• Home
  • popular
  • EVENTS
  • submit-new-event
  • CHARITY GUIDE
  • Children
  • Education
  • Health
  • Veterans
  • Social Services
  • Arts + Culture
  • Animals
  • LGBTQ
  • New Charity
  • TRENDING NEWS
  • News
  • City Life
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Home + Design
  • Travel
  • Real Estate
  • Restaurants + Bars
  • Arts
  • Society
  • Innovation
  • Fashion + Beauty
  • subscribe
  • about
  • series
  • Embracing Your Inner Cowboy
  • Green Living
  • Summer Fun
  • Real Estate Confidential
  • RX In the City
  • State of the Arts
  • Fall For Fashion
  • Cai's Odyssey
  • Comforts of Home
  • Good Eats
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2010
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2
  • Good Eats 2
  • HMNS Pirates
  • The Future of Houston
  • We Heart Hou 2
  • Music Inspires
  • True Grit
  • Hoops City
  • Green Living 2011
  • Cruizin for a Cure
  • Summer Fun 2011
  • Just Beat It
  • Real Estate 2011
  • Shelby on the Seine
  • Rx in the City 2011
  • Entrepreneur Video Series
  • Going Wild Zoo
  • State of the Arts 2011
  • Fall for Fashion 2011
  • Elaine Turner 2011
  • Comforts of Home 2011
  • King Tut
  • Chevy Girls
  • Good Eats 2011
  • Ready to Jingle
  • Houston at 175
  • The Love Month
  • Clifford on The Catwalk Htx
  • Let's Go Rodeo 2012
  • King's Harbor
  • FotoFest 2012
  • City Centre
  • Hidden Houston
  • Green Living 2012
  • Summer Fun 2012
  • Bookmark
  • 1987: The year that changed Houston
  • Best of Everything 2012
  • Real Estate 2012
  • Rx in the City 2012
  • Lost Pines Road Trip Houston
  • London Dreams
  • State of the Arts 2012
  • HTX Fall For Fashion 2012
  • HTX Good Eats 2012
  • HTX Contemporary Arts 2012
  • HCC 2012
  • Dine to Donate
  • Tasting Room
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2012
  • Charming Charlie
  • Asia Society
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2012
  • HTX Mistletoe on the go
  • HTX Sun and Ski
  • HTX Cars in Lifestyle
  • HTX New Beginnings
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013
  • Zadok Sparkle into Spring
  • HTX Let's Go Rodeo 2013
  • HCC Passion for Fashion
  • BCAF 2013
  • HTX Best of 2013
  • HTX City Centre 2013
  • HTX Real Estate 2013
  • HTX France 2013
  • Driving in Style
  • HTX Island Time
  • HTX Super Season 2013
  • HTX Music Scene 2013
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013 2
  • HTX Baker Institute
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2013
  • Mothers Day Gift Guide 2021 Houston
  • Staying Ahead of the Game
  • Wrangler Houston
  • First-time Homebuyers Guide Houston 2021
  • Visit Frisco Houston
  • promoted
  • eventdetail
  • Greystar Novel River Oaks
  • Thirdhome Go Houston
  • Dogfish Head Houston
  • LovBe Houston
  • Claire St Amant podcast Houston
  • The Listing Firm Houston
  • South Padre Houston
  • NextGen Real Estate Houston
  • Pioneer Houston
  • Collaborative for Children
  • Decorum
  • Bold Rock Cider
  • Nasher Houston
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2021
  • CityNorth
  • Urban Office
  • Villa Cotton
  • Luck Springs Houston
  • EightyTwo
  • Rectanglo.com
  • Silver Eagle Karbach
  • Mirador Group
  • Nirmanz
  • Bandera Houston
  • Milan Laser
  • Lafayette Travel
  • Highland Park Village Houston
  • Proximo Spirits
  • Douglas Elliman Harris Benson
  • Original ChopShop
  • Bordeaux Houston
  • Strike Marketing
  • Rice Village Gift Guide 2021
  • Downtown District
  • Broadstone Memorial Park
  • Gift Guide
  • Music Lane
  • Blue Circle Foods
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2022
  • True Rest
  • Lone Star Sports
  • Silver Eagle Hard Soda
  • Modelo recipes
  • Modelo Fighting Spirit
  • Athletic Brewing
  • Rodeo Houston
  • Silver Eagle Bud Light Next
  • Waco CVB
  • EnerGenie
  • HLSR Wine Committee
  • All Hands
  • El Paso
  • Avenida Houston
  • Visit Lubbock Houston
  • JW Marriott San Antonio
  • Silver Eagle Tupps
  • Space Center Houston
  • Central Market Houston
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Travel Texas Houston
  • Alliantgroup
  • Golf Live
  • DC Partners
  • Under the Influencer
  • Blossom Hotel
  • San Marcos Houston
  • Photo Essay: Holiday Gift Guide 2009
  • We Heart Hou
  • Walker House
  • HTX Good Eats 2013
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2013
  • HTX Culture Motive
  • HTX Auto Awards
  • HTX Ski Magic
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2014
  • HTX Texas Traveler
  • HTX Cifford on the Catwalk 2014
  • HTX United Way 2014
  • HTX Up to Speed
  • HTX Rodeo 2014
  • HTX City Centre 2014
  • HTX Dos Equis
  • HTX Tastemakers 2014
  • HTX Reliant
  • HTX Houston Symphony
  • HTX Trailblazers
  • HTX_RealEstateConfidential_2014
  • HTX_IW_Marks_FashionSeries
  • HTX_Green_Street
  • Dating 101
  • HTX_Clifford_on_the_Catwalk_2014
  • FIVE CultureMap 5th Birthday Bash
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2014 TEST
  • HTX Texans
  • Bergner and Johnson
  • HTX Good Eats 2014
  • United Way 2014-15_Single Promoted Articles
  • Holiday Pop Up Shop Houston
  • Where to Eat Houston
  • Copious Row Single Promoted Articles
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2014
  • htx woodford reserve manhattans
  • Zadok Swiss Watches
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2015
  • HTX Charity Challenge 2015
  • United Way Helpline Promoted Article
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Fusion Academy Promoted Article
  • Clifford on the Catwalk Fall 2015
  • United Way Book Power Promoted Article
  • Jameson HTX
  • Primavera 2015
  • Promenade Place
  • Hotel Galvez
  • Tremont House
  • HTX Tastemakers 2015
  • HTX Digital Graffiti/Alys Beach
  • MD Anderson Breast Cancer Promoted Article
  • HTX RealEstateConfidential 2015
  • HTX Vargos on the Lake
  • Omni Hotel HTX
  • Undies for Everyone
  • Reliant Bright Ideas Houston
  • 2015 Houston Stylemaker
  • HTX Renewable You
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • HTX New York Fashion Week spring 2016
  • Kyrie Massage
  • Red Bull Flying Bach
  • Hotze Health and Wellness
  • ReadFest 2015
  • Alzheimer's Promoted Article
  • Formula 1 Giveaway
  • Professional Skin Treatments by NuMe Express

    Dubai Journal

    Christmas in Dubai: Holiday jaunt brings the ultimate in shopping and decorations

    Jane Howze
    Dec 22, 2013 | 12:00 pm

    Editor's note: CultureMap contributor Jane Howze is flying around the world in 17 days. Here is her first report, from Dubai.

    Our trip to Dubai was a means to an end — a way to get to Sydney, Australia, to celebrate New Year's Eve with friends. Believe it or not, it is cheaper to fly around the world than to fly non-stop to Sydney. Of course, any savings will be eaten up with expensive hotel rooms. But even so, off we went to Dubai, with stops scheduled in the Maldives, Phuket and finally Sydney before returning home via Los Angeles.

    It is much easier to get to Dubai than you would think. On United, it is about a 13-hour flight from Dulles, with our flight leaving at 6:30 p.m. and landing at 4.30 p.m. the next day. (And you can fly non-stop on Emirates from Houston for a much more expensive fare). Count on eight hours of sleep plus time for dinner. Once you get to your hotel — shower, eat and sleep again. The Dubai airport and Emirates Air deserve their own column. One sentence cannot describe how spectacular they both are and hopefully U.S. airports and airlines will take a look and learn a lesson or two.

    Vertical living

    Dubai is clean, vertical, vast and very new-looking with cutting-edge architecture. It seems like a mix of New York, Miami and Las Vegas. High rise after high rise — most at least 70 stories high. All styles of dress — burkas on some women while others sport cut-offs with boots. Anything goes here. Men wear everything from suits to caftans and not all of them are the traditional white ones you expect. I saw a man in a beautifully tailored khaki caftan.

    Dubai is a city of naked materialism but also of mystery.

    December weather is delightful. Some Americans stereotype Dubai as being hot all year. Not so. Like Houston, it is intolerable for three to four months of the year and temperate the rest. It reminds me of Los Angeles or San Diego, though not so cold at night.

    The people are unfailingly polite. Most of the hotel employees and cab drivers are from other parts of the world — India, Oman, Russia and Pakistan. Many have come to Dubai to support their families back home.

    Jaw-dropping shopping

    We headed to the Dubai Mall — no surprise, it is the largest in the world in terms of total area. I’m no stranger to large malls, but the size of this one is jaw-dropping — the equivalent of 50 soccer fields long. Although it does not have the indoor ski slope that the more well-known Mall of the Emirates has, this 1,200-store mall has an ice skating rink, one of world’s largest aquariums and elevators what will whisk you to the 124th floor of the tallest building in the world, Burj Dubai.

    There is an entire wing — think the size of a normal shopping mall — just for electronics and another wing just for watches. But not one item is on sale.

    There is an entire wing — think the size of a normal shopping mall — just for electronics and another wing just for watches. And the food — not just PF Changs and California Pizza Kitchen, which along with every other casual restaurant chain are here — but high-end chains from Europe and Asia with a total of more than 150 options for dining. The stores themselves include every luxury brand in the world, plus Bloomingdale's and French department store Galleries Lafayette. But there is not one item on sale.

    As we ate lunch at one of the many food courts I was fascinated by the many women in their head coverings and burkas. I wondered how are the women in burkas able to eat? And why were these women buying clothes and underwear from Victoria’s Secret? I feel pretty ignorant not understanding the cultural subtleties.

    The new metro between the beach area where our hotel is (the Marina) and downtown site of the Dubai Mall is sleek, fast and efficient. It is relatively new — like everything else in Dubai.

    Arabian village

    On our last night, we joined a former colleague and his wife for Christmas festivities at Madinat Jumeirah, a resort comprised of two hotels and hundreds of restaurants and shops and five kilometers of waterways that link everything. It is designed to resemble an ancient Arabian village — mysterious and exotic. My colleague’s wife is one of the most senior women executives in Dubai. They and their 11-year-old son love it here, though they admit it takes a little getting used to for their weekend to be Friday and Saturday rather than Saturday and Sunday.

    No one does Christmas like the people of Dubai.

    In the main amphitheater, we were treated to Santa Claus, a train giving rides to children, man-made snow along with an area to build snowmen, and a six-foot-high ginger bread house. It's total sensory overload. Interestingly there were women in burkas and men in robes and headdresses enjoying the Christmas music—some of which was religious. Christmas to them must be a pagan event rather than one of spiritual significance—or maybe they didn’t understand the words.

    And no one does Christmas like the people of Dubai. Christmas trees galore, carols playing loudly, competing with each other to be heard. The trees are tasteful, with garland, balls, big star, Santa sitting by and beautifully wrapped presents….in other words—over the top. But there are few nativity scenes.

    We were not expecting to be so intrigued by Dubai. There are so many paradoxes here—wealth beyond all comprehension against a backdrop of conservative religious, anti-women views. It is melting pot of nationalities and cultures with virtually no crime. A city of naked materialism but also of mystery. So many questions and two days is not enough time to explore all the subtleties.

    Next stop: Maldives

    The Dubai Mall is the world's largest.

    Dubai mall
      
    Photo by Jane Howze
    The Dubai Mall is the world's largest.
    unspecified
    news/travel
    series/htx-ready-to-jingle-2013

    most read posts

    Innovative Houston chef is the city's newest James Beard Award winner

    Houston farmers market adds new indoor pickleball court with food and cocktails

    Houston oil-and-gas billionaire ranks among America's top 100 landowners

    Disappear Into Nature

    Secluded Hill Country park opens 2 luxurious glamping houses

    Natalie Grigson
    Jun 19, 2025 | 10:15 am
    Bloom House exterior
    Photo courtesy of LCRA Parks
    Glamping can still include s'mores with a private outdoor fire pit.

    Just in time for unbearable temperatures across Texas, the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) has introduced a cooler glamping solution. Opened mid-May, the Ööd Mirror Houses are LCRA Parks' newest accommodations at Lake Bastrop South Shore Park, about 40 minutes outside of Austin.

    Hideaway House exteriorBoth glamping options have floor-to-ceiling windows that look like mirrors from the outside.Photo courtesy of LCRA Parks

    Operated by Cameron Ranch Glamping, these two luxury houses are tucked away in the park's Lost Pines region, surrounded by trees and miles of tranquility.

    Both these pet-friendly homes include floor-to-ceiling mirrored glass walls, so guests can look out into nature with complete privacy, from both passersby and mosquitos.

    Both The Hideaway and The Bloom are 221 square feet and are equipped with a queen memory foam bed, full bathroom with walk-in shower, dining area, Wi-Fi, kitchenette, record player, and perhaps most importantly for this time of year, air conditioning. In the winter, the structures will be heated.

    Hideaway House InteriorBoth mirror houses include memory foam queen-sized beds, WiFi, A/C, and more. Photo courtesy of LCRA Parks

    No matter how glam it gets, guests can still enjoy classic camping fun like roasting marshmallows in their personal outdoor fire pit, or firing up the grill for some burgers. Plus, Lake Bastrop offers paddle boarding, kayaking, canoeing, areas for fishing, trails for hiking and biking, mini-golf, playgrounds, sand volleyball courts, and a charming camp store.

    Interior kitchen areaKitchenettes come equipped with a microwave, refrigerator, and cooking equipment. Photo courtesy of LCRA Parks

    Guests can also leave the park and make the 10-minute drive to downtown Bastrop to grab a bite, a drink, some groceries, or catch some music or a movie. (Who can really say what the rules of glamping entail?)

    Bloom House The two mirror houses are within walking distance to the swimming areas along the lake. Photo courtesy of LCRA Parks

    The Ööd Mirror Houses are now available to book online. Rates vary by day, starting just above $200 per night before fees, and increasing to more than $300 before fees during certain times. Find the campground at 375 S. Shore Rd., Bastrop.

    glampingnatureparksbastropluxury
    news/travel
    series/htx-ready-to-jingle-2013
    Loading...