My first international trip and the excitement inside of me was naturally abundant. Dubai is undoubtedly the most populous city of U.A.E. and there is so much to explore. I was there for 12 days and still had to miss few places. From some spectacular places of interest to thrilling adventures to magnificent wonders, this emirate had everything.
There are a number of beaches to visit in Dubai. Although every beach is more or less similar, the major difference is the type of crowd you will find and list of sports to do. The two beaches I explored were the Al Mamzar Beach and the Jumeirah Beach, with Al Mamzar being more attractive to families or the residents while the Jumeirah Beach (also known as the Kite Beach) being more attractive to tourists. There were many English people at the Jumeirah Beach. The Jumeirah Beach is located near to Burj Al Arab, which is the fourth tallest hotel in the world. One can do water surfing or the kite surfing over here. Moreover, there is a play area for the children.
Dubai mall is the largest shopping mall in the world and is an iconic beauty in itself. This is so gigantic that it will take 2-3 complete days only to explore this totally. The mall has an enormous aquarium, which is said to be home to more than 33000 marine animals. Further, it has an Olympic size ice skating rink, VR Park, Hysteria – Haunted attraction, and of course, an infinite number of shopping spots and eating joints. You are totally lost, once you get inside this mall.
Trip to Dubai would be incomplete without visiting Burj Khalifa, a 828m tall building that holds the record for being the tallest in the world since 2009. It took merely 5 years to construct this masterpiece. The lift takes just 120 seconds to reach the 124th floor. To be honest the view from the 124th floor was just okay rather than being something very eye catchy. And also there is one another building called Creek Tower being constructed which would in turn be even higher than the Burj Khalifa.
There is then the Dubai Fountain, outside Dubai mall where in the evening there is a fountain show played after every half hour, along with some musical track. It is so mesmerizing that one can watch it over and over again, and that can light up your mood anytime. It is then followed by the lighting show on the Burj Khalifa.
Desert Safari is another experience that one should not miss out being in Dubai. It is almost a day consuming activity but it’s worth it. Driving through those dunes is an adventure in itself. I did the quad biking over there. Initially it looks fearsome, but once you get comfortable there’s no looking back. At the campsite one can do the camel ride which is usually included in the package. During the evening, there are a few live performances to watch out for one of which was the belly dancing. It is then followed by a BBQ buffet dinner, which includes the typical Arabian food.
Other than Dubai, I have been to Abu Dhabi, which is the capital of U.A.E. and is around 2 hours drive from Dubai. This has been a site to some famous movie shootings. The major spots here are the Corniche beach, Marina Mall, and most importantly the “Sheikh Zayed Mosque”. This mosque is an epitome of beauty. I was stunned to see the architecture of this place. It is maintained equally well. There is some particular discipline to be followed over here. One needs to be in full clothes, and in case you are not, they do provide you with abbayas for women and thobes for men. The carpet in the main prayer hall is considered to be the largest in the world measuring 60,570 sq ft and weighing 35 tonnes.
It is a culturally diverse amusement park which remains open only for some 5 months in a year (from mid october to mid march). It is an all inclusive park as it showcases the culture of many different countries across the globe, serves traditional food items, live performances, some really breathtaking adventure rides, and so much more. Another interesting part is that its structure gets altered every year. It is indeed a great place to shop too as it has traditional items from all across the world.
If you are an adventure enthusiast, this waterpark is a must-go-to place. It is located inside The Atlantis, and majorly contains 10 different water rides, which would consume one complete day, but would be a lot worth it. Here’s a link to video showing all its rides. This was really some next level fun.
Similaly there are another adventure parks but I couldn’t go there this time. Wild wadi is one another which has many rides similar to aquaventure park, then there is the famous Ferrari world which has the world’s fastest ride.
Dubai is known for its gold quality and that too at a comparitively cheaper price. Gold souk is the gold market wherein one will find hundreds of retailers having thousand pieces of variety. One piece to look out for is the Najmat Taiba which is a 63 kg gold ring and holds the record for the heaviest gold ring in the world. This market does not just stops at jewellery but you will correspondingly find attires of gold over here.
Many people visit Dubai for shopping. The major spots to shop from are the Dubai Mall, Mirdiff City Centre, IKEA. If you are looking for in budget shopping, you can visit Lulu Hypermarket and the 1-20 store where you will find almost everything under 20 AED.