We woke up this morning and went to breakfast at our hotel in Dubai. I’m trying not to take it personally, but we were the only people there. It could be because the building is mostly residences, or because breakfast is pretty expensive—but honestly, if they’re trying to discourage people, they’re doing a terrible job. The spread was incredible: Middle Eastern dishes, American breakfast staples, salads, vegetables, fresh fruit, pastries, and even the option to order a hot entrée from the menu. It felt less like breakfast and more like we had accidentally wandered into a private buffet.
Today, before meeting Taita and Amoo, we decided to explore Old Dubai, starting with the Al Seef neighborhood. Al Seef is designed to recreate what Dubai looked like before the skyscrapers—narrow alleyways, sand-colored buildings, traditional wind towers, and markets along the water. It sits along Dubai Creek, which was historically the center of trade and fishing long before oil and luxury transformed the city. Walking through it feels like stepping into the past, even though the modern skyline is never too far away.
Today, before meeting Taita and Amoo, we decided to explore Old Dubai, starting with the Al Seef neighborhood. Al Seef is designed to recreate what Dubai looked like before the skyscrapers—narrow alleyways, sand-colored buildings, traditional wind towers, and markets along the water. It sits along Dubai Creek, which was historically the center of trade and fishing long before oil and luxury transformed the city. Walking through it feels like stepping into the past, even though the modern skyline is never too far away.
Dubai itself is often described as having two identities: Old Dubai and New Dubai. The contrast is so striking that they built an entire monument to frame it—literally. The Dubai Frame is a massive rectangular structure positioned so that from the top, you can look one direction and see the low-rise, historic neighborhoods, and then turn around and see the futuristic skyline filled with glass towers. It was built to symbolize the city’s transformation from fishing village to global powerhouse in just a few decades.
For as modern and advanced as Dubai feels—and as much as it markets itself as the city of the future—the public transportation system still has some catching up to do. There is a metro, tram, and bus system, but they don’t always connect seamlessly, don’t run as frequently as you’d expect, and aren’t especially cheap. So like most people here, we relied on Careem, the region’s version of Uber, which quickly became our best friend.
After Al Seef, we headed to the beautiful Jumeirah Mosque, one of the most famous and photographed mosques in the city. It’s known for its stunning white stone architecture and is also one of the few mosques in Dubai that actively welcomes non-Muslim visitors for guided tours to learn about Islamic culture and religion. We had missed visiting hours—and we also weren’t exactly dressed appropriately—but even from the outside, it was impressive. The symmetry, the intricate details, and the calmness surrounding it made it feel like a quiet pause in the middle of an otherwise fast-moving city.
For as modern and advanced as Dubai feels—and as much as it markets itself as the city of the future—the public transportation system still has some catching up to do. There is a metro, tram, and bus system, but they don’t always connect seamlessly, don’t run as frequently as you’d expect, and aren’t especially cheap. So like most people here, we relied on Careem, the region’s version of Uber, which quickly became our best friend.
After Al Seef, we headed to the beautiful Jumeirah Mosque, one of the most famous and photographed mosques in the city. It’s known for its stunning white stone architecture and is also one of the few mosques in Dubai that actively welcomes non-Muslim visitors for guided tours to learn about Islamic culture and religion. We had missed visiting hours—and we also weren’t exactly dressed appropriately—but even from the outside, it was impressive. The symmetry, the intricate details, and the calmness surrounding it made it feel like a quiet pause in the middle of an otherwise fast-moving city.
We had planned to go up the Dubai Frame, but the $30 entrance fee and 90-minute wait immediately cured us of that ambition. Instead, we crossed the street to one of Dubai’s most famous discount gift shops, which somehow managed to sell everything from keychains to suitcases to an alarming amount of chocolate. Naturally, we did our part to support the local economy and bought enough chocolate to last at least a month. Priorities.
After a full morning of exploring, we headed back to our hotel near the Dubai Marina, one of the most popular residential waterfront areas in the city, known for its towering apartment buildings, luxury yachts, and long pedestrian promenade. Since it was 75° here and a whopping 10° back at home, we were more than happy to take advantage of the heated infinity pool overlooking the marina. Floating in warm water while knowing everyone back home was freezing felt like one of the rare moments where we were absolutely winning at life.
That evening, we finally reunited with Taita and Amoo. Baba and the girls hadn’t seen them in over four years, and somehow no amount of FaceTime can make up for that first hug in person.
We headed to Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR), a lively beachfront area filled with restaurants, shops, and people out enjoying the warm evening air. We had dinner at a Turkish restaurant that served some of the best Middle Eastern food I’ve had in years—fresh bread, grilled meats, and flavors that reminded us exactly why we love traveling.
Although there was one tradition we could have done without.
When someone nearby celebrated a birthday, the staff came out singing—and not just with a candle, but with actual blowtorches and flaming sticks. I am not exaggerating when I say the flames came within inches of burning my hair off. One guy was swinging a blowtorch through the air while another waved what appeared to be machetes, and I found myself wondering if this was dinner or an unannounced audition for a traveling circus.
It was mildly terrifying.
But honestly, the food was good enough that we stayed anyway.
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