Stevie and "The Pyramids"

I've known Stevie since we were kids (that's him and his wife Sapna in the photo above). Even though these days Stevie appears to be a perfectly respectable adult, to me he'll always remain the kid who'd alternately horrify and disgust my little sister and I with an endless repertoire of ghost stories and vomit jokes. So imagine my delight when my parents mentioned that he and Sapna live and work in Dubai (he's a banker and she's a lawyer).

Sapna and Stevie were kind enough to introduce me to Dubai's raging night life. Like everything else in this city, it's slightly strange and wonderful all at the same time. We drove to this ritzy building called "The Pyramids," so named because of the glittering pyramids on the roof and the mummies in the entrance. There are also a bunch of bars and lounges inside. I felt like I'd stepped into a James Bond flick or one of those Bombay Sapphire ads where everyone's super dapper and beautiful and having a ridiculously good time. If you look carefully in the photo above, you'll see a guy in a black jacket who's grabbing this other guy's neck playfully. Ten minutes before this photo was taken he was actually standing on a table, giving a toast and saying, "Pip pip!" to a cheering crowd. Unlike other places in the middle-east, it is legal to drink alcohol in Dubai. You need a liquor license to drink though (not unlike how you need a gun permit to own a gun in the States), and you can't be Muslim. There's also a 30 percent tax when you buy alcohol here, even though nothing else in this city is taxed. Anyways, if you ever happen to be in Dubai in a bar called "Ginseng" in a building known as "The Pyramids," I recommend you order the lychee martini. It's very good.