Dubai: February 2015
Hello Burj Khalifa
Arriving in Dubai was like arriving into the future. Everything was new and clean and pristine and just all around gorgeous. They have this massive water wall that starts from the ceiling of the top floor and falls all the way to the bottom floor. We did a visa on arrival, which was absolutely seamless and wandered through the airport enjoying all of the interactive maps and the aesthetic beauty of the place. When it was time to board the metro, I was being lazy, and instead of picking up my backpack to put it on, I sat on the luggage cart and slipped the straps over my shoulders. At some point, the cart started to tilt and I fell over. I was like a turtle on my back. I was trying to sit up, but my pack was too heavy to lift, so after catching my breath from laughing, I had to take it off, stand up and put my pack on the way I should have from the beginning. Meanwhile, my boyfriend was in tears laughing at me. I would have done the same thing.
The Fountain show at The Dubai Mall.
We walked to our apartment from the metro, which took us alongside the Burj Khalifa. It was already dark, and everything was lit and looked fantastic. Our apartment was on the 14th floor. From the living room window, we could see the Burj and part of the fountains. The location was amazing. We took the 5 minute walk to the Burj Khalifa and ate dinner there. We wandered around the mall, and watched the fountain show.
We only had one full day in Dubai, so we booked a sunrise view from the viewing deck of the Burj Khalifa.
“The future”
We woke up at 5am and walked over. The elevator goes from the first floor to the 124th floor in less than a minute. Once there, we were able to walk around the building to have a 360 degree view of Dubai. We arrived when it was still dark, and picked our spot to wait for the sun. It was a cloudy morning, which could have been a bummer, but we thought it made the whole experience even better. The clouds made the city below look like Gotham. As the sun started to rise, we couldn’t see it right away. Instead, the city below the clouds started shifting light and shadow, and made it look even more spectacular and mysterious.
Stuffed Burj Khalifa
Once the sun was up and Javier couldn’t take another picture, we walked around a bit and enjoyed the shops and read all the cool facts about the Burj Khalifa and what it took to build such an amazing structure.
Once we were safely on the ground, we decided to stop at a coffee shop to have some breakfast. Only a few shops in the mall were open, so there were very few people roaming around. Dubai offers free wi-fi EVERYWHERE so we connected our phones to join the rest of the world. When my phone connected, I saw that I had a message from my mom. She sent a very simple message only a few minutes earlier telling me that my grandmother had passed away a couple of hours before. Now, this wasn’t exactly a shock since my grandmother’s health had been steadily declining for years, and more rapidly a few months before this. I called my mom. She was at my grandmother’s house along with most of my aunties and cousins. I spoke with her and some of the others. Everyone seemed to be doing okay, even better than okay, which put me at ease. My mom was able to tell me how my grandmother went, and it was a relief to know that it was peaceful. At one point, one of my cousins, Kimberly, took the phone so I could see the rest of the family. She took me into my grandmother’s bedroom where other aunts and cousins were sitting. The atmosphere in this room was much different than the other. This room was sad, very sad. Seeing the sadness in my Auntie Patty’s face was more than I could handle. I stared to bawl. I talked to some of the others in the room, trying to gain some composure. I finally had to hand the phone to Javier to gather myself. Kimberly asked if I wanted to see my grandma who was still in bed. I did. This helped. When I was returned to my mother, I was a mess. We spoke for a little while longer, and hung up. I have never before, and will hopefully never again feel such a hollow, family-shaped hole as I did that day. I wanted nothing more than to be with everyone, for myself but also for them. We are a unit, and when all the pieces are not there, it is felt, no matter how subtle it may be. They were all together, but that is my family, and I wanted to be there. I know this feeling is probably very natural, but it is something I had never experienced before, and it was powerful.
At the top of Burj Khalifa
We left the Burj and made our way back to the apartment. Along the way, Javier talked to me about my grandma, which brought a few more tears, but mostly funny stories. We had plans for the rest of the day, but I decided that I wanted to rest for a bit. I took a nice hot shower and laid down for a nap. When I woke up, I felt much better. My emotions were in check, and while I was still sad, I no longer felt devastated.
The day was subdued, but it was still beautiful out, and I was in great company. We made the best of it. Javier left it up to me. We could do, or not do as much or as little as I wanted. I wanted to get out. Sitting at home was going to drive me nuts, so we decided to venture out.
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Burj Al Arab
Our destination was the Burj Al Arab. We talked about all the different ways to get there, but in the end, I felt like walking. We took the metro to the Emirates mall, and from there, walked to the Burj Al Arab. On the way there, Javier swears he saw the actor from Slum Dog Millionaire driving a Lamborghini. While I saw the Lamborghini, I didn’t see the driver, but I wouldn’t doubt it. We saw so many Lamborghinis on our walk that I lost track. When we arrived at the Burj Al Arab, we learned that you cannot just walk inside to look around. The easiest way for visitors is to have a reservation at the restaurant, which requires a collared shirt and jacket for men, so basically we couldn’t get in even if we wanted to. While I’m sure the inside is very nice, I have a feeling that the outside is the more iconic view. We walked to the nearest public beach, and I have to say that out of all the bodies of water I have touched, the Persian Gulf is probably the nicest.
Jackie at the Ski Dubai
We took a cab back to the Emirates mall and watched the kids snowboard in the indoor ski resort, walked around, and had some juice. I was surprised that Dubai wasn’t more expensive than it was. We wanted to keep our trip short because we thought it was going to break our bank, but that wasn’t the case at all. I still find is so strange that so many of the highlights in this famous city are malls. At home, I avoid malls, and only go when I need something. So, to spend the day going from one mall to the next, was really weird. My little shopper, Javier, on the other hand, was quite happy. 🙂
We took the metro back to the Burj Khalifa and had dinner. Since we were heading to India, Javier decided that he wanted one last hamburger. I on the other hand opted for Turkish. We both agreed that my meal was the better choice. 🙂 A scoop of Baskin-Robbins later, we were back at the apartment watching the fountain show from our living room.
The Persian Gulf.
During the day, Javier and I had talked at great lengths about my grandmother. To give a quick background, my grandmother had dementia. Over the past year, we noticed a dramatic decrease in her health. There were more trips to the hospital, more hospital stays, and more and more medicines being brought on board. Months before I left, I was stopping by the house every Thursday to give my grandma a Procrit shot. She cringed, and hated it, but as sweet as she was, always thanked me afterward. The last time I saw my grandmother was the day before I left to San Francisco to meet with Javier before we left for our trip. We had a surprise visit by my uncle Stan and his daughter, Emily. We all decided to get some dessert together. When it was time to go, I said good bye to everyone. I still remember my little grandma sitting there in her wheelchair. When I gave her a hug and said good bye, I was a little teary. I told her I was going away for a while. She, of course looked shocked and asked where, and for how long. When we drove away, I knew that was the last time I would see and touch my grandma.
Weeks before I left, I had talked to my mom and aunt. I told them my feelings about grandma, as well as how I felt about her death and my return, or lack thereof. Both my mom and aunt supported my decision. They were okay with me not returning for the funeral as long as I was okay with it. They also warned me that others in the family may not feel the same way, and I would need to prepare for that, but they both supported my decision, and to be honest, that was all I cared about. When the moment actually came, of course, I started questioning my decision. Should I go back? I know I wanted to go back, but was that reason enough? The funeral was a few weeks away, so I had time to think about it. I also found that it was not enough for me to just have my mom and aunt’s support, I needed to be sure the rest of my unit was okay with it as well. In a FaceTime conversation, I was assured that my cousins, Ryan and Jeff, and brother Joe, were okay. The only other person was the grandchild who was closest to my grandma, my brother Jonathan. I sent him an email, and he responded in such a loving and supportive way, I knew I was going to be okay.
J and J
In the end, I chose not to go to the funeral, and this was really difficult for me. I leaned on Javier more in those weeks than I’ve leaned on anyone in decades. I was a rollercoaster of emotions. We could be talking about something completely unrelated, and I would just randomly start crying. All I wanted was my family, and he was my family, my friend, my rock.
It’s funny. In talking about, ‘should I stay, or should I go,’ my mom mentioned something that I had been thinking about, but felt too selfish to say out loud.
Grandma Aiko RIP
She reminded me that my grandma loved to travel. She didn’t have the opportunity to, but as a 20-something, realizing I found my love for travel, I remember her telling me that she always wanted to go to Switzerland and the amazon. Really? Now Switzerland I get, but the amazon? My sophisticated, fancy-scarf-and-brooch-wearing grandma always wanted to go to the amazon? Maybe in a different time and under different circumstances, she would have left it all behind to travel the world. Who knows? So, as my mother told me, with tears and snot dripping down my face, “You’re living grandma’s dream. You’re traveling for you and for grandma.” I have the best mother.
To see more pictures of Dubai, click HERE.
The Dubai Mall fountain show: