on the beach in dubai

one of the many perks of staying at the movenpick deira hotel is access to oceana beach club on palm jumeirah. a shuttle bus picked us up at the hotel and dropped us off at an infinity pool overlooking the ocean and the dubai marina skyline!

^^ yes, we are aware that we are really, really white. ^^

^^ and that this picture is pretty ridiculous. ^^

we had such a relaxing and fun morning at oceana beach club! it was pretty cool to be on palm jumeirah, which is a huge man-made island shaped like a palm tree jutting out from dubai into the waters of the persian gulf and dotted with resorts and luxury hotels (only in dubai would something ridiculous like this exist!). oceana wasn’t anything too glitzy, just right. we swam in the pool and then in the ocean, which is super calm there since the branches of the palm island break the waves.

while we were playing around in the sea, the boy’s wedding ring slipped off his finger! it was a true (and panicked) adventure to look for and a true miracle to find! i was grateful so to the people at the pool who lent me their goggles! :)

after our relaxing morning at oceana, we went to a different beach spot in an attempt to the the burj al arab – the infamous seven-star hotel. it was kind of a struggle to figure out where we were going and the best place to go, but eventually we found a great spot! that sail-shaped building is so cool. we had to take some photos with our super awesome tshirts that the wonderful folks at movenpick deira had given us.

^^ not sure exactly what’s going on with our poses here… ^^

^^ i walked out along a pier to see this view … a good one showing off the different sides of dubai – such a unique place on earth! ^^

that night, we went to the mall of the emirates to see the indoor ski resort and enjoyed some more familiar food (we had avoided american chains our entire trip but felt that eating at them in dubai is actually part of the experience because they are everywhere!). then, ian really wanted to find a place to see the dubai skyline dominated by the burj khalifa all lit up at night. we really struggled to find what we were looking for and it was one of those times that come along while traveling when things just aren’t coming together and it’s pretty frustrating! here’s the best we got:

ian is holding his phone with its flashlight up to shine on his face so we could get a picture that showed both him and the lit-up buildings behind him – haha! dubai night skyline fail. but already a fun memory.