A trip to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates is like a trip to wonderland, where everything is at your beck and call. The former dusty town has since been turned into a leading tourist destination and a metropolis to compete with any other in the first world.
Our family trip in 2009 to the Persian Gulf oil-producing state of 3.3 million people blew our mind, right from our arrival at the international airport where we received a royal treatment plus a team of sweet-talking men. Talk about being made to feel important and special; they tried to convince us to buy a million dollar apartment as an investment to be used in a global home-stay arrangement.
Awesome airport and service
The sales executives must have excelled in their training. They took advantage of the captive audience and treated each one with respect, boosted our egos saying: “Nothing is impossible, it’s individuals that make them so.’’ They showed us high quality mesmerizing videos of the latest designs of sky-crappers, rooms, interior décor and landscaping.
Most of the first time tourists were invited to a room and briefed about investments opportunities in the gulf state ruled by a royal family. There were several Africans, including Kenyans, as well as others from South America, United States of America and Canada.
We all had one thing in common other than being tourists. We had proved that we had an interest in travelling, having fun and appreciating different cultures, cuisine and destinations. To the sweet-talking executives, we had the extra cash that they were interested in convincing us to commit ourselves to invest in the current and proposed sky scrapers in the then fastest-growing metropolis in the world; thanks to petro-dollars and other mega investments by their government.
The middle-aged sales executive did not bother to ask us about our holiday plans and itinerary, he only focused on “selling us the best deal in the world!” Indeed, he was up to his game and even offered us an incentive of a free daylong trip to some of the most popular destinations of our choice in Dubai. These were a desert safari, Wild Wadi Waterpark, Mall of the Emirates, Dubai Gold Souk and Dubai Mall among others.
By then, the Dubai government in partnership with their Ministry of Tourism and Emirates Airlines, the national carrier, had a deliberate policy to promote tourism by charging passengers very competitive rates for round trip tickets and accommodation in leading hotels.
City of Gold
The cost of our four round-trip tickets to Dubai was just slightly higher than a trip from Nairobi to Mombasa. From the Dubai International Airport, we were welcomed by a tour guide who flashed our names on a billboard with the name of the hotel we had been booked in by an agent.
The 15-minute drive to the city centre was like a movie, watching the palm-tree-lined highway, the latest sports, saloon and four wheel cars and limousines cruising to and from; the super highways crisscrossing each other as we saw the dazzling skyscrapers that were over 50 stories high mushrooming along the way to our hotel. One of them was the headquarters of Al Jazeera Television Network, an international TV network broadcasting in Arabic and in English to its millions of viewers.
And for the next four days we had a fully-packed itinerary visiting one tourist site after another; going shopping at the most glamorous malls I had ever patronized by then. In one of them, they had a brand new Rolls Royce ready for whoever won a raffle ticket linked to purchase of goods in one of the numerous shops in the mall. We tried our luck, but as has been the practice in the past, lady luck turned her face against us!
$1 million Royce Royce
We opted to go to the Wild Wadi Waterpark instead of the Desert Safari, which was a complimentary offer by the sweet-talking executives at Dubai International Airport after our exhausted bodies decided to take an extra hour of sleep! The entertainment at the venue was worth every cent.
We did not regret, as the theme park, waterslides and special effects there were worth the afternoon outing. The artificial waves controlled electronically were the biggest hit; we all loved it!
The next day we started our day at the exclusive Palm Jumeirah, the dhow-shaped iconic hotel built 50 metres from the beach in the ocean, where we had a sumptuous breakfast on the 50th floor and crowned it with champagne as a leading Arab jazz band played live music in the background.
The entire building’s interior was dazzling with gold-plated, marble and silver. The costs of the five-course breakfast, call it brunch here in Kenya, was not for the hollo poloi. Indeed, it was worth “eating with a big spoon,” for once with the who-is-who in the world as we watched the sun rise in the horizon.
On our way out on the ground floor, we saw many tourists standing by the main gate admiring the hotel and taking photos of it and the entrance where a life-size gold-coated camel stood tall.
The building had a helipad for visitors who were ready to pay an extra fee to be taken by chopper from the airport all the way onto the roof of the hotel and then to use it to tour some of the tourist sites in the city and beyond.
We then went on a tour of Dubai city in a taxi starting with the tallest building then, Burj Khalifa. It had 148 floors, and had just been opened to the public. Our son and daughter literally made us “shop till we could drop!”
Gold-plated grand mosque
We later went on a tour of the souks, where I saw the largest number of stores specializing on selling gold ware which included watches, chains, and bracelets among others. My wife then bought me a souvenir gold ring to commemorate our 30th wedding anniversary.
The number of tourists who toured and patronized the shops was testimony of how endowed Dubai is. Whoever said money does not grow on trees was spot on, but he forgot to include that in Dubai people spend it lavishly at the souks.
On our second last day, we went on a long drive to neighbouring Abu Dhabi, some 138 kilometers away, almost the same distance from Nairobi to Nakuru, on one of the smoothest and well-kept highways I had ever seen. The roadside was lined with desert plants and beautiful palm trees with a fence with paintings of flora and fauna to keep off the boring dessert landscape.
The only major attraction on that long route was Ferrari World, one of the best theme parks with the world’s fastest rollercoaster. It also boasts of the largest space structure, a favorite for motor sports enthusiasts by the rich and famous.
Once in Abu Dhabi we were shown one of the former palaces of the king of Dubai, on the shores of the Persian Gulf, which was later sold to an American chain of deluxe hotels. We did not dare even ask for the price of a drink or a meal there; leave alone for accommodation per night. It looked as exclusive as it was without a warning sign: “Keep off, trespassers will be prosecuted!” But we were glad to have the other sites open to the public. One was the Abu Dhabi Museum where we were shown through paintings, home crafts, oral literature, the culture and history of the mini state and its people.
From there, we went to Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, the biggest mosque in the world. It was decorated with gold, marble and silver and was a sight to behold. It was built by a former King of Abu Dhabi, for the love of Allah (God).
As a staunch Christian from Kenya, I had assumed the tour was only of the exterior, just to be surprised to be allowed to enter, after depositing our shoes at the entrance, and being asked to allow my wife and daughter to use another entrance. Our tour guide informed us that it was open to the public throughout the day and the week with exception of during prayer times when only Muslims are allowed in.
For the next 10 minutes, my son, Biko, and I were mesmerized by the number of gold and marble used in the holy sanctuary, just to be woken from my dream world and brought to reality when my wife and daughter rejoined us wearing a black buibui (veil). For a second I could not recognize my wife and daughter!
We then sat on the very thick carpet as the tour guide gave us a brief history of the mosque and how it was built and donated by a former King of Abu Dhabi, thanks to the petro-dollars from the oil fields that the gulf-state was blessed with.
As we walked out of the breathtaking mosque, we saw two air force jets over flying the area. It was a reminder that they were not taking security issues lightly. This was shortly after President Sadam Hussein of Iraq, had invaded Dubai and forced the United States President George Bush, to team up with his British counterpart, Margaret Thatcher, and NATO allies to lead a military force to evict the dictator and his troops in a bloody five-week long war.
The drive back to Dubai was uneventful, we arrived at dusk, in time to freshen up and take a taxi for a sundowner and dhow ride where we enjoyed seeing the city from the sea. The colourful dhows with tantalizing decorations and lights crisscrossed the gulf transporting tourists and residents back and forth with some of them having live musicians to entertain their patrons as they served rinks and dinner. It was a scene to behold.
The next day, it was time to pack up and leave for the airport. We were exhausted but happy to have enjoyed such a wonderful holiday in the Middle East, which back home, has been in the news for all the wrong reasons because of terrorisms and tension between the Israelis and their Arab neighbours.
Among the few Kenyans at the airport whom we met was then Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary Mwangi Thuita and his wife and children who told us how they were excited to have enjoyed their holiday and were heading home, ready for the new year and back to school hustles.
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