The Old and Modern Dubai

Like Eyecandy, I also got the chance to visit the United Arab Emirates last April. I attended my high school friend's wedding and met her good friends. I mostly stayed in Abu Dhabi but got a one day trip to Dubai. This entry serves as an addendum to Eyecandy's. 

If E showed you the modern cityscape with its developments, I will to show you the old Dubai, the other side of the global city and business hub. I'm more smitten with the old, rustic area where Dubai started. (Yes, I'm such a history and culture nut. Remember Jeddah?) Shall we go back in time then?

Deira, the area bordered by the Persian Gulf, Sharjah, and Dubai Creek, is the center of Dubai historically but since the booming construction along E 11 Road, the longest highway in the UAE, Deira lost its prominence. Deira has its charms that truly captivated me. I wanted to venture in Port Saeed, a small locality that runs along Deira's shore of Dubai Creek one morning and try to find the allure of Dubai before it became the hotshot city it is today. (I'm nostalgic like that too.) 

My couple friends were buying rings in Deira's gold souk. Good thing, they tagged me along in their quest for the perfect wedding rings. (I don't know what's with me tagging along engaged couples buying wedding rings! Remember this? Haha!) From Abu Dhabi, where they are based, we took the bus and traveled 2 hours to Dubai. 

At the bus from Abu Dhabi going to Dubai

Look at the sign above me. It says that the half section of the bus is for Ladies and Families Only. I specifically chose this seat because the sign reminds me of Saudi Arabia where there are divisions according to gender and civil status every where!!! Hahaha! At least all ladies get to have a seat in the bus and the guys are stuck at the back if they don't have their families with them. :P

Touchdown Dubai City! My friend and I at the bus station.

It was about 11:00 am when we reached Dubai. From the bus station, we had a quick lunch in Golden Fork Restaurant in Nasser Square. The food was good! We had a barbecue platter, tinola and lots of rice! 

Tinola at Golden Spoon

The Dubai Creek

The abras in Dubai Creek

We started at the Al Ghubaiba Water Station and walked along the creekside with a good view of the busy Dubai Creek. Before riding the abra, we entered a market souk complete with old wooden fixtures and beams. There were local handicrafts like shawls, slippers, and house decors. 

Before entering the souq, we had to pose in front. Yes, we HAD TO. Lol.

The wooden structures of the souqs

Mosaic lamps for sale on the souq... like the ones in Camel Corner!

Embellished shoes and slippers

So many designs to choose from! 

Pretty intricate display plates.

We passed by a wide courtyard complete with doves and guess what we did? Run after them, of course! Haha! I swear we're just recreating the scene from the movie Milan, only this time, it should be titled Dubai. Oh wait, there is a movie titled Dubai. Right. 

The doves that we chased from the courtyard to the creek.

Anyway, after having enough photos to scare the locals of a paparazzi invasion, we boarded an abra, a small dhow boat. I was really, really excited to try this as the boats didn't have railings. We just sat on long benches in the middle, along with other people (mostly guys), and take all the water spraying all around us. Fuuuuun! Was I worried I'd fall in the water? Of course not! I was more worried that the cruise wouldn't be long enough for me to enjoy it. But my worries are unfounded. I enjoyed looking at the scenes on the creekside.

The dock at the Dubai Creek

No railings?! Excited!

The old Dubai skyline; it reminds me of the Hong Kong skyline

I had to fight the urge to wave at the people on the other abra, haha!

Plying the Dubai Creek

The scenes on the creekside

We reached the other side in less than 10 minutes. We had to board a taxi to get to the gold souk. 

Before climbing out of the abra... sinulit muna ang photo op!

One of the many entrances to the gold souk

When we got to the Dubai Gold Market, the friends proceeded in choosing their wedding rings while I hovered around, piping in comments here and there (pakialamera much?!). 

My couple friends choosing their wedding rings

While they were busy talking to store salesmen, I walked around the souk and entered small alleyways to see if there are more stores in there. I tend to scare myself sometimes of my tendency to stray away from the crowd and go into nooks and crannies in search for, I don't know, other interesting stuff.

Display plates with Dubai and its icons.

But sometimes it's a good thing because I find really worthy stuff! I found a stall manned by a Pakistani (whose dream is to go and live in Saudi Arabia, can you imagine?) selling all kinds of scarves and shawls (hooray for my collection). And because I'm such a charming lady (*cough*), he sold his wonderful high-quality pashmina shawls for 20 dirhams each. (Come to think of it, I should have hoarded! Bummer!) He also pointed me to a souvenir stall owned by his friend and I really got cheap key chains and display plates for friends. Again, charms at work! ;) 

Gold, gold, gold!

Waiting for the rings at the gold souk

I retraced my steps to where I left my friends and we continued searching for the elusive wedding rings. Finally, in one of the stalls near the end of the souk, they found it. I was surprised to find out that in Dubai, there's no Saudi gold. How come? Isn't Saudi gold the best of the best? Isn't Saudi so near UAE? Why can't they import? Lol. They sell mostly Singapore gold in Dubai. We waited for the rings for an hour because they needed to be engraved with their names. After that, we took the train to go to the E 11 Road where the tall skyscrapers were. 

Entering one of the train stations in Dubai

Their metro stations remind me of the stations in Singapore and Hong Kong where escalators are high and steep. The friends also got me an MRT card. For future use also. ;)

So this is the end of my old Dubai journey. But here are a few more pictures from my trip to the new, modern Dubai. I'm quite sure you've seen most of the background from Eyecandy's post. It's funny how we made the same trip to same places in different dates with different people. Ahhh, The Pink Tarha minds... so in sync! Fuuuun!

The Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world

Seeing the Burj Khalifa as close as I can get, before roaming inside the huge Dubai Mall... We didn't have time to go up the observation deck. If you've read E's account inside Dubai Mall, that's also what I saw. I shopped in Forever 21 nang bonggang-bongga! I also bought a sliver of bubble soap from Lush which I intended to use on my hotel room in Abu Dhabi. 

Their "Candy Days" named Candilicious has Garrett Popcorn!!!

Saw my favorite popcorn store, Garrett, at Candylicious, their version of our Candy Days in Riyadh Gallery. (Why is Garrett not in Candy Days Riyadh?!?) I bought a large bag of their Chicago Mix which we munched at the Waterfront Promenade outside Dubai Mall while waiting for the Dubai Fountain show.

The Burj Khalifa lake

Me in the middle of Waterfront Promenade among different nationalities.

The Dubai Fountain is the world's largest dancing fountain. Its an enthralling display of water, lights, and music. See the schedule here. We caught the 7:30pm show. It replays every 30 minutes from 6:00pm to 11:30pm.

The Dubai fountain is coming to life.

The Dubai fountain at work

All ablaze!!!

The grand finale has these fountains bursting up high!

I got a prime spot in front. I was holding my iPhone with my left hand to take a video of the entire performance and holding my digital camera on my right to take pictures! Multitasking! After watching the fountain dance, we took more photos and exited the Dubai Mall grounds to have dinner somewhere. You'll never guess where! :P

A dinner of yummy sweet savory ribs

We went to the Souk Madinat Jumeirah and ate in... The Noodle House!!! Hahaha! As if there's no branch here in Riyadh eh? Well, in all fairness, I had this dish of sticky ribs that is not available in the Riyadh branch. And I cannot say no to a dinner treat by a couple who are so in love. :)

View from the Madinat Jumeirah 

And hey wait, before this day in Dubai is over, I cannot leave without seeing the famous Burj Al Arab can't I? I mean it was made more famous in the Philippines by the movie Dubai in 2005 so I cannot possibly leave without seeing the first Dubai icon etched in the consciousness of Filipinos. So here it is...

The Burj Al Arab; taken from Madinat Jumeirah

The trip had to end at some point. We were so worried we wouldn't catch the last train back to the bus station so we hurried. And yes, even if we're hurrying, we had to take photos! ;)

My friend and I trying to catch the train's last trip to Deira

We reached Abu Dhabi around two o'clock in the morning. I was so tired after I got back to the hotel but I was adamant to draw that bubble bath. That didn't happen at all. I slept immediately after changing my clothes! Haha! I love my friends for taking me to this whirlwind trip to Dubai. And I love them for considering what I want to see and discover in this journey. Thank you so much, Rence and Marlon! 

The trip tired me but it's what I wanted to do all along. I want to travel, travel, travel... even if it means being dead to the world after a long day! Hey, I still have my Abu Dhabi stories to come. ;) Want to visit the UAE from the KSA, here's our mini primer on visas.  ~ Sundrenched

A Visit to Dubai (Mall)

Last June, I flew to the UAE to watch my first ever concert, the MDNA Tour 2012 and found myself in the very cosmopolitan city of DUBAI. Though the concert was to be held in Abu Dhabi, we stayed in Dubai because 1) we had more friends to visit there and 2) the accommodations recommended to us was located there.

HELLO DUBAI! I almost got tackled by airport security because I was taking this shot. Hihi.

We stayed at a place called Al Raya Hotel Apartments and they have very affordable rooms that can be good enough for at most, 10 people! It doesn’t exactly have the five-star hotel treatment, but it’s just right for what you’re paying for. If I remember correctly, the charge per unit per day was 750AED. There were three of us sharing the unit, which had two rooms, a kitchen, three bathrooms and a huge living room (where you could probably throw a house party!)  Everything was fully furnished, including the kitchen, which had plates, glasses, pots, pans, an oven…the works! But it also meant no room service for us; just a cleaning crew who went in during the day to fix things up. If you’re ever interested in this hotel, just let me know and I can forward some emails.   

With my good friend and fellow Toastmaster, TM James.

My corner of the unit at Al Raya Hotel Apartments.

ANYWAY, this post is about my visit(s) to Dubai...particularly Dubai Mall. I was there almost everyday of my stay in Dubai, I swear I could have lived there instead. It was so accessible to where I stayed in and it was so freakkin’ HUGE. And fabulous.  (But then again, everything in UAE was huge and fabulous). Gosh,  there are so many reasons why you shouldn’t miss out on this mall when you visit…Where do I even begin?

The Waterfall. One beautiful spot inside Dubai Mall. LOVE IT!

Okay for starters, it’s a total no brainer: The Burj Khalifa. It’s protruding right smack in middle of the city center and with it being the tallest building in the world right now, visiting the Dubai Mall is the most affordable way to have a closer view at it. Probably even a photo. 

Taken with just my iPhone.

Of course, we couldn't bend enough to capture everything all the way to the top. :P

In front of the dancing fountains. Catch in during night time for best results!

Somebody tell me the name of this building...Hehe. ;)

If you want to go inside the Burj Khalifa itself, you may want to try the At The Top experience, which may cost you anywhere from 100-400AED. Check out their website for more info. 

There’s also the Dubai Aquarium, which is this amazing indoor aquarium with an underwater tunnel for you to enjoy. You would definitely have to marvel at how they were able to build such a structure filled with all these sea creatures! Amazing! 

Record breaking.

Inside the Aquarium's Underwater Tunnel.

Swimming shark.

Cute fishie.

My first time to see a live penguin! :)

Then for me, there’s Bloomingdales. If you’re a FRIENDS fan like me and have never been able to tote a big brown bag, they’ve got it at Dubai Mall and it’s so much fun! Saw these lil’ pink babies too.

They also have the Magnolia Bakery, which is notorious for their cheesecakes! Guess what I ordered for take out from this famed New York City gem of a bakery.

Inside is a succulent red velvet cheesecake. But because it was for take out, I couldn't get a picture that would do it justice.

Speaking of sweets, there’s also Cold Stone Creamery, which is also a dream come true for me. I only saw it in photos before but when I was there, I finally had my chance to taste it. Unfortunately, nothing too special… except that their ice cream is prepared “funkily” (meaning with matching dance/bartender moves) on a cold granite stone. 

You also should not miss a chance to hit the Reel Cinemas. Lush, comfy and state-of-the-art! I was able to catch the "Avengers" days before it evaporated off from the big screen. :P

On one of my nights in Dubai, I met up with some of my college friends who were already based there. We ate at a hip, dimsum place called Ping Pong. If you're up for some delicious Edemame beans and nonstop dimsums, look for that place. I'd recommend it!

With my blocmates from UPLB, BACA 2002.  L-R: Isabel, Moi and Jaizle.

It was amazing meeting old friends in a different country! Knowing that we all shared a chunk of our history together was heartwarming as we shared stories of how our lives panned out. We even chanced upon anohter batchmate of ours towards the end of our evening who happens to be an FA for Qatar Airways now...special shoutout to the lovely and artistic, Tasha B! Muah! It was awesome seeing you there!

That evening, I spent a couple of more minutes adoring the Burj Khalifa.

And on my last afternoon...I still stared at it again.

I may have seen the Burj Khalifa more than one trip to Dubai should muster, but really, everything about that city's infrastructure (and societal habits) amazed me. It really dawned on me how far away Riyadh has to go before they can achieve what I was seeing and feeling right there, sitting outside a cafe, sippin' on some iced tea and mesmerizin' at the buildings, the surroundings and the people. It would be an understatement to say that it was in that moment, on the promenade halls of Dubai Mall that I found myself falling in love with Dubai. It is seriously inches away from how much I love Riyadh, and deep inside, I found myself wishing that Riyadh can be something like this too someday.

Dubai was dynamic, urban and really gave you a sense of independence. Though I am sure there are known advantages and disadvantages living there as compared to living in Riyadh, but I just wanted to put it out there. Considering that I haven't even visited Abu Dhabi thoroughly just yet! Haha.

As for Dubai Mall, which what this post should be about (:D). It is EONS away from the kind of malls that we have here. I particularly featured some of the stores/sights that we don't have in Riyadh so that you can see the difference, but really, what I have posted here is only a "katiting" (miniscule) of the truly wide array of shops, sights and services that you'd find there. One whole day would not have been enough to justifiably feature Dubai Mall. Consider this then as a peek through a peephole! :)

Anyway, that's all for my Dubai report. I am definitely going back there!!!

Up next in our travel diaries would be Sampaguita Pride's tour of the European Union just last month!


'Til then dear readers...


xoxo
-Eyecandy