DUBAI – The City Of Life
Dubai Tour Package

DUBAI – The City Of Life

Jul 03, 2020 8:53:05 AM

Dubai is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates and here you’ll find the old and the new, the traditional and the modern, the big and the small, the pretty and the ugly, the good and the bad. It is literally one of the most diver...

Travelling to Dubai was like chasing my Arabian Dreams, when I entered the land of Arabs it was like fulfilling my Aladdin fantasies. Off course we all know that there is no Aladdin or Genie in real life but the Arabic vibes when you stroll around the streets, discover the sand dunes, witness the local performances, see the artworks, listen to local music, visit the traditional shopping areas and much more, it just gives you the feeling about the magical Arabian land of Aladdin.

I have travelled to UAE twice and realized that there is so much of scope to explore this land. My first visit during my 2019 Christmas holidays was just an introduction but the next visit in Jan 2020 gave me more insights about this grand country.

I believe this blog of mine will help you bring your imagination to reality and hope the experience shared will help you craft your holidays to the UAE in a much better way. 

So Dubai here I come……….

I took the morning 9:30 am Spicejet flight which landed in Dubai at around 11:30 am, the immigration process after that was quite smooth. As soon as I came out of the airport there was a car waiting for me, it took me around 20 minutes to reach the Citymax hotel in Bur Dubai which was booked for my stay. Location of the hotel was exactly as per my requirements and everything was available at a walking distance; Meena bazaar and metro station were just a 10 minute walk away, grocery shops, medical shops, bus station & the taxi station was just outside the hotel.

As soon as I arrived at the hotel I had a Thali style Indian lunch at Claypot Restaurant inside Citymax itself and later completed my check – in procedure at 3pm as per the standard check – in policy of the hotel. The room was small but very neat and clean, they had maintained the international 3 star hotel quality standards. I quickly freshened up and went out for a long walk as per my regular routine for all countries, since I find it to be the best way to explore any city.

Day 1: I visited the Meena bazaar and bought some local dates and perfumes as it was unable to resist; then went back to the hotel kept all the stuff in the room and quickly went down to the lobby for my Marina Dhow Cruise Tour Pickup. 


 
There was a luxury limo waiting for me and since this limo ride was a first one that I ever had, the experience was just awesome. I travelled in that limo for around 40 minutes and as usual took a lot of pictures. On arrival at the cruise terminal I boarded the traditional Arab Dhow which sailed around the Marina area for around 2 hours. 

         
The entire area is quiet modern with uniquely built skyscrapers all around, the view of which was magnificent. Even the cruise was filled with local entertainment, local buffet food and some soft music. I got a chance to taste the different varieties of both Arabic and Indian food and later headed to the upper deck to enjoy the chilly windy weather.

Day 2: Next day I proceeded for the Dubai City Tour and covered major attractions like Dubai Museum, King's Palace, Jumeirah Beach, Burj Al Arab, Diera Area, Downtown Dubai and the last stop was to see the architectural beauty of Palm Island and a photo stop at Atlantis Hotel. After having seen all these places I went back to the hotel by boarding the monorail.

Post lunch I headed for the most popular Desert Safari at Sharjah in a Private Toyota D4D. This tour was a mix of adventure, culture, food and entertainment. My first stop was at the highway where I experienced the ATV quad biking and later enjoyed the sand dunes during the sunset. The views were so amazing that I did not miss a single opportunity to capture the pictures. 

I then proceeded to the main camp in the desert and enjoyed sand surfing, followed by local Arabic tea and dates tasting, Arabic hookahs and live Arabic barbeque food all this in the midst of entertainment shows which included Tanoura dance show, belly dance performances and the most thrilling fire show. Food was not that great as it was a standard camp so do be prepared for it. After experiencing it all I headed back to hotel, on the way I also got to see the stunning Sharjah Mosque.

Day 3: I had planned an entire day Abu Dhabi Tour. It was a 2 hour drive and my first stop was at a local dates market in Abu Dhabi, here I managed to buy the really high-quality Saudi Arabic dates, there were many varieties’ to it though. 

After shopping I headed to Qasr Al Watan - The Presidential Palace, which houses the offices of the President, Vice President and the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi. More than a traditional palace, Qasr Al Watan constructed from granite and limestone built to last a hundreds of years is an exquisitely crafted tribute to the Arabian heritage and artistry, and its architecture and design echo the significance of the exhibits housed within its halls and the functions of its most iconic rooms. There are a few places within the palace open for tourist visits and it took me around 2 hours to roam through them and I must say that the security there is remarkably outstanding. 

Later I visited Abu Dhabi Grand Mosque – The Sheikh Zayed Mosque, unlike many tourist attractions, it’s completely free to enter so there is no reason to miss this beautiful mosque when you are in UAE. As this is a Muslim site you do need to cover up and understandably they are very strict with the dress code and other given guidelines. They do however provide women with a black Abaya free of charge which they have in a few different sizes. On arrival, you are directed to a room where you change before entering the Mosque. If the dress code is not followed the staff is authorised to drag the person out of the Mosque without even asking any questions. 

It was another stunning example of Arab architecture, the mosque was very peaceful but on the other hand it was completely filled with tourists with long queues around. It took me more than an hour just to enter the place but you will be truly satisfied once you get in. Kindly keep you cameras ready for your top pics for Instagram. Later I took around 2 hours to explore the place and was waiting to capture some awesome pictures against the setting sun. By the time I got out of the mosque it was quite late and there was no time left for a visit to Ferrari World. While heading back to Dubai I had an enroute stop at the last exit which literally gave me the feeling of being in Las Vegas. I had some light snacks and an ice – cream there, the end of this Abu Dhabi tour was indeed refreshing. It took me another hour to reach my hotel.

Day 4: The day where I got an opportunity to enter the tallest building of the world - The Burj Khalifa. First I went to The Dubai mall, the world’s largest destination for shopping, entertainment and leisure located next to the world’s tallest building the Burj Khalifa. It is said that this mall covers more than 1 million sqm which is equivalent to 200 football pitches. So now you can actually imagine the number of days that would be required if you decided to explore this entire property. 

I covered quite a good part of the mall just window – shopping as the mall is filled with the high ended branded stores and shopping for anything over here is very expensive. There are many other attractions located inside this mall as well; it’s like a one stop shop for everything. 

As planned I then proceeded for entry at the Burj Khalifa as per my time, I had pre – booked my tickets to avoid the ticket counter queues but inspite of this it still took me more than 2 hours to reach at the top and the same time to come down. This place is overcrowded most of the times as everybody wants to experience this tallest structure and building in the world. Reaching at the top is a great feeling; it gave me a bird’s eye view of the entire city and it was truly mind – blowing. I also got a chance to capture some of the best memories on camera here. After coming down I headed for my lunch at Indian Palace a restaurant located at the food court, here the food prices are standard and affordable. 

After lunch I roamed in the mall for some more time as I wanted to see the popular fountain show which usually starts at 6pm followed by shows every 30 minutes from there on. Each show had a different music to it including Arabic, Indian and International. The show was world class and I actually waited there and saw it three more times. As the show is free of cost, it seemed very crowded with both local and international tourists or may be the Christmas high season travel time was the reason for the crowd. The mall also has some indoor waterfall with modern designs and artwork. I could not make it to the Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo and VR Park as I was very tired walking the whole day. I just hurried back to my hotel room and after having a quick dinner hit the bed and fell asleep.

Day 5: It was my last day in Dubai as I had to board a 6pm flight in the evening; I had a good amount of time in the morning though. I checked out very early and kept my bags at the hotel cloak room, I visited some local malls around the place followed by an abra ride to witness the Gold and Spice Souks of Diera, Dubai. Post shopping I had my favourite Maharashtrian food at Peshwas restaurant; I made it a point not to miss the shrikhand puri dish. After lunch I headed back to the hotel collected my luggage and reached the airport on time for my journey back home.

  
My second visit to Dubai was purely work related but I tried to cover up most of the places that I had missed during my first visit.

Explored the local nightlife, visited the Arabic Bars and Clubs, secret nightlife spots, had food at local Arab and Pakistani restaurant. Among that I would recommend Lal Qila restaurant as one of the best buffet restaurant to enjoy some Pakistani food and an Indian Punjabi restaurant known at Pind Da Dhaba for their authentic and rustic dhaba style food. 

Visited Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo and VR Park inside Dubai Mall which is highly recommend as I had never experienced anything like this ever before in any other country. VR Park is a gamers haven combining augmented reality and virtual reality via 18 interactive experiences and ride, the first of its kind in the Middle East, it is sure to make your mind fly. Waited for the fountain show again and thoroughly enjoyed as usual.

Also got some time to discover the Global Village which is located on Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road, it combines cultures of 90 countries across the world at one place. It claims to be the world’s largest tourism, leisure, shopping and entertainment project. Every counter is very well designed wherein you can shop for most of the local stuffs of the respective country. The night fire cracker show at the Global Village just added an extra charm to the whole atmosphere. 

Experienced the thrills of the sand dunes and witnessed some spectacular views of the sunset during the deluxe desert camp safari. I truly enjoyed the true Arabian ambiance at this camp site with traditional Arabian carpets, low tables and cushions for comfortable seating and relaxation. I enjoyed the camel ride too on this tour and also got a chance to wear the local Arab costume which literally made me feel like I am one of the Sheikhs of the city.

 The main highlight of this trip was staying at the luxury Atlantis hotel, I had actually kept aside an entire day just for leisure and relaxation at this hotel. I also got a chance to visit Ferrari World and experience the fastest rides in the world. 

  
                    
This tour too was also a memorable one and now I am waiting for my third trip wherein I plan to cover up all the major pending theme parks and water parks and some thrilling adventures including Skydiving.

Hi, I am Gopal Thatte and this is my second attempt at writing a travel blog, the first one being on Iceland. I have done my BSc. in Hospitality and Tourism and have been associated with the travel industry for more than 10 years now and currently working as Manager – International (Products & Contracting) at Trinity World Holidays.   

From heart – pounding adventure to majestic hikes, fairytale castles and waterfalls that will make you pinch yourself. Trinity World Holidays has tons of epic sights and off the beaten paths experience to add to your bucket list. Come travel with us as we show you some of our favourites. For more details on group or customised International Holiday packages you can visit www.trinityairtravel.com or call on 1800 266 5588.

          

 
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