DAY 1
Dubai, the
hub of the Arab world, has some of the tallest buildings on the planet. Its
tall buildings have reflectors, glass windows that look like silver walls.
The first
sight we encounter from the flight from Delhi to Dubai is of a rocky barren terrain,
and then comes the deep blue Arabian Sea. Initially, the land falls into the sea.
That is a beautiful sight; something new. But then the view converts to an
unending expanse of deep azure. That doesn’t give a very welcome feeling. I know
right then that a lot more about the place I am going to would surprise me than
I thought.
As we come
through the gulf, deserts greet us with sand, sand and more sand. Only few cacti sprinkled here and there and a
highway gives a third color to the scenery. As we close in on Dubai, the green
becomes thicker. The gray turns into a web from a thread. Solitary sloped-roof houses crop
up here and there, standing lonely as though they’d be blown away by the wind
any time or buried under a huge gust of sand. Next are the neatly organized blocks of houses of various shapes and sizes. These resemble those paper toy homes,
which one put together in a game as a kid, which came free
with chips packets.
Driving
from the airport, buildings that are architectural marvels race past us. Some have terrace gardens, some flower gardens.
Gardens, neatly cropped and pruned flower bushes and trees of varied varieties beautify
the landscape. However, despite all this artificial beautification, there is a
certain dryness that meets the eye. One is always somehow reminded of the sandy
desert and its barrenness. The longer one stays in Dubai, the better one begins
to find it; as with anything that is to us beautiful through having got to know
it better.
At the
hotel, the coffee that is casually offered us smells of dates, almonds and cocoa.
The Emirati
men wear a white gown and white head cloth held with a black ring. Astonishingly, the white is very white
and maintained. The women wear all black.
Everything
in Dubai is air conditioned, subways, bus-stops, taxis, all buildings, etc. Cars that are not usually seen on the Indian
streets, cars that I know nothing of are popular on these streets.
Arabic is
the language that works. But, a lot of people from different nationalities know
Hindi.
The side
roads have no traffic signals. People stop of their own accord when they see cars coming from the other directions
through a circle. The wind is hot, but different; not
the summer wind Delhi is accustomed to. The area is not too peopled.
We first
try the hotel restaurant for an evening snack. But rates are too high and
choices too less. We decide to explore the neighborhood. A small cafe next
door offers us great food and rates are amazingly low; food variety, just what
you want.
We go for
a walk. The concept of markets here is supermarkets. The brands are the same as the ones we encounter in a store
back home, but the flavors are all different, combining the cultures and tastes of various
countries around the world. There is a candy and toffee brand called Wonka. The
same goes with cars. Toyota, Nissan, Chevrolet, etc. are the major companies, but their car models are
different from the ones common on
Indian roads; more streamlined, smoother and faster. If we compare road and traffic conditions, here everybody
respects their fellow travelers equally well. If someone is crossing a road
because there are currently no cars, and a car comes speeding along, they power halt right
ahead of the pedestrian who is crossing.
On main
roads, traffic signals are perfectly timed including pedestrian directions. No one flouts laws. Or rather, no one dares. In
casual conversation with a taxi driver one day, we realized the full force of law enforcement in Dubai. Better
restrict yourselves a bit and enjoy the money than lose control and be severely penalized by the law.
The white
markings on the roads are dressed in sand, and at night, the city lights
make them glisten like tiny pieces of
diamond.
The
nayantara flower beds are common on road squares. And rubber pipes permanently
run in lines under the plants throughout the bed.
A lot many
hotels and hotel apartments fill the area ranging from the high end Emirates Concord
and Hilton and Marriott to our very economic Moscow and other apartments.
The Dubai
creek is just a couple of minutes trot from the Moscow hotel. It boasts boats
for cargo and regular travel. It is a tourist revenue source area as well as a regular
travel means for locals from Deira to Bur Dubai. At sunset, it is a wondrous
sight with a number of cargo ships
about their business in the vicinity and the foggy pride of the Burj Khalifa with all its majesty in the
backdrop, as though on a poster with a sunset-hued canvas.
A small
white traditional mosque stands out among the tall, modern, glass reflector walled hotels on three sides of it and the
main highway on the fourth.
At night
the lights from everything all around bestow an uncanny glow on the palm trees. These palm trees guard every road
crossing, circle and square.
The
daytime is hot and afternoons too bright to look at. But once the sun has gone
for the day, the moon doesn’t take
over. Rather, the city lights do. And a breeze up the creek renders deep breaths worth the
effort.
A smile is
inevitable. The nights are the time to open your eyes and take in the city. It’s
all the sweetness you can get out of the skyline.
A free
coffee is offered at the hotel. The one I talked of earlier. It’s called Kahwa coffee. It’s Arabian special. I drink
a cup. It’s got a very strong smell, but tastes like the soaked water of coffee
beans. It is practically tasteless but has a deceptively strong odour, and a mild coffee bean flavor.
Dubai
travel packages are very bargainable. Packages range from very expensive to cheap and synonymously; they vary in
quality of service. The agent we visit, however, recommends the medium charging
companies. He believes that if you've taken the trouble to pay for your arrival
here, then why go back unsatisfied having forgone the glamor and adventure the emirate
has to offer?
At the
supermarket I discover that the Philippino banana is more expensive and
better tasting than the Indian banana,
which is rotting black.
DAY 2
We try to
decide what city tour to take from among the easytour.ae, hop-on-hop-off tickets of Big Bus tours and a private
car at the same rate.
I look out
of our hotel room window and notice how fast and smooth the cars here roll on
the streets. I had noticed this before on my first car ride here from the
airport to the hotel, but what I hadn’t noticed was that the roads don’t have
any speed-breakers. All expressways have a minimum speed limit and most roads
are expressways. Another taxi driver on another day told us how long a person
from each nationality has to train till he is allowed to drive on those roads.
Training to get a license can take from a few weeks to a few months.
After
lazing around on the bed and watching the highly censored Dubai cable TV, we set out for the Dubai mall in the evening.
At this time of the year, it is almost hitting peak temperatures. The sun is all out and
ready to scorch you if you so unwisely choose to step out of air conditioning
during the day. However, once you step into the shade, it’s
cool, with a subtle breeze brushing your cheek, at all times. The only problem
with going out after 9a.m. would be finding that shade. An early morning neighborhood exploration walk is a
good idea. Most shops here open at 8-8.30a.m. The life saver fast food outlet
near our hotel catered to both breakfast and dinner hunger.
Fruits,
juices and salads are a welcome food in this weather.
Water and
other absolute essentials are quite cheaply available in supermarkets.
The Dubai
mall is the largest in the world. It is very confusing on the inside, though information desks are there at every corner
and the customers are looked after efficiently. There is bellhop
and inside mall taxi facility. Famous international and local brands fill the
area, as does a lot of empty space. Decorations are classy. Even the brands we know have setup their shops
in very unique ways. It makes just a tour of the mall a thing to put on the to-do
list. The mall’s attractions also include an underwater zoo, an aquarium tunnel with exciting
packages, an ice skating rink, a splendid waterfall and village, wondrous
fountains, a dinosaur skeleton for show and a tropical rainforest restaurant.
On the way
to the mall, the Dubai skyline once again imposes its breathtaking self upon us
and walking out of the mall, the buildings seem studded with diamonds and gold.
The Burj Khalifa, lit up, and right
beside, is a grand sight.
The city
looks as though it is festive but simultaneously displays calm and quiet. All architecture here is a combination of the
traditional Persian with the modern marvelous designs. A lot many buildings have
a pointed stick at the top. This is the place that can be a good destination
for architectural study.
Dubai
being a city, and a hot one at this time, is more inviting at night with its
amazing lights, breathtaking sunset skyline and cool breeze. Technology too is
very advanced here. All public service infrastructure and
facilities are govt controlled but are very modern and organized.
DAY 3
Today we go
on to explore the Gold souk. All kinds of gold are sold cheaper, and at a fair
bargain. Some of the mannequins are wearing gold chain sets that have virtually
become dresses, complete with a separate matching neck jewel of the same set. We
encounter this voluminous piece of jewellery at the museum later. It is a part
of the traditional graduation attire for girls once they’ve finished their
education of the Holy Quran.
The Gold souk
is roofed with wooden-sloped antique finish sheds. Brick roads run all along
the market with wooden benches lined on the sides after regular intervals and
electronic gold price displays. Around the souk are clothes shops with their
traditional attire and electronic goods stores where the products are a couple
of thousand rupees cheaper. Also hidden
amid apartment houses that have fit in somewhere in the bustle, lie shops
offering cheaper imported duplicate branded items.
Among the
merchant class that makes up Dubai, a lot many are Indian.
The Spice
souk, that is a few paces off from the Gold souk, is run mostly by Iranians. Some have left their native land to settle
here, unable to fend for themselves due to the exorbitant prices of basic items
back home. Myriad spices that we have never seen before are displayed in shops, all open
to taste and experience. The whole lane is marked out by the mixed aroma of
spices that lingers on.
Small
souvenirs are sold at cheap prices.
Almost
everything in Dubai closes at 10 p.m., most eating joints at 11. Eating joints
are not overflowing with tourists, though visibly Dubai is built as a display for
tourists. During the day everyone
is sincerely about their jobs. After dark lights go on in all buildings, lights of all kinds. The whole
city is a festival.
Another
marvel right around the corner close to our hotel is the clock tower. Its numbers are in Arabic. Thankfully,
it works clockwise.
Dubai laws
state where to cross roads and how. And following them is wise. I was told, astonishingly,
it is against the law to honk on the roads unless someone is in danger of being
hurt. Double Decker buses are common on Dubai roads.
Dubai seems
to have taken pieces of the methods and systems of countries and cities around the world and twined them with
common sense and tradition ending up with a bewitching concoction. Dubai is a
place welcoming people from all walks of life with any purpose.
DAY 4
Today morning
our amusement is our attempt to locate a decent Indian restaurant. None are
found satisfactory. It’s better to stick to fast food, Arabian food and
continental food. The date-almond
pudding with caramel sauce is an acquired local specialty and is something not
worth missing. Even some architectural styles are acquired from nature; for
instance, some buildings’ shapes are drawn from cactus flowers of the desert.
The desert
safari will take place in a desert about 45 minutes away from Dubai. It is past
noon and steadily closing in on dusk. We are with the Oasis Palm Company and in
a Toyota land cruiser.
I notice
on the way that the roads are monitored by radar. We pass His Highness' old and
new palaces, a truly majestic sight. We also briefly pause at the peacock
feeding point where some peacocks flamboyantly display their feathers, not
requiring the pretext of rain.
First on
the list is dune bashing in a convoy of about 16 cars of the company; an
amazing experience. It is a once in a lifetime, unique, natural roller coaster
ride and in places, much better; in Toto, much longer. The sand crashing
against the window, the cars skidding sideways down slopes, climbing and jumping
off steep dune faces, are all unforgettable experiences.
Dune
bashing lasts for about half an hour after which we are driven to the company
camp site. The camp site is a very clean space with triangular-roofed huts
arranged in a square, where everything from sand art to souvenirs to henna
tattoos to snacks, drinks and a sisa (hookah) stall are kept. We seat ourselves
on pillows afore low tables that are placed on carpets on the sand. At the center is a green stage where later a belly dance by a woman and a magic dance
by a man, with LED lights covering his dress, are performed. Meanwhile, a
dinner comprising hammam, pickles, chole chaat, biryani, salad, boiled vegetables,
pickle, dal, chole curry, bread, fruits, barbecue chicken and lamb is readied and relished.
At around
7p.m., before dinner, sunset is a sight for us.
Outside
the camp there are free camel rides and paid four wheeler bike rides on the
sand arena.
After
dinner, at 8.30p.m., we return to our hotel.
The desert
is a very sandy place with wind blowing the sand into the holes and crevices in
our body every now and then. But it is a very peaceful place too. It has
beauty, unparalleled.
DAY 5
Today we
make our way to Atlantis, The Palm at Palm Jumeirah Island. Atlantis is at the crescent of the palm island. We very
luckily have a special promotional offer ticket discount. Our ticket that gives us the
privileges of the Aquaventure, Atlantis' water amusement park, its private
beach and the lost chambers aquarium along with a lunch meal inside Aquaventure. Aquaventure is truly worth
the money. The rapids, torrent, and
other slides and rides from the two Poseidon and Leaning towers. The whole
theme of old Greek ruins is what is worth seeing. The lost chambers are based on
the 10 lost chambers of the Atlantis
that are said to have been found. The insides of the aquariums and fish tanks
are filled with stone and moss ruins of various Atlantian artefacts and architecture. The species displayed are the
21 species that were discovered at the ruins. Along with the tour of the
aquarium, there is also available a “behind the scenes” peek, which I didn’t
get a chance to try out. Also one can go shark diving, feeding cow-nosed stingrays,
etc.
The last
thing we do at Aquaventure is go laze on the beach. The beach is made of white sand and layered with sand in such a
way as to create a shallow end of the water. The water is real perfect azure.
The beach faces the Dubai skyline.
We leave
the palm by the Atlantis monorail which runs along the reed of the palm. It gives a good view of the palm shaped
island and is run without pilot by automatic navigation.
Dubai
marvels are undoubtedly unmatchable; turning a desert successfully into a place
that takes the best of everything and makes the better of them.
DAY 6
Arabian food
is quite similar to Indian food. Though I am not a foodie, I enjoy their many items.
Iranian tea completes the meal. Danials at Twin Towers Mall in Deira is a good
place to try Arabian food. We then make our way to Al Fahidi fort or Old fort in
Bur Dubai. It now houses the Dubai museum. The museum is very well kept and shows the various aspects of their
culture before the settlement of the Maktoum family and the trade by oil, how
the Islamic gulf social culture worked and how all their jewellery and weapons
were made from goatskin and palm leaves, their burial systems, etc. It was a
good look into how far they have come and what an extraordinary vision the Maktoum
family had.
Just
outside the museum is Meena Bazaar or Old souk. Here everything is available cheaper. We merely tour there and glance
at textile, electronic, souvenir and other shops.
We then go
to the heritage village in Shindgha near Jumeirah in Bur Dubai. Here we step into a few stalls with traditional
handicrafts from different places and sellers cooking traditional food. Here also
is the house of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum's grandfather’s house, the house where he grew up. It talks of
how they came here and transformed Dubai; the whole history, culture and
society of then to now.
Our next
and truly amazing experience is the fountain show at the base of Burj Khalifa at the Dubai Mall. It was
spectacular and absolutely free.
Yesterday
being a Friday, a significant day of the week for Muslims, every place is
crowded. Parking at Dubai mall takes half an hour once we are in the parking
area and looking for empty spaces to get into. That is an experience! Unlike India,
here every building has its own parking space. And everybody follows rules on
the road. Heavy fines and punishments, like deportment, efficiently make Dubai
one of the safest places in the world for passengers, women and tourists. Even
honking unless an emergency is unlawful, so is not stopping when a pedestrian
crosses even outside the zebra crossing and changing lanes without flashing the
indicator.
Last of
all, we have dinner at the Dosa Plaza. It has the largest variety of modified
dosa flavors in the world at 104.
DAY 7
Today we
revisit the Dubai museum to get the souvenirs and decorative items for our homes. The quality here is good and things
are not too expensive.
The other
place is the shop called “Day to Day” at the outskirts of Meena Bazaar. We
revisit the Gold and Spice souks too.
