Dubai, UAE - Revisited.

Dubai has become my 2nd most-visited-country, first one being India. Making use of the staff travel concession , we flew Emirates as usual.Maybe I should soon write a detailed post about Emirates. If you are wondering how we get the concession, it's through my sister who works for the Airlines.

This time we had ample time to roam around the city. Almost 1 month stay there has made me miss Dubai once I reached home - Singa-Land. I made use of this opportunity to visit each and every corner which the tourists most likely wont have a chance to see. Did you know what the city has a small Hindu Temple and a Sikh Gurdwara? For most of the people, It's just a city of huge malls, big brands, posh cars and rich people. But there are much more things that are unseen.

Note that although Dubai is more of a westernized compared to the rest of the Middle East , it still has some clothing restrictions especially during the Ramadan month.Therefore,It's better to avoid wearing skimpy clothes to avoid needless attention from the people surrounded by you. It's always good to respect other religion and culture, isn't it?

Here is a list of places you might want to see on your visit, with the my most favorite place on top.

Gold Souk

It's a waste of time and money if you don't pay a visit to the Gold Souk when in Dubai, if not for buying gold, at least for seeing and clicking pictures! I have never seen a place like this where they have jewelries displayed just like sweets in a sweet stall. In Singapore, I have only seen it having securely placed behind a glass showcase and locked. The sales person would get it out for you only if you are really interested in it and request him to do so. I was just amazed to see thousands of shops along both sides of the Gold Souk area. The array of gold jewelries displayed at each shop was so eye-catching that even a person who is not so into gold jewels would be tempted to buy something. Ranging from Arabic to Indian, they have a wide range of collection for you to check out.

Desert Safari

Another exciting place. The money you pay is worth the experience you gain. Especially for people like me who are from a city that basically has not much of cultural places to visit. I had been on a desert safari during my first visit to Dubai which is way back in 2008. The price range differs according to which kind of tour package you choose to go with. It's one one my favorite place that I had been so far. It was basically an adventurous ride through the desert and sand dune bashing. Then, we were taken to the camp where we have a chance to take pictures wearing traditional Arabic costumes such as Abaya & Hijab for females and Dishdasha for males.

The other activities at the camp includes camel ride, free henna, shisha, Belly Dance performance and Arabic dinner buffet. Do note that you will miss (just like I did!) the Belly Dance performance if you chose to visit Dubai during the Ramadan month of the year which usually falls during the month of September/October.

Burj Khalifa & Burj-Al Arab

First one famous for being the tallest building in the world and the later one (a hotel) known for its unique yacht shaped architecture definitely adds beauty and value to your Dubai photo album.

Dragon Mart

A place that occupies hundreds of stores mainly consisting of goods from China.The Arial view represents the shape of a dragon which is a symbol of the Chinese emperors.It's worth paying a visit if you are looking to do some shopping. Do remember to bargain as the shop keepers quote a price that is at least double the amount of what it can cost.

Bur Dubai

The ever-busy place where you can see thousands of shops selling Indian and Pakistani wears. This is where the museum is located. Hence, worth visiting for a few hours to click pictures if you have some free time to spare before you jet-off.

Jumeirah Mosque

Though I have heard of Mosque tours for Non-Muslims during certain timing of a day, I have never been for it. But I feel it'd be a good opportunity to understand Islam religion and culture. I'm definitely up for it the next time!

I was happy that I had ample time to visit many places as compared to my last 2 visits and do some nice shopping (just like I always do!). I should also mention that my mom also had a nice time shopping for clothes and gold jewels and spending some quality time with my sister and my Brother-in-law.

Yeah,did I mention about my first time at a Gujarati cuisine? I'll probably write about it at a later time!

Dubai Creek

The Dhow Cruise


I saw workers transferring goods from the land to the goods ship. It was a very busy evening.Import-export, I guess.

My sister told me not to take the boat ride as it is nothing special or fun. But whatever it is, I am a person who wants to experience everything what I wish to! I didn't want to carry the feeling of "not-been-on-the-boatride-in-Dubai" back Singapore with me.Therefore I decided to follow my heart.

Due to my constant pestering, my sister's friend accompanied me to the Creek as I badly wanted to experience sailing on the wooden boat.Creek separates Bur Dubai area from the Deira. People(mostly workers) there seek this cheap and quick boat service to cross over the Deira side to get the Bur Dubai side (or vice versa).The ride just costs AED.1 per person! Taking a bus ride would be tedious and time consuming and walking over to get to the other side can be tiring, so taking a boat is a cheap and fast solution! We reached the creek area, took a ride to cross over to Bur Dubai, did some souvenir shopping over there and took a ride back to Deira before getting on a bus to reach to the Metro station to get back home.

Inside the Metro Station

A point to take note for the tourists while wanting to take a boat ride for an experience is that remember to take the government approved boat service. On the way, many may offer to take you for one or two hour boat ride(depending on your choice) on their boat. But I am not sure on how far to trust such services, so it is better to seek a reliable source.

Another interesting thing there is the Dhow Cruise.I wish I had booked for Dhow cruise this time.Cruising down the creek,having dinner and enjoying the belly dance at the same time. How fun it could have been! I will do so, the next time I visit, for sure!

In and From Dubai...

Due to whatever reasons, the fonts in blogger.com appears to be in Arabic and there is always an error when I try to translate it to English!

This is my second visit to Dubai, the first one being in 2008, which is two years back.I see a difference in Dubai08 and Dubai10, which is the pollution! I felt Dubai is a little polluted due to the strong blowing winds, which scatters the desert sands leaving it "sandy" everywhere.This is I am amazed to see that its almost as clean as Singapore! No issues (excluding some areas)! I really like the super broad roadways and the posh fast moving cars here that I don't get to see in Singapore.The food here is fantastic.Just a call and you have your food delivered at your doorstep(yes free delivery!) There is a wide range of cuisines mostly from the Middle Eastern countries that I don't get to taste in Singapore,or rather its very rare there. Food court culture is not so popular here, though we can find many in the malls. People rather go to restaurants which has a price range from as cheap as AED.1 for a roti and as expensive as 'I-don't-know-how-much' for the same!

The rich city has beautiful Villa's which takes your breath away especially during the night time.The lights of the villa are lit during the nights which makes it look heavenly.What a scene!

Not to forget to mention about the busy and chaotic Sheikh Zayed road.You get an amazing view of the skyscrapers outlining the sky.This is where all big hotels, office buildings and some posh apartments are located.

More interesting 'In and From Dubai' posts to come!