We had to fly through Dubai on our way to Uganda, so we decided to stay an extra couple of days in order to explore this city. We have heard a lot about Dubai and know several people who have gone there on vacation, so we were very curious. We thought this was the perfect way to see it, as we didn’t really think we’d ever plan Dubai as a separate travel destination.
We purchased a 2-day City Sightseeing bus (hop-on-hop-off) in advance. There were multiple routes to choose from and the ticket was good for all of them. We first chose the route that went to Historic Dubai (Red Route), although it was not really that old (less than 100 years old). Once in Historic Dubai, we opted to go on a Dhow boat cruise on Dubai Creek, also included in our tour.
We continued on the Red Route to the Spice Souk (market) and Gold Souk areas.. Dubai is supposed to be an excellent place to buy gold, but given our novice experience with gold as well as our general lack of interest in purchasing any, we just walked around. We couldn’t imagine how anyone could actually navigate the hundreds of shops selling gold. Who really had the best price and the best merchandise? We just enjoyed watching the people and taking in all the cultural differences.
Further along the Red Route, we stopped in the Dubai Creek Harbor area to walk along the creek and view the shipping activities in the area and to watch the people. We were there at sunset and saw the beautiful glow illuminate the creek and the minaret of a nearby mosque.
On the second day in Dubai, we rode the Yellow and Blue bus tour routes. We were curious about the Palm Jumeirah area but found that it was difficult to really get the perspective of the palm-shaped, man-made island from ground level. The iconic Atlantis hotel at the end of the island was huge, but when we went inside, we didn’t find our way into the actual hotel area- it appeared to be off-limits to non-guests, but we weren’t curious enough to explore further- perhaps we were wrong. We then walked along the Arabian Sea, but here again we were underwhelmed. There was a huge breakwater rock barrier separating us from the sea; it felt very unwelcoming, but I’m sure it was functional. We got back on the bus, transferred to the Blue route and didn’t get off again until we got to the Jumereth Mosque. Jumereth Mosque is one of the only two mosques in Dubai which are open to non-Muslims. Sadly, we did not plan our visit in time to hit one of the times open for visits (10 and 2). We walked around the outside instead.
Both of our days in Dubai ended at the Burj Khalifa, the one main attraction we prioritized for our visit to Dubai. There is something about going up the tallest building in the world that beckoned us. Burj Khalifa stands at a total height of 829.8 m (2,722 ft). At the end of the first day, we watched the Dubai Fountain show; (from their website : The fountain is choreographed to music, the water shooting as high as 500 feet. Designed by creators of the Fountains of Bellagio in Vegas, Dubai Fountain Performances occur daily on the 30-acre Burj Khalifa Lake. We also enjoyed the laser lighting of the Burj Khalifa from the outdoor mall area below the Burj. We then enjoyed a nice Lebanese meal at Abd el Wahab which overlooked Burj Khalifa Lake.
On the second night, we bought tickets to the Top of the Burj Khalifa (at least to the highest level they allow visitors -148th floor). The tickets were quite pricey (about $100USD/person). They boasted that they included refreshments and snacks, but in reality, it was no more than a small glass of fruit juice and a bite size appetizer. We went hungry and left even more so. The view was nice, but not as spectacular as I expected. I think being up so high actually made the view less impressive.
After 2 days in Dubai, we were ready to leave. We are really glad we went, but don’t want to go back. Our impressions?:
-Very modern collection of tall glass & metal skyscraper; very interesting shapes. Most of the city was built within the last 50 years (oil was only discovered in 1966).
-Retail shopping is King!
-Beaches seemed to be clean (we didn’t check them out)
-Clean, orderly, formal, conservative
-Lacked emotion/soul
-Vegas-like without the glitz and debauchery
-Construction everywhere!! Apparently, the city is only 10% complete, per the vision of the Sheikh.
