As a tourist, departing Israel is easy as long as you pack your own bags, aren’t carrying a package from someone else, and you answer truthfully when a security agent asks a question. Israeli security is trained to spot a lie by watching the micro-gestures in your face. I usually get questioned about a trip to Jordan we took 9 years ago. Even though I have been to Egypt three times since then, they continue to ask about Jordan.

This time I had a new passport with a few European stamps, so Jordan was no longer on my mind. But this agent had a different line of questioning “Where does your last name originate? What does it mean?” I was surprised and knew lying was out of the question. To answer accurately, Syria (the location of the village my ancestors came from before the 1900s) or Lebanon (the location of the village once Lebanon became a state in 1944) was tempting fate. I thought quickly and said, ‘Well, it depends on which language and how it is spelled. In Greek (I learned on a visit to Crete) Nisi means ‘Island’ and in Hebrew “Nassi’ means President.” The agent seemed satisfied, A. was pleased and I was beyond relieved.

In January we usually take a trip for A.s birthday. We had planned to travel to the Philippines and Bali. Because of hotel closures, boat worries and weather issues we kept changing the itinerary, so much so that the trip morphed into something else entirely, and all of our enthusiasm evaporated. We had been in Dubai previously, once as a layover and once as a three day visit which, despite the heat, we thoroughly enjoyed. So, we compromised by booking five nights in Dubai and three nights in the Al Wadi desert. We looked forward to lying on the beach without the extreme heat of the summer, eating at MENA* Awarded restaurants (especially Indian and Japanese ones), and buying some essentials I cannot find in Israel.

Room with a view. The Burj is front and center.

Since our last visit the airport upgraded its immigration area with a new, automated Fast Track lane for return visitors. Since this was our third visit, we chose this line forgetting we both had new passports with new numbers, so we were re-routed to the main, and much longer border control line. When the agents returned our passports, they gave us a complimentary 1GB Sim card. We agreed that it was a smart, low cost, feel good gift for the visitor and could also be a smart, low cost, tracking device for the Emirati authorities.

Dubai is many things, but it is not the ‘Vegas of the Middle East.’ Because of strict Islamic laws there is not a casino or strip club in sight. Alcohol is available only in licensed public places or private homes. Even PDAs (Public Displays of Affections) are punishable by Sharia law.

This photo was taken in Abu Dhabi just before being admonished by the guards because avram placed his hand on my back while taking this selfie!

The landscape is glittery skyscrapers and shopping malls, restaurants and race cars, beaches and burqas. There is no sales or income tax, which is a huge incentive for investors and tourists. Less than 15% of the people are native Emiratis, the majority of the population is its workforce of Indian, Bangladeshi, and Pakistanis. I must mention how efficient Uber is in Dubai. They arrive within minutes, and if you choose the ‘green’ option, a white Tesla almost always appears.

A sweet welcome from the Mandarin Oriental

We had an ambitious first day planned focused on Art, Food and the Future. We got lost in a maze of skyscrapers downtown and never found the Takahashi Murakami exhibit. We did enjoy a delicious Japanese lunch at Zuma (MENA #2).

Sadly, Zuma fell from MENA #2 to #13 in 2023

It was difficult for pedestrians to cross the street, at least the peacocks get a sign

Our visit to the Museum of the Future ended in the lobby because there were no tickets available until February. We did admire the architecture from the outside - a sort of lop-sided oval with beautiful black calligraphy carved into its metallic surface.

Arabic quotes from the Ruler of Dubai - Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The lobby uses the same calligraphy debossed into the walls and ceiling, and the lighting created moving, tonal shadows.

The metallic star inside was helium-filled penguin that flew around the lobby, above the queue, its beak nodding to good things upstairs.

Dubai was experiencing unusual and intense rains. We braved the flooded freeways and set out for an early dinner at Tresind Studio. Tresind has a chain of restaurants around Dubai and its studio is the only Michelin starred Indian restaurant in the UAE. It has an inventive 18 course menu with an equally inventive cocktail menu. I read that it was possible to sit at the Papadom botanic bar and enjoy a few snacks from the menu. It was the perfect compromise for us, we could have a taste of Tresind without the four hour commitment. The restaurant was a ‘on the Palm’ - a 45 minute drive away. To confuse matters, there is another Tresind restaurant at The One and Only Palm Hotel, also ‘on the Palm’, and our Uber delivered us there in error. I wasn’t about to eat at MENA#18 when we were expected at MENA#4, so we hired another Uber to take us 15 minutes backward to the Nakhill Mall, where the Tresind Studio was located. There was signage for the restaurant at the entry of the St. Regis Hotel but their elevators were blocked. We had to go inside the mall, escalate to the roof, walk between buildings through a few unmarked doors, and travel down a long corridor of temporary walls to find the restaurant. An ‘Adventure’ we declared - a turn of phrase we use when we are frustrated by an experience.

The long and winding road to Tresind Studio.

We sat at the tiny 4 seat bar off the main dining room. The bar tenders and wait staff were mostly from India, so we chatted about our countries and theirs. They were passionate about their cocktail craft and the presentation of the bar snacks. After a few cocktails and many laughs we promised to return. The staff were happily anticipating the news about the MENA 2023 award winners which would be announced in three days.

The lovely Mr Rishabh Mehrotra (bartender/waiter/entertainment!) posing with the Dahi puri chat - small fried balls of pumpkin mash with a basil and mango chutney that arrived on tiny ceramic elephants. Tresind Studio rose from MENA#4 to #2 in 2023

The cocktail menu used a Mandala graphic to emphasize the various qualities of the drinks. The circle size denotes its flavor contribution to the cocktail -its sweetness, strength, floral or fruity, bitter and umami.

The next day was A.s Birthday. We met our friend Christine for lunch at Orfali Bros MENA#6.

The restaurant is in an understated building (not a hotel finally!), with an ecclectic and casual atmosphere.

Swimming in the rain - a lego -like shark in the courtyard.

The orfali brothers cook food evolved from their Syrian roots using local farmers and food producers. We ordered a massive amount of food - and between the three of us, we ate everything.

Eat H spicy bulgar salad with shiso leaves. A flavor bomb!

Take me to Aleppo. It’s the name of the dish…- wagyu beef kebabs with sour cherry jam. Orfali Bros rose from MENA#6 to the #1restaurant in 2023

A. had a massage at the hotel while Christine and I went to the Dubai Mall to see a Des Lumières exhibit. It was a 45 minute immersive experience featuring the artwork of Gaudi, Klee and Kandinsky. I wanted to enjoy it, but found it a bit cheesy. It seems every photo I took had a sub-conscious message embedded in it.

Klee or Gaudi + the Exit Sign. We lasted about 20 minutes, and spent most of that time in the modern video room inside the main exhibit. It was much more interesting….

For the next 4 hours we turned our attention to the shops. A. thinks of Dubai as ‘One giant shopping mall.’ And, shopping is a national obsession in Dubai. There are over 40 malls in the city. They even have indoor ski slopes, massive aquariums and zip-lining. Two summers ago we used the Mall to get our 10,000 steps in, It was really the only place you could go to walk because of the heat.

Since Christine is living off and on in Dubai, she had the absolutely imperative Dubai Mall App. Without it, navigating the second largest mall in the world, covering 5.4 million sq.ft and filled with1200 shops on 4 levels, would have been impossible. And, if you can’t make it to the mall? There’s an app for that as well. Ounass is a luxury ‘emergency’ shopping app where you can purchase items online and have them delivered and returned, if necessary, within 2 hours.

The Silver Fox eats a broiled lobster - A.s Birthday dinner at Netsu. He could barely finish his extravagant main course after that enormous lunch at Orfali.

We did manage to devour this surprise in the room…

Stormy Weather and a game of cat and crow

On our third day, although the clouds were threatening, the rain had stopped. Instead of lying on the beach we took a walk along the beach. We saw a new seaside development called North and South La Mer, composed of more shops and restaurants.

Actually open air shopping center is much more refreshing!

We made a loop up to Jumeriah road so we could stop in at Comptoir 102 - the shopping excursion I was waiting for. I discovered it two years ago - a bit of California in the Middle East. Its a chic little bungalow with an organic cafe and store, a fashionable boutique, housewares and a clean beauty room. We had a coffee and green juice in the cafe, and A. busied himself on his phone while I purchased about 20 lbs of adaptogens and beauty products.

Christine told me about another slice of California called SEVA Experience. It’s a wellness center that features yoga, meditation, sound healing and attracts visiting healers offering channeling, movement and reiki.

We had yet another meal scheduled ‘on the Palm.’ The Palm is a 3-island development built on reclaimed sand in the shape of a giant palm tree. So giant in that it can be seen from the Nasa space station. It has 4,500 villas, 28+ hotels and resorts, and multiple malls. All of the construction on sand makes me nervous and for me, Dubai is a ‘Sinkhole waiting to happen.’ There were, and still are, many challenges to the island due to the nature of salt water and sand, and the risk to many species whose habitat was changed.

The Palm - not from Nasa but from our El Al Flight.

Little Miss India at the Fairmont Hotel was a stylish, Michelin ‘selected’ Indian restaurant. A few gorgeous rooms with chandeliers and fanciful wallpapers, cain-backed chairs, velvet banquets and ceramic monkey lamps.

Contemporary Retro - can that be a thing?

Outside, a handsome example of a hand-painted indian truck was parked on the terrace as if it had exploded through the building.

I love the Indian truck art, and have enough photos from our time in India to publish a book. Sadly that was 18 years ago, so the resolution will be dismal. In Pakistan the art of painting trucks is called Phool Patti. Love it!

We ordered their signature dish, Bhatti lamp chops with a unique 12 spice blend presented in a glass smoke-filled glass jar. That and the tandoori broccoli were stand-outs.

After lunch A. and I returned to the Dubai Mall to buy a few things. Unlike my previous experience, and on a dare from Christine, we managed to get in and out within 1.5 hours, even without the App.

The Dubai Mall challenge was on! We needed to get in and out without the Dubai Mall App in less than 1.5 hours including Uber pick up time. We did it with 5 minuted to spare. Too bad nothing was riding on it!

The Mall is next to the Burj Khalifa skyscraper. We were tempted to take the elevator to the Top of the Burj, but the line, the cost, and a slight fear of heights were potent deterrents. Instead, we did some research about the skyscraper during the drive back to the hotel. It’s a mixed-use building containing an Armani hotel, 900 apartments (that apparently sold out in 8 hours), 2 swimming pools and observation decks and the remainder of the space functions as corporate offices. At 160 stories, its the tallest building in the world, with 57 double-decker elevators, 8 escalators and 2900 stairs. But the most fascinating thing that we learned is that the Burj is not connected to the city sewage system. Dubai can’t handle the normal amount of waste generated by its population, let alone the contribution from the Burj. So they had to compromise by building a self-managed plumbing system designed to collect the waste, put the 8-10 tonnes of it in a convoy of orange trucks, and drive it (DAILY!) to a sewage treatment facility to be processed. Sometimes the drivers have to wait up to 24 hours in the sweltering heat of Dubai, to dump their load, and then it’s Doo-bye!

A comprehensive video on the subject…

https://youtu.be/PR2cpnqlfrU

The weather allowed us another morning walk on the beach promenade followed by a late breakfast at the incredible hotel buffet. There are rooms filled with every imaginable incarnation of ‘breakfast’ across the globe.

The juice bar was to the right of the vegan station

Besides their incredible rooms, the Mandarin Oriental Jumeriah also has a Spa, a Hair Salon, a Gym, a Pool and Beach Club. For food options their are multiple restaurants, a caviar bar, a cake shop, and Club Lounge level where they serve a breakfast, lunch, and a 4-course dinner menu, complete with cocktails and dessert, all for $0. There is an extra charge for a room with access to the lounge, but you could eat well here, three meals a day for ‘free’, if you wanted.

‘Free Food’ at the Club Lounge…just a preview of the quality

Our last meal, and definitely our least impressive meal ‘on the The Palm’ was a dinner to celebrate Christines Birthday at Nobu (not on MENA, not Michelin selected). We have eaten at Nobu’s around the world, especially at Nobu, West Hollywood where we ate almost 3 times a month. The food is consistent and amazing. The experience in Dubai was a disaster. They opened at 6 but weren’t ready for service until almost 6:30. I overheard one of the servers instruct the hostess to seat people at the bar so they would buy drinks while they waited. Not a surprising concept, but to suggest it within earshot of other guests was unprofessional. A.s TripAdvisor review says it all - mediocre food and service at an outrageous cost.

The sunset view from Nobu - the most satisfying 10 minutes of the evening.

After Dubai we investigated a visit to Oman for a few nights. It’s only a two hour drive across the border and into the desert where the Six Senses sits on Zinghy Bay. The hotel reviews were all raves, although most people commented on the extraordinary cost of just Every.Little.Thing. We decided to forgo Oman and have a desert experience at the Ritz Carlton, Al Wadi Nature Reserve.

The hotel was built inside a 1,250 acre reserve, with walking trails, jogging tracks, and golf cart transportation. There were several restaurants, a spa, yoga and rainforest pavillon, a falconry deck, an equestrian center and our base there would be a pool villa. While the public spaces were quite nice, the rooms were a bit dated. I imagined a UAE version of a safari experience, but besides two close calls with an oryx, the only observable wildlife were a few camels and birds.

Because of the rains, the pool went unused but the desert was surprisingly green and lush.

We watched the Falconry show which featured owls, eagles and falcons flying a short distance between a pole and their handler for the promise of a bird treat. And we ate well at each of the three restaurants and had coffees at the cafe.

Cocktails and conversations - Christine looks skeptical.

PHOTO The falcon did get a more serious reward in the form of a small skinned animal.

Falconry, its art and their rescue is a thing in the UAE. Maybe they appreciate fast birds as much as their fast cars?

Falcon Iconography used to indicate when the room should be cleaned (green) or do not disturb (red). Sort of a low-tech approach for a Ritz Carlton no?

I tried a Pranayama breathing class in the yoga pavillion, and facial in the spa. After the facial I had a spontaneous nose bleed. We did a Yoga Nidra class meant to enhance relaxation and we showered, shivered and and steamed our way through the 16 station Rainforest Experience.

The Yg Pavilion. Both days we were the only ones there.

One of the 16 stations of hot/cold therapy. That massage jet was like being massaged by the Hulk!

I was so exhausted that I took a two hour nap. It is unlike me to nap, especially while traveling. I woke up a little worried. Did I hyperventilate in Pranayama? Or lose too much blood from my facial? Was I over-relaxed from the yoga nidra? Or did the fluctuating water temperatures exhaust my internal thermostat? I didn’t know. But even after the nap I still felt tired. Since we were leaving early in the morning, I packed, ordered soup from room service, and went to bed early.

Parting Shot : Neighbors at the airport, and in real life. A case of so close and yet so far.

Once home, A. suggested I take a test. After almost three years of routinely taking Covid tests as a response to any sneeze, cough or potential interaction with an infected person, I literally gasped when I saw the two fuchsia bars appear on the test stick. Positive. A. also tested positive a day later. After making so many compromises on this trip, the last thing I expected, after 3 years Covid free, was to have my immune system compromised by the corona virus!*

I found this amusing and snapped this photo in Dubai in 2021. Perhaps a bit of foreshadowing?

Besides a nap and 12 hours of sleep, our Covid experience was light. A.s doctor just happened to call the day we arrived and he mentioned Covid thinking she might prescribe Paxlovid for him. Instead she ran through the rules of what we could and couldn’t do for the next 10 days. The hardest part was having to sequester and navigating the 10 day quarantine.