Dubai- Day 3 New Years Eve December 31

This is the blog for December 31-- With a day off from classes we were able to take advantage of some of what Dubai has to offer. So what would a group of 31 people who have just left the snow in Philadelphia do? Of course go snowboarding/skiing in the middle of the desert! It's 75 degrees or so here during the day, so there is something to be said about going to the Ski Dubai inside the Emirates Mall, wearing just a t-shirt and jeans. It's unbelievable how casual it is to walk right by a movie theater, a shoe store, and then see through a window actual snow on a slope. For 2 hours we had our pick of snowboarding, skiiing, tubing, or something like rolling in a big plastic ball down a snowhill. So, what next? Easy- walk around the mall and take your pick of the cafe's, jewelry shops, or other high end stores. When we walked outside, we saw a car show of Bentleys, Ferraris, and my favorite- the Porsche Carrerra GT. It was funny seeing the BMWs and S-Class Benz's not parked alongside these Exotics, and instead parked along with all the other 'commoner' cars.
What to do after that? How about a trip to the Atlantis Resort on The Palm island (Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis,_The_Palm). Thanks to Professor Chaudhry's negotiating skills, the entire class was able to experience an authentic Arab tradition of Lebanese food and a Belly Dancer. The food included the Arabic staples: Hummus, Baba Ganouj, Fattoush, Pita bread, Chicken and Meat Kabobs, as well as Shrimp and Lobster. Dessert was Baklava and Arabic Ice Cream, which is like regular ice cream but a little bit stringy-er, due to Arabic Gum used in it. What took this dinner to the next level was our awesome Belly Dancer. I've seen real belly dancing plenty times before and would have to say she nailed the show for anyone who has never seen a dance before. She engaged the group and would come around to everyone's tables and get people dancing with her, and even did an act with balancing a sword on her head (and another time her hip) all the while dancing for us. If you look closely in the picture you can see the sword handle resting on her left hip. She had to be good if she got the quietest one of us- Dan, to dance with her! With all included food and drinks, we really enjoyed our time and treated ourselves to walk on the beach right outside where we were eating, and watch an amazing firework display that lasted at least 20 minutes, to ring in the New Year. When all was said and done, we arrived back at IMT's campus around 3:00 am, full of great food and an awesome memory. Happy New Year!
- Pete