The Arab Land - Dubai & RAK

Tripoto
22nd Jan 2016
Photo of The Arab Land - Dubai & RAK 1/31 by Melanie
The Cove Rotana (Inifnity Pool) - Ras Al Khaimah
Photo of The Arab Land - Dubai & RAK 2/31 by Melanie
The Cove Rotana - heaven on Earth!
Photo of The Arab Land - Dubai & RAK 3/31 by Melanie
Global Village at night! - Dubai
Photo of The Arab Land - Dubai & RAK 4/31 by Melanie
Neon Lights - Global Village
Photo of The Arab Land - Dubai & RAK 5/31 by Melanie
The Taj Mahal @ Global Village
Photo of The Arab Land - Dubai & RAK 6/31 by Melanie
Atlantis Hotel - Palm Jumeirah
Photo of The Arab Land - Dubai & RAK 7/31 by Melanie
Atlantis Hotel - view from the monorail
Photo of The Arab Land - Dubai & RAK 8/31 by Melanie
View from the mono rail at Palm island Jumeirah
Photo of The Arab Land - Dubai & RAK 9/31 by Melanie
One of the many high rises
Photo of The Arab Land - Dubai & RAK 10/31 by Melanie
And another high rise
Photo of The Arab Land - Dubai & RAK 11/31 by Melanie
Never ending high rises!
Photo of The Arab Land - Dubai & RAK 12/31 by Melanie
Falcon! @ dubai desert safari
Photo of The Arab Land - Dubai & RAK 13/31 by Melanie
Hatta desert - Dubai Desert safari
Photo of The Arab Land - Dubai & RAK 14/31 by Melanie
Waldorf Astoria (ship in the desert) - RAK
Photo of The Arab Land - Dubai & RAK 15/31 by Melanie
Jebel Jais - Highest peak in UAE
Photo of The Arab Land - Dubai & RAK 16/31 by Melanie
Jebel Jais - breathtaking view of RAK
Photo of The Arab Land - Dubai & RAK 17/31 by Melanie
The Jumeirah Madinat Hotel
Photo of The Arab Land - Dubai & RAK 18/31 by Melanie
Fancy Car - Miracle Garden Dubai
Photo of The Arab Land - Dubai & RAK 19/31 by Melanie
Mini Burj Khalifa @ Miracle Garden
Photo of The Arab Land - Dubai & RAK 20/31 by Melanie
The sad lady cries flowers :)
Photo of The Arab Land - Dubai & RAK 21/31 by Melanie
Fruit Palace! - Miracle Garden
Photo of The Arab Land - Dubai & RAK 22/31 by Melanie
Flowery peacocks @ Miracle garden
Photo of The Arab Land - Dubai & RAK 23/31 by Melanie
Glamorous Peacocks
Photo of The Arab Land - Dubai & RAK 24/31 by Melanie
Retro Mode @ Dubai Miracle Garden
Photo of The Arab Land - Dubai & RAK 25/31 by Melanie
Love in the air!
Photo of The Arab Land - Dubai & RAK 26/31 by Melanie
Clear Blue waters - Burj Al Arab
Photo of The Arab Land - Dubai & RAK 27/31 by Melanie
The Magnificent marvel - Burj Khalifa
Photo of The Arab Land - Dubai & RAK 28/31 by Melanie
Replica of the Crocodile at the Dubai Aquarium
Photo of The Arab Land - Dubai & RAK 29/31 by Melanie
Dubai Mall Aquarium
Photo of The Arab Land - Dubai & RAK 30/31 by Melanie
The Burj Khalifa
Photo of The Arab Land - Dubai & RAK 31/31 by Melanie
Musical fountains

2016 began with me ticking of two most important things on my bucket list - My first international trip, and my first flight experience. I had been thinking about making an international trip for the longest time and finally decided to visit Dubai!! I cannot even begin with describing what a marvel this place is. Firstly you need a heavy pocket even for a five day trip here. Unless you're really lucky and got some sponsors. Well, I had to literally plan all my expenses before I booked the flight here. I was lucky enough to have some relatives in the UAE, not in the city centre but a little further ahead - Ras al khaimah. Hence the minimum expenditure.

Staying in Dubai is expensive and travelling is even more expensive.

Spent about 25k on my return flight ticket with Emirates. I booked my flight pretty late which is why I ended up paying so much. Mostly spent on food and travel and visiting a few places which cost approx 10k. Now this is only because I was there with cousins, so most of the times they did not let me spend. Or I am sure I would have spent a bomb.

Getting around:

My cousins took me around pretty much everywhere in their car, so I saved big time on travel. There were a few times I did travel by the taxis and they do charge quite a lot for a short distance (approx 12DHS for 1.5km viz. approx 200INR ). And this Tariff varies in different emirates. Since I was staying at Ras Al khaimah, it was comparatively cheaper than Dubai.

There are buses that connect to different emirates, however they are not that frequent and always take a long route. The metro is only limited to within Dubai city. I noticed one thing here, you need to have your own vehicle to get around. Taxis are expensive and the metro and buses do not take you directly to most destinations.

The roads here can get confusing at times. Specially on highways, if you miss a turn, you will have to go all the way ahead till you reach a roundabout, come back to the other roundabout till your back on the road where you missed the turn..The Road Laws in Dubai are very strict, so you cannot take a turn or drive around anywhere you feel like. This is one thing I wish we had here in India :). First of all, getting a driving license here is a huge achievement. There are radars on most roads, so you cannot exceed speed limits. Even for pedestrians, you cannot cross roads from anywhere you feel like, you can be fined for that.

Coming from Mumbai, a place where anyone drives around wherever they feel like, people walk around like they don't care, this road law just amazed me.

City Life:

I must say, I'm completely blown away by each and every thing that i have come across in Dubai. From the mad high rises to the cleanest roads to the way they maintain all their marvelous structures. There are zillions of malls around, and lot of dollar stores and marts. The population here is a mixture of Arabs, Indians, Filipinos, Pakistanis, etc. So visiting from India, when you are here, it does not feel like a foreign land at all. Most people speak/understand Hindi, English and Arabic. So there is no way one can get lost either.

I was blown away when I saw the beaches here, the clear blue waters!!! I had always seen images of blue waters, but seeing it for real, I was speechless. Usually due to Dubai's hot weather, the beaches are not too crowded. You will mostly find people from northern countries chilling there getting a nice tan. For all of us who can't stand the heat, visit the beach only when it rains or in winters.

I'm glad I made this trip in January, it is one of the best times to visit, since the weather is pleasant and not as Hot as the rest of the months. In fact I was surprised that it was so cold, with temperatures dropping to 10 degrees.

Another thing I noticed here, the construction never stops.. There are still many marvels in the making. If you are looking at one marvel, there is another one coming up next to it.

I had the time of my life while in Dubai, and I am so glad that after contemplating for the longest time, I decided to go ahead with this trip. Got a lot of memories that I will cherish, the whole experience was so amazing.

I'm gonna list down the beautiful places that i visited in Dubai and RAK

The Dubai mall

This is one massive mall and i managed to see only a quarter of it in half a day. There are quite alot of interesting things inside this mall. The main highlight of this mall is the huge aquarium within it. It has sharks, whales, manta ray and tons of other sea creatures. There are few guys who feed them on a daily basis. I can only imagine the maintenance that goes into this. This aquarium can be viewed by everyone from the outside while they shop. You can also get a closer view; they have a tunnel like entrance which gives you a 180 degree experience of it. But of course there is a charge to it. The mall also has an indoor ski rink. On the other side of the mall is this man made marvel - the Burj Khalifa surrounded by beautiful musical fountains. How hard does everyone try to get it within the frame of their tiny camera lenses.. These fountains are a treat to watch but they come on only in the evenings post 7pm. There is an amazing fire works show that happens here on New Years Eve and the rush to watch that is crazy.

The Jumeirah Madinat Hotel

This hotel gave me a whole 'agraba' feeling (Aladdin's city). Those small passages with tiny shops along the way, a small creek passing through, small eateries by the creek. This was just beautiful.

The Dubai Miracle Garden

This is the hugest garden I’ve ever been to. It is basically a huge natural flower garden, where every structure is made up of vines of different beautiful flowers. The entry costs 15AED.

I'm totally amazed by the maintenance that goes in this place. It took us about two and a half hours to see each and every corner of the garden. There were houses of different types, monuments, designs – all made of flowers.

The Atlantis Hotel – Palm Jumeirah

This place is HEAVEN!!!. I had watched a documentary on how this palm island was constructed. Being on it for real was an unexplainable feeling. There are few Mono Rails on the island, one is at the Atlantis hotel which is mainly for people to have a better look at everything that is on the island. You get a ticket for 25AED which is a return trip and it gives you a full view of the hotel from the sea front. There were many small row houses, all of which had their doors open to the ocean.. Many complexes with people already living there. All I thought to myself was – these guys are filthy rich!. There were still many other constructions taking place, which means many more amazing things coming up. There is also a water park – Aquaventure. Now, since this place is situated far from Dubai’s natural coastline, it is quite windy and chill even at noon. We were freezing.

The Global Village

This is a huge complex with entertainment, shopping pavilions, restaurants, best products from around the globe. Each country has their own pavilion displaying their speciality and a stage which showcases their cultural performances. It is open from 4pm till midnight and the entry is 15AED. It is best to go at least before 4pm, or it gets crowded and their parking lots will fill up. We somehow managed to see most of the pavilions and there was so much to see around.

Desert Safari

Now if you are gonna visit an arab place and not go on a desert safari, your trip is gonna be incomplete. We got this amazing deal on cobone, which was 89AED per person for the desert safari. This price included – Pick up from certain hotels in Dubai, Snacks at the camp, buffet dinner, camel ride, dune bashing, some entertainment programmes like fire dance and belly dance. And you need to book atleast a day or two in advance. We were picked up from the Grand hotel in Dubai. We had a Pakistani driver who was very helpful and informative about the dos and don’t’s and has been in this business for 19 years. On this ride, we were in total 7 of us. From the hotel, it is about an hour’s drive to the Hatta desert. They take you to a camp, where the Car tires are deflated. While they deflate the tires, you can hire a dune buggy for about twenty minutes and ride around.

Once done, the safari begins. The dune bashing was crazy, although I have motion sickness, I did not feel sick at all. After the dune bashing, they take you to another camp, where all the entertainment programs take place. There are several stalls with refreshments, Arabic dressing which you can wear and take pictures in. There’s also a henna artist who will make you a nice design. Then begins the fire dance, followed by the belly dance which was a treat to watch. Their buffet dinner was also very good. All this goes on till about 10pm.

It was a beautiful experience even though I was freezing!!

I also visited Jebel Jais in RAK- The highest peak in the UAE. The drive up to the mountain was about an hour and half. The road to the top is shut when it rains due to occurrences of flash floods. Once at the top, the view was breathtaking, you can see all of Ras Al khaimah. There were people even racing at the top. In winters, the weather at the top of this mountain literally drops to 4 and 5 degrees.

Now that I made my trip, I feel one should visit Dubai at least once in a lifetime.. It took me so long to even publish this trip, because there is so much to say and somehow words are too less to describe much. After editing this post a zillion times for the last six months, I am finally publishing it :)

Clear Blue waters - Burj Al Arab

Photo of Burj Al Arab beach, 4 2 C St - Dubai - United Arab Emirates by Melanie

The Magnificent marvel - Burj Khalifa

Photo of Burj Khalifa, Burj Khalifa, 1 Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Blvd - Dubai - United Arab Emirates by Melanie

The Burj Khalifa

Photo of Burj Khalifa, Burj Khalifa, 1 Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Blvd - Dubai - United Arab Emirates by Melanie

Musical fountains

Photo of Burj Khalifa, Burj Khalifa, 1 Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Blvd - Dubai - United Arab Emirates by Melanie

One of the many high rises

Photo of Deira - Dubai - United Arab Emirates by Melanie

Never ending high rises!

Photo of Deira, Deira - Dubai - United Arab Emirates by Melanie

Falcon! @ dubai desert safari

Photo of Desert Safari Camp, Dubai-Hatta Rd - Dubai - United Arab Emirates by Melanie

Hatta desert - Dubai Desert safari

Photo of Desert Safari Camp, Dubai-Hatta Rd - Dubai - United Arab Emirates by Melanie

And another high rise

Photo of Dubai - United Arab Emirates by Melanie

Dubai Mall Aquarium

Photo of Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo, Ground & Level 2, The Dubai Mall - Dubai - United Arab Emirates by Melanie

Fancy Car - Miracle Garden Dubai

Photo of Dubai Miracle Garden, Al Barsha South 3, Barsha,Dubailand Area - Dubai - United Arab Emirates by Melanie

Mini Burj Khalifa @ Miracle Garden

Photo of Dubai Miracle Garden, Al Barsha South 3, Barsha,Dubailand Area - Dubai - United Arab Emirates by Melanie

The sad lady cries flowers :)

Photo of Dubai Miracle Garden, Al Barsha South 3, Barsha,Dubailand Area - Dubai - United Arab Emirates by Melanie

Fruit Palace! - Miracle Garden

Photo of Dubai Miracle Garden, Al Barsha South 3, Barsha,Dubailand Area - Dubai - United Arab Emirates by Melanie

Flowery peacocks @ Miracle garden

Photo of Dubai Miracle Garden, Al Barsha South 3, Barsha,Dubailand Area - Dubai - United Arab Emirates by Melanie

Glamorous Peacocks

Photo of Dubai Miracle Garden, Al Barsha South 3, Barsha,Dubailand Area - Dubai - United Arab Emirates by Melanie

Retro Mode @ Dubai Miracle Garden

Photo of Dubai Miracle Garden, Al Barsha South 3, Barsha,Dubailand Area - Dubai - United Arab Emirates by Melanie

Love in the air!

Photo of Dubai Miracle Garden, Al Barsha South 3, Barsha,Dubailand Area - Dubai - United Arab Emirates by Melanie

Global Village at night! - Dubai

Photo of Global Village - Dubai - United Arab Emirates by Melanie

Neon Lights - Global Village

Photo of Global Village, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road,Dubai land - Dubai - United Arab Emirates by Melanie

The Taj Mahal @ Global Village

Photo of Global Village, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road,Dubai land - Dubai - United Arab Emirates by Melanie

Jebel Jais - Highest peak in UAE

Photo of jebel jais mountain top, Unnamed Roundabout - Ras al Khaimah - United Arab Emirates by Melanie

Jebel Jais - breathtaking view of RAK

Photo of Jebel Jais, Ras al Khaimah - United Arab Emirates by Melanie

The Jumeirah Madinat Hotel

Photo of Madinat Jumeirah - Al Sufouh - Dubai - United Arab Emirates by Melanie

Atlantis Hotel - Palm Jumeirah

Photo of Palm Jumeirah, Palm Jumeirah - Dubai - United Arab Emirates by Melanie

View from the mono rail at Palm island Jumeirah

Photo of Palm Jumeirah, Palm Jumeirah - Dubai - United Arab Emirates by Melanie

The Cove Rotana (Inifnity Pool) - Ras Al Khaimah

Photo of The Cove Rotana Resort, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road - Ras al Khaimah - United Arab Emirates by Melanie

The Cove Rotana - heaven on Earth!

Photo of The Cove Rotana Resort, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road - Ras al Khaimah - United Arab Emirates by Melanie

Replica of the Crocodile at the Dubai Aquarium

Photo of The Dubai Mall - Financial Centre Road - Downtown Dubai - Dubai - United Arab Emirates by Melanie

Atlantis Hotel - view from the monorail

Photo of The Palm Jumeirah, The Palm Jumeirah - Dubai - United Arab Emirates by Melanie

Waldorf Astoria (ship in the desert) - RAK

Photo of Waldorf Astoria Ras Al Khaimah, Vienna Street - Ras al Khaimah - United Arab Emirates by Melanie