A weekend flight of fancy to Dubai

A view of downtown Dubai from the Burj Khalifa

A mixture of wanderlust, boredom and the slow onset of insanity saw us booking tickets for a weekend break in Dubai. I still feel uncomfortable using that string of words in a sentence; "a weekend break in Dubai", it sounds a bit pompous. However, when you find yourself living in this region until mid-2017, it'd be foolish not to take advantage of its many travel opportunities. We're also making hay under a childless sun for as long as we can. We've been beaten over the head repeatedly with the phrase, "oh good on you, do it before you have kids", we get it kids equals the death knell of travel - check.

So Dubai, we all know what Dubai pertains to be. A big glossy oasis of bustling modernity on the eastern side of the Arabian peninsula. We all know that underneath the crowded and impressive skyline of glistening steel and glass lies a city of not much character. Kind of like the rich upstart kid at school that everyone pretends to tolerate but tries to avoid at all lengths. So did Dubai live up to my stereotyping?...

Yes, it did. Where to start with a place like Dubai?

• It glitzy and a just a tad fake
• There is a lot of wealth there
• There is a lot of westerners there
• It is a lot more "relaxed".

Needless to say, it can be viewed as the polar opposite of where we live now. However, I feel in a way it's like any other custom built new age city with all the pros and cons that come along with it. One thing for sure the place is impressive. Having grown up in rural (skyscraper less) Ireland, I'm almost over my sense of awe when I now see skyscrapers, but the Burj Khalifa takes the biscuit. Bizarrely, it's nearly too big, so much so that you nearly forget to notice it as you walk around the lake waterfront that it dominates. We rested our weary legs (and arms) from the 'travails' of the Dubai mall and sat down to watch the equally impressive Dubai fountain show. As we shovelled Lebanese food into our mouths, we watched eagerly as great spurts and sprays of water danced rhythmically high into the Dubai night air to the strains of 'Time to say goodbye (Con te partirò)'.

Dubai creek cruise

The Burj Khalifa

All in all, my wife and I thoroughly enjoyed Dubai, the company, the sights, the weather, the Emiratis etc. We enjoyed all the "Western" trappings that Dubai offered us including a decadent "brunch" at the Westin hotel. The brunch was a veritable Sodom and Gomorrah like experience coming from our current lifestyle here. It was bizarre to be surrounded by so many westerners again, it was even more bizarre to bump into Leicester City's star striker and England's great white hope - Jamie Vardy (even if the rest of the group were oblivious to him).

More than anything it's nice to get a chance to visit a place that we often hear about but never had a previous intention of visiting. In finishing, Dubai was surprising and all that not surprising. An enjoyable weekend all around.