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Dubai
A holiday in Dubai means sun, sand and shopping. The ambition of the city's rulers is breathtaking. Running out of coastline to build hotels? Build vast artificial islands with 120km (74.5mi) of new beachfront. Need better connections with the world? Build up an award-winning international airline in 15 years. Need more tourists? Build unique hotels to rival any in the world. Need some publicity? Stage the world's richest horse race, million-dollar lotteries, international tennis and golf tournaments, and a month-long shopping festival. Need a few landmarks for people to recognise? Up goes the world's tallest and most lavish hotel, perched on an artificial platform, and a city skyline to boggle the eye. The rulers of Dubai saw that oil might one day run out and were clever enough to plan ahead economically to soften the blow by building up their tourist industry. Dubai is able to boast an Arabian experience in a protected, open-minded city. Even the desert itself holds tourist appeal.
Tourists and business travelers will find something to provoke their imagination in this busy and cosmopolitan city. The central city itself is designed with ultra-modern offices, hotels and shopping malls all set alongside the Creek. This natural sea-water inlet cuts through the centre of the city, but just around the corner, you might come upon an ancient house or other testament to the rich heritage of Dubai.
Dubai's central business district is divided into two parts: Diera on the north side of the Creek and Bur Dubai to the south. They are connected by a tunnel and two bridges. But no matter which side you find yourself on, a stroll along its banks will remind you of the city's centuries-old trading traditions.
And each side has everything you might want, from great hotels and stores to mosques and bustling markets (souks.)
For a glimpse of Old Dubai, head to the old Bastakiya distrist. The narrow streets remind you of days gone by and the old wind towers are the mark of Dubai. Before electricity, the wind towers brought air into the homes to help cool them. This district is being restored to show tourists the true old Dubai. Just outside the central city to the north is the neighboring emirate of Shariah. And to the west and south are the neighborhoods of Satwa, Jumeirah, and Umm Suqeim.
While in Dubai, you may want to visit the Dubai Museum which will introduce you to the heritage and culture of the emirat - it's really excellent, don't miss it.
There is so much to do here, that you would need several visits to experience it all. Here are some experiences not to miss.:
Camel Racing
On Thursdays and Fridays, from 8am to 2pm, during the months of October - April, Camel Racing is a major sport in Dubai. The track is located on the outskirts of the city at Nad Al Sheba (behind the Metropolitan Hotel).
Desert Safaris:
No visit to Dubai would be complete without a trip into the desert. Such excursions, which are best organized as part of a group tour, offer a taste of the true heartland of Arabia. The majesty and tranquility of the desert can be experienced in a choice of exciting half-day, full-day and overnight safaris. These action-packed trips cover varied terrain ranging from desert to mountain and take in remote camel and goat farms and isolated villages. Highlights of a safari in Dubai may include the following:
Dune Driving
Driving in sand is an adventure in itself, combining the excitement of a roller coaster ride with the challenge of remaining mobile on the shifting surface, courses in sand driving vehicles provided along with expert instruction.
Camel riding
The Camel, a symbol of Arabia, is also a major tourist attraction. Camel rides from part of some tours and desert safaris. Tour operators and hotels can also arrange camel rides separately.
Exploring the wadis
A popular pastime with both residents and visitors is known as wadi-bashing exploring the wadis or dry beds of streams that flow after the winter rains from the Hajr mountains. Many wadis offer scenes of unexpected beauty: attractive rock pools, some with water year-round, surrounded by greenery. Four-wheel-drive vehicles are required and are available for hire with or without drivers. As with desert driving, it is recommended that novices do not try their hands at wadi-bashing without expert supervision.
Sand-skiing
Those with a taste for speed and enthusiasm for an unusual sport will enjoy sand-skiing down the dunes of Dubai deserts. Special skis are used and high dunes in the interior of the desert are chosen as slopes. Sand-skiing can be arranged on request or as a part of a full-day or half-day safari.
Desert feasts
Particularly popular are safaris that culminate in spectacular desert sunset views followed by a traditional Arabian barbecue under the stars. These can be tailored to meet every taste from a romantic and peaceful experience to elaborate fun-pack evenings complete with music, belly-dancing, the smoking of hubble-bubble pipes and often a display of falconry.
Dubai by Air
Visitors with a head for heights and a weakness for the dramatic, can enjoy the excitement of a helicopter tour over the city. Alternatively, visitors can enjoy city or desert tours in a fixed-wing aircraft. You may contact : Desert Air, Tel: 2994411, who provide City Tours By Air, starting at Dhs 250 per prson, per 45 min trip.
Dubai by Sea
A fascinating way to see Dubai is by sea. You sail along the Arabian Gulf and admire the coastline and palaces, hotels and beaches. You may contact : Danat Dubai Cruises, Tel: 3511117, who provide Dubai Tours By Sea.
Dubai Zoo
Located in Jumeirah, the Dubai Zoo is a popular attraction, especially for families.
Encounter Zone
Situated in the Wafi Shopping Mall, this is an entertainment centre with a difference, with areas for both children and results. The popular Crystal Maze is featured along with a horror chamber and fascinating 3 D films.Tel: 3247747
Fishing
The Gulf is rich in marine life, and fishing was once a mainstay of the local economy. Kingfish, jackfish, red snapper, rock cod(the popular hamour on most Dubai menus), barracuda and other species are caught commercially and not for sport. Sailfish and bottom-feeding sharks are regularly landed by visiting fishermen who can hire fully-equipped boats, with crew, for deep-sea fishing trips.
Galleria Ice Rink
Located at the Galleria shopping complex at the Hyatt Regency. Rates are Dhs 25, per person, per session and includes skate hire. Timings are 10am - 1.30pm, 2pm - 5.30pm and 6pm - 9,30pm. Tel: 2096551
Golf Courses
Dubai is a golfers paradise. The Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club and the famous Emirates Golf Club are the venues of the European PGA tour. The Nad al Sheeba Golf and Racing Club even offers night golf for the enthusiasts who want to beat the summer heat of Dubai! For bookings or courses, Tel: Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club - 2956000, Nad Al Sheba - 3363666, Emirates Golf Club - 3473222, The Montgomerie - 3905600, The Desert Course - 8846777
Go-Karting
Dubai has the Middle East's first fully-equipped 40,000 sq. ft of air-conditioned indoor go-kart facility at Formula One. Open 7 days a week, from 10am - 10pm for 8 years upwards. Tel: 3388828.
Outdoors, an active go-karting fraternity races regularly at the track beside the Jebel Ali Hotel. Visitors can enjoy this sport during the months of Oct-May.
Al Nasr Leisureland Complex
This facility provides bowling, squash, go-karting, ice skating, swimming and fun rides. Rates star at Dhs 10 for 2 hours of fuin. Tel: 3371234
Horse Riding
The sport of kings has rapidly become Dubai's most popular spectator event, attracting crowds of more than 15,000. Race meetings are held weekly during the cooler months at one of the UAE's four racecourses. Dubai Racing Club, at Naad Al Sheba, the country's largest and most spectacular track and home to the Dubai World Cup the sport's richest race also holds meetings at right under floodlights. These evening meets also prove popular with corporate clients, who may choose to take a hospitality box to entertain clients and other guests. The winter months (Nov - Apr) are more favoured for Horse Racing.
Horse riding is part of the local tradition and is upheld today by several active centres including the Dubai Equestrian Centre and Jebel Ali Hotel Riding Stables. Rides through the desert are organized regularly. Dubai has a riding association for the disabled.
Magic Planet
Housed in the giant Deira City Centre shopping mall, this children's entertainment centre is a unique indoor site with 10 pin bowling, a crawling bungie jungle, variety of electronic games and a mini pitch and putt.
The Souks
The souks on both sides of the Creek are attractive not just for their shopping bargains but also as places for the sightseer and photographer. A huddle of narrow alleyways has survived on the Deira side despite intensive building in recent years. In the tiny lanes of the spice souk, the atmosphere and the scents of the past can be savoured. Bags of spices, incense, rose petals and traditional medicinal products are stacked outside each stall.
Along the slightly larger lanes of the gold souk, each shop window is crammed with gold necklaces, rings, bangles, earrings and brooches. In the evening the area is a hive of activity. Gold prices are among the lowest in the world. In other small streets, the visitor can find shops selling nargilehs (hookah or hubble-bubble pipes) and coffee pots, and nearby tea stalls where both of these items are in daily use.
There are traditional bakeries where large flat loaves of delicious unleavened bread are baked to order inside a domed oven called tandoor. Small textile shops sell veils with decorated edges, pantaloons with embroidered anklets, and dress lengths with similarly embroidered necklines reminiscent of The Arabian Nights. Meena Baazaar, on the Bur Dubai side of the Creek are lanes full of textile shops, where a blaze of colourful raw silks and cottons hang in profusion in shop windows. Also, in this area, you will find the Al Fahidi Street souq - which is famous for Electronics.
The fish souk in Deira is an attraction in itself. Early in the morning and late at night, local fishermen unload mountains of fresh fish which they sell in a frenzied bargaining session. Kingfish, red snapper, rock cod (the popular hammour), barracuda, tuna, lobster, crab, king prawn, sea bream, squid, pomfret, shark, mackerel, sardine and other species are available in abundance for most of the year.
Wild Wadi
An exciting state-of-the-art water park located adjacent to the Jumeirah Beach Hotel offers exciting water rides for the whole family. It is open from 11am to 7pm. Entry fees vary - Dhs 95 (Adults) for all day and Dhs 75 (children) for all day. Kids under 9 must be with adults.Tel: 3484444 or visit Website.
WonderLand
The 18 hectare Wonderland family fun park features a wide range of water attractions including speed slides, surf hills, wave runners and a Caribbean cruise. It is closed on Sundays and Wednesdays are for Ladies Only. Thursdays are for Families Only. It is open from 10am-11pm. Entrance fees varies. Tel: 3241222.
Diving:
Diving attractions in Dubai tend to revolve around several excellent wreck sites, which have become a haven for sea-life and are extremely accessible. However, a mere two-hour drive can also bring groups to the nearby emirate of Fujairah, where there are many beautiful reefs and several established dive centres.
There are a number of wrecks in the area, including three technical wreck sites at 65 metres, 80 metres and 105 metres. Two wrecks at depths of 18 metres and 30 metres also cater for recreational divers. However, the majority of diving in the area is coral reef diving, and the sites offer a huge variety of soft and hard coral teeming with marine life.
The shallow waters around Snoopy Island off the coast of Khor Fakkan in the emirate of Sharjah are also ideal for less experienced divers. As the island is within easy reach of the shore, it is also a popular area for snorkelling. There are a number of dive sites in this area, including Shark Island, Dibba Rock and The Pinnacles. Reaching depths of up to 18 metres, reef shark, stingrays, turtles and moray eels can regularly be spotted. Martini Rock, known for its colourful soft ferns and large shoals of fish, is arguably the best dive site on the UAE's east coast. With depths ranging from six metres to 22 metres, the area is home to lionfish, parrotfish, spotted moray eels, triggerfish, stingrays, trumpetfish and large shoals of barracuda.
There has been much controversy recently about the damage to the marine environment that the futuristic tourist island developments of The Palm and The World are doing. The visibility around Dubai has been reduced to zero - at least temporarily. The developers are busy creating new artificial reefs and putting rubble in to create new habitats and environmentalists believe that in time the fish will come back and coral will grow again - albeit not in a natural state as it was before. Until then, the dive centres are having to go further afield.
When to Go:
The best time of the year to visit Dubai is between November and April, when the weather is coolest. The rest of the year you're more likely to be running from one air-conditioned environment to the next instead of getting out and exploring. Ramadan, which takes place at a different time each year on the Western calendar, is the Muslim month of fasting and is strictly adhered to throughout the UAE. That means that it's illegal, to eat, drink or smoke in public from sunrise to sunset at this time. On the up side, hotel rates drop up to 70%. If you go in spring, try to catch the annual Dubai Shopping Festival, which runs for about four weeks from mid-March. Other dates to watch out for are the Dubai Rugby Sevens in December, the Dubai Shopping Festival in January or February, the Dubai Tennis Open in February or March, and the Dubai Camel Racing every Thursday and Friday in November at Nad Al Sheba racetrack.
Temperatures run from a mean daily maximum of about 106 degrees Fahrenheit in July to a mean daily maximum of 75 Fahrenheit in January. The climate in Dubai is classed as sub-tropical, arid. But if you're expecting predictable weather, guess again. Although Dubai is relatively regular, it does have its share of rain, wind, and storms.
Getting There:
British Airways (0870 850 9850; Website flies twice daily from Heathrow to Dubai. Emirates (0870 243 222; Website flies three times daily from Gatwick and Heathrow to Dubai, and twice daily from Manchester. Royal Brunei Airlines (020 7584 6660; Website also flies to Brunei.
Worldwise
Although the UAE is relaxed in its attitude compared to some of its neighbours, you should respect local customs and not wear revealing clothes away from the beach. Bring empty suitcases because the shopping is unbelievable! Try to tear yourself away from the beach and the shops to experience something of the desert. Don't underestimate wadi bashing - it's very exciting indeed!
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