Dubai – City of Gold.



This indeed is the impression when one lands in Dubai. The opulence all around is unmistakable. In the immigration hall where we spent an hour waiting to be cleared, the clocks that ticked our time there were all Rolex, no less! Having cleared through all the formalities, we moved towards the ‘Meeting Area’ where our Hotel representative was supposed to be waiting but could not be located. Decided to call the Hotel so went near a PCO to make a call and suddenly realized that I had no coins! There was a local standing nearby who seemed to have realized my predicament, smiled and told me that all local calls were free! Called the hotel and was told that they would contact their representative and ensure that our wait would be extremely short. In that short period, the number of luxury sedans that I saw was not funny! Had to settle for a ride to the Hotel in a Toyota Hiace through some real bad traffic. With most roads dug up for construction of the Metro, the dust and traffic density was on a high. The only advantage was that though one had to suffer, one suffered in luxury!

Checked in at the Hotel, had lunch, freshened up, got ready for some sight seeing which we had planned after intense research on the World Wide Web and consultation with friends who had been there, and done that.

At the outset, a word of caution if you are planning to hail taxis for travel - the number of taxis seems miniscule. So a considerable time is spent on hailing taxis. When one does stop and if he is not interested in taking you to your destination, he will politely ask you if you know the directions as he doesn’t and will take you there only if you can direct him, otherwise sorry.

If you love shopping, Dubai is heaven though the prices are not much lower than in India. There are malls to suit every taste and pocket.

Just like the malls in India, they ensure that you can spend an entire day at each one of them. All of them have multi cuisine food courts to replenish your energy to assist you in satiating your hunger for shopping.

Our Hotel was located a couple of minutes walk away from the creek that we had to cross to reach the Gold Souk (market) on the other side. So that was our first sight to see.

The creek crossing cost is just a Dirham each and at one end of the creek, there is even a pedestrian underpass. We took the ferry and enjoyed the creek crossing thoroughly.

The Gold Souk is a dazzling display of gold jewellery in oriental and occidental designs.

Apart from the modern malls, one must make time to visit Madinat Jumeirah - The Arabian Resort of Dubai - a magnificent tribute to Dubai's heritage.


It is styled to resemble an ancient Arabian citadel, luxurious and ornate, combining the height of opulence with an overwhelming sense of tradition.

 

Meandering waterways transport guests to all parts of this resort. It also has a traditional souk and a good place to pick up souvenirs. It is located next to the other famous landmark of Dubai – the Burj-al-arab.

Designed to resemble a billowing sail, the hotel soars to a height of 321 metres, dominating the Dubai coastline. At night, it offers an unforgettable sight, surrounded by choreographed colour sculptures of water and fire.

Another must visit is the ‘Ibn Battuta Mall’. On the way you will also see the frantic construction activity all along – be it buildings or bridges.

The ‘Ibn Battuta Mall’ has six country based thematic areas – China, Egypt, India, Persia, Tunisia and Andalusia. Depending on one’s interests, one can spend an hour or an entire day here. For details, you may visit http://www.ibnbattutamall.com/AboutIBM.asp

Another novelty for most tourists is skiing in the Mall of Emirates. Ski Dubai in Dubai Emirates Mall started in December 2005, is the world’s third largest indoor ski slope, measuring 400 meters and using 6000 tons of snow. Ski Dubai resort is the first Dubai indoor ski slope.

One must appreciate the ingenuity of the U.A.E. rulers for having converted one of their greatest liabilities – the desert - to an asset. Having exploited their oil reserves almost to exhaustion, they realized that they had to explore other means of economic development. And ‘Tourism’ it was. However, one cannot expect a tourist to shop 24x7, so other activities had to be thought of. And Bingo! Desert Safari it was!

This is one activity that is a ‘must do’ for any tourist. You are picked up from your hotel around 1530hrs and taken to an area where there will be other tourists in four-wheel drives with whom you will go ‘dune bashing’ - a wonderful sport. An experienced driver will take you up and down sand dunes in a four wheel SUV, reminding you of white water rafting or a roller coaster ride! After all that excitement, you are taken to simulated Arab village, where you can go for a camel ride, dress and get photographed in their traditional garb, puff on the flavored ‘sheesha’ or ‘hookah’ and get delicate designs hennaed on your hands. Moreover, while your royal dinner is being prepared, a belly dancer will keep you entertained.

Once you are through being pampered with barbecued delicacies its time to be dropped back to your hotel. Generally, you should be back in your hotel by 2130hrs. The whole experience would set you back around 160 Dirham. Worth every Fil.

And then there are organized creek cruises too for those that do not wish to experience any adrenalin rushes and would love to feast on traditional dances and meals.

We also did not miss out on taking walks along the creek at the Corniche.

If you are in the romantic mood, you can spend a cosy evening in one of the many cafes lining the creek or just sit and philosophise on life in general while puffing away on one of the hookahs or sipping Arabian tea.

As far as food is concerned, it is a meat lovers paradise. One can pick up Shawarma in most streetside cafes or visit the food courts for multi cuisine meals.

Shawarma is made by placing strips of meat or marinated chicken on a skewer. After cooking, the meat is shaved off the skewer with a large knife, an electric knife or a small circular saw. It is most commonly eaten as a fast food, made up into a sandwich with pita bread or rolled up in lafa (a sweet, fluffy flatbread) together with vegetables and a dressing. Vegetables commonly found in shawarma include cucumber, onion, tomato, lettuce, parsley, pickled turnips, pickled gherkins, cabbage.

A three night four day package is just enough unless you want to shop until you drop or go broke.

We found the Time Palace Hotel in Bur Dubai very pleasant. The service was excellent and its location was perfect. For further details, you may visit www.time-palace.com