The UAE was the beginning of one of our biggest travel stretches ever — about six weeks moving through the Middle East, Asia and Australia — and Dubai immediately felt like stepping into a completely different version of the future.
We stayed at The Dubai EDITION, which turned out to be a great base for exploring the city. Dubai is one of those places that almost doesn't feel real at first. Massive skyscrapers, luxury malls bigger than some airports, perfectly clean streets, futuristic architecture everywhere. It feels like someone tried to design a city with the instruction: "Make it as ambitious as possible."
We did many of the classic Dubai experiences: visiting the Dubai Mall, going up the Burj Khalifa, and exploring the Marina. One thing that stood out immediately is how international Dubai feels. Every meal, neighborhood, and conversation feels influenced by people from all over the world.
Some of our favorite experiences actually happened outside the city itself. One evening we did a sunset yacht cruise through the Marina while the skyline lit up around us, which felt like peak Dubai in the best way possible.
The biggest highlight, though, was the desert safari. We chose a more traditional-style experience where vintage Land Rovers take you out into the dunes to a Bedouin-style camp. Watching falconry demonstrations, riding camels, eating dinner under the stars, and sitting quietly in the desert after the intensity of the city created a really interesting contrast that made me appreciate Dubai more.
We also did a day trip to Abu Dhabi to visit the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, which is honestly one of the most visually impressive buildings we've seen anywhere in the world. No photo really captures the scale, detail, and brightness of it in person.
From Dubai we boarded a Seabourn cruise that continued east through Asia, but we also stopped at a few additional places within the UAE along the way. The strangest and most memorable was probably Sir Bani Yas Island, where a sheikh essentially built a private wildlife reserve in the middle of the region. One minute you're in the Middle East, and the next you're on a safari drive seeing giraffes and antelope wandering around.
What I appreciated most about the UAE overall was the contrast between hyper-modern development and older cultural traditions. The skyscrapers and luxury side of Dubai obviously get most of the attention, but some of the most memorable moments were actually the quieter cultural experiences: drinking tea in the desert, wandering through older neighborhoods and souks, or hearing the call to prayer echo between futuristic buildings.
Dubai probably isn't the kind of place I'd recommend for someone seeking slow, historic Europe-style charm. But if you want to see one of the most ambitious cities on earth, experience incredible hospitality, and witness what happens when a city decides to think as big as possible, it's fascinating.