Fabulous Dubai – Things to Do

Fabulous Emirates. Spectacular Dubai.

When we hear about Arab Emirates most of us think of Dubai and its outrageous luxury surrounded by burning hot desert. Many people I know say that there is nothing to do in Dubai, apart from expensive brands shopping and seeing huge skyscrapers. Many people I meet ask me how it is for women to travel to Dubai, should they wear clothes fully covering their body and how safe it is for women. And many people who traveled to Dubai tell that all they saw was just a few malls, fountain show and double decker bus ride in shadows of skyscrapers.

Well, I’m lucky enough to have a relative who lives in the Emirates and who has shown me much more than usual tourists see:)

And I have to say: the Emirates are more than just Dubai and Dubai is more than just Dubai Mall & Fountain show:)

So, are you travelling to Dubai itself? Or to one of the many stars beach resorts in Ras Al-Khaimah emirate? Well, even if you are in 1-1.5 hours away from Dubai enjoying your sun holidays in Ras Al-Khaimah emirate which is specialized on beach resorts, there are plenty of shuttles and taxis that can bring you to sparkling life of Dubai center.

And believe me, Dubai is definitely worth of spending there quite some time:)

If you have just one day in Dubai then all you need to do is to go to Dubai Mall – the world’s largest shopping mall. But Dubai mall is not just 1200 shops, 120 cafes and restaurants. It’s also plenty of entertainment, including aquarium, ice skating, cinemas etc. You literally can easily spend days and days there.. However my favourite thing in Dubai mall is the famous Dubai fountain show. Imagine beautiful music, dancing waters and sparkling tower of Burj Khalifa immersing into skies of black Arabian night.. Fountain lovers can debate if Dubai fountain show is more beautiful Bellagio fountains show:)

From Dubai Mall you can take a tour to the top of Burj Khalifa skyscraper – the world’s tallest building. It’s a must do experience in Dubai: There at 828m above the land you feel scraping the sky. Here at the top of Burj Khalifa you will think about power of mankind that turned a piece of desert into futuristic mega challenge to conventional world. You’ll need to get tickets in advance online or at Dubai Mall.

Picture: View of Burj Khalifa and other skyscrapers from metro. I definitely recommend you to take a metro, get in at the end or at the beginning (metro is driverless) and awe!

Another example of mankind power is the famous man made archipelago of Palm islands. It’s not easy to see the shape of the archipelago when you are there on the islands.. Hence keep an eye for them when you are in airplane:) Palm islands have one good reason to visit them: Huge indoors aquarium of Lost Chambers in luxurious resort Atlantis. It’s just a thick layer of glass separating you from the ocean.. If you want, you can do diving there. Think of sizes of this aquarium:)

It’s in Dubai you can experience and touch the insane Arabian luxury and leisure.

• Come to Dubai Marina area for stylish cocktails with gorgeous skyscrapers views.
• Get a bizarre experience of (mountain) skiing when knowing how hot it is outside! It’s all – the lavish & eccentric Mall of the Emirates!
• Spend a day at Jumeirah Beach Residence area – the JBR walk. It’s a beautiful promenade at seafront. It’s full of chic boutiques, elegant cafes and expensive hotels. There is always something happening at the beach, whether it’s Kites competition or food festival. At night young millionaires come here to show off their customized outrageously expensive cars and motorbikes. Don’t feel shy to take a selfie with these luxurious masterpieces.

Dubai means modern history and skyscrapers, right? You will be amazed to learn that all you see in Dubai happened in less than 50 years..  Even in the 60ies they were using Indian rupees. Where you see skyscrapers nowadays, it was a poor fisherman village.. I won’t tell more. Come to the Bur Dubai – the Old Town – and visit Dubai Museum (more focus on ancient history and traditional culture) and Saeed Al Maktoum house (strong focus on Royal family and how Dubai transformed from village to nowadays futuristic city). These 2 small museums can show you the history, handcrafts and culture of this region. You will be surprised, amazed and impressed how much this land has changed. Both museums are close to each other separated by a short strip of a typical Middle East open air bazaar. There are more small museums and historic sights in the neighborhood if you have more time to explore the past days of Dubai and to get amazed with the progress of the region.

At picture: A shooting of an international travel TV show about Dubai handcrafts at Dubai Museum.

After learning Dubai history go to Creek, take an abra boat to Deira Old Souk abra station. This is the place where old Middle East fairy tales come true, where you remember stories of Alladin, of magic treasures.. Prepare some cash and buy some gorgeous pure gold jewelries, prepare all your senses to experience richness of the spices world. Gold and Spice Souks are the must visit places in Dubai! Need some break for your senses? There are interesting museums in the neighborhood (e.g. Women’s museum, Heritage House). Or take a boat ride in the Creek waters.

Dubai is more than skyscrapers and outrageous luxury. It’s also lots of sun, sea and surprise – greeneries!:)

Right on the edge of Dubai Creek you will find a lavish sea front park with plenty of kids play areas, restaurants, swimming pool and famous and the only Dubai Dolphinarium. The Creek park is probably less for sun bathing but more for wonderful time with your family and close friends.

There are plenty of fantastic parks in the city of Dubai. It’s amazing to see so much greenery and blooming nature in the middle of the urban world surrounded by harsh deserts.

If you are looking for active outdoors getaway from the hot & urban Dubai: Mushrif park is right for you. Cycling, boating, barbeque, cute canals & lakes with Dutch windmills and oriental mini-temples, adventures in the forest.. Full day of fun for your inner and outer kids:)

Local culture like flea market and team sports (e.g. cricket, basketball, football) will welcome you at Safa park.

My favorite “urban” beach of Dubai area is the Al Mamzar Beach park. Here you can swim in the sea. You also can hire a bike, play volleyball and swim in the pool (if you don’t like sea:)). Be careful with planning your visit: some days are open for women only.

Picture: Al Mamzar Beach park

As you probably already understood, malls in Dubai are not just shopping. Sometimes I think that because it’s so hot in the Emirates, they fill their malls with lots of entertainment so much that people can spend most of their free time hanging out in the malls. Not just shopping, but eating out, playing, watching movies and admiring the decorations. One of such interesting malls is Ibn Batuta where you can learn a bit of history watching architecture of various countries visited by famous traveler Ibn Batuta.

Picture: At Ibn Batuta mall.

If you are visiting Emirates between November and April then you should visit the Global village. It’s a huge fair with country specific pavilions and lots of rides and other entertainment. It’s a great way to learn about culture of other countries, incl. those which are difficult to visit (like Yemen). Shop, watch shows, feast and have fun!

Be careful when taking roller coaster and similar rides – ensure that your seat belt holds you tight. I almost flew away at one of such rides. These few minutes of ride were extremely long for me, hanging out from the seat and being hold (in the air) by my husband.

 

Picture: Global Village ’16

There are more things to do in Dubai, like various water parks and theme parks. They all are grand like everything in Dubai : ) but so far they are less great than advertised being quite expensive and crowded. Though it might depend on the season..

If you are curious about civil engineering, how mankind controls nature then Arabian Canal, Dubai waterfront will be something interesting and impressive.

As I said earlier, Emirates are more than Dubai 🙂

You haven’t experienced Emirates in full if you haven’t done Desert Safari. It’s a full day adventure.

First you’ll be brought deep to desert where you can do quad biking in dunes. Then you’ll sit into a specially customized jeep and you’ll ride through desert. It was a moment of discovery for me when I realized, because I have experienced it, that desert is not flat. Not flat at all! Hold tight! You’ll finish your safari day at a desert camping with delicious Arabian food, shishas, belly dancing and traditional desert performances. It’s a must experience!

Another MUST place in the Emirates is Abu Dhabi. Whether you go to Ferrari world or to local palaces or to exquisite hotels and malls.. This Emirate will impress you. However the real jewel of Abu Dhabi is the Sheikh Zayed Mosque. It’s stunning! Try to catch the evening hours to admire its spectacular lights contrasting the darkness of the night.

Keep in mind, Abu Dhabi is quite far from Dubai, hence you need to plan at least one day for your trip (if you visit only the Mosque).

The place where locals go to meet sunsets: Jabel Hafeet in Al Ain.

It is a mountain at a border with Abu Dhabi emirate (it means it’s some hours away from Dubai). Actually there is not much on the top of this mountain. Just a parking lot and a small café where you can get some coffee or tea. But people go there not for entertainment but for watching a beautiful sunset, for admiring sun slowly rolling down and darkness covering many kilometers of the desert around.

After the sunset people drive down from the mountain to relax and to warm up at the hot water springs beneath  Jabel Hafeet. You can make barbeque or buy some food and enjoy contrast of warm waters and chill desert air.

Emirates are basically different “kingdoms” united into one country. Each emirate is unique, having something special in culture, history and nature. And in laws, too. Some are more strict towards alcohol and more conservative about women dress style, some are less. Dubai is probably the most liberate emirate, because it has so much interaction and business with the non-Arab world..

Well, another less touristic place in Emirates – Fujairah emirate. It’s located along the Gulf of Oman, hence it has a lot of beaches and beach resorts. However it also has a lot of ports and oil stations. Fujairah is more conservative and traditional vs. Dubai. Public beaches there are not for sun bathing. Even if it’s not prohibited to undress you will feel uncomfortable to do so next to women in burkas.. Fujairah public beaches are for family gathering around barbeques. Take a boat ride to jump on the sea waves and come back to beach to enjoy your barbeque. Why to go to Fujairah? To see “another side of medal” vs. glamorous urban Dubai & to experience truly local Arabian life. On the way to Fujairah stop at road shops to buy some local handcrafts (pottery, carpets, sweets), explore local fortresses (e.g. Bithna Fort) – it’s amazing to see how they rise in the middle of desert.

If you have more time and visa friendly passport, go outside of Emirates – visit Oman. It’s a land of sea fjords and mountains. Gorgeous Muscat is further from Dubai, whilst Khasab might be fully sufficient to get a first glimpse of spectacular nature of Oman. Make barbeque at the beach, swim and collect seashells and take a boat tour in Khasab fjords, where you also can do racing with dolphins. Few hours away from Dubai – completely different land! Enjoy!

Well, obviously there are many more things to do in Dubai, in other Emirates and around…:) But I think I’m done for this trip and ready to go back to beach🙂

Picture: Al Hamra Beach resort, Ras Al-Khaimah

Emirates – more than just Dubai. Dubai – more than just Dubai Mall & Fountain show:)

Enjoy your time in the Emirates!

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A few Travel Practicalities:

Best time to visit the Emirates: October- November. The nights are warm and the days are not too hot. It’s a bit cool in December-January, so that water is a bit cold and you need to wear a light jacket at night. It’s super hot in summer (40-50C in the day), though if you miss sun it won’t stop you:)

Local currency: Dihram (1 Dirham = app. ¼ of USD). There are plenty of ATMs, in many places, especially at malls, they accept cards.

Transport: When in Dubai – you must try Dubai metro, which will connect you to all major places along the coast. Taxi is quite cheap. You can rent a car: roads are good and well equipped, but keep in mind that some roads have tolls and there are many hidden speed cameras. Be cautious: locals drive quite aggressively and fast.

Language: Though many Arabs don’t speak English well, you’ll mostly have no problems with communication, specifically at malls and resorts. Most people employed at services industry are foreigners speaking several languages, including English. Knowing Hindi might help you to be able to talk to Arabs:)

Food: OMG! Arabian food is delicious! Everywhere! Additionally, when in Emirates use the opportunity to explore cuisines of other countries, e.g. Indian food in Dubai is described to be even better than in India:)

Warnings:

• If you are a couple but you are not married.. I’d recommend not to book the same room for you both. Not registered relationship is not legal. Unfortunately there are not nice cases when people were put into jail for staying together being not married.
• Alcohol: Not only very expensive but it’s also illegal in some places. If you want to have a drink, get it in places with permit.
• Tap water: You understand the nature’s specifics of the region? Don’t drink tap water.
• Surprise but Get some medicines against cold & flu. Everything is under air conditioning. If you are like me who is not used to air conditioning and fans, you’ll get cold very quickly.