October 2, 2015

4D3N Exploring the Wonder City: Dubai

Like what I have said earlier, this is not purely a tour to Dubai, we were there with a mission, a task, a food tour. Hence this will serve as a basic guide for those who have only a limited time or short stop over.

♥ Hello, DUBAI ♥

	Day 1	Day 2	Day 3	Day 4
Breakfast		Hotel breakfast	Hotel breakfast	Hotel breakfast
See	Mall of the Emirates	Burj Khalifa
Lunch	Al Halabi Lebanese & Arabic Cuisine @ Mall of the Emirates	IHOP @ Mall of the Emirates	Shake Shake @ Dubai Mall	Le Pain Quotidien (PQ) @ Mall of the Emirates
See	Mall of the Emirates	Dubai Desert Safari: Dune bashing Camel riding Sand boarding	Dubai Old Town: Gold Souk Spice Souk	Jumeirah Beach Dubai Marina Last minute Shopping in Mall of the Emirates
Dinner	The Cheesecake Factory @ Mall of the Emirates	P. F. Chang's @ Dubai Mall	Texas Roadhouse @ Dubai Mall	Goodbye Dubai 🙁
Stay	Sheraton Dubai Mall of the Emirates Hotel	Sheraton Dubai Mall of the Emirates Hotel	Sheraton Dubai Mall of the Emirates Hotel

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15 Things to do in Dubai

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1. Up up up to Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world
I find this is a must do thing once you step on the Dubai land. It was a marvellous experience; stepped up high in this mega structure, the tallest artificial building in the world, standing high at 828 meters (2,716.5 feet); holding the World Record of tallest man made building in the world .

Observatory deck is available at Level 124 and Level 148. We went up to Level 124 (At The Top) and we are allowed to visit the Level 125 as well. We booked the ticket online before travelling, so we got our ticket at the price of AED 130 per pax. Climbing up to Level 148 (At The Top Sky) will be charged at a higher rate. It is advisable to pre-book your ticket as the tickets are always selling fast, especially during those peak hours between 4.30pm to 6.30pm which are the time for sunset view.

2. Eat Kebab in Al Halabi, Mall of Emirates
Sadly, this was the only kebab we have had. Would love to check out the local delights or street food but we had NO TIME to do so. Well, at least we had this one. If you have limited time like us too, perhaps you could check this out in the mall for kebab.

3. Desert Safari Adventure: 4 x 4 Sand Dune Bashing, Camel Riding & Sandboarding
I told myself I must sign up for the Desert Safari. We managed to gather a few of us and went for this adventure. Since we had a lot of meetings to attend and only a limited slot for long break, we engaged with North Tours for this Private Desert Safari Tour. It costs us AED 1300 for this tour and it is shared among the 5 of us (with pick up and drop off).

We made the right choice to tour with them. Our desert safari guide Mohamed picked us up from the hotel in his 4 x 4 Toyota Land Cruiser and headed to the desert. The journey was about 80km and it took about 45 minutes from Dubai Downtown. We were then moved up and down in the vehicle and experienced the scary and adrenaline rush dune bashing before our driver stopped us in the middle of desert for some photos.

The sand was very hot and boiling (of course, ‘coz we came here in the hot afternoon!!!). Hence, it is advisable to come here in the morning or in the evening for sunset scenery (which are their normal itinerary).

Off to camel riding and sandboarding in their desert safari campsite.

Their Evening Desert Safari sounds really attractive because you can experience activities like catching the sunset, henna painting, sheesha smoking, tanoura dance show, belly dance show and BBQ buffet dinner in the desert! Too bad, our time didn’t allow us to do so.

4. Eat a cheesecake in The Cheesecake Factory

I know, this is just another American casual dining restaurant of the States. But look at the ambience; look at the décor and atmosphere…

Most importantly, look at the cheesecake counter; they serve like more than 50 signature cheesecake and desserts. I managed to try out 3 types, which are all very yummy!!!

My favourite for all three I have had.
This is not just an ordinary cheese cake place. Aside from sinful cheesecake and desserts, they offer more than 200 selections of dishes made fresh daily from scratch.

5. “Catch” the fish at Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo
The 10 million-litre tank with the measurement if 51 metres long, 20 metres deep and 11 metres high at Dubai Aquarium is one of the largest aquariums in the world, featuring a variety of marine species in various habitats. And it is located inside the Dubai Mall.

We went for their Researcher Package (AED 100) which includes Aquarium Tunnel, Underwater Zoo, Back of house tour and Underwater Observatory.

We were greeted by this “monster”

There is a 750kgs with measurement of 5 metres in length King Croc living inside here. You can imagine how huge this place is, and it’s inside a mall!!!

Opening hours:
Mon-Fri: 10am to 10pm,
Sat-Sun: 10am to midnight

6. Lick on the Camel Milk Ice Cream
Come to the place where it is one of the homes for camels, must have their milk product – Camel Milk Ice Cream from Majlis Dubai. This is also the first and finest camel milk café that merge the best of modern Dubai with a blend of Middle Eastern culture.

The Camel Milk Ice Cream (mix of chocolate and vanilla) was very smooth and soft, with a hint of salty flavour. However, I don’t really like it. 3 of us shared it but we couldn’t finish. Opsss…

If there were more time for us, we would love to sit down for a cup of hot coffee. They serve a variety of coffee such as flavoured coffees, Turkish coffee, Arabic green coffee, “Qahwah”, served from a traditional Dalla coffee pot and other special beverages from the Middle East. Also, their baked goods are made of camel milk too.

Well, if only we have time…

7. Take photo with Burj Al Arab
How can we miss out a photo with this world’s tallest hotel, standing high at 321metres on its own artificial island on Dubai coastline?!

8. Stroll along Jumeirah Beach and Dubai Marina
Jumeirah Beach: White sandy beach that stretch along with coast south of the city’s historic district to the junction with The Palm Jumeirah and terminates between the southern ends of Jumeirah Beach Residence.

Dubai Marina: this is the largest man-made marina in the world with tallest and spectacular residential buildings.

9. Explore the Old Dubai – Bur Dubai and Diera
Dubai is not just about the skyscraper buildings, world’s largest or world’s tallest structures. As a contrast, there is another part of Dubai, which is humble yet an interesting place to explore.

Dubai Museum
The main museum in Dubai, UAE; housed within the beautifully restored Al Fahidi Fort, also the oldest existing building in Dubai. If only we had more time for this, we will definitely enter into the museum and soak up with the rich history and culture heritage of Dubai.

Opening hours:
Saturday to Thursday: 8.30am to 8.30pm
Friday: 2pm to 8.30pm

Experience the water taxis -Abra at only AED 1 on the Dubai Creek; which divides the two main city-centre districts of Bur Dubai and Deira. Just about 5 mins walk from old souk marine station

10. Walk through the bling bling Gold Souk
Even if you are not into buying gold, you must take a stroll through the dazzling Gold Souk – one of the largest gold retail markets in the world. Located in Deira, just about 5 mins walk from old souk marine station; this is the market filled with glittering shinny accessories and decors, made of 18, 21, 22 and 24 carat gold. Aside from gold, the souk also trades in precious metals such as platinum, diamonds, and silver. That’s why Dubai gains its name as City of Gold too.

11. Also the colourful aromatic Spice Souk
Take a deep breath when you step into the narrow alleyways of Spice Souk, the air is filled with the mix of aroma of herbs and spices. You can easily see sacks of colourful spices, rose petals, dried fruits in front of the shops. What’s more, one of the most expensive spices – saffron are available everywhere. Yes, bargaining is allowed. Remember to ask for “the best price” when you are doing your shopping over here.

Located closed to Deira, Deira Old Souk Abra Station and Gold Souk
Opening hours:
Saturday to Thursday: 10am to 10pm (but closed between 1pm and 4pm);
Friday: 4pm to 10pm

12. Shopping in the Dubai Mall
The world’s largest shopping mall based on total area and fourth largest by gross leasable area, it is also known as the home of Dubai Shopping festival. Guess they gonna be the largest of the largest mall, because they are still expanding now!!!

Inside the Dubai Mall, there is the Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo, Dubai Ice Rink, Sega Republic and more than 1,200 retails. You can just shop till you drop over here.

There is a waterfall inside the mall!!!

13. Ride on the Dubai Trolley
Look at this trolley tram in bright red with aesthetic gold pin-strips and green trim colours! This is the world’s first hydrogen-powered trolley system that will cover 7 km across the entire breadth of 500 acres of Downtown Dubai when it is completed. Meanwhile, the first phase of Dubai Trolley covers 1km around the Dubai Mall. Fee: FOC

The Dubai Trolley provides a quite access to Burj Khalifa, The Dubai Mall, The Dubai Fountain, Souq Al Bahar as well as Manzil Downtown, Vida Downtown, The Address Downtown Dubai and The Address Dubai Mall.

14. Experience The Dubai Fountain
The world’s largest choreographed fountain system set on the 30-acre manmade Burj Khalifa Lake. The fountain is illuminated by 6600 lights and 25 coloured projectors; it is 275 metres long and shoots water jet up to 500 ft into the air accompanied by a classical to contemporary Arabic and world music.

Dubai Fountain schedule:
Afternoon Shows
Daily except Friday: 1pm & 1:30pm
Friday: 1:30pm & 2pm
Evening Shows
Daily: 6pm to 11pm (Every 30 Minutes)

15. Brunch out at Le Pain Quotidien (PQ)
A popular European café chain that serves simple, elegant boulangerie fare made with organic ingredients. I really fancy their brunch plates, but … not the desserts. Ops.

Do remember to take away the bottles of bread spread. They are expensive but no regret, especially the PQ’s Belgian Speculoos Spread !!!

Actually, there are a lot more TO-DO in Dubai. Just that our time did not permit us to do so. Well, for every trip, it is important to have great companies around to travel together! This round, they are my great companies – Christine, Taufulou & Vkeong