Day 131: Dubai’ing Out in Dubai — Burj Khalifa, Dubai Mall — Waterpark at the Atlantis (updated with video!) — Last dinner with Grammie and BeePaw Jim
This was our one full day in Dubai and we made the most of it.
Margaret got up and headed downtown for a spin class.
We were two hours ahead of Egypt so I decided to sleep in and have a slow morning with the kids. We made it down to breakfast by about 10:15 and, as expected, found a very Dubai breakfast buffet: every possible item from every possible country including a candy bar and chocolate fountain. We ate our breakfast while watching the fish in the huge aquarium through the window.
Jim met Margaret at the massive Dubai Mall after her class. They agreed to meet “at Starbucks” before realizing there were seven of them in the mall. They finally connected then went to the top of the Burj Khalifa. Even that experience was very Dubai — the “pro” photo in the cardboard frame cost $98. Even those two photo lovers passed on that offer.
Meanwhile, after our late and long breakfast I took Willa and James to the Water Park. That began about six hour of total bliss for those two lucky kids.
This was their happy place. They both love water. They are the perfect age for the waterslide setup. The water was warm and it was super hot weather so they were never cold. As NYC playground rats they aren’t timid around a bunch of random kids. And while it was busy, the place is big enough that there was never really a line for any slide.
We took a 10 min lunch break but otherwise, they were going nonstop from 11:30 – 5:30.
I had a blast too — it took me right back to being 10 years old at Wild World in Bowie Maryland. Most of the water slides were safe for kids but big enough for a grownup to have fun. We also did the lazy river / white water rapids several times on inner tubes.
I stayed with them until 3:15 then ran off to cash in my Christmas present from Llewellyn: a massage at the spa. There was some sort of 2 for 1 situation at the spa so they threw in a sand scrub for free. Two hours of total relaxation.
Margaret had got a rec for a restaurant called Coya and booked a reservation at 8pm to celebrate our last night with Llewellyn and Jim. It was a bit risky given the kids big day but we hoped that they would have a bit of fuel in the tank because of yesterday’s time change.
They fell asleep on both the ride there and the ride home but otherwise were relatively good. It was a very cool Peruvian restaurant with delicious yet outrageously expensive food. Jim generously picked up the tab.
We had a lot of fun recapping each person’s highs and lows of the last two weeks in the Middle East. It was a really special time with Margaret’s parents. I’m pushing hard for them to join us in New Zealand!!
