New
Year’s Eve – We are spending the last day of 2012 with our beautiful daughter
in the United Arab Emirates, one of the richest countries in the world.
While I
was waiting for Andrea to get dressed, I started reflecting on our visit here.
Several years ago during the Persian Gulf War, my oldest nephew was on a ship
in the Persian Gulf (Arabian Gulf). I felt great trepidation and a sense of
uneasiness the entire time he was in the region. I know that was because
of the war and the unknown. Never in a million years did I think that one
day I would be here and that my child would be teaching the local children.
While I know this country had nothing to do with that unrest, I just think it
is so ironic that she would be here. I know there is a reason she is here
and I know that Our God is watching over her.
Today we
are going to Dubai to celebrate the New Year and to see the fireworks from the
Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. It is hazy and cloudy;
the sun is trying to streak through the clouds. The traffic is a
little heavier – everyone going to the city for New Year’s.
Usually
on New Year’s, we stay at home and watch the “Peach” drop in Atlanta and the
“Crystal Ball” drop in NYC but not this year. Andrea was determined we
were going to celebrate in style; after all, how often are you in Dubai, United
Arab Emirates for New Year’s. For those of you who know my husband, you
know he absolutely HATES crowds BUT of course, he’ll do anything for his baby
girl! J
Once in
Dubai, we made a couple more stops before heading to the area where the
fireworks will be displayed.
Burj
Khalifa
- World’s tallest building
- 124 stories
- Tom Cruise filmed movie – Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
Deira
Clock Tower – oldest monument in a round
about
Dubai World Trade Center
- Built in 1978 – at the time it was built, it was the tallest building in Dubai
- 39 story office tower
- Building is featured on the 100 dirham
- Globe on post in front features different countries
We had
dinner at Rainforest Café in Dubai Mall – Brownie Volcano for dessert! – Hey,
it’s New Year’s Eve and we were celebrating. After all, we had grilled
chicken and grilled vegetables – doesn’t that balance out the calories?
Samy, our
waiter, was excellent and very personable. He asked if we were visiting and Andrea told him she lived in Al Ain. When he brought the check, he
gave it to Andrea for payment and she gave it to Randy. Samy said,
“You resident. You pay for guests.” We all just laughed. She explained as long as Dad was around, he
got the check. LOL He really thought that was funny.
After
dinner, we made our way out of the mall to find the ideal spot – Andrea,
Randy, myself and “one million of our closest new friends” – to watch
fireworks from the Burj Khalif and surrounding buildings. There were people
everywhere. I think "calm chaos" is an oximoron but honestly, that's the way it looked - People on every inch of sidewalk, retaining walls, streets, median, landscaping, every inch of real estate was covered. If you are a people watcher, this was the place for you!!!
While we were waiting, people would ask us to take their pictures with their friends and family. Here is picture of 3 of my "new friends" – they are from Bahrain. They had asked me to take their picture. Then I got in their picture.
It took us an hour and half to get to our car and out of the parking deck at the mall. It was insane. And then another hour and half to get home. Driving back into Al Ain, it was very foggy – we couldn’t even see the Jebel Hefeet Moutain, which is the highest point in Al Ain and it is lit up at night.
We called home to wish our
family and friends “Happy New Year”. It was 3:00am New Year’s Day in Al
Ain and only 6:00pm New Year’s Eve Day in Atlanta.
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