Our buddies of almost 50 years, Walter and Cleone, are joining us for this Celebrity cruise from Dubai to Singapore. We all arrived early in order to see some of the sights before boarding the ship.

The nine-hour time change is a circadian rhythm scramble. Add to that the long flights and our bodies are topsy-turvy for sure. We left home at 2:30 for our short flight to Newark, NJ on the 9th. We changed planes in Newark for our 12-hour 9:30 pm nonstop to Dubai. It was 21 hours from home to hotel. We landed in Dubai at 6:30 pm their time today, the 10th!

My strategy for the long flight was to eat before boarding and then recline my seat and rest/relax/sleep for as many of those hours as possible. That plan was executed flawlessly. I kept my eyes closed for a solid eight hours. That left 4 hours to freshen up, have a steak and eggs breakfast, and relax until we arrived.

Cleone has a concierge travel friend who made all the arrangements for the royal treatment once we were on the ground in Dubai. An agent met us as we entered the gorgeous terminal and escorted us through all airport arrival formalities. Once officially in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and after luggage retrieval we were handed off to a chauffeur who delivered us (in a Mercedes) to the Taj Dubai, our downtown hotel.

Check-in at the hotel was just as glamourous as our welcome. Think freshly squeezed lemonade in chilled glasses, an Indian blessing somehow extended through a tray of fresh rose pedals and a burning candle, and finally the gift of a tulsi mala which is a necklace/garland made of small pieces of tulsi wood connected by orange knots. The mala is believed to have spiritual and physical healing powers.

Walter and Cleone, who arrived a couple days ahead of us, met us in the lobby once check-in was complete. We enjoyed a drink together at a nice outdoor bar overlooking the city and then called it a day.

… In Case You Were Wondering …

The UAE is a federation of seven emirates:
Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm Al Quwain.

Islam is the official religion and Arabic is the official language.

The United Arab Emirates’ oil and natural gas reserves
are the world’s sixth and seventh largest, respectively, in the world.

It rains, on average, 25 days a year.

Throughout history, the UAE was known for pearls and was used as a pit stop
along foreign trade routes, including Persian routes to Rome, the Silk Road to China,
the Portuguese African routes, and the British Spice Route to India.

THe UAE is the size of Maine.