Welcome Back to Breakfast with Lisa and Josh!

Soundtrack for this newsletter - Ashtaq Li İyunek by Naz Dej

We were surprised that we made a video in Dubai, too.

I mean, after a seemingly endless series of Japan-and-other-Asia+NZ+Europe videos for the past… forever, and having just wrapped another edition along those lines (Philippines), we saw hilariously cheap flights from Manila to Dubai and thought…

“Huh, never been there…”

and decided to head off to try and see if we could make a video there and not go totally broke in the process.

I mean, Dubai isn’t exactly known for being budget friendly. It’s Lambos and exclusive DJs playing even more pool parties in somehow the mostest exclusivest Four Seasons hotels out there, right?

There can’t be anything for the budget traveler. There’s just no way.

It just doesn’t compute, like 1+1 = orange. Dubai? Budget? Nah.

We had to find out anyway. You know how we do.

So we flew the short omg-it’s-somehow-10-hours-away-from-Manila in very-economy on the most aggressively budget airline we’d been on in our lives. Surrounded by almost exclusively fun, lighthearted locals from the Philippines, we landed in Dubai right in the middle of the holy month of Ramadan.

So, we did as the locals were doing and started fasting from sun up to sun down, while simultaneously attempting to make a movie about how to travel in one of the most expensive places on earth on $100 per day.

It went exactly how you’re thinking it did.

It was tough.

The architecture was fascinating and the beaches were beautiful, but we found it was genuinely difficult to find things to do that wasn’t a mall, market, or other shopping-adjacent thing.

Fasting while walking past a never ending stream of restaurants and water fountains we couldn’t drink from made everything just feel a bit worse.

We were thirsty, tired, hungry, bored, and, mostly, confused.

There had to be more to this place than just luxury shopping.

We had to be doing Dubai the wrong way.

After a full 36 hours of going from one mall to another, we started to figure out that, for us, the best of Dubai is actually in between the endless skyscrapers and malls… and actually, right in the very neighbourhood our hotel was located.

There’s culture, beauty, and realness in the small pockets between the mega structures.. the sort of depth and connection we love happening upon when we travel to places we’ve never been. We were just distracted by all the wrong, shiny, in-your-face kinds of things.

We found stunning neighborhoods all around the Deira area, an incredible traditional water taxi (abra) system, gigantic Filipino street food markets, and so, so, so many large wooden camels for sale.

None of this was on anyone’s “must-do” list or in any “things to see in Dubai” blog posts - but for us, looking at the areas nestled between the big attractions was where we found the best stuff.

And I’m not just saying that to be all hipster-y, I promise - I just happen to think that Dubai is, quite simply, a place that holds its best things behind all the gold, luxurious, shiny things.

This is doubly true for budget travelers like us. Triply true for traveling here during Ramadan.

The best part of the day in Dubai was right after sunset, when the cannon would go off, when everyone could break their fast, and eat and drink as they please. It felt like the entire city exhaled a huge sigh of relief, and then immediately chugged a gallon of much needed water.

After that big sigh of relief, there was a mad dash to any available table at a restaurant for Iftar (the big dinner after breaking of the fast), with people (including us) ordering a comical amount of food and chowing down.

Then it’s off to bed, because you’ve gotta get up before sunrise (3:30am when we were there) to get your suhoor (breakfast before the fast begins again) on.

It’s genuinely incredible that 2 billion people do this for a month every single year. It’s a really tough schedule to keep up.

On our third day, we decided to give into the way Dubai usually does things, and booked a guided desert tour.

If you know anything about us, you know that we avoid guided tours like the plague, but this one was something special.

Dubai doesn’t exactly get the most flattering press—an exorbitant city built quickly and in some of the most harsh working conditions, where the majority of the population are hardworking laborers from all over the world trying to make just enough to send money home.

Starting from the moment we first stepped foot on that plane in Manila, we ended our 3 days there with a newfound respect for the hardworking migrant workers that make this entire city work, the science and art of fasting, and all those underappreciated people and places in between the skyscrapers that make Dubai wonderfully interesting.

Would we go back? Honestly, probably not. We enjoyed our time while there, we learned so much about the culture nad life there. But, honestly, Dubai, and the way they treat their workforce, is just too much to ignore.

Behind all the glitz and glamour, the focus seems quite single minded - “make money at all costs…” “The bigger, the better.”

And that’s not really our vibe, at all.

Sure, it can be fun for the visiting tourist—in a Las Vegas-meets-Epcot-in-a-desert sort of way. And the residents that you do meet there are endlessly kind-hearted and welcoming.

There’s certainly depth to be found, but you’ve gotta dig it up for yourself.

If you do, you’ll always be rewarded.

Scholarship Update

So much to say here! We’ve gotten 22 applicants so far, and more are rolling in every day! We’ve got some really amazing people who just need a bit more cash to make their dreams come true, and it makes us so excited to be able to help out.

We’re just over 1/5th of the way to being able to give away another scholarship to another amazing college student.

If you’re feeling generous you can donate here, or just sign up for our Patreon and 10% of all revenue we get from there goes directly into the scholarship fund, and we match that 10% out of our own pockets.

This whole thing is just incredible, and we’re just so damn proud of this community for stepping up and helping college students make their study abroad dreams come true.

What else are we up to?

Orlando, Florida. Shovels in hand. You’ll see.

Today

Writing this, and our upcoming videos!

The (Near) Future

We’ve got some truly esoteric stuff coming up, but also, don’t worry, some standard stuff and some extremely embarrassing stuff. It’s gonna be a ride from here on out. More on that next week.

Our Latest Videos

You know—what this whole newsletter is about 🙂 

Our 2 weeks in the Philippines was one of our most adventurous trips, with some of the most incredible people we’ve ever met

See you next week…ish :)

- josh (and lisa)

Oh, and if you want to learn how we afford to take all these trips after quitting our jobs 4 years ago, you’ll likely be interested in our Travel Hacking and Frequent Flier Miles course on our Patreon. It’s included with any level. Check it out here.

https://patreon.com/lisaandjosh

Also, here’s a cute cat :)