The best thing about leisure travel is the carefree mind that lets you connect with your inner self. (And if you spend over 20 hours flying, you don’t have much to do anyways!) In the previous winter break, I visited Dubai (again!). Thanks to the delay on my first leg, my suitcase didn’t reach Dubai with me. Poor thing was lying back in Germany.

After filing a complaint for the missing baggage, I boarded the sleek and sexy Volvo V40 my friend owns, and switched on music, playing some songs we barely understood, but had great music. For some reason, every time I changed the song, she said “Thank you!”
After a semi-recovering sleep, I geared up for exploring the Arab wonderland that barely existed a few decades ago.

Checkpoint-1: Burj Khalifa, of course!
The tallest structure in the world has every bit of attention that it deserves. Phenomenal on the outside, and fairly good from the inside, the Burj Khalifa has an elevator that gets you to the 125th floor in 60 seconds. The view from the top is good, showing all of Dubai and the extended desert, but I’d rather see the structure from outside (That is better for a view!)

Checkpoint-2: Shopping
It was time for shopping! We explored the Dubai mall and later drove miles to the Outlet mall. Man does this place have a huge collection! Although the prices are considerably higher than in the states, people don’t mind shopping a good deal as all the malls boast of heavy discounts.

 
Checkpoint-3: What? Where?
Oh, did I mention we took a flight to Seychelles the next day? Maybe I was too jet-lagged. The moment we landed on Mahe Island, the cool breeze gave me the “vacation vibe”. With climate far better than at any other place during my journey, I was instantly relaxed. We arrived at the hotel, rented a car, and drove to the other end of the island. Although the beaches on the way were beautiful, we drove through lush green forests on both sides of well-developed roads. The soothing experience was upgraded by pleasant music. It was awesome!

Checkpoint-4: Scuba dooba doo!
 A wise man (me) once said, “When on an island, go diving!”
Geared up for an amazing scuba experience, we drove to the diving school to the other end of the island, and were taken to a boat by the staff. After sailing for half hour, we dove in deep cold waters to catch a sight of sea creatures and corals. Although it wasn’t as colorful as we see on Google Images, it was satisfying! After 20 minutes, we started feeling cold and swam up to the boat. After a few minutes of relaxation, we returned.

Checkpoint-5: Clothes, Jenga and food!
 My suitcase arrived y’all! Yes! After days of travelling around the world, my suitcase was delivered to Seychelles Airport. After a couple days’ struggle, I was again a wardrobe king! With so many outfits to choose from, I felt elated. The next day, we stacked up fruits, breads, and everything we liked on plates we could barely carry to the table for breakfast. To add to the serenity, the hotel was facing the sea. We played Jenga while having breakfast with cool winds from the beach trying to demolish the stack. It was awesome!

Checkpoint-6: Date night!
After a couple more drives, late night pizzas, beach-swimming experiences, and windy Jenga games, we flew back to Dubai. At night, we had an amazing fine dine experience at the Address hotel, an elite hotel facing the Burj Khalifa. After a few more explorations the next day including kayaking, beach exploration, and more shopping, I departed for Aggieland to begin another great semester.

---Sumit Hasrajani
Sumit Hasrajani is a Masters student in Mays Business School