Paul's First Dubai Trip
Each time I visit Dubai, I tend to have new visitors with me who want to see the biggest sights. This last time was no exception as it was Paul's first time.
In addition to all the classics like the Dubai Mall and Burj Khalifa, I wanted to find something new to see. Share the old favourites of Dubai and explore some new, hopefully, favourites together. Our biggest new adventure was our desert safari, but there was still more to see!
We tried skiing at the Emirates Mall - while it was my second visit there, I actually had time to enjoy it this visit. Or at least get in more than 3 runs. We spent nearly 2 hours going up the lifts and spending 90 seconds skiing back down. It definitely piqued Paul's interest in skiing somewhere in Europe, so chances are we'll find ourselves on the slope again sometime soon.
We also checked out the Gold Souk (twice)! First time was close to Friday's call to prayer, so we found much of the market shut down. We went again on Sunday to much better results, lots of shiny gold everywhere attracting your attention, sellers calling you into their shops and vying for your business. Of course, we didn't walk away empty handed.
For the evenings, we focused on bars with the best views of the city.
First up was the Madinat Jumeirah. This is a huge complex with everything from a posh hotel, to their own souk and several bars and restaurants. Some of the restaurants you even take your own water taxi along the canals to reach. We checked out Bahri Bar which boasts some fantastic views of the Burj al Arab from the bar's terrace. There are plenty of other bars throughout if this one is too crowded since there are no reservations.
Our last stop was the Dubai Mall and Atmosphere bar. We had booked a window seat in advance to make sure we could get the best views and even catch the fountains going off. We enjoyed a glass of bubbly with the views, before finding out that our 2:30 am flight was delayed until 5 am. Luckily for us, the mall was open for Dubai Shopping Fest, so we passed our last few hours off in true Dubai fashion - with lots of shopping.
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