This year my husband and I took a short trip to Dubai. It was a surprise and not what I expected.
Our trip began flying from Detroit to Paris then on to Dubai. With the unexpected delays in Paris, our total travel time was around 23 hours. We arrived in Dubai around 3 am Friday instead of 10:35 pm Thursday, so by the time we got to our hotel it was almost 5 am, exhausted. We went to bed for about 5 hours, which worked well as we got acclimated to the time change much better.
I have to say Dubai’s airport is wonderful they have everything laid out, it’s so easy to find where you need to be, plus the surroundings are so beautiful. I have been in a few airports and this one is probably the best so far. After collecting our luggage we proceeded through customs (which was a breeze) where our transfer was waiting (bear in mind we were 4 hours late arriving) a very pleasant man drove us to the hotel and gave us a rundown on the history of the city. We did give him a tip but it’s not always expected.
After breakfast we decided to check out the surrounding area, lots of shops and restaurants, and many well-recognized restaurants such as Buffalo Wild Wings, Subway, and Starbucks. Dubai is very westernized in that way, we walked along the promenade and checked out the private beach at our hotel. The water is so clear, crystal blue with small waves crashing against the soft sandy beach.
After lunch, it was time for our Desert Safari tour. Our tour guide picked us up at the hotel around 3 pm for an hour-long drive to the Dubai desert conservation reserve, there were two other couples on this tour all from different parts of the world. When we arrived at the reserve we were dressed in a traditional Bedouin headdress called a Keffiyeh, these come in many colors for the ladies but only the traditional red and white for the guys.
After this, we headed to our vehicle for the safari, a 1950s open-top Land Rover with a manual gear shift, we felt all the bumps in the road to go along with it (if you have ever ridden in an old Land Rover you would know what I mean). I was surprised by the desert, I was expecting massive dunes for miles and miles, but with the rain storm that happened three weeks before our arrival, everywhere had tufts of grass, which was very unusual.
-Fun fact, The United Arab Emirates received more than a year’s worth of rain in a single day that’s 10” in 24 hours, the last time this happened was 75 years ago!
Our guide was a young man named Burke who was full of enthusiasm, funny, and smart, he made the safari extra special, he would stop and point out interesting facts, along the way we saw Antelope, Deer, Gazelles, and Onyx. He also pointed out that Dubai has four deadly snakes plus scorpions and other creatures that come out at night, there’s no way I would have done the night safari lol. With the end of our safari approaching we headed back to the Bedouin camp for dinner and entertainment. You could participate in a Henna Tattoo, music, or a camel ride. Dinner consisted of Lamb which would have been cooked in the traditional way in a pit, but modern times and convenience have altered the tradition a little, we also had roasted vegetables, BBQ chicken, curry and rice, and Camel in a lovely mushroom sauce. Camel was not my favorite, I felt a little guilty trying it! but I didn’t want to insult our host so tried the delicacy, I quickly found out it was not for me! It was dark meat (not my fav) and very chewy, I will not be eating it again lol. Also, very rich Camel milk, our host noted that you should only ever drink a small glass no bigger than a shot class at each sitting or you will regret it, in other words you will become good friends with the facilities.
After dinner the male dancers danced to traditional music, showing their history through movement. As the evening was coming to a close at the Bedouin camp I decided it was time for me to try a Camel ride, something that had been on my bucket list, so with the sun setting in the background I headed towards the camels, boy they are huge.!! I have ridden horses before but these animals are huge and so gentle, I must admit there is a knack for getting on and off these animals and I was not very graceful at it. The final activity at the camp was to lay down on the cushions and floor coverings, then the lights were turned off we were in complete darkness and quiet, just the stars shining in the dark sky, it was absolutely beautiful. The perfect end to an awesome tour! I would give this tour a 5-star.
Day 2:
Another tour, a walking old town of Dubai where everything started and to the gold and spice Souks. Our tour guide was passionate about his culture and explained everything to us in great detail. On this tour we went to the traditional buildings where families would live, we experienced their culture, like an Emirati will always hand you something with their right hand never their left, it is a sign of disrespect to use your left hand. Next, we took a traditional wooden boat over the river to the Gold and Spice Souks, the traditional Arab marketplace. You can barter with the store owners and it’s not like overly pushy bartering which you can experience in some countries, it's friendly and they want your business so they don’t want to scare you away. This was an eye-opening experience, there was so much gold jewelry in the small stores and no security guards checking you in and out and watching your every move in fear of something being stolen.
-Fun fact: When a male emirates proposes marriage, he buys his future wife a piece of gold jewelry which is then presented to the woman on the day of their marriage, this is classed as her dowery to keep. These pieces can be a necklace or a large piece that covers the chest.
From the gold souk we headed to the spice souk, I have never seen so many different spices and teas and camel chocolate, you can also buy perfume there too.
Mid-afternoon and our tour was over, which was probably a good thing as the temperature was already 98 degrees, so we decided to ride the train tram back to the hotel, this is an experience, you are squished in like sardines, but saying that the trains are so different, for one they are spotlessly clean, no smoking, no chewing gum or eating/drinking are allowed on the trains or you will be fined. To be quite honest most of the locals if you make eye contact with them and they are seated will give you their seat with pleasure, I had two teenage boys stand and offer me their seat.
Our train stop was about 2 blocks from the hotel, so we decided to check out the marina on the way, beautiful boats and restaurants play areas for the kids, very clean and safe.
Time to relax on the beach before dinner, our beach was private, so if you were not staying you were moved along very politely to the public beach.
Day 3:
We decided to visit the Burj Khalifa, this is a skyscraper, the tallest in the world at 829.8 m or 2,744.44 feet tall. If you are going to visit this structure, the best time to go is first thing in the morning or what they would say as non-peak times around 9 am, this way you have no waiting lines. The structure is part of a huge mall which of course you need to walk through to reach the entrance (smart marketing). We rode the elevator 124 floors in 60 seconds to the observation floor (the building has 163 floors) which was amazing and you get to see the whole of Dubai for miles. The architecture in Dubai is amazing, the buildings are so different and large and appear to be designed to complement each other.
As I said in the beginning Dubai was a big surprise to me, I didn’t know what to expect what to wear, etc., but believe me when I say we had a fantastic time and cannot wait to go back. The country is filled with visitors from all over the world just wanting the same experience. The food is great, it is very safe for both families and couples and also very clean.
So if you want to experience Dubai come see me at Travel Brokers Inc. in Fenton :)
Jeanette Williams
810-733-8987
Comments