In the world of globalization, one of the things that we are grateful for is easy and convenient travel. Sure traveling burns a hole in our pockets but the happiness that follows is priceless. The ongoing pandemic has curbed our travel plans at the moment but that does not stop us from dreaming about new places to visit or reminiscing our travel diaries.
Talking about reminiscing, this lockdown pushed me down the memory lane where I revisited my photo gallery and dug up memories form my Dubai trip. While I did my part of living through the memories, what better than sharing my travel experience with you all?
I travelled to Dubai during one of the most beautiful time of the year, Christmas. I flew down to Dubai with one of the most trusted airlines and possibly the best one. No prizes for guessing which airlines was it. It was none other than Emirates! Now that I have added a one liner that subtly promotes the airlines, let me begin with my travel experience of one of the current favorite travel destinations.
My first day in Dubai marked a visit to the Miracle Garden. Everyone loves taking an occasional stroll through the garden gazing into the beautiful natural flowers which is no less than a florist's paradise. But did you ever wonder how could a garden be used to create structures? Well that's what the "Miracle" is all about!
Humungous structures in the form of our favorite childhood characters, some structures resembling palaces and animals are a complete delight to watch.
While the structures are adorned beautifully with a variety of flowers leaving you mesmerized amidst this beautiful color palette, right in the middle of the garden awaits an alluring surprise, an Emirates A380.
After a long stroll through the park, we then decided to head to our next stop.. The Dubai Festival Mall. The mall area was full of Christmas spirit. Scintillating lights draped over a tall tree while the festival market that took up the foyer reminded me of the festival spirit of New York. The fountain works that swayed to the tunes of Christmas carols with patterns projected on them using laser lights was such a pretty sight. The light and fountain show concluded my first day in Dubai.
New day and new places to visit. The itinerary for the second day included visit to the Dubai Frame and Glow Garden. We almost tried to make it to the frame to be able to witness this urbanized concrete mess glazed with the glow of the setting sun but luck decided to give us a miss and we reached the top of the frame just before it got dark. The frame opens up to the view of the city that clearly distinguish the architecture of old city from the new one. This 150 m tall structure has a unique construction that includes a glass flooring which offers a view down to the bottom and of course that helped my acrophobia to kick in!
While looking around through the wide glass panes, I spotted a place that was all covered with twinkling lights and wondered what it was, It was none other than the Dubai Glow Garden, our next and final stop for the day! Considered to be the largest glow park in the world, its absolutely one of a kind. The unique creativity that was put into creating this park is worthy of every bit of attention. There's not much to describe the park with words when pictures can do a better job. And adjacent to the Glow Park is the Dinosaur Park that has structures with visual and acoustic effects
Third day itinerary included a road trip to another affluent city of the country.. Abu Dhabi! A three hour drive from Dubai with roads paved though deserted land, Abu Dhabi hosts multiple tourist attractions viz. the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Ferrari World, Yas Marina Circuit, Yas Waterworld and the latest adventure park Warner Brother World. Our stops included Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and Warner Brothers World.
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is one of the most prominent tourist attraction in Abu Dhabi. It is one of the largest mosques in the country that symbolizes a combination of both culture and architecture and showcases the stunning pieces of art. Words won't do justice to the splendid construction that it is! Don't believe me? Take a look for yourself.
Also, did I ever tell you that I have a thing for chandeliers?
After being mesmerized by the beauty of the mosque we began our journey to Yas Island. Yas Island is home to multiple amusement parks and the famous Yas Marina Circuit. We drove through the island to "reach" the newly opened Warner Brothers Studio. My previous trips included visits to Universal Studios and Disney World and now was the time for the third one. For each one of us 90's kid, cartoons signify a huge chunk of our lives and all thanks to the Warner Brothers, I got to live through my childhood yet again. Confined within walls justifying the word "studios", all rides in this theme park are indoors but equally gripping as the ones otherwise. But rides are nothing when compared to the joy of meeting the heroes who made your childhood unforgettable!
So this will be the first time that I would be uploading my pictures just to share my ecstatic moments
After covering majority of the tourist spot, it was now time for the numero uno tourist spot, Burj Khalifa. The architectural wonder that touched the sky (literally!) is the world's tallest construction ever since it opened in 2009. Burj Khalifa symbolizes the embarking journey of Dubai towards development and it is primarily known to attract a lot of tourism. This marvelous construction is known to house a number of hotels and offices along with an observation deck on the 148th floor. The surroundings include the Dubai Fountain, Burj Khalifa Park and The Mall of Emirates. Christmas season observes increased amount of traveling both domestically and internationally but Dubai witnesses a peculiarly high amount tourists not just because of the holidays but also due to the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF), one of the worlds biggest shopping festival! This sort of made it difficult for me to get the tickets to the observation deck so I ended up doing some shopping instead.
The Mall of Emirates is one of the biggest mall in Dubai with umpteen choices for shopping, dining and is also home to the Dubai Aquarium. Nothing less than an all-in-one combination I must say!
My last touring day and I decided to keep the best one for the last. It was none other than Palm Jumeirah. This man-made archipelago that resembles a palm tree is referred to as trunk, spine, fronds and crescent depending upon the segments of the island. The island has a lot of modern construction that includes hotels like Atlantis The Palm, St Regis and
not to forget the villas located on the fronds. Driving through the island we drove past the Atlantis, The Palm and reached the Umm Suqeim Beach. This beach is located near the famous Burj Al Arab and offers a magnificent view of the hotel while Atlantis marks its presence far on the horizon.
Burj Al Arab is one of the world famous hotels and also recognized the the seventh tallest hotel. Located on a private island, it is connected to the mainland with a bridge. The shape of the hotel resembles the sail of a boat and possesses a helipad on the island.
Dubai like any other mega city in the world exhibits diversified culture. As mentioned earlier, I visited Dubai during Christmas and I was completely awestruck by the spirit of which the city celebrated the festival. Dubai practically rose high from the deserts to reach the skies with one of the iconic skylines in the world. Dubai is no less than a miniature version of the globe that resonates every bit of cultural heritage of people and their homeland. An appropriate balance of cultural diversity, epitome of architecture and of course the divergent landscapes is why the city makes it to everyone's bucket list. Dubai not only offers a platter of tourist attraction and varied landscapes but also offers and array of dining options right from western cuisines to the eastern delicacies which is extremely helpful for the people who are always on the lookout for their comfort food.
Dubai has a lot of other places to visit like the Global Village, Desert Safari, Dubai Marina, Dubai creek etc. The city is known as the hub for the ultramodern culture also has places that preserve the cultural heritage that beholds the intricate history of the nation maintaining the perfect blend of the two eras.
The best time to visit would be February to May which is relatively colder than the other months. Y0u could also plan your trip in the month of January if you are looking to get the best of DSF but beware about the scorching sun that could hinder your daily itinerary. With this I would like to conclude my travel experience.
Hope this beautiful world is free of this pandemic curse so that people could kick start their travel expedition. Till then stay safe and keep weaving your dreams of travel. Also, if Dubai is one of the places you're hoping to travel next, feel free to reach out to me if you need anymore information.