I have just arrived back in Kuwait after an adventure packed two weeks in Dubai and Oman. While I sort through my pictures and get ready to share all about Oman (it was amazing) I thought I would share a quick note about my experience and lessons I learned while celebrating New Years Eve in Dubai.
Winter break began with a two day stop in Dubai to visit my college roommate who works on and off in Dubai.
Because I had the chance to visit Dubai last spring my goal was go get to Abu Dhabi for a day during this trip. Through a little research I found that I could take a bus from the Ghubaiba Metro/Bus Station so one morning I set off to do just that. At the bus station I had to wait in the women only line to buy a silver nol card (re-usable Metro card). For 60 dirham I bought the card and charged it with round-trip bus fare.
Separate line for men and women to board the bus. Women (and men with their families) board first in the front rows, then the men fill in the back.
Overall my day there was a bit of a disappointment. I wandered around looking for a winter festival that I had read about in the newspaper but when I arrived no on in the area seemed to know about the event. Typically bus stops are located in neighborhoods that aren’t necessarily the most ideal tourist destinations so it’s really not surprising that I wasn’t impressed and I would be open to giving Abu Dhabi a 2nd chance and exploring beyond where I was able to visit on this trip.
To ensure my trip wasn’t a complete bust I taxied to the grand mosque and took some photos around there before heading back to the bus stop and Dubai.
Moral of that story: If you are by yourself the bus is a cheap, effective way to go but if you can share taxi fare with a friend a taxi would be a much faster and more efficient way to go.
After Oman I stopped over in Dubai for 24 hours to celebrate New Years Eve. With my new rechargeable Metro card in hand, I had my heart set on viewing the fireworks around the Burj Khalifa from the Dubai Fountain. I knew it would likely be packed but going alone meant I didn’t have to worry about finding a large spot for viewing and if I didn’t like what I found I could leave.
I got on the Metro and a few minutes into the ride I heard a woman say to her friend, “Oh no! There is a fire in a building near the Burj Khalifa and they won’t be doing fireworks”. I thought to myself, “What a gullible lady, this is how rumors are started.” Then ten minutes later I got a view from the train window, sure enough, right across from the Burj a high rise was engulfed in flames.
When we reached the Metro station I hesitated to leave, thinking that the fire would certainly add to the chaos of the night. After talking to a few people who all seemed just as confused as I was I ventured out into the streets. It was a bizarre setting. Everyone was just walking about as if nothing was going on. I barely heard sirens, and those I did hear seemed to just be police who were in the area for crowd control. My two new friends and I watched the fire while discussing what to do. We thought there was a good chance the building could go down, and although no one else seemed concerned we wanted to find a new viewing location. When we returned to the Metro station they were no longer letting people in so we walked to a few other spots hoping to find a good view, but nothing satisfied us. I asked some police officers if fireworks would go on and they assured me there would be fireworks (I still was not convinced they even knew what was going on right beside the Burj). so we went back to a parking lot where we could see the Burj (but not the fire). At midnight cars started honking and people cheered. We assumed that was it, a disappointing way to ring in the new year, then suddenly the fireworks started. We watched for a few minutes then RAN to the Metro. We are lucky we did because as soon as we got up to the train platform I looked out the window at the crowds of people we had just beat.
The experience really impressed me. The police and Metro workers were so calm that it was hard to believe a 60+ story building was on fire right outside. Their closing of Metro stations helped keep the crowd dispersed, and when stations did re-open barricades and officers ensured that we entered in a calm, orderly way. Props to Dubai for the organization and planning that I never thought a Gulf country could be capable of.
Molly's Adventures Abroad 