Rapid Travel Chai

How to go from the office beige sea to Arabian desert sands in a weekend?

Careful planning, a sense of adventure, and willful disregard of the scoffers (better yet, keep it on a need-to-know basis until you have the torn boarding passes to prove it).

Arrival in Dubai

A rapid checklist of my planning for 7 Emirates 24 Hours:
(detail to come on all of these in future postings)

• Find overnight flight both ways (ATL-DXB, helps to be in a hub city)
• Off-season fares (Ramadan)
• Multiple readings of the Lonely Planet guidebook sections: Getting Started, Itineraries, Directory, and Transport
• Visa requirements (none for US citizens)
• Vaccine requirements (none)
• Transport options/driving requirements (International Driving Permit)
• UNESCO World Heritage Sites (darn, none)
• Travelers’ Century Club list (jackpot, all 7 Emirates count as ‘countries’!)
• Google Maps plotting of route cross-referenced with guidebook
• Accommodation for first night (in this case, the only night!)
• Book, pack and go!