I find Dubai a very exciting place, but ever changing. I would love to go back to Dubai again as I know it changes every day so it would be very different now. Something that will never change though, is the heat. I was there in the height of summer. It was really very hot outside but when you are inside hotels, shops, malls, cars etc you don't realise just how hot it is. Everything is air-conditioned, so although it was extremely hot, it didn’t seem so bad!
Dubai Creek divides the city into two areas. Bur Dubai is to the south and is the business hub with modern buildings and shops. Deira is to the north with narrow streets which bustle with residential and commercial activities. You can choose to cross the creek in an Abra (water taxi). Dubai is so new yet so old! It is also a very clean city.
There are mosques on almost every corner. The most well known being Jumeirah Mosque which is a much admired example of modern Islamic architecture.
Dubai is very popular for shopping. The gold souk (market) has loads of shops, all with gold jewellery hanging in the windows and outside the shop. There is also a spices souk with magnificent aromas and lovely perfumes. Al Fahidi Street is also very popular for shopping especially for electronic goods. There is also Karama for all the name brands and lots of very big shopping malls. Shopping in Dubai is very exciting.
The beaches in Dubai are lovely, with white sand and turquoise sea. Definitely worth a visit.
I also enjoyed the Dubai Museum in the beautifully restored Al Fahidi Fort. It is very artistically designed with displays, hands on exhibits, hologram like movies and information cases which all lead you through the lives and times of the city and its people. I don’t usually enjoy museums, but this one, I found very interesting.
I found it fun and interesting at the same time. The highlight of my trip was the Dune Dinner Safari. It can’t be missed! We were collected from our hotel in a 4x4, mid to late afternoon and taken out to the desert. Once in the desert we rode up and down the sand dunes as if we were on a roller coaster. It was so much fun. It continued for about half an hour before we stopped to watch the sun set over the dunes before continuing to a Bedouin tent. Here, we rode camels, smoked shisha pipes (with cherry tobacco) and watched belly dancing. We sat on beautiful carpets around low tables to eat a barbecue type dinner. Around 9pm we headed off back to our hotel and it was strange how it was a quick drive back to the main road from being in the middle of all those dunes!
I would love to go back and spend 2 nights at a city hotel to do some shopping and then 5 nights at a beach hotel to relax and enjoy.