Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Lost in the Mall... and other Adventures!!!

Have you been lost before??? I know I have as a kid, gotten lost in the crowds of shoppers at Crawford Market, wandering off when toys got this kiddo’s attention, getting a scolding for wandering off on my own, while this boy was in tears. And I did it again last evening, oops I did it again!!! A 40 year old goes wandering off in the mall, leaving the herd, to get a pic of a crystal Christmas tree, having no means to communicate with his pack, nothing quite has changed, or maybe the age and times may have changed but this boy is always the kiddo. So I can cross that off my list, getting lost in a mall on foreign shores, as if getting lost was something I wanted to do.

The Dubai Mall can be quite the crowded and fascinating place. The window displays all decked up for the holidays, sort of drawing you in. You just can’t help but check it out, be all fascinated, like a kid in a candy store, or maybe it’s just all the sweets that have been hogging (after all this boy needs to put on a bit of some holiday weight, only to get rid off it when he’s back). So you can’t help but admire the window displays and the candies (and there they are again).


And so I finally get to meet the great Burj Khalifa in all its glittering glory. A very touristy thing to do. It commands your attention so much that your eyes are planted on it while the buildings next to it feel pale in front of all the glittering of the Burj, even though they are all lit up.

So we stood there and clicked pics with this tallest structure in the world, (something similar I remembered doing when visiting the Petronas Towers in Malaysia ). waiting for the light and fountain show to begin. Boy was the wait worth it, it’s something that you need to be there to experience it, cause words wouldn’t be able measure up to the experience (or maybe I am being a bit too dramatic for my own taste). Got a bit chocked up, teary eyed and emotional witnessing it, or may be it was just because the show was done to  Lady Gaga’s I could never love again, from A Star is Born. I was not prepared for this!
Wish I could share this moment cause it was beautiful, and song only added to it. I hope I can share it soon. Was so transfixed by the fountains that didn’t much notice the light show on the Burj. At the end it was indeed a very touristy thing to do.

Next was a visit to the Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo, and an up close encounter with great white with only a glass separating us apart (as if I would want to swim on the other side), staring into its cold glassy eyes. It sure was a sight to see the sting rays go by overhead, like birds soaring in the sky. And then there was one had you transfixed, like you were staring at very strange face. It was as if you were having a staring competition with a it, you just couldn’t take your eyes away, which in a way scared the bejesus in me, like it had cast a spell on me!!! 

I think it had something to do with the glass cause it felt like you were immersed with the fish, you had this feeling like you were swimming with the fishes, though not literally. So rode a glass bottom boat, getting a view of the aquarium from the top, petted a baby shark, seen jelly fish at very stages of their lives (fascinating creatures they are), saw otters, alligators, crocodiles, and various other critters.


Had a late dinner while staring at kids skating in the ice rink below, so wanting to join them, though not sure I could skate like them, or even skate at all. But then my body clock was past 12 IST and not yet accustomed to Dubai time, so was literally dozing off, as if I needed a reason for it.

So in the end had to put this together a day later, though the words for it was coming to my head. But coming home meant crash landing on the couch, though not before checking messages cause you are finally in a wifi zone. 

In the end the trip has been off to a good start. A bit of adventure, and a whole of fascinating things to do and see. Can’t wait to see what else is in store for this boy on this trip. Awaiting the experience and adventure that is in store. So let’s take it one day at a time.

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