I'm so sorry I've been off the radar a bit lately, but many of you will know that I recently visited Dubai! Most of you however, will not know, that I totalled my car the day before I flew to Dubai (convenient) and have been dealing with that ever since I got back.
Anyway, I thought I would do a post about my trip, as the Middle East is quite an unusual place to visit, and so I'm going to share my experience with you.
1). The Malls have ski slopes in them….
Perhaps I should change this to "The Malls have ski slopes on them…" Yep, that spaceship-esque structure that has taken residence on top of the Mall of the Emirates in Al Barsha, is in fact a ski slope. A ski slope in the middle of the desert seems slightly odd to me, however, I asked a very friendly taxi driver and he reported to me that when it opened the Emirati were queuing for miles, as they'd never seen snow before. After I'd heard that, it did seem like a nice thing to do… doesn't stop it looking like something out of Independence Day though.
2). The Malls have indoor aquariums….
It's quite possible there is a theme emerging here. This is one of the largest tanks in the world, with one of the world's largest viewing panels. To be honest with you, the Malls are so big, you could probably fit four aquariums this size in it… but instead they put in an underground zoo, and a full size ice rink; so, same difference.
3). The Burj Khalifa doesn't seem as tall as you think it would…
So this is the Burj Khalifa, you can't really miss it, it's the world's tallest building, stuck in the middle of downtown Dubai. At over 828 metres tall it's broken hundreds of records, but no matter where in Dubai I saw it from, I never got the impression it was that impressive…. but that might be due being distracted by a Mall on every corner.
4). In the middle of the wasteland, you can find Wonderland….
Also known as the Dubai Miracle Garden. Home to 150,000,000 flowers and using 200,000 gallons of water a day, it is the most beautiful and innovative place I've ever been.
5). Everywhere you go looks like a film set….
I took this picture from a Cafe Rouge in the Jumeirah Madinat, a modern take on a souk. The sail shaped building is the Burj Al Arab, and is famous for its heli-pad… Tiger Woods has teed off it, an F1 car has burned out on it and a very cool guy in a very cool helicopter took off from there James Bond style whilst I was tucking in to my salad.
6). You learn to rock a pashmina in 40 degrees celsius...
All I'm going to say is, bottled water, I've never drunk, sweated and peed so much in my life. Luckily Dubai was not particularly humid while I was there, but the humidity can be the same as the heat which can only mean one thing…. sweat. I did underestimate how much I would want to cover up, I took lots of summer dresses, but although I was never asked to, out of respect I felt the need to restrict the amount of skin I was showing. Very thankful for the 5 different pashminas I packed.
7). There are water features everywhere, including… you guessed it, in the Malls!
This amazing water feature can be found in the Dubai mall, which is so big you can't even describe it. Fortunately for the Emirati, they don't have a water shortage as they get their water by desalinisation.
8). They have the best ice cream parlour in the world….
This is possibly the best part of my trip, and that is certainly saying something. This is Cookie Doughn't You Want Some from the Cold Stone Creamery. Yes, I know you guys have these in America, but I am an ice cream obsessive and I had no idea this heavenly place existed. Big shout out to the guys chucking huge scoops of ice cream at each other, and telling me I looked like Paris Hilton (still unsure if this is a compliment or not).
So there we go, a bit of a traveller's guide to Dubai. I was there for 5 days and pretty much saw everything I wanted to see. It is a beautiful country and is extremely friendly and amazing for shopping and eating.
Love N x
Mall of the Emirates: http://www.malloftheemirates.com
Dubai Mall: http://www.thedubaimall.com/en/
Burj Khalifa: http://www.burjkhalifa.ae/en/Dubai Miracle Garden: http://www.dubaimiraclegarden.com/#all/1/grid
Jumeirah Madinat: http://www.jumeirah.com/en/hotels-resorts/dubai/madinat-jumeirah/facilities/souk-madinat-jumeirah/
Burj Al Arab: http://www.jumeirah.com/en/hotels-resorts/dubai/burj-al-arab/
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