About UAE: The United Arab Emirates or simply the Emirates, is a country in Western Asia (the Middle East). It is located at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula and shares borders with Oman and Saudi Arabia, while having maritime borders in the Persian Gulf with Qatar and Iran. Abu Dhabi is the nation’s capital, while Dubai, the most populated city, is an international hub. The United Arab Emirates is an elective monarchy formed from a federation of seven emirates, consisting of Abu Dhabi (the capital), Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm Al Quwain.
It was my 2nd time in UAE and was looking forward to explore the city post attending the Arabian Travel Market conference.
Visa: It’s an e-visa for Indians and all that you have to do is to provide the scan copy of color passport photo copy, passport bio and address page. We had our e-visa in a week’s time as our local partner had helped with that. The visa duration is available 30 days single entry/ multiple entry and 60 days single/multiple entry as well.
If you have a valid US visa, you don’t need a visa as you can get it on arrival. Since we had to apply for Judy, we went ahead and applied for both to save some time on arrival.
Day 1: I didn’t want to travel alone and I am glad in this trip Judy accompanied me and we were excited from day 1 of our planning. Couple of my friends had come from USA and it was not a good day to leave them as I had a flight to catch. It was an early morning flight so had to reach the airport midnight as well. My friends were literally telling me that my flight will get cancelled and I will come back from airport as they were unhappy that I was leaving them and they know when I am back, they would have left the country. How can I forget the whining of Sur, my usual travel partner who missed this time too as he had just joined JP Morgan and didn’t want to take off. Remember he is in his probation period…
After all the drama, I reach the airport so early as there was hardly any traffic. So waited for Judy to come and she had her whole family at the airport came to send her off and it was so beautiful. We spent little time with her family, grabbed a nice tea, chatted for a while and then we had to get in to the airport.
We checked in, cleared our immigration, security and went to the lounge. Since I had some urgent work to complete, I couldn’t enjoy anything at the lounge. Judy had a bite and then it was time for me to leave for boarding. We boarded the flight and I got a window seat and Judy sat next to me.
Usually Etihad is one of the best airlines but those four hours of travel was the most uncomfortable travel that we had as we felt our legs were cramped due to very little space. We felt like our legs were tied, the food was just ok and both of us killed our time watching some new movies and we badly wanted to get out of the seats. Last time I did fly Etihad and I never felt this and I was thinking is it because post covid, travel frequency had been reduced so might I be feeling a little out of practice but even Judy had the same complaint. So I am not sure if it was the old aircraft, whatever that was, it was one of the most uncomfortable flights.
Finally we landed and went to the immigration counter at Abu Dhabi. This was one of the first finest experiences that we started with. There was no officers, since I had already come earlier, Iris scan and face scan was done and I was out of immigration counter without any human interaction. Judy had to go back to the counter since she was coming for the first time, so she did take some time. By then I was collecting the baggage and the process was pretty smooth and we felt like we had a domestic flight and neither we had any physical stamps for entry.
Then we got out but had to wait for more than an hour for the Etihad coach to take us to Dubai. There were very few chairs in the waiting area so initially we had to stand which was not very comfortable, then last 15-20 minutes some of the chairs got empty and we got to sit. Then the coach arrived and we were on our way to Dubai. Since I hardly had any sleep the previous night I just dozed off for the entire two hours of drive.
I woke up once we reached Dubai drop point, our car was waiting for us from Royal Gulf Tourism whom we had booked for the land package in UAE and we got dropped to Majestic City Retreat Hotel. There is a tourism fee, which is a very small amount which had to be paid directly at the hotel.
Every car that came to pick us and drop from point to point was mostly premium and high end cars. I have no clue about them but Judy was so excited and it made her day as every time it was a different high end cars and she was totally into it.
Our hotel was less than half an hour drive, we checked in and freshened up and we thought we will step out for some snacks as we did see some Malayali store next door named Master Café, we had mix club sandwich which had ham and chicken and chicken parotta, chukku (dry ginger) coffee and chicken samosa. Except the sandwich others were just average, then we stepped into the supermarket close by, as Judy picked up some juices, I had to pick up the adapter and we came back to the hotel and crashed. Later in the evening we met our respective friends. While my friend and myself ordered Non veg platter and it came with lot of kebabs. The quantity was so much and we couldn’t finish, but tasted good, finally ended the dinner with curd rice and fish curry, remembering our Chennai Days. it was great and then I bid good bye to my friend and came to the room and crashed for the night and Judy enjoyed an awesome night ride in the city with her friend.
Day 2: After a good rest, it was time for breakfast. The spread was decent and quite a lot of Indian dishes were there, mostly North Indian breakfast items. It was so beautiful to watch mourning dove coming around the guests as we sat outside in the open area. Then it was time to check out and go to Voco.
Our car pick up arrived and it was very close by and then we checked in to Voco. We were a little early however the receptionist found a room for us and we were lucky to check in early. So we checked in and since we had enough time in the hand, we went to Dubai Mall. First we needed to have lunch as I was searching for the Kunafa in Dubai Mall where my friend had introduced last time which was the best. Unfortunately shops had been changed so we got into Bosnian House in the food court for lunch. Had their specialty which was Bosnian Kebabs with fresh Somun (Bosnian Bread). It was good and then went around the mall, picked up few accessories and then we headed to Paul Café for a nice coffee. They had Mile Fuele, which is a type of French pastry made from layers of thin puff pastry that is alternated with a cream filling and topped with a ganache. I ended with a nice cappuccino and Judy had her Latte. Then we headed back to the room to freshen up to go for the Dhow Cruise at Dubai Marina.
We had our pick up Mr. Aarif who also later became our guide for our shopping . He dropped us at the Marina. There was a long queue and we had to wait. We were informed seating at the top was the best when you go for the cruise for the view, since we were early we did get the seat at the top and we settled on our seats. The buffet dinner was arranged in the cruise as it went for a ride around Marina. Dinner was average but it had an amazing view of the city around Marina. There was Tanoura dance, Tanoura means skirt in English and Tanoura dance is a kind of folkloric dance that is very common in Islamic countries Especially Egypt and Turkey. it is usually performed by Sufi men for the Sufi music, who spin continuously and in the night, their skirts are lit with lights and it was great to watch. Once we were done our guide picked us up and dropped to the hotel and we crashed for the night.
Day 3: I woke up late and I had to rush for the Arabian Travel Market (ATM). It was my first time and made it on time for the pick up and reached the Dubai Trade Centre where the event was happening. Started with a networking session and crazy schedule of one on one, meet with suppliers globally. Since it was in multiple halls most of the time was getting wasted in moving from one hall to another trying to be on time for the meeting. It was one crazy schedule and enjoyed every minute of it. Once we were dropped back to the hotel, I realized I hadn’t had anything from morning so was very hungry. Thankfully I met Ms. Basma from Saudi Arabia who was attending ATM and staying in Voco, she also was hungry and wanted to eat at KFC which was next door. I joined her even though KFC is not my comfort food. We ordered our food and then we also found a lady who came inside and was selling key chains, she was dumb and couldn’t speak and she had a card which said all the key chains are made by people of different physical disabilities and if we buy, it will benefit them. Even though I don’t use key chains, I picked up few just to support them and I told her to keep the change but she gave back some small memento for the balance amount which was due. I then handed over to Basma those key chains to give to her younger sister as she loves those and returned to our respective rooms.
Then Judy and I decided to head to Meena Bazaar as recommended by Mr. Aarif and picked up few stuffs and stopped at Madhura Sweets where we enjoyed the Dosa, Idly and filter coffee. It was weird to try Indian food in Dubai however we wanted something light so that worked. It was very late and we booked an Uber, reached the hotel and crashed for the night.
Day 4: Another crazy day as I was late again to wake up and rushed to the ATM, after all the meetings, we had a dinner hosted in IHG, Dubai Marina and it was a beautiful sight to behold. Even though it was good networking but my feet ended up hurting badly due to shoe bite and I had to retire very early and I came back to the hotel and crashed, while Judy went to meet her friends for dinner.
Day 5: Had a good rest and I was late again. So grabbed a quick breakfast and rushed to ATM. Post all the meetings we went for a night show at La Perle, Dubai. La Perle is the region’s first permanent show and it features breathtaking fusion of immersive artistic performances, imagery and technology. It is influenced by Dubai’s rich culture, vibrant present and aspirational future, which is brought to life by awe-inspiring stunts and special effects that left us speechless in the aqua theatre. It was amazing to witness the stage flood with water and drain in a matter of seconds as the artists perform mind-blowing aqua and aerial feats, such as diving from 25 meters high. It was a mesmerizing experience and I would highly recommend and thank the ATM for providing the tickets for us. Don’t miss out as it was a beautiful experience.
Then Basma suggested to step out for dinner and we had asked her to take us to an authentic local experience, so we went to Tashrifat Restaurant which was an Iranian cuisine and we had an amazing kebabs, Saffron rice and Tea. We did order Kunafa which was a little dry but the food was one of the best ones.
Then Basma said we should try the shisha (hookah) so we went to Ayoush restaurant for the same. While Basma ordered green apple with mint, Judy reluctantly ordered watermelon flavour and I went in for mix cocktails. These Shisha’s are a way to unwind after a tiring day and spend time with friends. Basma and Judy were so sleepy so we only could spent a little time and then went back to the room and crashed for the night.
Day 6: Woke up with little sleep and rushed for the final day of conference, quickly finished all the appointments and then headed back to the hotel. Ordered some club sandwich and got back to work. Asked Judy to go early as I didn’t want to waste her time waiting for me, so we had the cab pick up and Judy went to the Dubai Mall.
I joined late just enough time to see the Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo. It has as the name suggests it has lot of Marine animals and underwater tunnel with a huge tank with sharks, rays & crocodile. That was a biggest attraction and it was so beautiful with lot of indoor garden and it was an amazing evening.
Then we headed out of the mail to see the fountains. The fountain show was another attraction and it was beautiful. Then we went to try the Turkish Ice Cream, thankfully he didn’t play any tricks so we got it quickly and enjoyed. it was more chewy compared to the normal ice cream which we are used to and then we headed back to the hotel and crashed.
Day 7: Woke up after good rest, had a quick breakfast and our guide Mr. Aarif took us around the city. We first headed to Deira and went for perfume shopping. If you are coming to Dubai, perfumes are the ones not to be missed, since most of them are oil based which makes it stay longer in your body. Then headed to Jumeirah Mosque, it had nice lawn and after taking couple of pictures for the memories we headed to Islamic Art Gallery for another shopping which our guide recommended. There were beautiful wall hangings done by the local artisans with stones and golden threads. It was one of the most expensive places as well. We did pick up few perfumes and got dropped in Dubai Frame.
It’s a huge garden and as we walked and got it into elevator to go up, it has a breath taking view and since we didn’t have time for lunch we just quickly grabbed a cappuccino and croissant. Then we headed back to the hotel as we were heading out for desert safari.
Mr. Shamsingh came to pick us up and it was a beautiful drive. They stopped in a shop so we ended up buying a Shemagh (Arab headscarf) which helps to protect the head, face and neck from sun, sand and wind before we headed for the sand dunes. It looked beautiful on both of us as the shop folks helped us to tie that scarf and then there was dune bashing which we enjoyed the most. We also stopped on the way to take some amazing pictures amid sand dunes and it was awesome.
Then we headed to the place and they had quad biking. Judy wanted to pick up one and I sat with her and we both enjoyed the drive. Then there was a very short camel ride, even though personally I don’t like to do these animal rides, they insisted. It was pretty short ride and then we headed back for the show. Since we were a little early we had enough time to go around with the small souvenir shops and also they recommended to do the VIP seating, so we chose our seats and I enjoyed the Shisha & Judy enjoyed the fresh juice. The belly dance show, fire show and Tanura show was so good and we also were served dinner. The food was just ok. I felt bad as the amount of food getting wasted there. The quantity was more and it was all packed and given, so most of the foods were getting wasted if you didn’t want to eat those. Then we enjoyed the remainder of the show. After such an amazing time we got dropped back and we crashed for the night
Day 8: Woke up to another beautiful day and Judy wanted to do a bit of shopping, so we headed to Lulu mall but we didn’t find anything interesting. So we headed back to Mall of Emirates. While Judy went to Carefour to do her shopping, I found a pharmacy opposite and picked up few things and then went to Carefour. They did have good options but I didn’t have so much patience to go over, so I just picked up a duffle bag (which was such a bad quality and tore post one use as soon as we landed) while Judy enjoyed her shopping.
Then we headed to CajunGrill at the food court, it was a decent food and we got dropped in Museum of future. This is an exhibition space for innovative and futuristic ideologies, services, and products and it was pretty creative and once we saw everything we came down and there was perfumery where we had to answer questions online and the system decides the perfume for us. It’s a set of 3 bottles. Depending on the answers and our choices, the different cocktails of these oils get added and we could see the mixture being added to the customized perfume, where we don’t choose manually. It was pretty interesting. Then we thought we will grab a quick bite in a nice pastry shop but we ended up going to Jones the Grocer, and we didn’t realize it was in the Dubal Mall again. We had an amazing dinner, enjoyed the view of fountain and Burj al Khalifa, came to the hotel and crashed for the night. .
Day 9: It was another beautiful day and we headed to Veggie Restaurant, it was a south Indian restaurant and we had a good breakfast and then headed to Atlantis. One way we had taken mono rail which dropped us to Atlantis. As we entered we first a saw a huge tank of marine animals and there were divers inside and some of them were snorkeling there as well. It was beautiful to watch from outside through that glass panels and the sheer variety of multi color marine animals was awesome.
Then we headed to the water park, took super pass as we were late to reach and it helped to avoid longer queues which gave us enough time to use as many rides as possible. They also provided the free aqua socks which we needed to collect and then we ventured to the water activities. The only downside was we couldn’t carry anything while doing the activity. It was sunny, our bags were there in one entrance, we were thirsty, not a single water dispenser was available anywhere except to purchase but going to back another entrance to pick up the wallet was a night mare.
After few rides, I had a bad headache due to dehydration and so we headed back to eat and drink something before headache ruins my day. There was McDonalds and soft drinks. We had burger and coke and sat outside on the chairs and took a break to recover from the headache.
On the way Mr. Aarif showed us the 7 star hotel Burj Al Arab, Jumeirah Dar Al Masyaf hotel which had golden horses in the front. We were informed that when you check in at this golden horse hotel, you are taken by boat and the beautiful landscapes and river were beyond words. Then we also saw the palace of the king and also enjoyed the Dubai night life view.
We then went to Saravana Bhavan for an idly and filter coffee and it was delicious. Then came down to buy the spice and chocolates which was close to Tanishq showroom. Then we headed to Tanishq, as Judy wanted to check some designs. We then came back to the hotel and crashed for the night.
Day 10: Had a good sleep and woke up to another exciting day. Had a quick breakfast and started packing. We ordered a chicken club sandwich at the hotel. It was good then we went to try the best kebab place which was recommended by Mr. Shamsingh. We went and had their kebabs with saffron rice, the waiter recommended us to try the mutton curry and we obliged. This place had lot of significance as it was one of the oldest places and lot of prominent personalities had been there. Then Judy headed for gold shopping, while I had to get back to work. Towards evening we wanted to go to the Deira City Centre however we got late and went straight to the Mexico Seafood Restaurant. This was one of the best experiences and came back to the hotel and ordered few croissants for the next day as we had to leave early and crashed for the night.
Day 11: we woke up early as we had to bid good bye to Dubai, had a quick coffee and croissant and we checked out the hotel. The check out process was super smooth. We got dropped near Etihad Airlines office in Dubai. We were disappointed as Etihad office in Dubai didn’t have check in counter post Covid. Since we were early, we were just sitting and killing our time. I wish the check-in counter comes to Dubai to make things easier.
Then the coach arrived and we headed to Abu Dhabi Airport. once we reached the airport Judy went somewhere else so had to wait till she got back to the right check-in counter, we lost there at least half an hour there and then almost an hour at the check-in counter as they had some technical issues retrieving our booking which was booked directly from airline website.
Once that was done, we had to get the tax-free confirmation at the counter and we were directed at a wrong counter and so we lost another 10 minutes and then we came back to the right counter which was just near the duty free where it all began. By the time tax refund process was initiated, it was time for boarding and we had to rush. We ran for the boarding so that we don’t miss our flights. Thankfully we were there to board just on time.
Return flight was smooth, leg space was ok and food was good as well. Finally we landed in Bangalore and we needed to browse through duty free shops but due to election next day, it was dry day so alcohol shops were closed. We stepped out and waited for Judy’s gang to arrive to welcome her. However, they were getting delayed so we bid good bye to each other and came back making such fantastic and memorable experience to cherish………….
Few pointers to note in Dubai:
- You need not book private cabs in advance, Uber is super fast and cost saving as well
- If you are ok to splurge in five star hotels, this is the city you should because first, you are treated like royalty in every sense of the way and second the cost comparing to India is much cheaper. So please go ahead and enjoy those luxury experiences without any guilt as you have earned it.
- The safest city in the world and I mean every single word of it. People who know me, are aware how I am when it comes to safety and I am someone who will not step out during travel if I am not comfortable in terms of my safety. This is the first city in 2023 that I can vouch for being safe. I was so comfortable that I traveled alone, no matter whether it was day or night because I was 100% sure I was safe in the city, that mattered to me the most and Dubai, thank you for this and looking forward to visit when ever I can.
I have no words to express enough how much I love this city and I don’t mind going back again and again to enjoy these experiences. Yes, it can burn your wallet but every penny is worth spent in this city.
Until we meet again on my next travel Shukran Dubai and Stay safe……………