In December 2013, I planned a five day trip with my mother to the UAE. I have to say – for the two of us, the number of days was just enough & the weather, best that we could have got in that country!

There were several highlights of our trip – the first one, to begin with – the Dubai Airport that welcomed us with fancy cars on display and gave me my first photo opportunity (with a Porsche)! And the second was The Hyatt Regency, which we made our home for these 4 nights. We loved the property and their service. We were upgraded to the Club floor, on the 19^th floor, which was super. The room was spacious and had nice outside views. Also our return flight was delayed and the reception staff was very accommodating and allowed us a late check-out at 5pm (while the standard time was 12 noon). In terms of location, the hotel is situated in the Deira area, and at walking distance to the gold and spice souks.

 

We really enjoyed visiting the malls in Dubai. And that’s one thing I truly love about Dubai – one tends to have a pre-conceived notion that Dubai is all about malls and hence shopping. However, we visited all the malls and didn’t do any shopping! There was so much more to do!

• The Dubai Mall has an Aquarium and Underwater Zoo which is just brilliant – it’s fascinating for people of any and all age groups! And I found it real fun, also perhaps because till then I had not visited the aquarium at Sentosa in Singapore, neither the Oceanographic Museum at Monaco. The Dubai fountains can be viewed from the Mall; grab a table at a restaurant with outdoor seating to view the captivating water, music and light spectacle! And ofcourse, from some of these restaurants one gets stellar views of the world’s tallest structure – Burj Khalifa. The fountains give competition to the Bellagio fountains in Las Vegas and the shimmering Burj reminds one of the Eiffel’s shining lights at night
• Mall of the Emirates is another tourist destination. Goes without saying, it has several restaurants and stores but what stands out is Ski Dubai – the world’s large indoor snow park and skiing facility that offers snowboarding, ski lessons, a children’s play area and a cafe

 

The other must-do’s are the luxury hotels in Dubai. One can just enjoy the views of these hotels, even if one doesn’t want to go inside

• The Burj Al Arab, touted as the world’s only 7-star hotel. One can get awesome views of the structure from the beach close by and from another hotel – Madinat Jumeirah Resort. What I enjoyed was the Souk Madinat at the Resort, a traditional bazaar, ideal for Middle Eastern shopping. It had local shops as well as boutique stores, eateries and coffee shops, a lake for boating, and pretty views of the Burj Al Arab
• Another must-do is the magnificent Palm Atlantis. In our guide’s words, it is popular for the fact that Abhishek Bachchan hosted his bachelor’s party there, haha! And later his movie Happy New Year was shot at the hotel. The one thing which my friends have done, but I skipped on this trip was going to the much acclaimed Marine and Waterpark at the hotel, which boasts of a Dolphin Bay, Sea Lion Point, Aquaventure Water, Aquarium, etc.
• Dubai is well known for its party scene and one of the most vibrant place to hit is the Barasti Beach Bar at Le Meridien Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina. It has massive outdoor seating area, a screen for live sports and pretty views of the Dubai Marina. We went in the afternoon and it was totally rocking, I wonder how it would be in the evenings and nights!

 

Apart from the malls and hotels, some of the local touristy things to do are:

• Desert safari – you’ll get a seat in a huge SUVs and the fun bit is the way the drivers go over the sand dunes, deliberately swaying the car from one side to another, for effect 🙂 One can enjoy the pretty sunset, in the backdrop. After the safari, you are taken for a belly dance show and dinner. While the dances are enjoyable, the food was fairly average!

 

• A stroll at the Dubai Marina and the JBR Walk. The Walk is just lovely, with hotels, waterfront facing restaurants, and stylish boutiques and a beach!

 

• The Souks – When in Dubai, how can one miss the Gold Souk and Spice Souk. We went to the Gold Bazaar thinking we’ll visit it like a tourist, but can Indians resist their temptation to buy gold?!?
  

  Mommy at the Gold Souk!

• A River Cruise in the evening. Enjoy the food and local dance performances, but don’t have very high expectations on the views, if you’ve already taken the cruises in cities like Amsterdam and Budapest
• A day trip to Abu Dhabi – The city was at a 1.5 hour car drive away. The Abu Dhabi mosque is gorgeous (my bad luck, I happened to go on a Friday when it was closed and entry wasn’t allowed). The waterfront in the city is very picturesque, the Heritage Village can be paid a visit, but a must stop is Ferrari World. While we didn’t enter it and take the rides, we went to the store which truly was fun!
  

  

  

  

  

• Time permitting, visits to the Dubai Museum, Heritage Village, and the Jumeriah Mosque

 

I am hoping to make another trip to Dubai soon, with my nephews – so I could enjoy some things with them for the first time (Water Park at Atlantis, Ski World at Mall of the Emirates, Ferrari World at Abu Dhabi) and some things again with them (Safari, the Underwater Zoo, the musical fountains at the backdrop of the shimmering Burj). A must visit destination for kids for sure!