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Published: October 15th 2016
Dubai is all about valuing your
self, personal esteem, wellness, wellbeing, diversity, respect, honesty and eating. It is a Muslim country. If any of these things cause you a problem, Dubai is not a place you should really visit.
Today we enjoyed temperatures of 38 – 40 degrees with heavy humidity. The heat here is very different to Tenerife.
As we had been travelling for two days, today we are taking it a bit easy. Travelling days are always tiring when covering the bigger distances no matter how seasoned a traveller you may be.
We started the day with breakfast in the business lounge. All part of the free Business Class upgrade we were given. Only a small selection of food available in the lounge, but it was plenty for us. A great start to our day.
Our hotel is only a short walk to the nearest Metro station so we can buy our travel cards, then we head to IBN Batattu Mall which is to the south of Dubai. This is one of the places we did not manage to get to during our visit last year, but we had heard a lot about it.
The
mall is designed around the worldly travels of IBN Batattu. It is split into sections for the different areas of the world that he visited. It is very different to Dubai Mall and Mall of the Emirates we visited last year. It has a lot more of a local feel and culture to it, rather than being geared to the tourist. Plenty of locals here dressed in customary dress. Our holidays are geared up to visit the local haunts as well as the touristic venues.
We stopped off at Tim Horton´s cake and bake shop and tried a cold fresh fruit frappe each. They were very refreshing and just what we wanted in this heat. Even better considering we had an Entertainer voucher for this so only paid for one on the buy one get one free basis.
A bit more walking around then we stopped in the food court and had a late lunch in Shamiana. For us this was a lunch to die for. We visited this Indian restaurant in Mall of the Emirates last year and could not wait to try it again. It did not disappoint. Even better considering they accept the Entertainer vouchers.
We headed back to the hotel for some rest and relaxation. This was a perfect time to write up the travel blog and take advantage of the complementary business lounge. 5pm to 8pm in the business lounge is happy hour where they have alcohol included with the soft drinks that are available all the time. This was a good opportunity for Theresa to have a free glass of wine before we go out for the evening.
One of the other attractions that we missed in our visit last year was the musical fountains outside Dubai Mall below the Burj Khalifa. So we jumped on the metro and headed for Dubai Mall.
We had forgotten how long the walk from the metro to the mall was. It´s about 1.5 miles long, but luckily they have plenty of moving walkways to help you along the way. We headed straight to the fountains and the lake as it was about 7.45pm and the next show began at 8.00pm. We managed to get a really good vantage point with a clear view of most of the display. As it got closer to start time, more and more people tried to steal
our prime spot. We were determined not to give it up no matter what tactics were used. This meant we had to be quite firm with some people. Conflicts in pubic in Dubai are very much frowned upon.
Tonight´s show was to Arabic music and was excellent. It was well worth the wait. We will definitely try to get to see another show during our time in Dubai and hopefully see it performed to another tune.
When it had finished, there was a mass of people trying to get into the mall next door. Security had put lanes in to stop those going in for the next show getting mixed with those leaving. It was all very orderly and peaceful with very little pushing and shoving.
We headed to the food court on the top floor and decided on a light supper at Magic Wok. Another good use of the Entertainer vouchers. As it is Thursday evening and tomorrow is the start of the weekend, it is very busy, but we soon found someone we could share a table with. The weekend here is Friday and Saturday and they revert to work etc. on a Sunday.
After the long walk back to the metro, it´s back to the hotel and another sneaky visit to the business lounge before we call it a night.
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Kath
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Day 3
What a lovely day you have had good food, free wine, what more could you ask for. Fountain display sound fabulous.