Dubai: And Who Said Time Travel Wasn’t Possible?

The statue, "Together" amidst evidence of progression and architectural beauty in Dubai.

We recently had the good fortune to spend a few days in Dubai enroute to Seychelles. Dubai is a major world travel hub, and has peaked as a locale that is excellent for a layover. It didn’t take long to see that Dubai is a fascinating city, and we soon discovered that it is a city with diversity in many different facets of it’s existence.

Upon arrival, we immediately felt transported to another world. The Arab and Islamic religion is retained as the official state religion, although, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is known to be very accepting of the other religions that are practiced there. Life in Dubai is very much created around the Islamic religion and Arab culture and is very prevalent in the advertising, media, attire, music, food, and infrastructure. Although the UAE is accepting and respectful of visitors, one must be aware when visiting here, there can be stiff penalties for certain behaviors that North Americans or many Europeans would think nothing of such as kissing your spouse or drinking in public. Homosexuality is also considered a crime in UAE, so if you’re part of the LGTBQ2 community, use discretion. Actually, discretion and respect are key words while travelling in the UAE, and, in my opinion, when you are visiting anyone else’s home.

We made our way to the Metro line, as we were travelling quite a distance to the other side of the city staying in an AirBnB near the Jumeirah Palm and Marina area. Dubai is considered one of the most expensive cities in the world, so getting a one bedroom apartment in an ‘up and coming’ part of the city for only $150 inclusive was lucky for this frugal traveller. I didn’t want to ruin my conservation efforts on a $70 cab ride, as opposed to approximately $7 for all three of us to travel by Metro, so we followed the easy signage. Besides that, I heard the Metro was super clean, easy to use, safe and completely automated with no drivers. At this current rate of progression in Dubai, I fully expect to travel by Hyperloop, or airborne speedcraft if I return again. (Side note: the Metro offered a Gold rate for a more comfortable and less busy car, or a few special cars are included for only women and children. Men found in these cars can be fined.)

After a 13 hour flight, and 11 500 km, we arrived in Dubai from Toronto.

Dubai is often hazy with sand, and when we first arrived it was particularly bad and my throat hurt from breathing the air, but, I was happy to see that we didn’t experience this afterwards. However, it’s not unusual to see most cars, and other surfaces covered with a fine dust. Also, the view is often clouded by dust and something to keep in mind when tower visiting.

The skyline of Dubai is surreally futuristic with more mega-tall skyscrapers than anywhere else in the world complete with eighteen buildings standing taller than 300 meters, and ten more in construction. Prior to 1999, Dubai did not have a single building that stood higher than 200 meters, this demonstrating how fast growth has occurred in Dubai. Not only is the height of these buildings awe-inspiring but the design of the buildings add to the modern and creative appeal of the cityscape.

While in Dubai, visiting the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, is a must do, and that we did. The Burj Khalifa is a masterpiece simply stated. It took only, amazingly, six years to build, and has pushed boundaries in engineering, structural beauty, and possible vision. The Burj Khalifa stands at 830 meters and the displayed quote says it all, “From the Earth to the sky: Aspiration and achievement - a shining symbol for what Dubai strives for and what we can accomplish.” We took the superfast elevator up to the 124th and 125th floor observatory decks and were thrilled with the view. Despite being hazy, we could see the only 7 star hotel in the world, the sail shaped Burj Al Arab, the World Islands just off the coast which are still being developed, and the stark line separating city from sand dunes. One can travel to the 148th floor for a premium, but there is not public access to the top floor which holds the record of the highest number of floors at 163.

From the observation deck, we could also see the water lagoon and fountains below and the Dubai Mall, which claims, although disputed, to be the world’s largest mall. We had to enter the mall to visit the Burj Khalifa and we were greeted by a doorman as we had (mistakenly) entered the door where the most high end stores were located. I guess it made sense the Tesla dealership was located close to this entrance. We quickly passed through the “Fashion Avenue” by Cartier, Armani, Gucci, Dior, Louis Vuitton, and the like. Did you know that Dubai is very well known as one of the best places to shop? Not for this frugal mama! My “Arabian Prince” doesn’t bring home that kind of dough. While in the Mall, we did check out the massive aquarium that was visible from the mall hallways, the Human Waterfall statues amidst a four story waterfall, the ice rink, and, the water fountain show from the Apple Terrace. I had read that this terrace was a great place to view the amazing water show that features spouting, choreographed fountains set to music and lights and the Burj Khalifa as the backdrop with twinkling lights and visuals projected onto the surface of this massive building. This show occurs every half hour and it was well worth seeing. (Not quite this New Year’s spectacle but still pretty amazing: https://youtu.be/CmJGSAEK0aM ).

One night, we went on a Dhow Dinner Cruise through the old part of the city along the Dubai Creek. A dhow boat is a generic name for a traditional wooden boat, often a sailing vessel, and often a fishing boat. The dinner cruise dhow are converted to have two levels for dining, viewing and entertainment, and reminded me of any other dinner cruise vessel from any other city aside from its luxurious dark wood construction. The food was good and there was variety with some traditional choices such as lamb kabobs, figs and dates, and baba ganoush. We were treated to a Tanoura dancer who whirls wearing a colorful layered skirt that separates, lights up and can be tilted to create a blooming flower illusion.

We toured the man-made Marina area which is developing at a fast rate and has a beautiful walk especially if you like boats. One of the most impressive skyscrapers, the Cayan Tower, was viewed along our route (via electric scooters-fun!). This building is one of the few twisted buildings in the world rotating 90 degrees. We saw many traditional, wooden Dhow boats being readied for daily tours. There was a ferry that would take you to the top of the nearby Palm Jeremiah. We saw, through, the buildings, the Ain Dubai, or otherwise known as the Dubai Eye. The Ain Dubai will open sometime this year and will be the world’s largest ferris wheel. We ate lunch at the Marina Mall but there was a cute little food truck section that would have been a good and fast option too. It was also fun to watch people “fly” from the top of a tower, traveling one kilometer over land and water finishing at the XLine Dubai Marina headquarters in the mall.

I’m not proud of it but on some of my trips, especially when it’s a quick stay, and I’m traveling with my kids, I do the super touristy things. I love traveling and checking out some local things to do, and eating like a local, but this is tricky to seek out on limited time and with kids in tow, I have discovered. We did eat at one of the 27 Tim Horton’s for breakfast (a little Canadiana), we did have McDonald’s for a quick lunch in a food court, and we did take one of the dozens of Desert Safari Tours. And it did include a camel ride. But, we did enjoy blasting over the rolling sand dunes in a reinforced Jeep often being jostled around and catching a little air as we topped a dune. The camel ride was something to check off on the “been there, done that” list, but really wasn’t much more than a glorified “pony ride” loop, although being aboard our camel friend when he got up or down was a small thrill that required holding on and redistributing your weight if you didn’t want to take a tumble. We then entered a desert camp, complete with colorful mats with low tables centered around a large stage, Arabic coffee, figs and dates, followed by a traditional buffet. Ethan got a henna scorpion and my hand was adorned with a lovely flower design. There were also market stalls and a Hookah station. The sun set over the desert, which seemed to happen so quickly, I almost missed it, but I did enjoy the sky’s changing colors preceding. Another Tanoura dancer performed, and also a belly dancer entertained with her incredible control and ability, along with her persistence in gaining audience participation. Our tour guide was super friendly and from Pakistan.

Dubai has a population that is only made up of 15% UAE native residents with the other 85 % being being from all over the world but mostly from India and Pakistan. Dubai is a rapidly growing city who need many people to work in the growing tourism, business and construction sectors. Interestingly, many expatriates have been born in UAE, and their families have been there for generations, but they still aren’t able to hold a UAE passport. A friend of my son, who is in Canada studying, was born in Dubai, lived there his whole life prior to coming to Canada, but holds a Pakistani passport. Also, it’s astounding that the population is mainly made of men: upwards of 75%!! No wonder I was one of the few women in the Deira neighborhood when we were walking. This points towards the many migrant workers that come to Dubai who are primarily men who come without family members. I have to say it was a little unnerving.

The blue dot shows the Safari location. Our AirBnB was just below the palm, and the D68 pinpoints the Dubai Creek/Deira area with the airport just being north of this.

There is a dark underside to Dubai. There is no alcohol sold in stores and Muslim law dictates drinking alcohol is a sin, but all hotel bars promote heavy drinking and many allow solicitation. Women are expected to cover up respectfully while in Dubai although the ground is littered in many places with escort cards. Materialism and luxury are promoted but many blue collar workers live in impoverished conditions and have been exploited by their employers. However, there has been successful strides to improve this by the government with some success, with labour camps being inspected regularly and laws being put in place to ensure worker’s fair wages and benefits. On the surface, the city is exceedingly beautiful, and alluring, but it also is reminiscent of the siren’s call to the curious sailor.

On our last day, we made our way, with suitcases in tow (we had to check out of our AirBnB, and our flight wasn’t until 2am), to the Mall of Emirates. I had read online that they have free luggage storage just by the entrance coming from the Metro. Although this was not well marked, we did find it, and we ditched our bags for the day. We had lunch at Tim Horton’s (again, I know - but we were hungry and it was right there). We had a big afternoon planned at the Atlantis Aquaventure Waterpark located at the Atlantis hotel on the Palm Jumeirah. We grabbed a cab and started up the Palm “trunk” and were greeted at the top of the Palm by the imposing but magnificent Atlantis Gate. Despite having already paid the admission to the water park by buying a four attraction GoCity Dubai pass from Costco, we still needed to pay approximately $75 for one large locker and 3 towel rentals (yikes). It was a perfect few hours with, for the most part, no line ups, warm temperatures, and silly fun. We did almost every water slide and attraction at least once. Ethan and I forgoed the two, almost vertical drop rides, but my hubby, Mike, gave them a go. There was a ride that took you through an aquarium tunnel, one that took you up to the top first via conveyors, then down a topsy-turvy thriller, and the Aquaconda, the world’s largest waterslide, that had a giant raft that twisted you through a dark tunnel and then dropped you into a giant tube.

Dubai is a place like no other that I’ve ever visited and there was much to learn about. Is it worth visiting? Definitely, but my preference is a quick trip to see the big sights, and then move on to greener pastures. And that we did, as Ethan, my son, and I, made our way to Seychelles for eleven days of paradise.