We had an unforgettable vacation in Dubai and Abu Dhabi and were surprised (again!!) with the speed of these cities’ metamorphosis that is unparalleled, creating thriving megacities in the heart of the desert in less than half a century. From beaches that fringe the warm waters of the Arabian Gulf and ambitious artificial archipelagos, to the architectural marvels, amazing restaurants and the most prestigious international sporting events, both places were irresistibly dynamic, with some of the world’s most unique and modern attractions.  The word ‘cannot’ doesn’t appear to exist in those cities dictionary. 

We left on an evening night flight out of IAH, Houston, TX airport for a seventeen-hour non-stop flight to Dubai, UAE on Tuesday, March 19th, 2024.   On our trip, a good friend from my job at CITGO Petroleum, Oscar Romo, came along with us.  I teased Oscar, being currently single, that he might possibly meet some rich single woman during the trip's excursions.  We also met Genia's mom Svetlana at Dubai's International Airport where she arrived four hours earlier from a flight from Moscow, Russia.

Our lodging for the trip was the Marriot Resort Palm Jumeirah, which is located with beautiful views of the beach on the world famous Palm Island of UAE.  All of our rooms had balcony views of the ocean.   The entire trip itinerary is in this PDF document.

Tuesday, March 19th - Houston: Departure

Oscar met us at our home and we drove to IAH together.  We arrived at the airport two and a half hours in advance and enjoyed a relaxing bite to eat at Landry's Seafood Restaurant in the airport.  Our flight was on a Airbus A380 plane which is one of the largest planes that are in use.  We had premium seats in the front of the plane that made for a very comfortable experience especially with the entire premium section empty except for around ten people. 

Wednesday, March 20th - Dubai: Arrival evening at Marriot Palm Jumeirah

The flight time was roughly seventeen hours and with the process of taxing on runway, disembarking, getting luggage and then UBERing to hotel made an arrival time at the Hotel around 7:30pm.  The Dubai International Airport is a very beautiful airport and customs is very quick and easy to process through the UAE's Customs.  Mom was waiting for us at the exit of the arrivals area where we quickly booked an UBER ride.

The Marriot Palm Jumeirah is a very spacious and gorgeous hotel with multiple restaurants, shopping areas, gym, spacious pool, private beach area and many other amenities.

Thursday, March 21st - Dubai: Beach, Miracle Garden and Palm Boardwalk

Strangely, all of us while a little tired from time the nine hour time change, were not affected very much.  We went down for a 7:30am breakfast outside in the courtyard.  Hotel breakfast is very extensive buffet that included many international choices along with custom options.

After breakfast we headed down to enjoy the beautiful beach and clear ocean water.  After swimming in the ocean we spent a little time at the pool before headed to lunch at Senior Pico's restaurant which was located on the beach in front of the Marriot.

After lunch we spent three hours at Dubai Miracle Garden.  The flowers and plants are amazingly beautifully done.

Friday, March 22nd - Abu Dhabi: Louvre Museum, Emirates Palace and Grand Mosque

After eating breakfast in the courtyard at our hotel, we took an individual booked tour for the four of us to several places in Abu Dhabi.  Abu Dhabi is an around an hour drive from our hotel, where along the way we got to enjoy seeing parts of the country and our tour guide chauffeur gave us a wonderful explanation of sights along the way.

Our first stop was the Louvre Abu Dhabi built on top of an ocean tributary inlet.  The architecture of the building is extraordinary beautiful.

Our second stop was for a very delicious lunch meal at Al Aslah Restaurant, which is a local favorite.  The buffet choices were excellent and we had a very nice view across the waterway to Abu Dhabi along with our next stop at the Emirates Palace.

Our third stop was the Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental.  In order to enter the campus, all people must be properly clothed with no short pants or skirts, where guards at the entrance inspect people coming in vehicles.  Once inside, you are allowed to wear anything comfortable.  Oscar had to wear a kaftan thobe inside the car we were travelling in order to be allowed onto the premises.  After getting through the front gate, our tour guide said he could take it off.  The Palace is immense and everywhere is an ostentatious visual of design architecture and use of building materials.

Our fourth stop was the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque that is exquisitely built with the finest marbles, jewels, diamonds, and a carpet that was hand-made at the location that is one continuous piece throughout the entire prayer area.

Saturday, March 23rd - The View at the Palm, Downtown Dubai Mall and Fountain, and Leto's Restaurant

We started the day off with breakfast at the hotel with the beautiful views of the courtyard, pool and ocean.  After breakfast was gym time and walking on the boardwalk.

First excursion was going to the The View at the Palm which was a 10 minute walk from our hotel.  Genia, mom and I had been to the View on the previous trip, where Genia and mom had a SPA day, and just me and Oscar walked down to the View.  At the top of the View at the Palm, the entire Palm Peninsula can be seen with spectacular views in every direction.

Second excursion was to the Dubai Downtown Mall, which is the second largest Mall in the world as of 2024.  A downloadable phone application to direct your actual "footsteps" to find areas of interest is required.  Unlike Malls in many other places that I have been, everything is spotlessly clean and every shop is kept meticulously. 

The third excursion was checking out the Hotel's free bikes to ride around the Boardwalk with some stops to check out places.  The bikes were very nice and comfortable, which are known as sea-side bikes.  I told Genia that she needs a small dog, like the one from Wizard of Oz named Toto, to put in her bike's basket.

Sunday, March 24th - Genia's Birthday at Atmosphere at the 122nd floor of the Burj Khalifa followed by visit to Old Dubai District with stop at famous Arabian Tea House

Like all mornings, we arrived at the hotel's main restaurant area for breakfast at the huge buffet of choices, where we always had a great view of the courtyard, pool, boardwalk and ocean.  All of us get down around 7:15am and almost have the entire restaurant to ourselves where around 8:30 the restaurant always becomes very crowded.

After breakfast, we worked out at the gym, walked the boardwalk and had pool swimming time. 

Our next excursion was for lunch at the Atmosphere Restaurant on the 122nd floor of the Burj Khalifa to celebrate Genia's birthday.   Each of us chose a different variation of one of the five course meals that included a dessert.  The view was magnificent and the food was delicious albeit small portions as reflected in our faces when received the main course.

After lunch we changed into street clothes to go to a part of Old Dubai.  Before leaving we got one photo of all of us outside at the base of the Burj Khalifa.  Notice how immaculate and clean the streets and corridors which is case everywhere we went in the entirety of Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Next, we walked from Al Bastakiya District to the Arabian Tea House.  The Arabian Tea House is listed in several tourist guides a beautiful restaurant with delicious entries, drinks and desserts.

Monday, March 25th - Dubai Frame, Zabeel Park, AYA Universal, WAFI City, and relax at Beach

While Genia and mom has SPA time at our Hotel, Oscar and I went to the Dubai Frame.  When we arrived early morning, we realized that this is a very popular excursion where we had around an hour wait in line to get into the Dubai Frame.

After lunch we all went to WAFI city to see AYA Universe exhibit and experience.  The AYA experience is a very beautifully lighted place with multiple rooms containing different experiences based on light changes including sounds with music.  Most rooms could not be captured with a photo to do the room justice in beauty.

After the AYA Universe, we enjoyed WAFI City Mall shopping and some enjoying the Egyptian theme.

When we arrived back at the hotel, we enjoyed one last time at the ocean and swimming pool before heading to dinner.

Tuesday, March 26th - Flights back to Houston and Lipetsk

We were at Dubai's International Airport by 6:00am for check-ins and some breakfast before our two perspective flights back to home.