Imagine gazing at clear blue skies, walking along clean, golden sandy beaches whilst soaking up the sun and admiring the clear blue waters of the Arabian Gulf. A place where you can also shop till you drop with bargains in the bazaars and souks. Then, at dusk watch the sun go down in an oasis where you taste buds are awakened with the aroma of the finest kebabs and vegetables sizzling away over an open fire delicately laced in spices. Where can you find all this and so much more? in a desert; yes, that’s right! in the fast developing and sophisticated city of Dubai in the Middle East.

On first impressions of this city, I was pleasantly surprised to see how clean, modern, and sophisticated the city looked. The roads were very well constructed and very smooth, the highways reminded me of USA but had the feel of France; i.e. the quality and smoothness of the roads was of a very high standard and there were no potholes! (I guess I was pretty over whelmed by the city after spending 5 weeks previously in India –where the roads are full of potholes!) My journey from the airport in a top of the range Volvo S70 taxi with walnut dashboard and calf leather seats made the journey even more comfortable! On the highways in Dubai, you will notice many luxury saloon cars (somehow supermini’s just haven’t caught on Dubai!). The most common car happens to be the Mercedes; many S-Class’s and 500 series, as well as BMW’s (usually from 5-series upwards), Jaguar S-Types, Porsche’s, and even some Alfa Romeo’s (woah!! If anyone doesn’t know I am a big fan of alfa’s and look out for them in every country!) One of the reason Dubai favours big cars is that oil and petrol prices are low and people can afford to run these beefy cars.

Although Dubai is, an Islamic city it’s outlook is very modern and women do not have to cover their faces. Tourism is a part of life and Dubai has liberal attitudes, with a plethora of multi-cuisine restaurants, bars, clubs, where alcohol is freely available. There are also many Europeans, Australians, Indians, and many foreign Nationals that work in the city. Now that I have given you an idea, of the place, I will outline some sights and activities you may find enjoyable during your stay.

Jumeriah Beach offers golden sands and clean, uncrowded beaches, where you can safely enjoy the clear blue sea of the Arabian Gulf. Many beaches are private and belong to the hotels stretched along Jumeriah beach. My own hotel, Oasis Beach Hotel had its share of the Jumeriah beach. All the usual facilities were provided sun chairs, loungers, deck chairs, beach towels and a Club bar serving drinks and snacks all day. There are also many sports activities provided by either the hotels or private companies along the beach, such as jet skiing, surf riding, parasailing etc. To give you an idea of prices, 15 minutes parasailing costs 200Dhrs (~£40, approx 5 Dhrs= £1).

There are many tour companies that offer short Dinner cruises aboard a traditional wooden dhow. A typical cruise lasts 2 hours where you can enjoy a luxurious 5-star Arabic menu whilst listening to live music playing in the background, and the gentle Arabic breeze blowing gently as the dhow takes a tour of Dubai Creek. I would recommend you try one of these, it is an ideal way to spend a relaxing evening and see Dubai city by night. Typical cost is about 200Dhrs per person (~£40, includes cruise and dinner).
For the more adventurous amongst you there are more adventurous tours, such as a trip into the desert, where you can have fun driving a 4x4 over the massive dunes, or even try the sport of sand boarding, or take a slow journey riding a camel..the choice is yours! There are numerous activities you can choose from, depending on your length of stay and budget. Most of the day trips last about 4 hours, whilst the longer one’s that offer camp and dinner under moonlight are overnight and cost considerably more. A visit to the capital of UAE, Abu Dhabi, which is about 170Kms away from Dubai, also makes an interesting trip and if time allows you should try to visit. Other popular activities are horseracing, numerous golf resorts events and sailing.

Ok, Dubai is world famous for shopping. You will find everything here from the latest digital camcorders, to the funkiest mp3 players, state of the art air-conditioned shopping malls selling designer labels from Versace to Chanel and bargains galore in the traditional bazaars known as Souks where you will discover endless Gold shops, Spice shops and perfume shops. A word of advice when visiting or buying anything in the souks; ‘haggling is essential’.
As always ..a few tips to help you on the way..

If you’ve never visited a gold shop, you will dazzled by the glittering display of gold in the hundreds of shops you are presented with..which shop do you go in? what purity of gold are you buying? Do you pay by credit card or cash? Can you haggle?

It is very much the same case in whatever you buy in the bazaars, be it clothes, ornaments, spices, perfumes (which are pure, in essential oils without alcohol, so last longer, a bit like ‘pure parfum’ as sold in Western countries) you can haggle and should wherever possible. As mentioned there are many luxurious shopping malls and designer boutiques, I didn’t really get much time to visit these, I expect the prices will be fixed at these outlets.
So, if you fancy Dubai as your next holiday destination, here are a few pointers that may help;

No visas are required to visit Dubai for UK, German, French, Spanish, Italian, and many other European nationals. There is also, no Visa’s required for US or Canadian citizens. I visited Dubai in month of January and the temperature was a maximum of 24ºC, very pleasant during the day, with a low of about 15ºC at night. I would say the best time to visit Dubai is December or January. If you enjoy shopping Dubai holds the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) in month of March, where you can buy goods form all over the world. The only months to be best avoided are June - September as temperatures can sore to 40ºC. Arabic is the official language, though English and Hindi/Urdu are widely spoken. Dubai is only 4 hours ahead of GMT and there are daily flights from UK’s London and regional airports. The official airline is Emirates, which operates flights 7 days a week to Dubai. Dubai International Airport is also a haven for tax-free shopping. For the independent traveller flights from UK to Dubai cost approx. £300, there are also plenty of package holidays available that include 7 nights accommodation in a 5-star hotel and flights from £400. I would say one week is more than enough to visit Dubai and the surrounding areas. If you are unsure I’d recommend a stop-over; Emirates the airline do many free stop-over deals, with preferential rates at many of their affiliated 4/5-Star Hotels.