Advertisement
Published: February 6th 2023
Edit Blog Post
Just how applicable is that title? I had left the African continent, and a brief transit stop in Doha, Qatar had brought me to Dubai after an absence of a few years, partly because you can forever rely on the evolving nature of the city to yield a few more surprises with each successive visit. First having visited back in 2007 and yet again in 2015, this Emirati city tends to grow in size and stature along with the kind of accumulation of wealth which the oil boom and the 'hub of commerce' status have allowed it to. I am well aware of the fact then that this is my third Dubai travel blog entry, but a quick turnaround from an aborted visit to Ethiopia meant that 8 nights in the UAE would entail some serious scope for exploration, not to mention a stretch of time in which to allow scope for some relaxation and a few reflections on what was pending and how best to approach it. Staying in Deira is highly convenient and highly recommended, as there seems to be every last option there for enjoying an Emirati experience without even going over budget. Shopping and dining options are
way too numerous to mention, which is probably why you'll need to make up your own mind about your selection of them, but mainstay shopping malls such as the Dubai mall and the Mall of the Emirates appear to evolve and move with the times, and in reality there is no specific set of guidelines for a visit to Dubai, it's just a case of what you want and how you want it served. Determined to add to and caplitalize on previous visits, it became a necessity to visit previously unexplored attractions, so the prospect of a visit to Dubai's hotly impressive miracle garden will appeal to anyone with a keen interest in floral artistic statements on a somewhat outsized, colourful and tastefully collaged scale. Gigantic animals, a jet plane, a fantasy castle, and more besides greet the visitor, and you just have to concede that this is the kind of 'only in Dubai' project which just had to be pioneered by a creative entity who know full well that thematic attractions when put together impressively and convincingly will be sure to have something of an impact here. Similarly, a speedboat ride out of Dubai marina is a compact and
thrilling way of seeing iconic landmarks such as the Jumeirah beach hotel and the Burj Al Arab hotel without any of Dubai's endless urban clutter obscuring the view. Back on dry land, and a visit to the Blue Mosque is a mighty fine photo opportunity, as is a trip to the Bastakiya district, where you might even want to drop by the city's museum of illusions to send your mind on a kind of trip which Dubai's cityscape was thrusting you towards anyway. Take your pick from Dubai's cluster of water parks, theme parks and other like-minded amusement attractions, and if you have a head for heights, try scaling the Burj Khalifa tower which is something of a superlative in a city which tends to defy categorization at times. This time around, I had shunned Abu Dhabi as a day trip option, and instead focused on an excursion to the garden city of Al Ain which looked like a more Arabian style city with a few attractive features to boot. Indeed, the perceptions were almost spookily accurate, but it soon became apparent that this was the more conservative end of the UAE, where a sizeable city appeared almost eerily deserted.
Indeed, the city's chief attraction appears to be Al-Jahili fort which unsurprisingly is located in the corner of a huge public park, also (at the time of visiting) an attraction devoid of visitors, but easily warranting a visit all the same. A visit to a gigantic dome-shaped mosque completed the set, but it appeared that there is much more to the city than meets the eyes, and plays host to events such as camel racing which is an integral part of Emirati culture. Back in Dubai though, the urbanscape can just, if planned correctly, take you from one area to another, be it Deira, Bur Dubai, Bastakiya, Al-Karama or wherever your heart desires, and though this city is clearly not everyone's idea of how a city should be, there's no denying the fact that the sheer wealth and workforce of the city have meant that it can and more than likely will perpetually re-invent itself with the passage of time, in a bid to replace dependence of revenue from oil reserves with the kind of tourist potential which characterizes the city and its burgeoning set of credentials.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.256s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 12; qc: 29; dbt: 0.1904s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb