Highlights and lowlights of a weekend in Dubai

My husband's birthday was over the weekend, so several weeks ago I made reservations to go to the top of the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa. (Well, not really the top, but the 124th floor.) I'd been told that it fills up quickly, and it's true. I wanted to make sure that we could go while my mom was here, so I went ahead and booked it...not thinking about the fact that my husband was having surgery. So, less than a week after he went under the knife, he rode in the car for an extended period of time, walked more than he had all week, and then rode in the elevator to the top. Afterwards, we made our way to a toy store with our son so we could get his birthday present. It was all a little too much too soon. Although hubby wanted to have his birthday dinner at Texas Roadhouse, his body was worn out and we headed home.

So, about the Burj Khalifa: it was awesome! Our appointment was at 3 and it was a perfect day for it. The sky was clear and we could see for miles. There is actually another tour that goes up 20 more floors, but it's significantly more expensive. I would highly recommend going though. One complaint: at the top there are lots of professional photographers who would love to take your picture...but the pictures are ridiculously expensive! So disappointing.
We also had a bit of a scare when my mom went to get her bag from the coat check guy. They couldn't find her bag...and it had her passport in it! After about 15 minutes they were able to locate it, thank God.

Yesterday, hubby was feeling like he needed to recover a bit from all the walking the day before, so he gave us his blessing to go back to Dubai because I wanted to take my mom to the souks and hubby has no desire to do that. I gave my four (almost five) year old the option of staying home with daddy, but he insisted on going. We piled in the car and headed to the big city. Since I've never been to these souks before, I wasn't sure where to go. I entered "Bur Dubai" in the GPS and thought she would take us where we needed to go. Well of course she didn't...we ended up at the Burj al Arab. Then I remembered a coworker telling me we could park by the Dubai Museum and take a boat over to the souks. I put my new destination in the GPS, but got sidetracked by a sandwich shop that I love at home (Which Wich) which I had seen just off the highway the last time we were in this area. We stopped for lunch and then got on our way again. Well wouldn't you know, traffic got bad and my stomach started hurting so badly. This is TMI, but it hurt so much I didn't think I was going to  make it to a bathroom. (It's not like America where there is a McDonald's or gas station on every corner and you can just run in really quickly.) Finally, I found the Dubai Museum and parked the car on the curb so I could run inside! Thank God the security guard was sweet and let me run in without paying.

I was so happy that I'd made it to the restroom in time and I asked a man if there were any other parking lots as this one was full, and he told me he'd move his car so I could park. As I went to get the kids out of the car I mentioned that we needed to find the boats and my son starts freaking out. He's crying "I don't want to ride the boats" over and over. I told him that he needed to at least see the boats before he could refuse to ride one. So we go find these boats and as soon as he sees them, he resumes his tantrum. He was so hysterical and I was so embarrassed. You could literally see the other side and it would take only a few minutes to cross...but he wasn't having it. I threatened him with everything I could think of: taking away his new Transformers, the iPad, Legos...even not going to Kidzania for his birthday. He wouldn't budge.

Truth be told: these boats looked dilapidated and like they could sink at any moment. But I wasn't going to admit that to him.

We made our way back to the car and I figured I would attempt to drive through the tunnel to the other side and find parking closer to the souks. Once again, traffic was really bad. The streets were crowded and the buildings were run down...and I had no idea where to go. I did find a parking deck, but after waiting in the line to enter it for over 10 minutes and not moving an inch, I gave up. I was crying because I was so upset that my son ruined my plans. I decided that I would go ahead and try to go to the other place I wanted to visit that day: Dragon Mart.

Several of my coworkers told me about this place and warned me that it's huge and busy and overwhelming. I finally found it and managed to find a parking space by the section labeled "Garments". Unfortunately, we had wasted so much time earlier in the day that I decided we would only stay a few minutes. I found a cute dress for my daughter for 15 dirhams (about $4) and matching mommy and me shoes (about $33 for both pairs). We also passed by a lady who was selling those splat balls (for lack of a better description) and of course my son wanted one. Well grandma told him since he didn't ride the boat, he couldn't have one.

Meltdown #2 commenced. I'm talking all out throwing himself on the floor, kicking, crying...I dragged him, spanked him, and then gave up and walked off. I was so embarrassed! And you know what happened? The lady gave him a splat ball. I was so pissed. I wanted to take it and throw it away. But I didn't.

I did not let him play with the iPad on the way home.We had a long discussion about the events of the day. At one point as we rode in silence, he said "mommy, I'm sorry I ruined your day."

And I realized that it's not the end of the world. I said so many times that day "this was a total waste", but I shouldn't ever feel like it's a waste. We are alive and blessed and we spent time together, even if it was mostly in the car.