 minutes until we finally found the ticket center for the Burj Khalifa.
There are two ticket options to visit the top of the Burj Khalifa: At the Top, and At the Top: Sky. The standard option was sold out for the next couple hours, so we purchased the premium ticket for At the Top: Sky. The ticket was more than double the cost of the standard ticket during "At the Top" prime hours (quadruple the cost during non-prime hours). It was nearly $150 per person, or 500AED pp.
After purchasing our tickets we wandered for another few minutes, window shopping. Then it was time to gather for our 3:30 tour. We had about 20 minutes until 3:30, and in the meantime the group gathered in a small waiting area designed for the premium ticket-holders. While the normal group waited in a line, we had seats and were offered coffee and dates. It was off to an okay start, but I immediately second guessed my decision to splurge. Coffee and dates were not appealing to me. After 5 or so minutes, we were led out of the room into the main waiting area. After a couple minutes in the line, wherein we had a chance to view an interactive display of the world's tallest buildings, we were led down a hall. Kim wanted a few extra minutes to play with the display, but it was not to be. We followed our guide onward to the base of the building where our elevator awaited us.
The ride up was swift. While the elevator projected a simulation of the construction of the Burj Khalifa all around us, I shot video of the climb up.
Some clips from around the province. Featuring sprawling landscapes, twisty buildings, and a calm harbor.
Sections between 0:15-1:55 and 3:00-3:45 are solely of the elevator ride at Burj Khalifa
We stopped on floor 125 to exit the elevator and join another elevator for the ride to floor 148. It was upon exiting the elevator on 148 that I felt better about splurging. The room around us was extravagant and relaxing. The noise was minimal. Staff waited on us, offering us juice and treats. Seating was plentiful.
Floor 148 consisted of the main seating area, with sweeping views of downtown Dubai. There was a small gift shop. There was a room with a giant interactive screen showing off the many facets of the City. There was an outdoor viewing area. We relaxed on some couches while waiting for some of the seating closer to the windows to open up. When we took our seats by the window, staff offered to snap photos of us, which we accepted.
Snack Assortment
What will be the world's largest "picture frame".
We spent about 45 minutes taking in the views before riding the elevator down to floor 125.
As opposed to the luxury of 148, the lower level viewing area was significantly more crowded. There was no seating, no snacks, and versus staff offering to snap photos of you, there were photographers selling photos. Given the visual beauty of the 148th floor, and the simpleness of 125, we were satisfied that we purchased the premium tickets.
The views were certainly still incredible, but it was a vastly different world on the lower levels. After exploring 125 and taking a spiral staircase to the outdoor viewing area on 124, we made our way back to the elevator for the ride down. On our way back out front, we dialed our Chauffeur, who arrived at the front shortly after to continue our tour.
While on the freeway, our guide pointed out various sites. It was during this that we were sideswiped by another vehicle. While the impact was soft, it still needed to be resolved. Instead, the minivan sped forward. Our driver committed to following them. They veered off the road and over a curb to evade us, but we soon were caught up once more. Now they were on the offensive, pulling in front of us, slamming on their brakes (causing our driver to do the same), then speeding forward again. Finally they pulled over.
Honestly, for the first time being so far away from the U.S, I had no clue what to expect. We had just been hit by some blatantly disturbed individuals, and now we were going to confront them face to face. The only question that was wandering into my brain--- did they have Uzi's?
After a shouting match between our driver and the young, arrogant tools, we continued on our way. There seemed to be no specific resolution to the issue, so we let it go. It was soon forgotten as our driver pulled into a parking garage at the Dubai Marina Mall. We had not heard of the mall, but the driver strongly recommended it, saying that so few people visited. He said that it was a pretty view, and to bring our cameras.
After a restroom break, we walked along the outside of the mall, and just enjoyed the afternoon ambience. On our way back to the car, we smiled at the various fast-food delivery bikes. Only a matter of time before those hit the states.
Next, I requested our driver take us up close to a building I had admired from the freeway. He obliged, and found the perfect spot across another waterway.
Next up, we requested to be brought to a good spot to see the Burj Al Arab. On our way over I snapped a couple more various shots:
Business Central Towers
Our driver took us to the Jumeriah Public Beach, where we collected another sand sample and took in the evening air. A little down the way a nightclub titled "360" called to us, but our time with our chauffeur was running out. It did make for some good photography though:
Grabbing our sand sample.
It was closing in on 7:30, and we had the driver until 8:00, it was time to head back. On our way, the driver pointed out the world's tallest hotel, the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai. We also passed the Emirates Towers and the Dubai Garden Glow.
JW Marriott Marquis Dubai
One of the two Emirates Towers.
Dubai Garden Glow
Finally, we arrived back at the hotel around 8:00.
It was nice to have a guide for our trip, but ultimately I can't recommend spending a large sum on having a driver for the day. Part of the reason for booking was the type of vehicle (of which I've never seen such a configuration), and while it was for the best that we didn't get said configuration, it was certainly less cost effective than taking cabs wherever we wanted. The driver was great, and other than mentioning the wrong type of car for the second round with Dubai Exotic Limo, I have nothing bad to say about them. You might indeed have a better experience than I.
As far as the Burj Khalifa is concerned: some people will consider it a tourist trap. Indeed I just read an article advising against tall buildings in any city for their touristy aspects. But I enjoyed the sights, taking photos, and kicking back a bit. I wouldn't advise the premier ticket over the standard just for the comfort and food, but if you really want the absolute best view you can get, shoot for the Sky. -see what I did there ;-)
Next up: Tea at the Ritz Carlton Jumeirah Beach, Atlantis Monorail, Dubai Mall.
The snack I found was called "Babylone", and while it looked great on the outside, the inside stunned even more. 
