13th - 15th July 2006
Ask about Dubai and honestly the first thing that comes to my mind is the heat. Not the seven-star hotels, not the many souks, but the heat. It was mind-numbingly hot when I arrived there in the midst of summer. Even at night, the temperature didn't drop below 30 degrees Celsius. It was freaking hot! But anyway, enough about the heat. Let the story begin.
It was my fourth time landing at Dubai International Airport and for the first time, I was able to walk out of the air-conditioned environs of the airport and into the 'real' Dubai. Upon walking out of the airport terminal, the heat smacked me right in the face. It was night and I didn't expect the weather to be so warm, but anyway, I soon got on a taxi and headed to Panorama Hotel along Al Mankhool Road. The guidebooks had said that it won't be easy finding cheap accommodation in Dubai, and so I decided to search online and book a room before I arrived. The room cost me around USD$40 and I'm pleased to say that it was a pretty good deal.
After putting down my stuff, I decided to head out for dinner. I walked along Al Mankhool Road, dripping with perspiration I must add, and soon, I found a small cafe which looked decent and I decided to have my dinner there. Perhaps I was too hungry because I thought the food was actually not too bad. After dinner, I walked over to one of the shopping malls nearby and I spent the next hour or so at an internet cafe before retiring back to bed.
The next morning, I woke up with a start. My phone was ringing and when I picked it up, I noted with utter shock that it was past eleven when I had intended to wake up at 7am. I immediately jumped out of bed, washed up, packed up, and left the room in record speed. I had only one day in Dubai and there was no time to spare. After checking out of the hotel and leaving my luggage with them, I hailed a cab to bring me to the Burj al-Arab.
Along the way, my taxi driver, who came from India, pointed out some interesting sites for me. These included the Burj Dubai, which will become the world's tallest building when it's completed, and the Mall of the Emirates, which has the Middle East's first indoor ski slope. It's stunning to see all these rising out of the flat, featureless desert. I wouldn't be surprised if a few years down the road, you have a tropical rainforest sprouting out of Dubai.
Anyway, the taxi soon came to a stop outside a water theme park, Wild Wadi, so that I can gawk at the Burj al-Arab. There is a causeway nearby that links the mainland to the hotel, which rests on an artificial island. For people like me who are not staying in the hotel, we gotta pay an exorbitant entrance fee just to enter the hotel, and since I don't print money, I gave it a pass.
After taking the obligatory tourist shots, I hopped right back on the cab, and my driver then drove me to Chicago Beach, from where I can view the Burj al-Arab from another angle. It was around noon now, and it was freaking hot when I alighted from the taxi. The view wasn't too good either as it was slightly hazy (see picture above). After sticking around long enough to snap some pictures and dashing to the Arabian Gulf to feel the water (it's just something I had to do), I escaped back into the cool comfort of the cab.
My next stop's the famed Jumeirah Mosque, which is one of the most photographed building in Dubai. Non-Muslims can enter the mosque during certain days of the week, but I wasn't there on the right day. As for its exterior, you can see it for yourself in the picture above, so I shan't attempt to extol the beauty of its architecture. Anyway, given the fact that I was perspiring nonstop after getting off the cab for less than 5 minutes, I doubt I was in any mood to admire the architecture when I was there. After snapping some pictures to show I was there, I hopped right back on the cab, and I asked the driver to bring me to Dubai's old district of Bastakia.
At this point in time, I realised that the taxi meter was ticking away faster than I expected. At the rate it was going, I wasn't going to have enough money to pay the driver by the time we arrived at Bastakia. I was already weighing my options when we arrived at Bastakia. For the record, I was considering asking the driver to stop when the meter fare reached the amount of money I had left. Anyway, moving on, the area around Bastakia was like a ghost town when I arrived. I guess everyone's indoors at this time of the day.
I decided to have lunch at the first eating place I could find, and thankfully the place I found eventually was air-conditioned. It was such a relief to get out of the stifling midday heat. After lunch, I decided to hang around in the restaurant until the Dubai Museum opened at 2pm.
The Dubai Musuem is sited inside an old fort building. The non air-conditioned area contains displays on wooden boats and traditional houses as you can see in the picture below. The underground and air-conditioned area contains mock-ups of ancient souks, typical Arabic households, etc. Not bad for its Dh3 admission fee.
Just beside the Dubai Museum is the traditional Bastakia district. It's an area known for its traditional mud-walled courtyard houses, and wind towers. As Friday is a Muslim prayer day, none of the cafes, art galleries and restaurants were open. As such, I was the only person wandering through the district. Somehow, I think they went slightly overboard with their restoration efforts. The area feels a little artificial to me, but perhaps it'll be more atmospheric if there were more people.
From there, I headed to the Dubai Creek which splits the city in two, and walked along its bank. It's quite a nice way to take in the city. On the one side, I can see the high-rise modern office buildings, and on the other, there're the more traditional-looking buildings. And on the creek itself, there are lots of abras (water taxis) ferrying passengers across the creek. I boarded one of those to get to the Deira side of Dubai. The ride itself was pretty fast. It lasted less than ten minutes but if offers a very picturesque view of the city. And what's more, it's a very cheap mode of transport. Definitely one of the things you gotta do when you come to Dubai.
After crossing the creek, I headed to the Gold Souk, which Dubai is famous for. Well, it's basically a place where hundreds of shop vie with each other to sell virtually any type of gold object that could be worn. I didn't check out the prices, but I heard it's cheaper than those sold elsewhere. I then spent the next two hours or so walking around that area without a particular goal in mind. The idea's to just soak in the atmosphere. Interestingly, if I could just block out all the Arabic signs that I see, I could almost imagine myself in India. I saw more South Asian faces than Arab ones though it shouldn't come as a surprise. Some articles I read said that Dubai is made up of 20% locals and 80% foreigners. Whatever the actual figure is, it's quite clear that there are a lot of foreigners in Dubai.
Just as the sun was about to set, I decided to take the abra to bring me back to Bur Dubai. My guidebook (Footprint Dubai) had recommended a restaurant selling authentic Dubaian food at Bastakia. I ordered some chicken dish which wasn't spectacular, and as I was one of only three customers in the restaurant, the ambience wasn't spectacular either. Oh well, after dinner I walked over to the Textile Souk which had been lifeless in the day. At night, it was bustling with activity. The abra station was near the Textile Souk and so I decided to cross the Dubai Creek again.
Over at Deira, I decided to take a taxi to Deira City Centre, which according to Wikitravel, is the most popular mall in Dubai. It's huge, with many international brands, but I'm not much of a mall person, so the air-conditioning was the main attraction for me there. After a while, I decided that I could brave the heat again, and I took a taxi back to my hotel. After collecting my luggage, I decided to find an internet cafe to while time away. My flight was in the wee hours of the morning, and I still had time to spare.
Finally, time was up and I took a taxi to the airport. I badly needed a bath and I was hoping there were some shower facilities at the airport. Well, there were, but it was super expensive. I can't remember the exact price but I think it was around US$10, and so I took the most expensive bath of my life in Dubai, before boarding the flight back to Singapore.
