We really enjoyed Dubai in the end. We experienced the glitz and the glamour of Dubai Mall; with its majestic skyscrapers, dancing fountains and haute couture shops.
The 360 bar; set out on the Arabian Gulf, overlooking the full skyline of Dubai, happy hour meant we could have 3 cocktails instead of one!
Then there was Dubai Creek's chilled and ambient Boardwalk Bar, lovely atmosphere where you can chill out to the funky house beats whilst puffing on your shisha.
Then there were the cultural parts of Dubai, most of which we saw when we got our Big Bus Tours ticket. Until we got out ticket we felt as though there was no way we were going to get to see all of Dubai. We had no car and using the metro was proving to be time consuming. The 48 hour ticket was the best option too!
Cultural highlights were:
1) Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum's house, probably not the house itself (which is the pinnacle of Arabian architecture) but the museums and historical areas that surround it. We ate Awamats, which are crispy doughnut balls with date honey and sesame seeds...delicious!
2) The Souks (gold, spice and old) were great, definitely have cash when you're there though or you will miss out on some bargains. Allan didn't like the Old Souk, one guy put a Ghutra on his head as we passed by and he wasn't pleased. The key is to ignore people unless really interested.
Souk Madinat was nice though, designed to look like a traditional souk, sell what a traditional souk would sell (with the exception of the odd branded shop) and without the confrontations of a traditional souk.
3) Dubai Museum was pretty good too. We had to rush off to catch the next bus, halfway through walking around, and we could have easily stayed another half hour. Plenty of things to read about Dubai's development and history. I loved seeing the typical palm house in the courtyard area. It showed how The people developed their own air conditioning before electricity was introduced.
4) The desert safari was brilliant! We went with Arabian Nights Tours. Worth the money for what you get. The camel ride wasn't up to much though, and I found myself feeling really sorry for the camels. What a boring life they must lead: sit down, stand up, walk for a minute, sit down.... Other than that, the food was great, I got a henna tattoo, loads of photographs and a thrilling dune bashing experience.
Thanks to our wonderful couch surfing host Hamish! We couldn't have done half of these things if it wasn't for him. He kindly let us use his Dubai Entertainer vouchers to do a lot of the activities as buy-one-get-one-free. This saved us a lot of money. These voucher are worth the investment if you are going to be in Dubai for a few weeks or longer.
Our first experience of couch surfing has set the bar for our future hosts. I hope they won't mind having my ginger hair all over the floor, and Allan sleeping in until late afternoon haha.
Dubai, or not Dubai? That is the question...the answer is up to you. I'm glad we chose Dubai though, I now have an opinion.
