The UAE: A Culturally Immersive Kick-Off to the New Year Pt 1

Part 1 Dubai 

Friday, January 3rd- Thursday, January 9th 

Friday January 3rd

The trip began with a football game playing on back of the Etitiad Airline's seats. I had barely gotten any sleep the night before so it was best in my best interest to dose off during the flight. Upon arrival in Dubai, I was feeling well rested and ready for the adventures to come. The general group consensus was that we were full of excitement, therefore I knew we were in for a great trip. 

Saturday January 4th 

We started off the next morning with dune bashing, which was a great way to get the adrenaline going and it certainly helped to mitigate any jet lag. Dune bashing is known in the UAE as a tactical sport that requires special skill of the driver along with the release of tire pressure in accordance with the number of guests in the car. 

We were picked up from our hotel in white SUVs and we started to drive in a caravan towards the Al Madam Desert. When we arrived at the dunes we drove through them at varied speeds, the cars climbing up and down the sandy hills, somehow the vehicles remained in control. Only a few of us suffered from hitting our heads on the roof of the car during some of the more speedy bumps. After our ride through the desert, we arrived at the camp were invited to partake in sunset camel rides. Afterwards, inside the camp quarters, we were greeted and offered traditional sweets known as, Luqaimat or sfingis (in Arabic). The festive evening was concluded with henna tattoos, Middle Eastern dancers, and a buffet full of delicious of traditional food. 

Sunday January 5th 
The next day we wandered the corridors of Al Bastakiya, which is the oldest town center in Dubai and took in some of the traditional architecture for the first time. We had the opportunity to immerse ourselves in the history at the Sheik Mohammad Cultural center, where we learned about Dubai's past economy consisting of of fishing, pearling, and other types of trading. Learning about the history of the UAE before oil was an interesting precursor to learning about the more modern developments of the region. 

Later on we experienced enchanting boat rides in the Dubai creek towards the Souqs of Al Kabeer, some of the oldest shopping centers in Dubai. After taking in the smells and sights of the Spice Souq, and briefly getting lost in the luxurious lap of the Gold Souq, it was time to take a special look into the future of Dubai. We were lucky enough to be invited to see the construction site of the future developments of Expo 2020, which Dubai will be hosting for 173 days starting on 10/20/2020. The development is essentially a miniature city, which focuses on three themes of opportunity, mobility, and sustainability. This inspiring vision of Expo 2020 is also run by youth leaders determined to emphasize the collective mission, "to build a better world we need to use our heads and our hearts". 

Monday January 6th 

The next day we experienced a more modern side of Dubai’s infrastructure: the Dubai Center for Tourism, the University of Dubai, and the Dubai Mall. Later that morning, we met with the young entrepreneurs who founded the company, Lagoon Digital Design. They gave us a focused presentation that included some of the ins-and-outs of social media marketing, content creation, and the simple determination it takes to become a modern-day web developer. After the presentation, we split apart to tackle some shopping at The Dubai Mall. Swim (someone who isn’t me) had actually had to re-learn marketing 101 and some of the crucial steps of the consumer habit cycle, that included decision fatigue & *slight* buyers remorse. By dinner time we were re-united to have dinner as a group, which took place on a floating dock at the base of the Burj Khalifa. The spectacle of the fountain show was a great way to conclude the evening, as we indulged in the traditional Arab dishes at Abd Alb Wahab. 

Tuesday January 7th 

The next day we arrived at Al Banteen Airport, where our group was greeted at GCAS (Gulf Center for Aviation Studies). Here we learned about the aviation economy and how it is a crucial backbone in Dubai’s tourism sector. Our presenter gave us an inside scoop on the two major airlines of the UAE, Etitiad Airways and Emirates. We learned about the famed, 737 Boeing Max, and the types of aviation error that can occur. Besides the obvious human error, there are also different categories of software and mechanical errors that can take place. A critical factor in most human error is largely dependent on time, which happened to be the case with the unfortunate event that had happened with the plane in Iran. 

Our presenter at the GCAS specified that the aviation industry is all about striking the perfect balance between businesses aspects like cost effectiveness and environmental aspects such as sustainability, creating relatively low operating margins of around 8% (as compared to Apple at 29.8%). As our natural resources on this planet are depleting, the UAE and the rest of the world is faced with the careful balance of managing of environmental challenges, oil challenges, and cultural challenges. He posed the question “What if we don’t need oil technology to exist?” This resonated with the group as we took a look into our future of renewable energy sources such as solar energy.

We concluded the evening at the Marsa Hotel in Dubai, where we were introduced to the CEO and founders of CTZN Cosmetics. The company was founded by three sisters Aleena, Aleezeh and Naseeha Khan, who shared a collective vision of a make-up community that is derived on 5 main factors: Inclusiveness, genderless, purposeful, vegan & vegetarian, and cruelty free. 

Wednesday January 8th 

The next morning we were invited to explore the DIFC (Dubai International Financial Center). We had an immersive discussion about the financial free zones of Dubai, as well as the booming economic past, present, and future of Dubai, which exists on a forward thinking timeline of 1976-2025. Later in the afternoon we were free to explore the art galleries of Za’abeel Second, Dubai’s financial campus. I took this time to relax in a well-lit gallery sitting room, which was centered around a magnificent translucent coffee table that encased pink & blue dyes, and crumpled gold foil. 

We then transitioned to another afternoon in the Souks. While we had some free time, I was honored to be among one of the non-muslim women, to visit the oldest Mosque in Dubai in Al Souq Al Kabeer. I was accompanied by two other group members, Veronica Cheng and Naomi Kitano, and we were invited to dress up in the traditional abaya and were given a tour by our guide, Yakob Mohammed. We were pleasantly surprised when we were invited to take unlimited photos and walk on the carpet with our bare feet. It was a very enlightening and honorable experience. 

Later, we met back up with the rest of the group to walk through the souks and were invited to attend a traditional lunch was hosted by a local emirate woman, Meera Alfalasi, who was proud to share her family's personal history as fishermen. The early industries of fishing and pearling gave wealth to a few founding families of the nation who make up the 20% of the Emirati population today. The UAE is home also too many expatriates, over 200 nationalities, although the largest groups are Indians and Pakistanis, at 28% and 12%, respectively. 

The bubbling nature of the UAE's melting pot combined with the security of oil reserves in 1966, provided fairly recent economic expansion and plenty of modern infrastructure and development under the rule of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan who was chosen as ruler of Dubai that same year. 

To conclude the afternoon, we toured the inside of the prized gem of the Dubai’s modern architecture, the Burj Khalifa. We were granted with expansive panoramic views on the 125th and 126th floors, where we could take in the past, present, and future ambitions of Dubai’s infrastructure. What a great photo opportunity!

Thursday January 9th 

The next day we were en route to Abu Dhabi. We said goodbye to Dubai on the white sand beaches of Umm Suqeim Third, where we had a lovely view of the Burj Al Arab, the only 7-star hotel in the world.