Our
friends from Jackson, MS, John Mark and Ashlee, came to see us last week in
Dubai. Yay! Our first (hopefully not
last) visitors and we had a blast showing them around Dubai.
So, Todd and I are not
that couple that just hops on a plane to a new place and figures things out
once we get there. Whenever we try it
that way, we feel like we don’t make the most of our time and usually miss out
on seeing something. All that to say, we
like to create itineraries for any trip we go on, and JM and Ashlee’s trip to
see us called for a Dubai itinerary so that we ensured we made the most of
their time! J This
will be a two-part post. I will go through and tell you what we did each day
including links and photos when possible.
Who knows, maybe someone reading this will find some good ideas to copy
on their next vacay to Dubai!
Day
One: Thursday JM and Ashlee arrived on Thursday night.
We basically introduced them to our cat, Sheikh, talked them to death
and then let them sleep. J
Day
Two: Friday
Quick trip to Umm Sequim beach (my favorite Dubai spot) to take in views of the
sand, water and iconic Burj Al Arab. We
snapped a few pictures and then went to the Mall of the Emirates to go skiing
at the indoor skiing facility, Ski Dubai.
Yes, we took our friends snow skiing on their first day in the
desert. But now they can say they have
been to the beach and snow skiing all in the same day! Skiing was a blast (after a rough start for a
few of us trying to remember how to ski).
Obviously, the ski slope is inside a mall so there are no black diamonds,
but it still has high enough slopes to entertain you for an afternoon. After skiing we enjoyed hot chocolate at
Avalanche Cafe (recommended), the little coffee shop at the top of the slopes. Later that night we checked out Barasti, a
restaurant and bar right on the beach. Barasti has a fun atmosphere, but slow service for dinner (not to mention hard to snatch a table).
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| So glad our friends Chris and Bea could join us skiing! |
Day
Three: Saturday
Today’s main event was Aquaventure, the waterpark connected to the Atlantis
Hotel. I haven’t had the chance to check
out the Atlantis, or the man-made palm islands on which it resides, so I
figured Aquaventure would be a good excuse to check it all out. We got there around lunch time and the lines to get in were massive! Fortunately, they moved pretty quickly and we were in hitting the slides before no time. Sadly, there seemed to be only a few rides and the slides were done before we wanted them to be. It was getting to be late afternoon and even a bit chilly as we rode around on the lazy river (which had bursts of waves at times) so we decided our last ride should be the scary "Leap of Faith". This slide dropped straight down 9 stories and then took you through a glass tunnel surrounded by sharks. It was....really pretty cool and a great one to end on! Only bummer was I had water in my eyes going through the glass tunnel so I couldn't see anything!
For dinner, we went to one of our FAVORITE places in Dubai, Loca. We have eaten at this restaurant more than any other since moving here and so far it is the best mexican food we have found. Prices are those of a "swanky mexican" place, but the food is worth it.
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| Heading in to Aquaventure! |
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| The Atlantis Hotel |
Day
Four: Sunday
Todd had to work today so JM, Ashlee and I hopped in a taxi and went to the Jumeirah Mosque for a little Islamic cultural learning 101. If you have never been to this, I HIGHLY recommend going. A volunteer at the mosque (same lady both times I went) basically sits you down and explains why things are done the way they are done. She covers everything from the 5 pillars of Islam to the black abayas that ladies wear to the bad reputation that Arabic/Muslims have gotten in the media. It is very informative and she answers any questions you ask.
After the mosque, we grabbed lunch at Lime Tree Cafe, a yummy spot near the beach. Then we headed to Jumeirah Beach Park to lay out on the beach for a few hours. I love this beach for only one reason- you can rent chairs and umbrellas for very cheap here. Other than that, I think there are plenty of prettier free beaches to go to in Dubai. The weather was so nice and breezy that we didn't even need an umbrella that day! For dinner, we went to Festival City and ate at Wafi Gourmet. We shared different types of lebanese/arabic dishes. Quite tasty!
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| Getting ready to go in the Jumeirah Mosque |
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| Volunteer explaining different face coverings worn by Muslim women. |
Day
Five: Monday
Today was the day to tackle the "old" part of Dubai. We headed over to Deira and made a quick stop at the Fish Market to get a whiff of all the fishy-ness. We also swung by the fruit and vegetable market where JM and Ashlee stocked up on dates for a sweet price. Next, we headed to the souks (which just means "market"). This is the only place in Dubai where you can really haggle for the stuff you want to buy..stuffed camels, scarves, magnets, AliBaba pants (I bought 2 pairs, thank you!)....and on and on. We then took an abra, water taxi, across the Creek to another part of the old city called Bastakiya. We ate lunch at Local House where we heard we could get a good camel burger. Service was really slow, but the burger was actually pretty tasty! Not that I will be eating them on a regular basis (started feeling guilty passing several camels later in the week), but camel meat is said to be very lean! After lunch, we stopped by the Dubai Museum which is a cool and inexpensive museum to visit if you are in the area (but not really worth making a special trip to see).
As we were heading back to our apartment to change and get ready for the night, it started raining (of course it would rain in the desert while we had friends in town and outdoor things to do!). So, we changed our plans for the night and went to eat at Al Hambra, a tapas restaurant next to Madinat Jumeirah (a cool place with lots of shopping and restaurants itself). Delish! We shared different small plates and a pitcher of sangria and we were not disappointed! Al Hambra, we will come visit you again. :)
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| Fish and fruit market |
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| Souk |
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| JM showing off a local headdress with the salesman who showed him how to put it on. |
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| When in Dubai...eat camel burgers. |
And that is the end of Part 1. I will post the rest of our outings soon in Part 2!
