Dubai Spring Break: Days 1- 3

Justin and I went to Dubai for spring break and it was an amazing experience!  Why Dubai? Why now?  Well, here are our top 4 reasons: 

1. This has been on our travel bucket list for a while and Luke is old enough for us to be gone for a longer amount of time- both boys really love their special time with grandparents!  

2. Spring break was the perfect time to go- great weather in Dubai, short amount of time. 

3. There are 2 non-stops from Dallas and oddly enough this was an easier trip for us since we are used to connecting a few times to get across the country.  

4. We wanted to experience a new culture and all the amazing things Dubai has to offer. 

Of course, we travel in style on the standby list.  Our journey began Friday evening on Etihad Airways. 

The flight was pretty full, but they had 2 available seats for us and we got on.  They even gave us two seats together, which is not normal!! We were thrilled and relieved!!! UAE here we come!!!

The flight was 15 hours.  We flew into Abu Dhabi- which is about an hour south of Dubai and the capital of the UAE.  Our flight left at 6:45pm Dallas time on Friday and arrived in Abu Dhabi on Saturday night at 8pm.  They are 10 hours ahead of Dallas.

The flight actually was not that bad.  We slept, watched some of the Oscar nominated movies, and before we knew it, we were there!! Here we are after we landed at the Abu Dhabi airport.  Let the vacation begin!

 By the time we went through customs and took a cab to our hotel it was around 11pm.  We were tired and fortunately we were able to go straight to sleep.  We loved our hotel- it was very modern and new.

Sunday morning I thought we would be exhausted and jet lagged, but surprisingly we weren't.  We both felt really rested and ready to explore.   Abu Dhabi's main tourist site is the Grand Mosque and was a short walk from our hotel.  It was nice to get some exercise after the long flight.

It was a beautiful and peaceful place! The mosque was designed with the intent to attract visitors. Relative to other Arab countries, the UAE is known for being more religiously tolerant.  The Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi and the Jumeriah Mosque in Dubai are the only two mosques in the UAE where non-Muslims can visit. That being said, they ask you to where modest clothing and respect their customs.  Men should be covered shoulders-to-feet.  Women are asked to wear loose fitting clothing and with a head scarf. We visited for a couple of hours and took some photos before walking back to the hotel. 

Time to head to Dubai.  We checked into our hotel....

....and headed straight for the beach!

What a great start to our trip!