Dubai is a popular stop-over route for Australians travelling from our home-town of Melbourne to London and other European cities. We had never used it as a stopover (going instead via Kuala Lumpur and Singapore) and were curious to see what the city had to offer. Shopping, beach resorts and a thriving expat community - drew us to buy a plane ticket.Also our friend, Hassan had relocated there for work and we (along with another friend Jasmon) were keen to pay him a visit.
It was good to have a local as a guide to show us around and the February visit was a nice break of sunshine in an otherwise cold London winter.
London to Dubai
Flights from London to Dubai on a return ticket were easy to purchase and quite affordable due to the number of carriers. We flew with British Airways and it was our second trip (after Jordan / Israel) to the Middle East. The flight time was close to 7 hours and travelling forward in time, we departed at 9:45pm, arriving in late morning Dubai local time where our friend Hassan came to pick us up.
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| The flight route into Dubai |
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| Group photo |
Marina View Hotel
Based on advice from Hassan and other friends that had visited Dubai, we chose a hotel near the Marina, a short distance from The Walk (Jumeirah Beach Residence) - a popular tourist promenade with restaurants and nightlife. Our first stop was to eat pancakes at IHOP (International House of Pancakes), however Mei was feeling the effects of the flu and the first couple of days were less than enjoyable.
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| Our hotel - Marina View |
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| The Marina at night |
The hotel was also located near a Metro station and this would have been our method of transport, except that Hassan kindly ferried us around from location to location.
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| Metro station near Dubai Marina |
City of Skyscrapers
Before this trip, we had watched a BBC documentary about how the city's skyscrapers had been constructed, with engineers going to great lengths to build foundations for the tall buildings. The high rise architecture was awe-inspiring but having grown up in a city without so many tall towers and more trees and parkland, it felt crowded and uncomfortable.
With so many skyscrapers in close proximity to each other, there is an ever present danger that if one caught fire, high winds could cause the flames to jump to other buildings. During our trip, the Marina Torch skyscraper caught fire at 3am but luckily did not spread to other skyscrapers. Only a few blocks away from our hotel, we slept through it all and had no knowledge that it occurred, until Hassan mentioned it the following morning and we read the news reports.
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| The burnt out side of the Torch skyscraper |
Downtown Dubai
For the first night's dinner, we visited Souk Al Bahar - a shopping mall selling antiques and other household items; with restaurants facing the Burj Khalifa Lake. We ate dinner at Zahr El-Laymoun, a Lebanese restaurant where from our table on the terrace, we had great views of the Dubai Fountain outside the Dubai Mall. The evening fountain shows are every 30 minutes starting from 6pm.
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| Zahr El-Laymoun |
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| The artistic Dubai Fountain |
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| The jets shoot water up to 150m in the air |
Friday brunch is a must-do activity in Dubai - a foodie way to kick start the weekend. We went to the Towers Rotana Hotel where the brunch package came with drinks, a lot of seafood, Asian dumplings and many different dessert options.
Dubai's restaurants cater for many different visitor tastes and international cuisines. The Dubai Mall's food court is a fast-food heaven with countless options, including the recently opened Jollibee (Filipino-branded chain) restaurant where queue times can exceed 3 hours for a meal.
Next on the touristy 'things to do' list was to visit the Gold Souk - a traditional market of jewelery stalls (hence the name), spices and other household items. The market is located near Dubai Creek where it is possible to take a boat to the other river bank; and is also where cargo from shipping vessels out at sea are unloaded onto the shore.
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| Cricket match in the car-park |
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| Boat ride on Dubai Creek |
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| The gold that gives the Gold Souk its name |
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| Lamps for sale |
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| Colorful spices |
The World's Largest Ring - 'Star of Taiba' was on display at one of the stores. Made up of 64 kg of gold and precious stones, the Guinness World Record certificate was placed beside it, as was a smaller sign stating that it is not for sale.
Sand-storm
The first couple of days we enjoyed clear sunny skies, but by the weekend the conditions changed. We left our hotel wondering why everything looked hazy. In fact a sand-storm had blown in and was covering all surfaces with brown dirt - to the annoyance of anyone who had just cleaned their cars.
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| The Burj Al Arab hidden by the sand-storm haze |
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| The Burj Al Arab in clearer conditions |
The timing of the sand-storm could not be worse as we had pre-booked tickets to the viewing platform of the Burj Khalifa - the tallest made-made structure in the world at 829.8 meters. Tickets for the sunset sessions were sold out. Tip: book many days in advance to secure preferred visiting times.
Two views of the Burj Khalifa - day and night.
The only option was to go for a sunrise session at 6:30am on a Saturday morning. Meeting up with Hassan in the early hours, we headed to Dubai Mall for the entrance to the Burj Khalifa.
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| Model of the Burj Khalifa at the reception |
A very fast elevator shot us up to the viewing platform on Level 124 and we walked by the Guinness World Record certificate stating the achievement as the tallest building.
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| World record certificate |
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| Looking down to the haze covered view from the viewing deck |
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| Unfortunately Mother Nature had different plans for our scenic view |
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| Expected view on a clear day |
Sunrise
A crowd of people facing east were all waiting for that sunrise moment and it helped to secure a bit of real estate right against the window. From there, we watched the sun emerge above the horizon. Probably not the best thing for our eyes, although the sand-storm haze did dampen the sun glare.
Atlantis and The Palm Jumeirah
After a quick snack, we drove to The Palm Jumeirah, an artificial island created in the shape of a palm tree off the coast in the Persian Gulf. The Palm has a number of hotels and restaurants as well as private residences along the 'fronds'. As there is a single causeway (the stem) leading to the mainland, traffic can be busy during peak events.
We had heard of the Atlantis hotel from British Airways advertisements on the flight to Dubai. The hotel resembled the one seen in The Bahamas.
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| The Atlantis Hotel |
Aquaventure Waterpark
The big kid inside Olie and Jasmon meant that they were extra keen to try the Aquaventure Waterpark. Mei wasn't so enthusiastic and decided to visit the aquarium instead.
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| Waterslides at Aquaventure |
The highlights of the park were the waterslides - one that appeared as a vertical drop from a temple like structure; another that funneled visitors through a clear tunnel in the aquarium. Artificial canals / 'lazy rivers' allowed swimmers to cruise through the park at a leisurely pace.
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| Dropping down the waterslide |
Lost Chambers Aquarium
While the boys played, Mei checked out the fish. In the main tank, activities could be organised to SCUBA with sharks, rays and large schools of fish.
While the boys played, Mei checked out the fish. In the main tank, activities could be organised to SCUBA with sharks, rays and large schools of fish.
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| A swimmer in the shark tank |
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| Getting up close with some tropical fish |
The other marine exhibits included large catfish from the Amazon, aggressive moray eels, a tank filled with lobsters (with some visitors commenting on the retail value of the larger specimens for lunch); and tropical fish as the Persian Gulf is home to several coral reefs.
Jumeirah Zabeel Saray Resort
A drink stop was made at Voda Bar in the Jumeirah Zabeel Saray Resort - an opulently decorated building covered in marble and gold decorations.
We drank a refreshing cocktail at Voda Bar, then deciding on where to eat and planning the following day's activities. The sand-storm dampened our enthusiasm for going outdoors, so we agreed on a day exploring Dubai Mall.
Dubai Aquarium, Dubai Mall
Dubai Mall is enormous but as we were not in the mood for shopping, we grabbed lunch and then visited the Aquarium. The entrance guides you through a tunnel in the main tank where sharks and other sea creatures swim above. The Dubai Aquarium also houses animals that have been discovered by Customs officials due to the illegal animal smuggling trade; and also animals such as King Croc that would have been put down unless a zoo offered to look after it.
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| Large wrasse |
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| King crabs |
Souk Madinat Jumeirah
We met up with Hassan for dinner - at the Souk Madinat Jumeirah - a market and resort complex with a series of interconnecting canals and views of the Burj Al Arab.
On our last day in Dubai, the temperature picked up and it was time to hit the beach. Dubai has a number of private beach resorts that target families vs party people. Barasti is known as a sports bar although on a Sunday afternoon it was quiet. After hours of lazying on the beach beds, we had a quick meal and then relocated to Hassan's place before a taxi to the airport.
Next blog post:
Saint Julians and Valletta, Malta
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