Mike and I often talk about how our life here is vastly different from our lives back in the Queen City (Charlotte, NC)
Doing Staycations is something that we would never have done. One because our budget was tight and Two we never had time. So we jump at chances to Do Life Big!
We did a Staycation in Dubai where we did what most tourists would do. We visited all of the major attractions in Dubai and we had an amazing time. We stayed at a Marriott in Dubai called Marriott al Jaddaf. This hotel is lovely and even though it's not in the heart of the city it's not far from the city because the view from the top is beautiful.
I've mentioned many times that we are members are several hotel chains reward programs. We used Marriott Moments to book our tourist package. Because we booked it this way we were able to get an amazing deal and we got points too. It's a win-win!
We were picked up from our hotel and taken to our first stop, a dhow cruise around Dubai. The cruise was nice. It allowed us to see the view from the marina and take a moment to relax.
After the cruise we went to Palm Island which is a man made island and something that Dubai is known for.
The island is home to several hotels, restaurants, and Atlantis. It is our hope that one day we will stay there. The tour bus took us right to it and it was even more magnificent up close. We arrived at Atlantis right as the sun began going down.
Our next stop after Atlantis was the Burj al Arab. The Burj al Arab is the only 7 star hotel in the world. That was not a typo, Yes, 7 star hotel. We were not able to go inside but we did get pictures of it up close.
After the Burj al Arab we went to a shop where they make local carpets and they also sell souvenirs. Even though we are loving the life we are living we do think that 1 day (no time soon though) that we will return and live out our lives back home. We want to have some memorabilia from our travels and time abroad so when we see nice things that may commemorate our time we do not hesitate to purchase. With that being said we bought a handmade piece.
The final stop on our tour was dinner by the Burj Khalifa fountains. The Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world. We have been to it several times but we have never gone inside or up. Dinner was at the Armani Hotel which is inside the Burj Khalifa.
While we ate we could see the nightly fountain show from our table.
After dinner, we went inside the Burj Khalifa and went up to the 125th floor. The elevator only took 7 seconds and I have to say it didn't feel like we were moving at an extremely fast pace. Once we got to the 125th floor, we took pictures on a green screen and then were able to walk around take in the view.
We were then taken back to our hotel and we called it a night to remember.
We spent the remainder of the weekend lounging around the hotel.
Our most recent staycation was at the St. Regis on Saadiyat Island. This island is about 10-15 minutes from where we live. We could actually see our tower from our room! This hotel is beautiful! This hotel is a 5 star hotel and the service was unmatched. It's situated on it's own private beach which means we had some amazing views. Below is a video of the room.
Growing up my family would take beach trips. On every beach trip my Mom would let us know that she was going to catch the sunrise just in case we woke up and didn't see her. I never understood this. If we're on vacation we should sleep in! I told Mike that I was going to catch the sunrise just to see if I could understand why she felt the need to do this. Yep! I now understand. It was so peaceful and so beautiful. I do not have the words to really describe this hotel so I will let the pictures do all of the talking even though they will not do it justice.
THE SUNRISE
OUR HOME
Thank you for reading. In the next blog we're going to answer questions that people have asked us about living over here. If you have a question feel free to leave it in the comments. Until next time...
Before coming here people were so quick to tell us about all of the things WE WOULD NOT be able to do. I am happy to report that many of those things simply arennot true. People said I would have to always cover up. Nope. People said we would have to walk on different sides of the road or hallway. Nope. People said we would not be able to hold hands or show affection. Nope.
Our view about being in a Muslim country is this: "Even though we are not Muslim, we will still respect their values and traditions." One of those traditions that has raised our respect is Ramadan. If you're wondering what Ramadan is I'll break it down for you.
Ramadan is the 9th month of the Muslim year and Muslims fast from sun up to sun down. That is the meaning in the most simplest terms.
In my classroom my boys love to tell me about their customs and practices because they love for me to tell them about the way I grew up and my values, customs, and practices. So, they told me that it is supposed to be a month of reflection where Muslims try to be the best that they can be. Well, this definition came in handy for me because if someone was not remembering our classroom etiquette I would say, "Are you being the best Muslim you can be right now?" I know, I know, Ramadan won't last forever but for now this is coming in handy! 😆 But I digress.
During Ramadan everyone observes a shorter work day, restaurants don't open until later, and some are closed throughout Ramadan. The food courts in the mall are blocked by curtains and if you eat, drink, or smoke in public you could face a fine. For Muslims this means they do not eat, drink, or smoke, while the sun is up. In addition to that married couples are to abstain from sex during Ramadan. (I will not comment on that.)
Another awesome thing about Ramadan is charity. That is another important principle of Ramadan. During this time there are refrigerators around the city where people can take what they need for FREE. There are also tents for Iftar (the meal that breaks the fast) for FREE and for people of all religions. I think this is AMAZING! Even though the UAE is a very rich country there are some people who live here who are not rich so these free meals are beneficial to them.
The first day of Ramadan, which was a school day, I tried to fast. It is so hard. After teaching 2-90 minute classes I really wanted a sip of water more than anything. My respect for Muslims and this tradition quadrupled.
Selfish benefits of Ramadan are school starts later and dismisses early and many of my boys don't come to school. I totally understand why. They get up at like 1am to eat a pre dawn meal which is called Suhoor and then they come to school and have to learn and participate without being able to eat or drink. They don't break their fast until the sun sets which is usually after 7pm. That could make for a long day so I definitely understand why many of them don't come and I for one am not complaining! One day in my class of 30 students, 1 boy showed up! He said, "Ms. today we are 1." I said, "No problem, let's have class." If looks could kill!
As I am writing this, there is about 1 week left of Ramadan which will be followed by a holiday called Eid al Fitr. With this holiday 1 of the malls has announced they will be open for 24 hours and they will have sales with 90% off. Mike and I have made a list of all the things we need and we will be partakers of the sale!
During Ramadan, I took time to reflect on my life and my goals. I created a Fitness notebook where I track my progress and set goals. I created a Prayer Journal that I hope will help me with a consistent prayer life, and I have bought materials to create a travel scrapbook that I have been wanting to create.
In closing, religions are all very similar. And if we are all striving to be the best we can be and live our best lives there is nothing wrong with combining the best practices of each religion.
In the last post I talked about being in many different FB groups. This post will begin the same way. Recently I joined a group called UAE Staycations and after browsing through the group my first thought was where has this been all my life???
The first thing I saw that caught my eye was this...
Mike and I have been talking about staying at a St. Regis ever since we saw this one on the Corniche. The rate being advertised was about 50% off the regular room rate. I talked to Mike about it and we decided we could not pass it up. St. Regis is a part of a chain we are Rewards members for and Mike's first thought was we're about to get points and we're going to get 20% off all of our food beverage. This was a no brainer really!
We arrived at the hotel and were greeted by such grandeur! This hotel was immaculate!
The valet took our car and the bellmen insisted on taking our bags. We were escorted to 1 of several check in desks and without hesitation or without asking us first we were brought a nice cold glass of juice which was delicious!
We went through the standard rigamarole of showing IDs and presenting a credit card and then the young lady who checked us in escorted us to the elevators and thanked us again for staying and for being Preferred Guests, which means we are members of their rewards program.
We got up to the 40th floor and our jaws dropped. We've stayed at our share of hotel rooms but this room was different than the others. See the video below for a tour of the room.
The view from our room humbled me ever so quickly. I'm amazed at the life I get to lead now and I'm so humbled and grateful for this opportunity. Check out the view.
We looked around and gawked at all of the things in the room and then the doorbell rang. It was the bellman bringing our bags and he let us know if we needed anything to dial "0". We thanked him and he left.
We looked at the view and just talked and the doorbell rang again. This time we had no idea who it could be. Well, it was our personal butler bringing us fruit, his business card, and explaining all of the things he would for us complimentary. With his permission I took a short video of part of his explanation.
Our butler left and then we were off to see "Avengers: Infinity War". Much to our surprise and partial chagrin the theater was filled with teenagers. We chose a time based on the amount of teenagers we thought would be there. Mike didn't want them talking throughout the movie and for the most part they didn't. The movie was really good. I know I'll be posting this blog before many of you have gotten a chance to see so I won't go into detail. I will say this one was filled with much more death than I had anticipated and in true Marvel fashion there was an extra scene at the end of the credits. Many of our fellow movie goers knew that because at the conclusion of the movie they did not leave.
We returned back to our hotel and were greeted with bedroom slippers beside the bed, the laundry services tray on the bed, and a massage coupon. Again, we were impressed.
We decided to eat on the property to be able to gain more Starwoods Points. Their restaurant The Terrace had a salmon vs. tuna buffet with grilled meat being offered too. The food was delicious and the service again was impeccable. I am not a beef eater because of what it does to my body but I sacrificed because it looked so good and I'm glad I did. The salmon was great and the dessert area was even better! I love chocolate and they had brownies and chocolate cake that I devoured along with some vanilla ice cream.
#DontJudge
I plan on working out extra this week and doing a week of salads! So, put away your judgement face. We ate until our heart's content and retired back to our room for the night.
All in all, night 1 was amazing and I can't wait to see what Day 2/Night 2 has in store.
We woke up Friday morning and decided to hit breakfast since it was included in our rate. We didn't want to over indulge since we would be enjoying the brunch later on in the day. There were so many breakfast options. The one thing that surprised me was seeing this...
Yep! Pork was being offered. Now, I'm not a big pork eater but I do love bacon with my pancakes so I had to get me 1 strip! Mike ordered a made to eat omelette and it looked wonderful. I'm not a fan to eggs so I stuck to the foods I really like.
We ate and talked and decided to rest up before our brunch reservation.
Before I talk about brunch let me first say that I had heard that the brunch at St. Regis is a 1 of a kind. I wasn't actually sure what to expect and I was pleasantly surprised and overwhelmed by what I saw. Let me walk you through then I want you to enjoy the video I created.
I walked up and gave them the name our reservation was under. I was escorted to the waiting area which was filled with beverages (alcoholic and non alcoholic) and cheese. We walked through the dessert room to get there though. That is not an overstatement or mistake, yes, a dessert room. Anyway, I was told about all of the many complimentary beverages and asked to just hang out until the hostess came to escort to my table. I walked around in awe with a drink in my hand. After a few minutes I was escorted to my table and the hostess explained all of the many stations/areas.
Starter Station
Live Pasta Station
Tuscan Italian Station
Beef Station
Pork Station
Hot Buffet Station
Cold Seafood Station
Cheese Fondue Station
Grilled Station
BBQ Station
Grilled Fresh Seafood Station
Pastry/Bread Station
Now, I bet you're wondering if the stations were stocked with food or was it just a small amount of food. The stations were filled with so many options! You'll see from the video. I did not know where to start so I walked around looking at what I wanted to try and just got 1 piece of bread to enjoy while I decided. After the bread I went for salt crusted salmon and jasmine rice. Both were so delicious! After that I tried to explore as many stations as I could. As I was enjoying my food, one of the chefs came around offering grilled chicken. It was so juicy and good!
Not long after he went by, another chef and a host came around offering 3 types of pasta: pesto lasagna, pasta carbonara, and another pasta I did not hear the name of. I tried each and I loved the pasta carbonara the most. I'm not a huge fan of pesto but it was good. Mike tried the 3rd kind and he said it was ok but his favorite was also pasta carbonara.
Shortly after they went by 1 of the bar tenders came around offering drinks even though our waiter had been bringing me various drinks to try. The bar tender made me a Mai Tai which was quite good.
We continued to eat, talk, and enjoy and then a chef came around asking us if we wanted to try chocolate. The chef was actually cutting the chocolate off of this huge round cylinder of chocolate. I love chocolate so I agreed to try it!
After enjoying the chocolate and drinks we were invited outside for the cutting of the champagne bottle. That was rather neat to see.
We went back in and tried to finish our drinks and what we had on our plates and then we decided to head back to our hotel room and relax from all of the food we just devoured.
We decided to go to the pool and get a view of the city at night and it did not disappoint.
I'm not a swimmer and I have never have been too keen on the water but Mike loves the water!
We returned back to our room and were greeted by this.
Now what you've been waiting for the video of the brunch! Please enjoy.
If you ever come to Abu Dhabi I would like to recommend staying at the St. Regis and enjoying their Friday brunch. We have had an amazing staycation! And it's not over. We were told that the Saturday breakfast won't end until 3:00pm! So, it is our plan to walk over to the beach and then come back and enjoy the breakfast.
We didn't make it to the beach because the sleep monster wouldn't let us up but breakfast was great! We enjoyed it and then we checked out and headed home.
We had a wonderful Staycation and cannot wait until the next one!
The island is home to several hotels, restaurants, and Atlantis. It is our hope that one day we will stay there. The tour bus took us right to it and it was even more magnificent up close. We arrived at Atlantis right as the sun began going down.
