Dubai... A good foreign holiday!. Review on Dubai

Trip to Dubai

We travelled to Dubai from March 25-28, 2014 as a family holiday.  We were six of us(My parents 60+ years), Myself and my husband and our two children(Ages 6 and 3).

The Emirates flight from Bengaluru to Dubai International Airport was very good. The cabin crew were very friendly and gave special attention to people having small children. The flight was smooth. The train to the Arrival terminal is fantastic. It is superfast and a do-not-miss! The airport is huge and there is a lot of walking to do! The immigration section is really bad! The guys are very slow in processing the forms.

At Dubai, we were received by a tour organiser, an Arab. He took us to our hotel, Hotel City Max(Kuwait St - Al Mankhool Rd - Dubai - United Arab Emirates(+971 4 407 8000).

City Max was a clean and comfortable hotel(A friend called it “Dubai’s Las Vegas). It seems to be occupied completely by people from outside Dubai(mostly US and UK). The rooms are of comfortable size, and well equipped. The rooms are spotlessly clean and airconditioned. The restaurant in the hotel has Indian food also; the kichdi is to die for). The room service could be faster. We had a good ghazal song session on one day along with dinner. We could request for our favourite songs. The breakfast menu is sumptuous, and covered many cuisines(Indian and Western). Mostly we also had dinner at this place. The service at the restaurant is excellent. There are several Indian restaurants within 5 mins walk.

Day 1:

We landed at the hotel at about 2pm. We left at 330pm by taxi and reached Mall of Dubai. Its huge! There are lots of brands and is very crowded. The Aquarium in-house looks awesome and is almost the size of a small building! We dint go inside as we had to rush to see Burj Khalifa.

Going to see the “At the Top” floor of the tallest building in the world, “the Burj Khalifa”, is a process by itself! We had the 730 show booked(All other shows you won’t be able to see the fountain from the Top with the lights). We had to stand in the line at the entrance by 715pm. Then it is a long walk to the lift. The Lift is a wonder by itself! It travels one floor per second. It can accommodate about 50 people at one time. There were about 300 people at the time we went. It was tedious waiting with kids and my old parents! At the Top, it was really cold and breezy! There was a slight drizzle too.

Coming back took another half an hour. Taking a taxi depends on the number of people! A taxi does not take more than four people. They can be quite rude. If you want to see Burj Khalifa, allocate 3-4 hours depending on the time of the year. Buses to City Max are not direct and are very few .

Day 2:

In the morning, we went for the city tour. It started raining heavily in the morning and was very cold. They had no storm drains so parts of the city were flooded. We saw most of the important buildings from outside. The buildings are a sight to see. They come in various shapes and sizes and colours. Please don’t miss the twisted building(called Cayan Tower/Emirates 24/7)!

The Jumeira beach was fantastic, awesome, splendid. The water is clear, and with no waves! Very shallow water suitable for swimming. Since it was raining, it was even more beautiful!(My travel agent had mentioned that it was too hot when he went there in March and he could not step on the sand).

Please don’t assume Dubai is hot always! Please check the weather for ur duration of stay!

The Gold souk was a sight to see! We saw jewellery so big, so big that you wonder if it is for humans or elephants! We saw a blouse made of gold displayed in one of the shops! The spice souk was also good. Name the spice and you will get it, in different shades, flavours and types! We went back to the hotel for lunch.

In the afternoon, after a nap, we left to the Desert camp. It was a 40-minute travel by taxi. We had a Pakistani driver who was very obliging! He even discussed politics of both countries with us. The desert was flat, thanks to the heavy rain! The sand biking was awesome despite the flat dunes! It is very very cold here. We had to buy scarves and shawls there!

We went to the desert camp at Al-Ain another half an hour away. The food was pathetic. The belle-dancing was not that great. We left the place mid-way! We returned to the hotel late in the night!

Day 3:

We went to the Dolphinarium at Creek Park. It is like any other Dolphin show(similar to the one in Singapore). Children enjoy it a lot. We got dropped at Kharama market. We bought shoes there and ate lunch at Hotel Saravana Bhavan(Indian food).

We had the rest of the day free, so I went to meet my friend.

Day 4:

We left to the airport early just to see the duty-free shop. The departure terminal is quite ordinary compared to the arrival terminal.

On the whole it was a fantastic journey and a trip we will never forget. Thank you Johnson, my travel agent, who has arranged this 14th trip for us - yet another perfect one!  Johnson you are a good travel agent; no matter where you move. We will follow you!