DXB: Dubai

As a reserve pilot, I was very luck to snag a trip to Dubai this past weekend. It was a very cool trip and I'd like to share it with you.

First off, the trip lands around dusk. If you are lucky to have some sunlight and some dry air, you'll get some good views as you fly in from the NW. DXB is 8 hours ahead of Dulles, so its really around noon ET. You should'nt have any problems heading off to have a pint or two.

The Hotel is the Marriot, Festival City. It is the nicest hotel that I have stayed at personally during my UAL career. It's 5 star all the way with rooms that are impeccably made up. The most unique aspect of these rooms is the shower window that separates the bed area from the bathroom. There is a shade that you can lower for privacy if you bring a friend. The shower tub is top notch: you can select the water to come out of the bath faucet, an overhead rainshowerhead, or a hose sprayer.


The pool area is superbly maintained with golf course-like green areas (with big fluffy lounge pillows) and plenty of lounge chairs. The pool area is shared with the Intercontinental Hotel next door, so together there are 4 pools and 2 hot tubs to choose from.

The Dubai currency is the dirham (or Bull Durham, as tour guide Mohammed calls it), and the exchange rate is fixed to the dollar at around 3.65 dirhams to the dollar. Dividing dirhams by 3 will roughly get you close.

The gym has very good equipment with all the basic machines and free weights to get a good workout in.

Wired room internet access is free for crews. The bill will be adjusted by checkout.

Crews also enjoy a 20% discount on food at the hotel restaurants. This doesn't include alchohol (ouch!) or room service.

So, most of the crew ended up moseying down to the Belgian Beer Cafe. It was a very good time, but it was not cheep. I had 2 pints of Hoegaarten and the price was about $9/beer. They do a very good job with the Euro menu. I had the mussel large mussel plate with garlic and drawn butter. The fries came with mayo in these neat holders (tres euro!). We initially sat upstairs since that was the non-smoking section, but a headscratcher. All the smoke rose up to the upstairs anyway! We then moved to outdoor seating, and that was a bit better. It was a bit warm, but the ambiance and lack of confined smoke make it worth it.





After dinner, a few of us decided to check out the Eclipse Bar on the 26th floor of the Intercontinental next door. It was a neat bar with plenty of ambiance, but it was very pricy. I actually chose not to have anything there due to my sticker shock at the Belgian place. A smallish martini ran about $15 and a little 1/3 liter beer was $10. But, if you go up for the view and some elegant surroundings, you won't be disappointed. One word of caution, there are in-shell pistaccios mixed in with the regular nuts. Chomp at your own risk!

I recommend that you take a tour from Mohammed. He is a great tour guide of the city of Dubai. He's got quite a few one-liners, and neat little tidbits about the city and its government. His english is very good, as he spent 15 years in Minnesota and even got a Masters degree in the states. Give him a call or an email before you go to set up the tour. The three of us each payed him around $40. It was well worth it.

We started the tour at 10am and it lasted about 4 1/2 hours. The photos below are just a few of the shots I took on the tour. Have fun and ask lots of questions. Listen to Mohamed closely as the jokes might fly right past you!

DXB: Zinc Nightclub

After a few beers at the Belgian Beer Cafe, I was ready to head out for some dancing. I got a tip from some locals that said the Zinc nightclub was rocking on Monday nights - it was their 80's retro night. I was the only one of the crew wanting to head out, so I grabbed a cab (and a beer for the road) and headed out to Zinc.

Zinc is located on Sheikh Zayed Road, kinda the main drag of Dubai with tons of hotels and bars. Rumor has it that the Virgin crews stay around here somewhere, but I can't confirm that. The bar is on the lobby level of the Crown Plaza Hotel. If you are staying at that hotel, you'll get in for free, but it's 100 dirhams if you are not. Someone had said that you need a 'date' to get in, but that was not the case with me. I tried to get out of the 100 dirham cover charge, saying I was a Crown Plaza guest at Festival City, but that went nowhere. The cab ride was about 12 minutes, and cost about 25 dirhams each way.

I'm not sure if there's a dress code, but you'll be out of place in shorts and sneakers/sandals.

That night, the music was awesome! The mix was indeed heavily 80's, even getting in some AC/DC and the Footloose song. I did not have any drinks there, due to planning ahead, but I hear they are pricey. So plan accordingly. Last call was around 2am.

Zinc is definitely a place to check out.  You'll bust your bank account if you go there thirsty, but pick the right night, and you'll have a great time!

DXB: Ski Dubai!

Hello Fellow Dubaiers!

Well, I'd heard about Ski Dubai from other folks, and I really wanted to check it out. Sure, it's one of those gimmicky kinda things, but it's certainly worth some bragging rights at the bar.

Also, I wanted to try my hand again at skiing after a 22 year hiatus. The last time I donned skis was in 1987 (ouch!). And since I'll probably be taking my kids skiing this year for their first time (we did snowboarding last year), I wanted to reacquaint myself.



Until the tram gets in service, the best way to get to and from the Mall is via a cab. It's a 20-30 minute ride from the Festival City Marriot, and will cost you about 50 dirhams, which is about $14.


The 2 hour skiing pass costs 180 dirhams ($49) and that covers everything except a hat and gloves. Yes, the snowsuit and jacket are provided. There is a little upper arm zippered pocket which is where you're supposed to keep your little RFID lift ticket. That way, you can easily scan it each time you enter the chairlift line. It will tell you how much time you have remaining

You'll probably want to bring a hat and gloves as it's pretty cold in there, as it should be. They keep it at -1 Celsius, just below the freezing mark, but you can manage without. You'll just be mildly uncomfortable, but its just for 2 hours anyway... I'd wear long pants, and a long sleeve shirt would be nice. You can bring a few more layers and rent a locker if you want to have more clothing options.

For an experienced skier, you'll be bored, except for the thought that your skiing on a layover when its 125 outside! There is only about 200 feet of vertical drop, and the longest run is 450 yards long. But I had a lot of fun nonetheless. The snow is actually pretty good. Not powder, but well made man made snow. The lack of sun helps to keep out the slushy and icy spots that an east coast skier might be acquainted with.



The quad chair lift goes up to a midway optional drop off point, and then continues the rest of the way up to the top. The queue forms just like at any other ski resort. The lift is a bit slow at times, however.

Overall, I'd give the Ski Dubai thing a thumbs up. It such a unique experience to ski indoors in a desert that it allows you to accept the various shortcomings with a grin!

Below is a short video of my Ski Dubai experience... Enjoy!