Our last stop before heading back to London was Dubai. We always wanted to visit this legendary mega-shopping city but never had the opportunity.
We arrived quite late in the evening and were first welcomed by the hot air. It felt like being put into a big oven for roasting! Next, we were tricked into taking the more expensive Lexus taxi to our hotel - can't believe that we got ripped off after 8 months of travelling! Sigh. Our hotel was in down town and we were pleasantly surprised by the size and the view. We could see the Burj Kalifa and the Dubai Fountain from our balcony. Only the sand on the balcony reminded us that this city is in the middle of the dessert.
We only had three days in Dubai:
Day 1: We didn't manage to make it to the Dubai Mall until lunch time. They were not kidding when they said Dubai Mall is big. What I found impressive is that all the brands, from Europe to UK, North America and Australia are all there! We had lunch in the Food Court, because that was the only designated area for eating and drinking due to Ramadan. (oh yes, we never fail to hit the major holiday in the countries we travel to!)
We then did some shopping. At least the mall was not crowded at all because of Ramadan. After a few hours checking out the mall including the Aquarium display (quite nice) and the gold souk, we went for an early dinner. We both wanted the Berlin Döner Kebab we saw other people eating. The fast food chain did not disappoint us. I loved it! We realised that most of the people are actually hanging out at the Food Court instead of shopping.
While we were waiting to meet Lars' friend Ansgar, what did I see?! TIM HORTON'S. This made me very happy!! I bought my favourite French Cruller, which I have not tasted for at least 3 years! While the boys were catching up, I had my donut fix. Thinking about it now, I should have bought a dozen. :P
Apparently Ansgar and Lars had not seen each other for at least a decade and they claimed both had not changed a bit! After some catching up, we all went to the Dubai Fountain and it was impressive! Very sophisticated and completely in sync with the music. Apparently, it's a different song every half hour. Ansgar then took us to the Neos bar at The Address Hotel and we had a great view up there.
After we said goodbye to Ansgar, we went to Burj Kalifa. By that time, there were only a few people left and we didn't have to queue. Man, the first time I saw the night view, I couldn't believe it. It was so unreal and futuristic. I felt like being in a sci-fi movie. The Bangkok night view was impressive in its size, but the Dubai night view was impressive in the design of individual buildings. I felt we were on a different planet.
Day 2: Lars signed us up for a dessert safari. He found a company which lets you self drive a dune buggy as opposed to be driven in a car. Good choice. It was not only more fun but also less wobbly compared to sitting in the car...
It was a long drive from the hotel to the dessert. We then got strapped into the buggy. For the first half hour, it was really fun and I have to admit I was a bit scared at the beginning. I was soon overcome by adrenaline rush. Half way through the track, our guides asked us to quickly go back inside of the guide's car (we were the only ones doing the tour). As soon as we got inside, a sand storm and thunder storm hit us. It was fun initially, but not so much when the guide drove us around to find more shelter and avoid the lightening! I became car sick and it almost never happened before.
After almost an hour, we went back to the buggy and finished our tour. I even got some bonus driving by the guide at the end. He went to the big dunes and at one point, we were facing vertically down! We also signed up for the sunset buffet, which was average at best. I got a short camel ride. Getting off the bloody camel was worse than riding the dune buggy. I didn't feel so good after that for the rest of the evening.
Day 3: We checked out the Gold Souk in the Deira area. It was pretty quiet, because of Ramadan, but we saw some elaborate gold jewellery. We then went to another friend of Lars for Pizza and beer. Dirk's dog is extremely friendly, always licking and sniffing us. :P I loved the Dubai stories Dirk told us - even the young kids would demand luxury cars like Porsche, Rolls Royce or Lamborghini. Anything short of these, such as Toyota is not considered a car! Showing off and status symbols are the norm in the Middle East! :)
Overall, Dubai is hands down a super modern and luxurious city. We didn't know it's also a super safe place and the majority of the 2 million residents are expats. The whole city is just so unreal to me. My first experience with the Middle East has been set to a unrealistic high standard. I only wish to stay at Burj Al Arab next time when I return. :P
We arrived quite late in the evening and were first welcomed by the hot air. It felt like being put into a big oven for roasting! Next, we were tricked into taking the more expensive Lexus taxi to our hotel - can't believe that we got ripped off after 8 months of travelling! Sigh. Our hotel was in down town and we were pleasantly surprised by the size and the view. We could see the Burj Kalifa and the Dubai Fountain from our balcony. Only the sand on the balcony reminded us that this city is in the middle of the dessert.
We only had three days in Dubai:
Day 1: We didn't manage to make it to the Dubai Mall until lunch time. They were not kidding when they said Dubai Mall is big. What I found impressive is that all the brands, from Europe to UK, North America and Australia are all there! We had lunch in the Food Court, because that was the only designated area for eating and drinking due to Ramadan. (oh yes, we never fail to hit the major holiday in the countries we travel to!)
We then did some shopping. At least the mall was not crowded at all because of Ramadan. After a few hours checking out the mall including the Aquarium display (quite nice) and the gold souk, we went for an early dinner. We both wanted the Berlin Döner Kebab we saw other people eating. The fast food chain did not disappoint us. I loved it! We realised that most of the people are actually hanging out at the Food Court instead of shopping.
While we were waiting to meet Lars' friend Ansgar, what did I see?! TIM HORTON'S. This made me very happy!! I bought my favourite French Cruller, which I have not tasted for at least 3 years! While the boys were catching up, I had my donut fix. Thinking about it now, I should have bought a dozen. :P
Apparently Ansgar and Lars had not seen each other for at least a decade and they claimed both had not changed a bit! After some catching up, we all went to the Dubai Fountain and it was impressive! Very sophisticated and completely in sync with the music. Apparently, it's a different song every half hour. Ansgar then took us to the Neos bar at The Address Hotel and we had a great view up there.
After we said goodbye to Ansgar, we went to Burj Kalifa. By that time, there were only a few people left and we didn't have to queue. Man, the first time I saw the night view, I couldn't believe it. It was so unreal and futuristic. I felt like being in a sci-fi movie. The Bangkok night view was impressive in its size, but the Dubai night view was impressive in the design of individual buildings. I felt we were on a different planet.
Day 2: Lars signed us up for a dessert safari. He found a company which lets you self drive a dune buggy as opposed to be driven in a car. Good choice. It was not only more fun but also less wobbly compared to sitting in the car...
It was a long drive from the hotel to the dessert. We then got strapped into the buggy. For the first half hour, it was really fun and I have to admit I was a bit scared at the beginning. I was soon overcome by adrenaline rush. Half way through the track, our guides asked us to quickly go back inside of the guide's car (we were the only ones doing the tour). As soon as we got inside, a sand storm and thunder storm hit us. It was fun initially, but not so much when the guide drove us around to find more shelter and avoid the lightening! I became car sick and it almost never happened before.
After almost an hour, we went back to the buggy and finished our tour. I even got some bonus driving by the guide at the end. He went to the big dunes and at one point, we were facing vertically down! We also signed up for the sunset buffet, which was average at best. I got a short camel ride. Getting off the bloody camel was worse than riding the dune buggy. I didn't feel so good after that for the rest of the evening.
Day 3: We checked out the Gold Souk in the Deira area. It was pretty quiet, because of Ramadan, but we saw some elaborate gold jewellery. We then went to another friend of Lars for Pizza and beer. Dirk's dog is extremely friendly, always licking and sniffing us. :P I loved the Dubai stories Dirk told us - even the young kids would demand luxury cars like Porsche, Rolls Royce or Lamborghini. Anything short of these, such as Toyota is not considered a car! Showing off and status symbols are the norm in the Middle East! :)
Overall, Dubai is hands down a super modern and luxurious city. We didn't know it's also a super safe place and the majority of the 2 million residents are expats. The whole city is just so unreal to me. My first experience with the Middle East has been set to a unrealistic high standard. I only wish to stay at Burj Al Arab next time when I return. :P
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