I knew it was coming — we all did — but somehow, every year, Dubai’s summer still manages to catch me off guard. The moment I step outside, it feels like walking into an oven with a Wi-Fi connection. The air wraps around you like a hot blanket, and suddenly even a five-minute errand feels like a trek across the Sahara. So yes, I’ve officially entered indoor creature mode.

The little portico I’ve set up outside is barely holding on. It’s become more of a ceremonial space than a functional one at this point. I glance out at it like you would an old friend in a long-distance relationship: fondly, but from afar. It’s a tiny corner with a table and 2chairs, a few green survivors, and the kind of quiet that makes you forget the chaos on the other side of the glass. Some evenings, the heat dips and there is a cool breeze still.

Most days though, I’m happily tucked away inside, riding out the heat with the A/C humming like a background character in my life. I’ve swapped café-hopping for home brews, movie marathons, and casual flings with random creative bursts. There’s something about being indoors during a Dubai summer that makes you slow down — not by choice, but by sheer survival. And in that stillness, I’ve found space to write more, read more, and revisit the half-finished projects that have been quietly waiting for attention.

The thing about summer in Dubai is that it’s not cancelled — it gets reimagined. The city may be sizzling, but it still knows how to offer its own kind of summer magic, tucked safely indoors - because Dubai doesn’t do “ordinary,” even in the heat.

But for now, I will be here in my air-conditioned sanctuary, sipping something cold, and Googling “how to revive plants that have seen the face of the sun.”

So here’s to summer in Dubai! bold, relentless, and only just getting started.

Thank you for reading.

This post was first published on my ecency blog. 

@keechadkikali