Dubai
On a mileage run to Dubai. On this trip, I'm flying through Chicago, Zurich, Frankfurt and Houston on three different carriers. A couple of firsts for me on this trip. First time being in the Middle East, flying with Swiss Airlines, and experiencing the international terminal at O'Hare international airport.
On my way to Dubai, I split my time between United Airlines and Swiss Air. Luckily, I was in business on the way to Chicago but didn't nearly make flying economy the rest of the way easier. At Chicago, I had about two hours to go from Terminal 1 to 5. You can transfer between terminals within the pedestrian walking bridge so you aren't exposed to the elements unlike San Francisco. Going through the international terminal made me realize how many Indians live in Chicago. My two legs with Swiss Air was to Zurich and transfer there to Dubai. The Swiss Air lounge in O'Hare is very very cozy and the décor is very modern IKEA like. The Zurich lounge was infinitely nicer and bigger. I did enjoy playing with the coffee machines especially when it says iced caramel macchiato is on the menu. There is no ice that comes out, the milk is allowed to stay cold. Other than the coffee, I don't think I care for Swiss food as it is reminiscent of German food. At least in the lounge. The plane food is a different story. I was impressed with the food quality while in flight. I actually liked it more than the lounge food. It also helped that there was free booze on the flights.
Upon landing, went through customs fairly easily and queued up for a taxi. Ironically, the taxi line was more of a madhouse than the customs line. Checked into the Conrad Dubai. Service was cordial and efficient. Room service was 24 hours and I was a bit hungry after being in the planes for so long. There was Thai and Indian food with the European menu. I opted for butter chicken, lassi, and um ali. Butter chicken was great, the lassi was good although it is called milkshake, and the bread pudding like dessert (um ali) was interesting. The room service folks called after an hour to check if the food was satisfactory. That's a first for me!
In the morning, I grabbed breakfast in the lounge and had my fill. Headed out for the day to the Waldorf Astoria Dubai Jumeirah for some relaxation time. From what I could glean, public beaches are few and not ideal for a single female traveller. After thinking about the beaches, I decided I would stay at the man-made palm islands for a different experience. The service was the complete opposite of the Conrad. Warmer and friendlier, likely due to the staff being more diverse. Had I known that the breakfast buffet lasted until 11, I would have made more of an effort to make it by 10 to partake. The Conrad lounge was nice but how can that beat a full on buffet restaurant?
I have noticed a very large Filipino population in the service industry. I suppose there are not enough locals that need jobs? Indians are plentiful as well.
After spending time at the beach, I wandered inside and had afternoon tea at the Peacock Alley with my two drink voucher. Since I booked a day rate, I was going to take advantage of all the amenities but I think Waldorf came out the winner. The tea was pleasant, I was unable to finish the set. There is pianist that plays in the afternoon. I was impressed that this pianist was in five inch heels!
The hotel offers shuttle service back into town and I opted to take it to cut down on my taxi expenses. Although I had metered taxis, they seem to round up to the nearest 10. I don't mind since it was one or two aed additional.
After checking out of the Waldorf, I headed out to Burj Khalifa. The tallest building in Dubai, I wanted to check out the city view at night. I opted for the At The Top tickets. It is $100 USD more but I felt that this will be my only time coming and wanted to get the full access. The top floor, 148, does have snacks and refreshments to guests as well as coffee and dates in the waiting lounge. As with everything in Dubai, the locals seem to manage the operations and it was a bit chaotic and services are perfunctory. On a side note, the entrance is inside the Dubai Mall. I made the mistake of going to the actual building entrance and it was the hotel and corporate offices only.
After getting my fill, went out to The Dubai Mall to see what shops were around. I was getting tired at this point and visited Bateel to buy dates before leaving the mall. Dates in Dubai are pretty good. I've not had dates like these and greatly enjoyed the pistachio stuffed dates.
Headed back to the Dubai International Airport. Flying back on Lufthansa to Frankfurt before switching to United Airlines to Houston. At Dubai, the Lufthansa lounge was very large. I did try the McArabia Chicken Wrap at the McDonald's before walking into the lounge. There is a 360 video tour on the Lufthansa Lounge webpage. In Frankfurt, I stopped at McDonald's to get a McRib since they sell the Mcrib sandwich year round. Also stopped at a duty free shop to pick up some cherry cordials. With those two stops, I went to the gate directly without stopping at a lounge.
On my way to Dubai, I split my time between United Airlines and Swiss Air. Luckily, I was in business on the way to Chicago but didn't nearly make flying economy the rest of the way easier. At Chicago, I had about two hours to go from Terminal 1 to 5. You can transfer between terminals within the pedestrian walking bridge so you aren't exposed to the elements unlike San Francisco. Going through the international terminal made me realize how many Indians live in Chicago. My two legs with Swiss Air was to Zurich and transfer there to Dubai. The Swiss Air lounge in O'Hare is very very cozy and the décor is very modern IKEA like. The Zurich lounge was infinitely nicer and bigger. I did enjoy playing with the coffee machines especially when it says iced caramel macchiato is on the menu. There is no ice that comes out, the milk is allowed to stay cold. Other than the coffee, I don't think I care for Swiss food as it is reminiscent of German food. At least in the lounge. The plane food is a different story. I was impressed with the food quality while in flight. I actually liked it more than the lounge food. It also helped that there was free booze on the flights.
Upon landing, went through customs fairly easily and queued up for a taxi. Ironically, the taxi line was more of a madhouse than the customs line. Checked into the Conrad Dubai. Service was cordial and efficient. Room service was 24 hours and I was a bit hungry after being in the planes for so long. There was Thai and Indian food with the European menu. I opted for butter chicken, lassi, and um ali. Butter chicken was great, the lassi was good although it is called milkshake, and the bread pudding like dessert (um ali) was interesting. The room service folks called after an hour to check if the food was satisfactory. That's a first for me!
In the morning, I grabbed breakfast in the lounge and had my fill. Headed out for the day to the Waldorf Astoria Dubai Jumeirah for some relaxation time. From what I could glean, public beaches are few and not ideal for a single female traveller. After thinking about the beaches, I decided I would stay at the man-made palm islands for a different experience. The service was the complete opposite of the Conrad. Warmer and friendlier, likely due to the staff being more diverse. Had I known that the breakfast buffet lasted until 11, I would have made more of an effort to make it by 10 to partake. The Conrad lounge was nice but how can that beat a full on buffet restaurant?
I have noticed a very large Filipino population in the service industry. I suppose there are not enough locals that need jobs? Indians are plentiful as well.
After spending time at the beach, I wandered inside and had afternoon tea at the Peacock Alley with my two drink voucher. Since I booked a day rate, I was going to take advantage of all the amenities but I think Waldorf came out the winner. The tea was pleasant, I was unable to finish the set. There is pianist that plays in the afternoon. I was impressed that this pianist was in five inch heels!
The hotel offers shuttle service back into town and I opted to take it to cut down on my taxi expenses. Although I had metered taxis, they seem to round up to the nearest 10. I don't mind since it was one or two aed additional.
After checking out of the Waldorf, I headed out to Burj Khalifa. The tallest building in Dubai, I wanted to check out the city view at night. I opted for the At The Top tickets. It is $100 USD more but I felt that this will be my only time coming and wanted to get the full access. The top floor, 148, does have snacks and refreshments to guests as well as coffee and dates in the waiting lounge. As with everything in Dubai, the locals seem to manage the operations and it was a bit chaotic and services are perfunctory. On a side note, the entrance is inside the Dubai Mall. I made the mistake of going to the actual building entrance and it was the hotel and corporate offices only.
  |
| View from Burj Khalifa |
 |
| View from Burj Khalifa |
After getting my fill, went out to The Dubai Mall to see what shops were around. I was getting tired at this point and visited Bateel to buy dates before leaving the mall. Dates in Dubai are pretty good. I've not had dates like these and greatly enjoyed the pistachio stuffed dates.
Headed back to the Dubai International Airport. Flying back on Lufthansa to Frankfurt before switching to United Airlines to Houston. At Dubai, the Lufthansa lounge was very large. I did try the McArabia Chicken Wrap at the McDonald's before walking into the lounge. There is a 360 video tour on the Lufthansa Lounge webpage. In Frankfurt, I stopped at McDonald's to get a McRib since they sell the Mcrib sandwich year round. Also stopped at a duty free shop to pick up some cherry cordials. With those two stops, I went to the gate directly without stopping at a lounge.
Comments