Dubai

Dubai was actually a layover. Since I have friends there I decided to spend a few days with them before flying out to London. 

I took Emirates to and from Dubai & the UK & it was great. The unlimited wine was a major plus :P

Only spent about 3 days in Dubai so I saw only a few of the major must-see spots.

 My friend picked me up from the airport & we went to her place first. It was about 20 minutes away. More depending on traffic. Roads are very broad and each side has 6 lanes with a minimum of 3 on average.
You see a lot of SUVs there. There's a lot of American influence. The UAE doesn't have their own national car.

 It felt a lot like being in KL at first. Only after a while I started taking in the difference. Plenty of skyscrapers everywhere. But unlike KL, buildings here are built much closer together. & there is a LOT of development going on, still.

 After washing up at home, we headed out to the Burj. The entrance is within the Dubai Mall & this is what it looks like as you enter from the basement car park.

 My friend helped me get the ticket online weeks in advance. You usually can't get tickets on the very day because it's always booked in advance. Unless you're lucky or you happen to be visiting at an off-peak hour or season. 

 This is the view as you head up the escalators to the lift which takes you all the way up.

 Heading to the lift.

 And voila. 

 The blue water you see is actually the lake - or whatever it's called - which is right outside the Dubai Mall. That's where the fountain show takes place every evening.

 Every ticket has a different picture printed on it. This was mine.

 The sunset wasn't all that great, but that view was definitely something else. If you look close enough I think you can sort of make out the curve in the horizon. Not all that clear because it was rather hazy, too. Dubai is dusty because it's surrounded by a lot of sand.

 The place was packed. This was on the 124th floor. Also where you get souvenirs once you're done with the view.

 The staircase on the 125th floor. 

From the 124th floor while waiting for the lift going down.

About the lift, it takes about 1 minute to go all the way up to & another minute to go down from the 124th floor. There were too many people crowding the area so I couldn't take a proper video of it. Pretty cool though. 

 This is by the fountain outside the mall. Many, many people. Apparently it's always like this. Kinda similar to KLCC in a way. 

 Pictures don't really do justice to the actual view. It was very surreal for me, standing below this majestic structure after only just being at the top. I didn't have time to come back during the day for another shot.

They have different music for each show. This time round it was some Arabic fusion music which was kinda cool. Didn't take many pictures here. 

 After the fountain show we walked around the mall. There's SO MUCH TO SEE. Every boutique, every shop, every spot has something nice to look at, to see & to buy. All you need is money. Lots of it. Things are a lot more expensive in Dubai. Brands that we have here in Malaysia that are in Dubai sell their items at a higher price comparatively. 

 The next day we went to Jumeirah Beach. Kinda like the Miami of Dubai lol. Very high end place but the vibe here it more chill than downtown. 

 We stopped to have lunch at one of the little restaurants overlooking the beach. 

 Lunch was amazeballs. Everything was so flavourful.

 I'm one of those people who can't finish any drink that I order. Not quite sure why but I've been that way for the longest time so I always end up just taking a few sips from whoever orders a drink lol. But this time I finished the entire thing. See that little green drink at the top right corner of the picture? That's mint lemonade. Best damn lemonade I've had. I had almost 2 of those things. SO GOOD.

 That afternoon we went dune bashing. Our driver picked us up from my friends place and we set off. It was about 40 minutes from her place. As soon as we arrived we saw all these people on quad bikes. I wasn't feeling particularly adventurous (especially because we just had lunch & I didn't want it coming up while I was on the sand) so I gave this a miss. But I didn't really miss much coz the area was quite limited & there were just too many people. This was at around 4pm local time.

 Dune bashing was really great fun. By that time my food had settled nicely in my belly & we had 2 French girls join us as well. Jokers, both of them lol. 

Before the drivers take the SUVs out onto the sand, though, they make the tyres a little flat. I noticed all the drivers doing it & found out why. Apparently it's to prevent the tyres from getting stuck in the sand from all the weight while they're dune bashing. 

The music they play throughout the whole thing also gets you all hyped up lol. We had a blast :D

 After dune bashing we were taken to a campsite where we got some refreshments, watched some entertainment & had dinner. There was a - very hot - guy who did this turkish dance & fire show. & a beautiful lady who did some belly dancing. 

We left at around 8.30pm and got home before 10pm. It was a long day but a really good one nonetheless. 

 The third day was my last. I was to catch my flight out that afternoon. So before heading to the airport I went to the souk, or market place, to get a few things for mom. On the way there I got to see the Burj al-Arab. You can't go in here unless you've got permission. So this was the closest I could get. Beyond this is The Palm Islands aka Atlantis. 

 Approaching the Souk. Great place to get knick knacks, souvenirs, local sweets & all kinds of nuts.

 All the different types of saffron they had. I got 10g for RM50 which was pretty great.

 & all the different types of nuts. They give you little bags of whatever you like to try first before making a purchase. Which I loved :P

 The interior was really beautiful. Wooden doors everywhere, too. 

 Had a quick bite here before we headed off.

This pomegranate juice was nothing like I'd ever had before. Even more concentrated than the ones I usually have in India. So sweet & fresh! I couldn't finish this one though. Too rich for me. But oh so good.

After lunch I caught my flight to UK and reached at around 6+ local time.

Weather in Dubai was very similar to Malaysia. In June it can get as hot as 50℃ which is INSANE.

It's a beautiful place, really. But not one many people might feel comfortable settling down in. Visit it sometime if you haven't already, & you'll know just what I mean.

My next post will be about Germany :)
P/S: Photos & videos here are completely raw. No editing done because it's just way too much work lol. More on my instagram feed if you're interested https://www.instagram.com/shaheenasanggeth/

Cheers!