I have been travelling on Emirates from 2001 and me and my wife had accumulated about 30,000 skyward points. Of this about 13,000 were to expire on End-Sept-2005 and I thought it may be a good idea to use them. There was a London to Dubai offer for 20,000 points to be used in October and I picked it up. We flew from London Heathrow by EK006 on 28-October-2005 and came back on 2-Nov-2005.
The Investigation:-
I used the internet to collect information about Dubai and found that there was not really too much information that was available on the net. Some of the sites that I could explore were
(a) www.dubai.link.ru (one of the best sites available) (b) www.dubaicityguide.com (c) www.dubai.com
There was on offer to join which.net free for 30 days on a trial basis which I joined and the information that I got on Dubai from the site was great and very up to date. But as it is a paid site all cannot get the information from there.
The Money:-
I made a big mistake of taking UAE Currency from the UK. I bought AED 6.16 for a £ from Lloyds Bank, Thomas Cook was giving at AED 5.73 / £. When I landed in Dubai, the exchange rate at the airport was AED 6.49 / £. Thus I lost almost 5 % value because of my mistake of getting the currency in the
UK. It is best to carry GBP £ notes and exchange them there. All the shops were giving me £ 6.40 and when I used my American Express Credit Card, the rates were between £ 6.36 to 6.38 which were still better than the notes I bought from Lloyds.
One had booked a room at Holiday Inn Downtown at a rate of AED 306 per day. This was just basic. No Breakfast or anything. I asked for a rate for an inclusive Breakfast and they quoted AED 600 per day. Breakfast was AED 65 per person and hence it was not worth upgrading. The staffs were very friendly and helpful. I understand that there are quite a few cheaper joints that are available but then it is not worth the risk. I also get my Priority ClubReward points here
Tipping:-
It is very common and needed. In general one has to give about 10% in tips. So add that on to the services that you get. On tour's we tip the drivers about AED 20 to 25 for a half day tour or about AED 30 for a full day tour. I had booked my tours with North Tours via email and they were very friendly, helpful and adjusting. They picked me up from the Airport and my first tour started from there. You can contact them on pooja@rikks.net or suresh@rikks.net
My Trip:-
On the day I landed I did 2 tours. (a) Dubai City Tour which is a 3 ½ to 4 hours tour (b) Dubai Desert Safari
Day 2: (c) Abu Dhabi Tour which was from 10:00 am to 16:00 (d) Explore Dubai by self.
Day 3 (e) Explore Dubai Souks by Self from 9:00 to 11:30 (f) Dubai Shopping Tour from 12:00 to 16:00 and the (g) Explore Dubai Souks by Self from 9:00 to 11:30
Day 4 (h) Abu Dhabi Tour which was from 10:00 am to 16:00 (i) Explore Dubai by self.
Day 5 (j) Explore Dubai by self. (k) Back to the Airport for my flight home.
Transport:-
From the Airport we picked up a few travel maps and they were helpful. There was not much that I could get on the internet. Dubai is not very big. There are 2 major area's. They are Deria and Bur Dubai. It is a good idea to stay in Deria as then you are more mobile. We did walk on our first day but soon realised that Taxi in Dubai is very cheap and a good idea to use them rather than walking. If the place is close by the taxi drivers will tell you to walk and also inform you the way so that is nice. This happened 3 times to us and so I assume that this is the norm. Also there is a good local bus service where the fare is AED 1 to 1.5 per person. I did not attempt to use them but other traveller inform me that it is not bad either.
Must See:- We took a 30 minutes ride in the Abra for about AED 50 (price after bargaining) We took this trip at about 23:00 hrs at night and the sky line was great all the buildings were lit up and we has a very beautiful view. Dubai Museum: Housed in Dubai 's oldest standing building, a former fort in Bastakia. Displays include a souk peopled by waxworks, a collection of skeletons and some examples of desert wildlife. Admission fee AED 3/- Wild Wadi water park: A water park with 23 interconnected rides, to be found between the Burj al Arab and the Jumeirah Beach Hotel Dubai . Brave souls should try the Jumeirah Sceirah (geddit?), a speed slide where you reach heights of 33 metres before being hurtled downwards again at speeds of up to 80km an hour. The whole place is themed around an Arabic legend about Sinbad the sailor, and the shop is built to resemble Aladdin's Cave. However, it is quite expensive to get in, and there isn't much of a discount for children. Desert Safari: Another popular pastime in Dubai is "dune-bashing". This involves taking to the desert in a four-wheel-drive and enjoying the bumpy ride. The best way to try this is by booking a trip with a tour operator. It is a bad idea to go out on the dunes unaccompanied, particularly if you are not experienced in desert driving. Even experienced drivers tend to travel with another vehicle in case of emergencies. Shopping: There is a wide selection of goods available throughout the city at very low prices. There are malls selling everything from fake Gucci to the real Gucci at the top-end shops. Well-known shopping areas include the Deira Gold Souq for, as the name suggests, gold; Deira Old Souq for spices; Al Fahidi street for electronics; Deira Towers for carpets, the Wafi Centre for various luxury items and Meena Bazaar for textiles. Bur Dubai and Deira Covered Souq have an Indian/Pakistani influence. And Karama is the district to bargain for a fake Gucci watch, if you are so inclined. Shopping Malls: There are quite a few of them and they are all unique. Some of them are Mall of the Emirates (the largest or the lot and a large part of it still under construction). This will have a artificial snow once it is ready where one can Ski. The there are the City Centre Mall and Lamcy Mall (not worth a look, though it is recommended in all the tourist books.
Dubai is a place where even a month would be quite a small time to visit. My first taster visit has all enticed me to see more and I am just waiting for my next trip to Dubai. When, Who knows. But yes, that will definitely happen some day.
My trip cost me about £ 500 plus the airline tickets cost which was only £200 for the 2 of us and plus the regular shopping which set me back by over xxxx ….
I am thinking of going here so a very helpful review, thanks! Alison x
belfin 03.11.2005 21:30
really interesting review, and some good tips in there too regarding currency. Belinda
n13roy 03.11.2005 10:55
Really well written and informative Dubai review there,Its a great place to visit, but a very expensive place to live there permanantly though.......Roy
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Connoisseur_Haggler 05.02.2002 (05.02.2002)
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