Getting the ‘flavor’ of Dubai

My husband, Ed, and I spent four nights in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in April 2013 prior to a cruise. Arriving at the airport at night helped immensely with jet lag (May ’14, pg. 14). When we reached our hotel, the Arabian Courtyard Hotel & Spa, we got a light snack and went straight to bed. 

In the morning, we wandered around the historic Bur Dubai area surrounding the hotel to get the “flavor” of our small part of Dubai (June ’14, pg. 29). With the help of concierge staff, we were able to pinpoint on a map the location of the closest grocery store (Spinney Supermarket). In addition to bottled water, we bought toothpaste, shampoo and other things we hadn’t wanted to transport on the plane.

Although the desalinized tap water in Dubai was safe to drink, it tasted a bit different, so we bought bottled water for daily consumption. We used tap water to take pills and brush teeth and had no problems. More importantly, we could eat salads and not have to worry about peeling everything.

Suffice it to say the country is RICH. A pretty good indication of this is the number of 5-star and “urban legend” 7-star hotels, expensive shopping malls and luxury automobiles. I’ve never seen so many Ferraris, Bentleys and Lamborghinis plus a host of others cars I didn’t recognize.

Most of the labor force (at least 80% of the population) is from other countries, with most foreign laborers from India, the Philippines and Pakistan.

Dubai has to be the shopping mecca of the world! Everywhere you look, there’s a shopping mall. And, let me tell you, these are NOT “your mother’s shopping malls.” They are a combination of stores, resorts and amusement parks with aquariums, ski slopes, ice skating rinks, etc. Of course, most of them have high-end luxury stores — everything to tempt your palate and your wallet. You name the store and it’s there. 

We did find a less “glitzy” mall — Central City Mall — with a Walmart-type store called Care-A-Lot.

Our first full day in Dubai was Friday, the Muslim Aslum (Assembly Day), a day for the faithful to gather, pray and read the Koran. After the noon mosque services, families went to the malls, where they could enjoy an afternoon or evening of shopping and visiting.

A fast, efficient way to see Dubai is on one of two hop-on/hop-off city bus tours. Big Bus Tours Dubai charged AED220 ($60) for a 24-hour ticket and AED285 for either a 48-hour ticket OR a 24-hour ticket that included a night tour. Their website provides a wonderful full-page map of Dubai with all of the important sites highlighted. 

Since the tickets could be purchased from the concierge at our hotel, we decided to go with Big Bus Tours Dubai and chose the all-day ticket plus the 2-hour night tour. Our strategy was to take the night tour on our first full evening in Dubai and the day tour the following morning.

Words cannot begin to describe the architectural design and elegance of this city. Everywhere you look, there is yet another more spectacular building — absolutely OVER THE TOP! And to see this city landscape all aglow at night is most memorable.

The following morning, we caught the first Big Bus tour directly across the street from our hotel, in front of the Dubai Museum. We passed the Grand Mosque and went down a narrow street, referred to as the Meena Bazaar. There we saw exquisite fabric stores and Indian clothing shops.

I had read that this bazaar was the place to purchase Indian saris, especially the prestitched type with which you can avoid the headache of tucking and pleating.

At the end of the street was the entrance to the newly restored Old Souk. The tour guide on the bus told us this was a good place for souvenirs and well-priced gifts. But be prepared to bargain!

We continued to an open plaza along the creek, which the tour guide called Creekside Plaza. Exiting the bus at this stop gave us the chance to watch the bustling boat traffic.

We ended the tour around 11:30 a.m. and hopped aboard a dhow for the included one-hour boat ride on the creek, which offered a different view of the city architecture. (I should point out that the creek has turned into a river after having been dredged to accommodate large boats and ships.)

We stopped for a light lunch, then picked up the Big Bus “Blue Tour,” called the “Beach Tour,” and headed out to see the “modern” part of the city. Dubai is known for its innovative architecture, especially the famous Burj Khalifa and the Burj Al Arab. 

The Burj Khalifa, the tallest freestanding structure in the world, is a combination of hotels, apartments and offices. You can go into this building and ride an elevator to the observation level, but it will cost you AED125 ($34) for a prereserved ticket or AED400 for an on-the-spot ticket.

At 1,053 feet, Burj Al Arab — a building that looks like a sailboat — is the fourth-tallest hotel in the world. We were told that the only way to get inside it without booking a room at an outlandish price is to book a table at one of the hotel’s extremely expensive restaurants. 

A reservation for high tea can run $200 per person. We didn’t bother to ask about dinner prices.

NANCY J. NORBERG

Charleston, SC