Dubai Trip

[RNSeagull]

I'm out here with a ship currently, not sure where the limited availability of alcohol comes from - its expensive but we've had a few pints every night so far with no problems, plenty of nightlife etc.

So far the Wild Wadi waterpark and Ski Dubai at the Emirates Mall have been outstanding, though later in the week we're booked in for skydiving and some fishing as well as playing rugby and football against local sides,

The hotels have been superb though pretty pricey, not sure if I'd want to be here longer than a week - though it is pretty hot and humid avg temp at 1300 for the moment is about 41 degrees!

 

[bhafc99]

I'd say:
– Eat at a restaurant overlooking the Dubai Fountains, to see the nightly sound & light show.
– Go to Abu Dhabi for a day, especially the mosque, if you want to learn more about Arabic culture. The Bastikaya part of Dubai has traditional houses, souks etc, worth a half day's wander around.
– Do a waterpark: Wild Wadi or Atlantis.
– Have a night out at somewhere like Barasti or Buddha Bar to get a feel for Dubai nightlife. Tuesdays are ladies nights, with drink deals for your wife!
– Do a Friday brunch. A Dubai institution. All hotels do all you can eat/drink deals, from midday to 4pm. Something like Saffron at Atlantis The Palm is ideal as you're only doing it the once.
– Take a drive inland, to see a bit of desert and so on. As Hart's Shirt says, the mountain at Al Ain is a good day trip.
– Take a boat trip and/or go diving/snorkelling off the Mussandam coast – a couple of hours from Dubai. Loads of tour operators offer this.
– Play golf, if you're into it – there are some good courses.
– And yup, shop and experience the malls: Mall of the Emirates for the snow park, Dubai Mall for the aquarium and ice rink, etc. If your wife wants designer shoes/bags etc at knockdown prices, try the secret shops in Karama, or drop me a PM and I can take you to one on the The Palm.

Buy The Entertainer books as soon as you arrive, from any bookshop. Thousands of 2-for-1 and 50% off etc vouchers, for £60. Even if you only eat out once and go to a waterpark, you're already saving money. We probably save upwards of £500 a year through them.

If you want to go up the Burj Khalifa, book online well before you come. It costs a LOT less that way, and it's almost always booked out (especially sunset times, which is the best time to go), so turning up and hoping to 'just go up' is virtually impossible. Be aware that the viewing platform is actually only about 2/3 of the way up, you can't get right to the top. Though the view is still good.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Built with the blood,sweat and tears of men who were treated no better than slaves.

"were"? The construction work is still going on.

 

[Franks Wild Years]

I've travelled to most parts of the world and I have to say Dubai is without doubt the worst place I've ever been.
A shopping mall built on slavery is the best way to describe it. There are thousands of better places to visit.

 

[34064 Fighter Command]

It sounds like you want to travel half way around the world to visit the Arabian Gulf version of Milton Keynes.
That indoor ski slope has sold it to me as a place I don't need to visit, when we have the real thing on our own continent.

 

[jd312]

Been there once. Never again. No booze. No culture. And most of the time you're looking at building sites. On the plus side it's more than likely you'll bump into Freddie Flintoff in one of the 5 places you can drink

 

[jd312]

Been there once. Never again. No booze. No culture. And most of the time you're looking at building sites. On the plus side it's more than likely you'll bump into Freddie Flintoff in one of the 5 places you can drink

 

[hart's shirt]

"were"? The construction work is still going on.

...and will be for quite a while longer. We haven't had Dubailand built yet.


Here's a link to TimeOut Dubai: http://www.timeoutdubai.com/

Plenty of things to do, plenty of places to eat and drink.

bhafc99's done a comprehensive run down above. We enjoyed a couple of pints whilst not exactly enjoying watching the Anfield massacre this season.

 

[brakespear]

Built with the blood,sweat and tears of men who were treated no better than slaves.

This. Although as mentioned by others above, as far as I am aware it hasn't stopped yet.

 

[seagull_special]

C
ount me in with the 'Seagulls over UAE'

No disrespect to any of the previous posters (some of whose views I would concur with), but for those of us who love it and have built lives and businesses for ourselves within the UAE, it goes without saying that like most places, you'll be very welcome as long as you behave.

Plenty of alcohol available (at a premium) although you can't buy it legally in the shops without an alcohol permit. Very hot at the moment - it moves beyond 50 degrees in the summer. A good time to visit would be between late October and early April.

Outside of Dubai itself, there are some great places to visit. A trip up Jebel Hafeet mountain (close to Oman) is well worth doing for the view as are the beaches on the east coast. The desert is beautiful at night - you don't have to go that far outside Dubai to find peace and tranquility.

The UAE is itself only 40 years old - just like any new country, it's going to be learning by doing when it comes to laws. Yes, there are some things that I'd change given the chance, but I believe many of them will be changed soon enough. For a country like the UAE to get where it has in the last 40 years is a minor miracle. It's bouncing back after very tough times a few years ago - the optimism has returned, albeit with a degree of being wise after the event.

Let me know when you're coming out and I'll be more than happy to show you around. There's a few of us Albion fans out here - it's high time a 'Seagulls over UAE' was set up...

 

[ROSM]

I take on board what Hart's Shirt says - perhaps I'll go back in 50 more years when there has been more 'cultural' change.

But for now I can only echo the comments made by others concerning the unpleasant taste that the place leaves you with.

- The almost slavery of the India sub continent workers both in the construction and hotel/service industry can be defined as repulsive. being forced to handover passports when they get work, being unable to work anywhere else if they leave the employment they currently have (basically signing away their rights).

- Being forced to work with no breaks on construction sites with minimum health and safety controls (they actually went on strike about 5 years ago when their request for a 15 min break at midday was repeatedly turned down - only sorted when the Royal family intervened due to the bad publicity)

The place is a triumph of style over substance - Disneyland without the fun element. And with way too many boorish British expats (no offence to the normal brits out there) who love the maid culture, flashing the cash and doing nothing to enhance the view of the Little englander abroad. If Harry Enfield's 'Lodsamoney' Character was invented today he'd be working in Dubai.

 

[goldstone]

Before I signed in there was an ad for travel to Dubai "luxury at affordable prices" next to the last post slagging off the Emirate. Classic!

So far it's been compared to Disneyland without the fun, Vegas without the fun and gambling, and Milton Keynes. Pretty much correct.

There is honestly no reason whatsoever to fly 7 hours to holiday in Dubai. You can fly for 7 hours and visit real places.

 

[gibbo414]

Been 3x going back for a week in July the wife loves the shopping / beaches are great drinks can be a bit pricey .Very friendly people . Book it and have fun .

 

[Questions]

"were"? The construction work is still going on.

Quite, and did you see that documentary by Piers Morgan about the building of The Berj a couple of years ago. It made me quite sick listening to him justifying it all.
On a different note there is a man who once you started punching it would be almost impossible to stop.

 

[Jesus Gul]

C
ount me in with the 'Seagulls over UAE'

Me too

Muroor Albion

 

[Pat McCrotch]

Sorry, I don't get this. Do you mean it's entirely clean and it's taboo to litter similar to Singapore?

 

[Arnois2]

C
ount me in with the 'Seagulls over UAE'

Yeah count me in too.

 

[Biffer]

Yeah apttdubai, well done for posting twice. It seems you forgot your Google-friendly key-phrase the first time.
Please keep posting your spam. It's great.