TRIP TO UAE By Ching Feng Chang
3/20/09
Our second daughter, Patty, works at an American firm at the capital city of Abu Dhabi of UAE (United Arab Emirates). She invited the whole family to visit her two months ago. Since Dubai is the biggest city, and has the most flights, we decided to meet in Dubai. Connie and Jim left Boston and arrived Dubai via Amsterdam. Shun-Tang, Cathy, and I left Cleveland and arrived Dubai via Paris. (No direct flight from our cities)
It was quite warm in January when we arrived, but it was comfortable. Patty had planned this family reunion for weeks and had events fully scheduled. Like visiting any new city on your first day, we took a double decker tour bus for a grand view of the city. One striking phenomenon you noticed right away is the amount of construction. It seemed as though all of the heavy cranes in the world were gathered in Dubai. (It is very similar to the construction activities in Berlin after the Berlin Wall came down)
UAE is a federation which consists of seven emirates, and was established in 1971. UAE is rich in crude oil and natural gas, and is very prosperous after the successful oil discovery in the 1960’s and foreign investments in the 1970’s. The government used the “petro” dollars wisely, and converted a nomadic tribe into a modern society at an astounding and ambitious speed. They built the tallest building in the world, (taller than Taipei 101) a man-made Atlantis on the Palm resorts, which can be spotted from space, the largest indoor aquarium in the Dubai Mall, a seven star hotel, an indoor ski slope where you can ski anytime during the year. They hire the best minds in the world for their planning, and use the most advanced technology (like electronic toll collecting system by using radio frequency ID technology) for their applications. Most huge companies, like Siemens, IBM, Microsoft, Bayer, Toyota etc., around the world, have their presence in Dubai. It has also been developed as a tourist “hot spot”, with many luxury stores, like Tiffany, Cartier etc., inside the malls for shopping.
There were many memorable events: such as walking around the renowned Jumeirah sandy beach; visiting a mosque; touring Palace and museums in Abu Dhabi and many museums in Dubai; and excellent eating near the bank of the river in Deira. I would just like to highlight two special arrangements made by Patty: one is very traditional, but new to us; and the other is very modern.
The modern one first: The afternoon tea at the sail-boat shaped seven star Burj Al Arab Jumeirah Hotel. It boasts itself as “the World’s Most Luxurious Hotel” It was built 280 meters away from the shores, designed to resemble the graceful sails of an Arabian dhow and soars to a height of 321 meters. We had our afternoon tea (it is a little over US$120 per person) at the top of the world’s tallest atrium (27th floor) with a magnificent view of the Dubai coastline, Atlantis on the Palm and Dubai skylines. The Hotel has a helicopter landing pad on the roof of the Hotel. Guests can be greeted and picked up at the Dubai International Airport and escorted to Hotel by helicopter. The room rates in January range from about $3,000 to $20,000 per night plus all of the service charges and taxes. We really enjoyed the architecturally magnificent exterior, a truly exuberant interior design, and the view of the surroundings. They have the best collection of the teas worldwide. I had the Wu-loong tea and it went well with all the finger-food.
The traditional one: The Safari trip to the desert. We drove out of the Dubai City for about an hour and arrived in the desert. Before we got into the real desert reservation area, the driver had to deflate the tire pressure, in order to proceed in the sandy terrain. The camels in UAE have a single hump, and stand about 10 feet tall. The six of us rode 3 camels on a very nice sunny day, which is new to all of us. (I had seen camels with two humps near Inner Mongolia, but never got close or rode them) After the camel rides, we were sand-boarding on a fairly long and steep sand slope. All of our three daughters and son-in-law know how to snowboard. It is much easier for them to get used to sand boarding. Shun-Tang and I were new to both, but we tried it anyway. I was falling half-way through, but having a good time.
After an exciting week of fast-paced activities, it was time to go home. Before we came home, we went to buy a lot of dates, which is the most famous fruit of the desert in UAE. It is very sweet and juicy. I could not stop eating them. Our family members all agreed that this is our best family reunion ever, and one of the best trips as well.
