After going through Eastern Europe, Turkey, Russia, Central Asia, China, Pakistan, and India for the last few months, going to a place, like Dubai, is a total shock to the system! All those previous places have little tastes of western culture, but Dubai is full-on western culture to the max. Spend more, have more, do more, be more, just MORE. Haha! I thought I knew what being rich was, but that place takes it to a whole other level! I was there for almost three weeks and didn’t really hold back. I went crazy, stuffing my face at my favorite pizza joint, Papa Johns, at least 5 times. I went to Mc Donald’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, the movies, the mall, skiing at their indoor slope (penguins included), the water park, the bars (where one drink will cost you $20-$30), cart racing… 3x, a private residence at the Burj Khalifa, Ferrari World, and the world’s fastest roller coaster. Happy hour at rooftop bars, a water park, rolling around Dubai in a Maserati, pool parties, beach parties, I think you get the point.

It was absolutely crazy and I had a total blast. I had so much fun and met so many great people. The premise of my trip was to save money, buying all my motorcycle parts there. While I never added how much I spent vs. saved, I can almost guarantee it did not happen. But the people! Seriously! The first night, I met Manchit, from China, and Ryan, a fellow American traveler. The next couple days were Jamaal from the UK, Lisa from Canada, Diana from Germany, and many others. It wouldn’t have mattered what I did or how much money I spent; it was the people that made it so much fun.

Dubai was a vacation from my vacation, but I did manage to see some cultural things, as well, going to a few mosques, taking a river tour to see old town, and visiting some museums.  Four girls from the hostel and I rented a car and drove down to Abu Dhabi for the day. There was where we visited one of the mosques and then went to Ferrari World. Ferrari World has some sweet go-carts and the fastest roller coast in the world. It is insane what that roller coaster does to your body! Diana and I ended up riding it five times, right at the end of the night, because there was no line, and I developed the shakes for the next few hours. My body was prepared for the G forces that baby has to offer. Apart from the go-carts and coaster, there wasn’t much else to offer. My suggestion is to wait about 2 years and go, because right now, they are building a lot of new rides.

Getting to see the Burj was a stunning experience. You don’t realize how massive that building actually is until you’re standing directly under it. I was lucky enough to get to see one of the residence apartments inside. One of the guys from the hostel ended up meeting the girl who owned it, so we got a free tour of the building and got to have some drinks at the highest bar in the world! A couple of days later, he got the keys to her Maserati, so he picked us up, and we got to roll around Dubai, feeling like high rollers. It’s just crazy some of the things that can happen when you travel.