The title of this post pretty much describes the feeling you have when you’re in the United Arab of Emirates. For those of you who don’t know where that is, it’s probably because everybody usually just says Dubai. And for those of you who still don’t know where that is, the UAE borders Saudi Arabia and Oman. The UAE is roughly the size of the state of Maine in the United States, and if you don’t know where that is, you’re a lost cause and you should find a map. For the UAE being the size it is, it definitely packs a punch. Not to mention a couple world records. Like, the record for the most nationalities washing hands at the same time. That’s for real and the number is 72. I just found that fact and it’s really not important but what I’m really talking about is the worlds tallest man made structure/ building in the world. Or the worlds biggest shopping mall. As of right now they’re claiming to also have the worlds biggest indoor ski resort. (We went there, it’s massive, I believe it) and my personal favorite….some would not say it’s the best but I disagree. The best wave pool in the world!!! They have some other records but I think these are the most appealing to us. We arrived late into Dubai and pretty much went straight to bed. I caught a vicious belly bug in Buenos Aires and was recovering from the 18 hour flight from BA then to Brazil, then Dubai. It may have been the worst flight I’ve ever had. No joke, I spent most of the flight in the bathroom. The next day we checked out the aquarium in the Dubai mall. Then we took a local bus to Al Ain almost 2 hours to stay with Caro’s childhood neighbor from Germany. Britta and Asif and their three boys live near the wadi adventure park which hosts the world renowned wave pool. Staying with them was really a treat for us after traveling so much the 2 days prior, not to mention the last 2 months. The next morning Britta drove us to wadi and we met up with Alice and Daniel from Tasmania. We had met them in santiago, chile and we booked the same surf session together. The park is literally in the middle of the desert. Super nice facility! We checked in and then walked into the wave pool area. Needless to say I felt like a kid. I might have been frothing a little bit and may have been in disbelief I was even there. It’s unreal! Everything I had expected. They can make rights, they can make lefts, walls with sections. You just tell them at the beginning of the session what you want and they pump it out for you. I could go on and on about the wave itself and the dynamics of the pool but I will do everybody a favor and get on with the post. Let me just say though that I want one in my future backyard and I would definitely go back. I’m completely serious too. We spent one more night with Britta and Asif and then headed back to Dubai to snowboard the indoor park. Haha, I realize how crazy this sounds and am still trying to mentally comprehend surfing and snowboarding in the UAE. So, yeah, we went snowboarding at the mall of emirates. How was it might you ask? Absolutely freezing!!! It’s a legit run. Just as we found ourselves a bit in awe surfing the wave pool was about the same feeling we found ourselves in again at the snow park. It’s almost as if you’re not really doing it. Like, it goes against the laws of physics and reality. It’s 85-90 degrees outside and we’re snowboarding. All in all we had a great time in the UAE. It was interesting to see all the money and growth of Dubai. We actually missed out seeing some stuff and maybe have underestimated the country a little bit. We have a chance to go back there in June so we’ll see what happens.