Dubai Diary III

Did I say Dubai shopping was done??? I did say I was saving the best for the last - the most valuable thing that can be bought in Dubai is, of course - wait for it - gold!! An endless stream of 70s Bollywood films have depicted smugglers bringing in 'Dubai ka sona' - and though the situation has changed somewhat, gold still remains the number one purchase of most Indians traveling to Dubai! An entire marketplace is dedicated to this glittering metal - the Gold Souk located in the historic, ancient Deira region of Dubai. The Gold Souk is not a mall, but rather a market with a vast number of shops selling gold jewellery. The jewellery is typically in the Arabic fashion, although there are quite a few stores that sell Indian designs. 18 karat gold is usually used for the ornaments - for pure gold, look for the 24 karat gold bars! The sheer amount of gold on display is good reason to make the trip to the Gold Souk!! The pictures speak volumes - all that glitters, is most assuredly gold here in Dubai!

If it is diamonds rather than gold that makes your heart beat a little faster, head to the Gold and Diamond Park, conveniently located on Sheik Zayed Road. Certainly more upscale than the Gold Souk, but with probably just as many stores specializing in diamonds and other precious stones. What a mind-boggling variety of jewellery to choose from! Workshops for all the jewellers are located right in the premises, so sizing for rings or anything else is not a problem - customer service at its best!! I didn't think that the price of diamonds was any lower than anywhere else, but the lower price of gold might just drop the price of the jewellery. Besides, this was the best selection of designs in diamond I have ever seen - impossible to resist! Of course, just like in the Gold Souk, it is customary to bargain - and while there won't be any dramatic discounts, a good deal will be found by those who seek!

Atlantis the Palm

As I previously mentioned in Dubai Diary I, we spent 3 days of our vacation at the Atlantis. Besides being the only hotel/resort on the Palm Jumeirah, the Atlantis is a famous tourist destination and landmark in its own right! The Aquaventure Waterpark is probably the biggest in Dubai, and is definitely worth spending a day here enjoying the adrenalin rush of the thrilling rides, or just meander lazily along the River that winds its way across the park.

The highlight of our stay - hands down - was the visit to to Dolphin Bay! Talk of once-in-lifetime opportunities - getting a chance to swim with dolphins ranks way up there for me! With a group of 6 other people, Manasi and I, suitably wet-suited, spent about half hour in the lagoon with a very well-trained dolphin! Fascinating creatures these - ours had a scarred back, souvenirs from a shark attack and a boat propeller, before he was rescued! And I got to kiss the dolphin too - nothing like the doggy and kitty kisses I'm used to - this was, well, like kissing a fish - cold and clammy! Yes, I know, dolphins are not fish - but still! The jury is still out on whether the whole experience was worth the exorbitant charge we paid - but hey, dolphins, is that amazing or what??!!

The one thing we whole-heartedly enjoyed in Dubai was the food! Rajasthani food at Maanwar, chikoo milkshakes at Haji-Ali, sev-puri at Bikanerwala - I could go on forever! The best, in my opinion, was this Arabian restaurant, Arabiska - on the Dubai Marina, outdoor seating, great food and atmosphere! Perfect way to spend an afternoon! Interestingly, none of the restaurants in Dubai serve alcohol - unless they are part of a residential hotel. Good thing, too - considering the zero-tolerance policy on drinking and driving!! The bar scene is pretty active, though - take a cab, or assign someone to be the designated driver!And of course, no drinking in public places!

 What really elevated this vacation for us was the company of great friends - and not just any friends! SB is probably Ajey's first ever friend - they've known each other since before kindergarten! As SB so appropriately said - "I don't remember a time when I didn't know Ajey!"!! How many of us have that - that easy familiarity, the amazing comfort level, the years of shared memories??!! And what incredible hosts SB and his wife PB were - they were with us almost every evening, spending as much time as possible with us, driving us places, taking us out to eat! Truly, the best times in Dubai were the ones we spent together, just chilling at their place, Manasi and A playing together, Ajey and SB cooking breakfast while the ladies enjoyed a cup of tea!! So if you're reading this, SB and PB, start planning your China trip - can't wait to see you again!

The best mirror is an old friend...

So that's it then, our time in Dubai is up! As with most places, I felt we barely scratched the surface - and I left with a 'for-next-time' list longer than my arm!! And as if Dubai weren't enough, there's Abu Dhabi and Sharjah barely an hour's drive away - both with their own unique attractions! I will say this, though - Dubai is an extremely easy place for a vacation! The usual impediments of language and food don't exist here, the public transport is good, and there's plenty of ways to spend your time (and money)!! One thing to keep in mind - behind the very Western facade and cosmopolitan air, beats a heart of strong Middle Eastern sensibilities!! So what are you waiting for - go ahead, book your tickets - the ever glittering Dubai awaits you!

Dubai Diary II

The wait is over - the next installment of Dubai Diary is here!! I'm going to mix it up a little in this post - instead of doing a blow-by-blow account of our time in Dubai, I'm going to write about the must-sees and must-dos in Dubai, and my impressions about the ones that I actually saw and did! That way, not only will I save myself the trouble of thinking up a bunch of new opening phrases - using 'and then we...' does get really monotonous, doesn't it? - but, I also don't have to worry about being chronologically correct all the time! With the added benefit, that this will (hopefully) make for a crisper, more interesting post! Win-win all around, the way I look at it!

First of all, a little background about Dubai. For the longest time, I've thought of Dubai in the vaguest terms - everyone knows it is in the Middle East, but is it a city or a country or maybe both like Singapore, exactly what is Dubai?? Well, Dubai is neither a city or a country - but an emirate, which means a kingdom, and is ruled by a Sheik. The country it belongs to is the UAE - United Arab Emirates, which is a federation of 7 Emirates, the most prominent being Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah. Traditionally, the Sheik of Abu Dhabi is the President of the UAE, and the Vice-President position belongs to the Sheik of Dubai. Made me feel so much better to know all this - one more nugget of information to use when I'm in the hot seat of KBC!! Anyway, moving on...

Desert Safari

One thing you cannot miss in Dubai is the Desert Safari! There are a number of companies to choose from, and most hotels will also arrange this for you. We had booked with Oasis Palm Tours, chosen absolutely at random, nevertheless, I would definitely recommend going with them! We were picked up very punctually at our hotel, and then it was about an hour's drive out to the desert. The desert is absolutely gorgeous - literally a sea of sand, tinted pinkish golden by the sun, the sand dunes like frozen waves, a few bushes struggling to keep their heads up. Barren desolation, yes - but also, breathtakingly beautiful!

Dune bashing is the main attraction of these tours - riding over the immense sand dunes in a 4WD Land Cruiser - felt like an out-of-control, unpredictable roller-coaster! To be very honest, while the novelty made it fun - sand spraying over the windows, the sudden dips and turns - I was quite happy when we were done! Quick stop to take pictures and maybe have a go at sand boarding, and then we were off the campsite for the rest of the evening. We were served coffee/tea and snacks (what else - samosas and pakoras!) - and various forms of entertainment like a henna counter, a little stall where you could try on authentic Bedouin clothes for a photo, a hookah corner, camel rides - almost like a little fairground! The barbecue dinner was decent - plenty of vegetarian food (mostly Indian) and a good mix of Western and Arabic food. The highlight of the evening was the belly dancing and the twirling dance (don't remember the name, unfortunately!) - really great way to end the evening! If only it hadn't got that cold...

Image courtesy: wikipedia

Next on the list is undoubtedly the Burj Khalifa - the tallest man-made structure in the world! My fear of heights notwithstanding, I can never resist going up to the observation decks of these tall towers! Keep in mind, that tickets to go up to the observation deck of the Burj Khalifa can and should be booked in advance for a particular day and time-slot. Not only is this cheaper, but limited availability makes it almost impossible to get tickets at the last minute. I really loved the interactive display in the lobby which placed the Burj Khalifa amidst the skylines of various other cities, for a side-by-side comparison with other famous towers! The observation deck, however - didn't really live up to expectations! For one thing, the Burj Khalifa absolutely towers over the rest of the Dubai - so the view from the top is the desert on one side, and the network of roads and the sea on the other - nothing really spectacular! The celebrated 'Palm' islands cannot be seen clearly, neither can the 'World Map' islands. 10 minutes at the top, and I was done! They do have interesting displays about the actual construction of the building, and the engineering that has gone in to make this tower feasible - that was pretty cool! I won't say give it a miss, but realistically, a check on the list is all that should be expected here!!

Shadow of the Burj Khalifa

At the base of the Burj Khalifa is the Dubai Mall - can this be anything other than the biggest mall in the world? Dubai is known to be a shopping heaven - and I've always wondered what people buy here! Yes, Dubai Mall is huge - why, it even boasts of an ice rink and a whale of an aquarium - but at the end of the day, isn't it just like any other mall? Restaurants and name-brand stores - seriously, what do people buy here? Another big attraction in Dubai is the Mall of Emirates - the USP here is an entire ski resort smack dab in the middle of the mall! Now this has to be seen to be believed - ski runs with chair lifts and all, sledding and tobogganing for kids, and temperatures of -3degC. There are a number of restaurants overlooking this winter wonderland, so you can have a leisurely meal, and pretend you're in Switzerland!

The Dubai Mall and Mall of Emirates are the two biggest malls in Dubai, but that's not the end of the list! I have never been much of a mall person - window shopping is definitely not my thing! So here's what I would recommend - after you've mall-hopped to your heart's content, head to the Karama Center market for some real shopping! This place is not as posh as some of the other malls, but here you will find everything you need to take back from your vacation - mainly, clothes, souvenirs like magnets and replicas of the Burj Khalifa and even gold (more about that later)!! I was delighted to find a store which sold T-shirts with the logos of different IPL cricket teams - perfect gifts for my little nephews!

Spice market at Global Village

To round off the shopping in Dubai, Global Village cannot be missed! This is a huge outdoor world market which runs 6 months of the year - vendors from different countries set up their stalls with national specialities. Handicrafts, food, jewellery, clothes - everything under the sun! Most of the Middle East is represented here, India has one of the largest booths and there is a sprinkling of European and other Asian countries. Conspicuously absent is the USA booth - no surprises there! I absolutely regret not buying saffron here - this is the first time in my life that I have seen enormous piles of saffron - oh the fragrance! The spice markets were also quite interesting - huge sticks of cinnamon, almost looked like small tree trunks! Ironically, most of our shopping was in the India booth!

Shopping done, what's next? The best is yet to come - with yet another installment of the Dubai Diary! What's that proverb - good things come to those who wait? So don't miss the third and final Dubai post - coming very soon! Signing off until then!!

Dubai Diary I

Ajey has always, always wanted to go to Dubai! It would have been a really easy trip to make while we were living in India, but for some reason or the other, we never got around to it. Of course, once we moved to China, Dubai got right back on the top of the bucket list - no excuses this time! It's very convenient to get to Dubai from Shanghai - Emirates flies directly to Dubai, 3 times a week. So what's the problem? Well, the Emirates flight is a tad on the pricey side - about $1800 per head - there goes my entire budget, just on airline tickets!!! Besides, I also wanted a week in India - and trying to work that with Emirates wasn't really straightforward!

Good old Air India to the rescue! We managed to get reasonable deals to fly to Delhi - wait a few hours in the airport, and then get on the first flight to Dubai with SpiceJet. The return tickets clinched the deal - fly directly from Dubai to Pune (how great is that!) and then back on Air India for Pune-Delhi-Shanghai! The pricing worked out great too! So here's my 'Tip of the day' - people planning vacations to Dubai from China - give Emirates a pass, check out Shanghai-Delhi-Dubai on Air India! Anyway, first step, tickets - done! Dubai, here we come!

But wait - not so fast! Manasi, courtesy of her US passport, didn't need a visa - but Ajey and I, as always, had to figure out the paperwork! And did we have a couple of anxious moments! The good thing is that you can apply online or through an agency - but the UAE Embassy does not issue tourist visas directly. Even the online has to be through an agency! Now here's the big advantage to flying Emirates - the airline will process your visa hassle-free! We soon found that all hotels will process the visa, provided you are staying with them - that seems pretty easy, right! Well, where's the fun of planning a vacation without a little tension?!! Out of 5 nights in Dubai, we were to stay 3 nights at the Atlantis, and spend the remaining two with a close friend of Ajey's. Interestingly, our hotel informed us that they would process our visa only for the number of days we were to stay with them! Then, we could apply for an extension - for an additional cost, of course! Seriously, I think I need to write a separate post about all our weird visa experiences! Anyway, all's well that ends well - after all the fuss, when we finally got the visa, it was for 6 weeks! Okay, now, Dubai - here we come!!

Once we had the visas in hand, excitement levels soared! And this actually has to be some kind of record - I was packed, my suitcases in the foyer - 3 days before our flight!! The wait in the Delhi airport wasn't too bad - we were there at about 3am, but we did find a couple of empty benches for a quick snooze - brought back memories of traveling from India to USA with flight changes in Europe!! Surprisingly, could not find a decent cup of tea in the whole airport - all restaurants serve the dip-dip teas - and I do need my chai in the morning! Delhi - India - masala chai?? Well, only at railway stations, apparently!! Oh well, I would have settled for a cup of Chennai-style filter coffee, but although we managed to get a good masala dosa for breakfast, not even a whiff of the aromatic coffee!!

Outside the Dubai airport

Flight to Dubai was cool - flying over the Hindukush mountains, and then Pakistan and Iran - added a little bit of spice to the otherwise uneventful flight! Dubai airport, too, was very uneventful - when you think Dubai, you think big, jazzy, bright - the current airport is almost subdued! I did hear that a new airport is under construction, maybe that will live up to the Dubai glitz! Finding a taxi is really easy - vans designated as special airport taxis, big enough for all your luggage, all metered - so getting to your hotel anywhere in Dubai is not a problem!

First impressions - besides the bright sun, and the bleached sky, of course - Dubai is a curiously flat city. One main road, almost a highway leading from the airport into the heart of Dubai, and then onwards to Abu Dhabi, one elevated track for the Metro parallel to the road - no criss-crossing flyovers, pedestrian bridges or train bridges overhead -very different from most other big cities! The Arabic architecture is very much in evidence, and the skyscrapers seem to be scattered around instead of being bunched together in what usually is the downtown area! Huge hoardings of the Sheiks of Dubai and Abu Dhabi line the road, along with some very well-known faces - Bollywood stars advertising a variety of things!

Lobby of the Atlantis

The Atlantis lobby, very beautiful, very spacious - was absolutely packed with people as we waited to check in. Very interesting place to people watch - the mix of nationalities was unbelievable, the large number of Indians even more so! The other unbelievable thing was that this 5-star resort did not have free Wi-Fi, not even in the lobby or breakfast areas! Seriously, after paying upwards of $600 per night, free Wi-Fi should be a no-brainer! On principle, I refuse to pay for this very basic service - so even with all the electronics we were traveling with, we were effectively cut off from the world for the duration of our stay! A month later, still can't get over it - no Wi-Fi, honestly!!

Lunch at The Burger Joint

Normally, when staying at resort like this, it is very hard to get to the city to look for places to eat. Most resorts do have a wide variety of restaurants, but most of these are usually too fancy when all you need is a quick sandwich for lunch! The Atlantis, though, in addition to being a resort, also has a Water Park open to non-residents - and the entrance to this park has a number of delightful eateries - pizzas, burgers, yogurt, even crepes! For dinner we were to go out with our friend, SB and his family - where else, an Indian restaurant! As we drove there, I was struck by the number of restaurants that we passed - from the British Nando's to the American Chilis to our very own Sarvana Bhavan - Dubai seems to be a heaven for foodies! Even the Indian places - everything from pav-bhaji and chaat, to regional specialties, to the celebrity owned restaurants - a place for every palate and wallet!!!

The temperatures dropped sharply in the evening, and even with a sweater on, it was quite chilly - even the ocean breezes had a bite to them! Busy couple of days coming up - the must-do things in Dubai, the Desert Safari, and the Dolphin Swim, and of course the tallest building in the world, Burj Khalifa! Although, very typically, I have rambled on too long, and these exciting Dubai adventures must wait for my next post! So don't go anywhere - I'll be back soon with the next installment of Dubai Diary!