Dubai - Third Time Lucky
It’s taken three bookings, and two cancellations, but we finally made it to Dubai over the weekend. The boys had a day off school, so we took the opportunity to have a mii break from India and discover a new city. We find escaping India on a regular basis is something we all need to retain good mental health, even if it is just for a couple of days.
Our Dubai bucket list included the usual places that most people have to see:
I suppose, one thing that isn't on most peoples list is 'beef' !!! Yes, we were all looking forward to a good burger and steak - and we definitely got our share in 3 days. As much as we would consider ourselves a family of consumers, we didn't plan on this trip being a retail one - so no shopping was done in 4 days, even at the Dubai Mall !! The Dubai Mall is amazing and the location with the Burj Khalifa and Dubai Fountains makes it even more impressive.
Later in the afternoon we enjoyed spending some time in the local area near Dubai Creek, wandering through the Dubai Museum, the Fabric Souk (market), Spices Souk, and Gold Souk. Taking a trip across the creek to Deira on an abra, a small boat, was loads of fun and really shows the local way of life. This area of the city is so different to the high rises and massive developments that you see in Downtown Dubai.
On our second day we went down to Jumeriah Beach and enjoyed the fabulous view of the Burj Al Arab. The water was a bit cold for a swim but was beautiful and clean, and you could definitely see how busy this public beach would be in the summer. We found a great speedboat tour that took us out in to the Gulf and allowed views of Dubai from the water - it was fabulous and definitely had the adrenaline flowing. Highly recommend doing this if ever in Dubai.
The following morning was an early start to go Dune Buggying in the desert. We decided that our previous desert safari in India was enough 'desert time' - especially riding a camel. This time we went motorised and had an all terrain buggy to have some fun in the dunes. The guide was a bit cautious but Mike managed to get out of sight a bit to have some real fun.
That afternoon was spent with good friends from Kuwait who were also visiting Dubai. We went to Motiongate - a movie theme park and the kids (young and old) had a blast. We thoroughly enjoyed it there, as most of the park is indoors, which allowed us to escape the heat and have loads of fun on the rides. A fabulous day spent with expat friends where you don't see each other for many years and you pick up where you left off like it was yesterday.
It took us 3 attempts to get to Dubai, but we are so happy that we managed to finally get there and had a great weekend. I apologise for the photo spam - I just wanted to capture our memories for the future.
Our Dubai bucket list included the usual places that most people have to see:
- The Burj Khalifa
- The Dubai Fountain
- The Dubai Mall
- The Souks - Gold, Fabric and Spices
- The Burj Al Arab
- Jumeriah Beach
- A desert adventure
- A theme park
I suppose, one thing that isn't on most peoples list is 'beef' !!! Yes, we were all looking forward to a good burger and steak - and we definitely got our share in 3 days. As much as we would consider ourselves a family of consumers, we didn't plan on this trip being a retail one - so no shopping was done in 4 days, even at the Dubai Mall !! The Dubai Mall is amazing and the location with the Burj Khalifa and Dubai Fountains makes it even more impressive.
Later in the afternoon we enjoyed spending some time in the local area near Dubai Creek, wandering through the Dubai Museum, the Fabric Souk (market), Spices Souk, and Gold Souk. Taking a trip across the creek to Deira on an abra, a small boat, was loads of fun and really shows the local way of life. This area of the city is so different to the high rises and massive developments that you see in Downtown Dubai.
On our second day we went down to Jumeriah Beach and enjoyed the fabulous view of the Burj Al Arab. The water was a bit cold for a swim but was beautiful and clean, and you could definitely see how busy this public beach would be in the summer. We found a great speedboat tour that took us out in to the Gulf and allowed views of Dubai from the water - it was fabulous and definitely had the adrenaline flowing. Highly recommend doing this if ever in Dubai.
The following morning was an early start to go Dune Buggying in the desert. We decided that our previous desert safari in India was enough 'desert time' - especially riding a camel. This time we went motorised and had an all terrain buggy to have some fun in the dunes. The guide was a bit cautious but Mike managed to get out of sight a bit to have some real fun.
That afternoon was spent with good friends from Kuwait who were also visiting Dubai. We went to Motiongate - a movie theme park and the kids (young and old) had a blast. We thoroughly enjoyed it there, as most of the park is indoors, which allowed us to escape the heat and have loads of fun on the rides. A fabulous day spent with expat friends where you don't see each other for many years and you pick up where you left off like it was yesterday.
It took us 3 attempts to get to Dubai, but we are so happy that we managed to finally get there and had a great weekend. I apologise for the photo spam - I just wanted to capture our memories for the future.
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| Dubai Mall……. locals ? |
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| the view from our room at the Shangri La |
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| we mistakenly hopped in to the 'ladies only' metro carriage - Jack was a bit worried |
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| the Burj Khalifa |
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| Heading in to the local areas |
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| the old town walls were made of coral and gypsum |
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| the fabric souk |
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| our trip on an abra |
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| Gold Gold Gold…….crazy photos being taken everywhere |
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| The Spices Souk |
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| At Jumeriah Beach - Jack was having some time out at the hotel |
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| Max chillin |
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| Atlantis |
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| The Dubai Fountains at night |
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| beef !!!!!! |
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| the view from the Burj Khalifa |
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