After more than two years of waiting, my cousin and I were able to go to Dubai. We were supposed to leave in March 2020, but because of the Covid, our journey could not be done. We thought we wouldn’t be able to leave again because my cousin got the Covid a few days before we left. Fortunately, the test she took two days before we left was negative.
We planned to go there for a week in October 2022. So we took the plane on Friday 14 October 2022 in the evening for a flight lasting 6h40.
During the check-in for boarding in France, we just had to show our Health Pass, it was not necessary to have a PCR or antigenic test to leave.
Day 1
The plane left late but we landed only 5 minutes late in Dubai.
As an anecdote, we had trouble sleeping during the flight because one of the passengers started snoring quite loudly for several minutes, it was awful!
So, after landing in Dubai, we went through security checks, picked up our luggage and headed for the taxi we had booked through Booking. com.
The journey from the airport to the hotel took approximately 25 min.
Having arrived very early, we were not able to check in immediately, which was supposed to take place at 2pm. Finally, we were able to go to our room a few minutes after arriving.
Exhausted, we slept for a few hours then we showered and went for a walk.
We took the subway to the Dubai Mall (we bought a rechargeable transport card at AED 25), the largest shopping mall in the world located next to the Burj Khalifa, the largest tower in the world.
We had lunch there in an Asian restaurant after strolling through the mall and then went outside to enjoy the heat (about 35 degrees) and take a picture of the Burj Khalifa.
Another anecdote, the journey from the subway exit to the shopping mall was never ending, I had the impression of being in Châtelet (metro station in Paris), except that the journey was much longer and there were more travelators.
So we took the path to the Burj Khalifa and took some pictures during the day and during the night (we left the shopping center around 5:00 pm and night fell around 5:50 pm).
We were also able to attend the Dubai Fountain show, a set of fountains located on an artificial lake.
We then went back to the Dubai Mall to have a snack at Starbucks and then headed to the hotel via the subway.
Day 2
For the second day in Dubai, we took transport to the Palm Jumeirah. We took the subway and two trams to get to the terminus of the line that dropped us off near Atlantis Aquaventure.
We strolled near Atlantis, The Palm, a hotel located near the water park.
We then took transport again to visit Miracle Garden, a beautiful garden.
In order to get to Miracle Garden from Atlantis Aquaventure, we took a tram, a subway and a bus. The journey lasted about 1 hour and the bus dropped us off at a stop located 11 min walk from the garden.
Once the night tour was over, we went back to the hotel and enjoyed the pool.
Day 3
Today we took the subway to go to the different souks of Dubai located in the Deira district: Spice Souq, Utensils Souq, Gold Souq, Herbs Souq and many more.
We found the souks less interesting than the ones in Istanbul, which were much bigger.
We then took a bus to Burj Al Arab, a luxury hotel considered the equivalent of our famous Iron Lady, the Eiffel Tower. The journey took approximately 54 minutes.
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Burj Al Arab |
Not far from the Burj Al Arab, is the Sunset Beach where we stopped to enjoy smoothies and drink coconut water from the coconut.
We took the bus back to take a look at Ski Dubai, an artificial ski slope located in the Mall of the Emirates.
Day 4
For the fourth day in Dubai, we first took our PCR test in the morning (we had booked the service the day before directly through the hotel) in order to be able to go to Abu Dhabi the next day (the test is mandatory there for all activities in a public place). A nurse came to our room to test us. He was as friendly as a prison door and arrived late (he was supposed to arrive between 8am and 8:30am and rang the bell at our door at 8:45am). The test cost us 200 AED each, it was very expensive! We realized that we could have paid much less because some tour operators offered the service during the visit to the Abu Dhabi mosque for 75 AED. We could even have done it in France because the test we had to show once at the mosque was valid for 30 days.
After the test, we went to have our breakfast and sunbathed at the hotel’s rooftop pool.
For the afternoon activity, we had booked Safari Tour in the desert via Internet
The booked tour includes pick-up from the hotel, a drive through the desert, a minute stop to take pictures, a ride on a camel, a henna tattoo session and a dinner in the desert in front of a belly dancing show, a fire-breathing show, a tanoura dance show (an Egyptian dance).
The time slot for pick-up at our hotel was between 14h and 15h30. The driver sent us a message saying he would be there at 2:50 but he arrived at 3:20. There were already two girls in the driver’s car (they were from Kenya) and he then picked up a couple at another hotel (the woman was Egyptian). The journey from our hotel to the activity site took about 1h30.
The safari was very nice to do but the drive on the sand dunes, although very atypical and hectic, did not last long enough for my liking.
Dinner served in the desert was very good: several types of rice, salad, meat, vegetables and many more were offered.
The driver dropped us off at our hotel around 9:45.
Day 5
For this penultimate day in Dubai, we strolled through the shops throughout the day looking for souvenirs to bring back to France.
In the evening, we took the bus (15 min ride) to go to Madness Restaurant, a restaurant that I had spotted several months ago on Instagram whose concept is to be served by servers dressed in a Halloween mask. All the waiters wear one and put on a little show when serving the dishes to the guests, it was very nice.
Day 6
The last complete tour in Dubai was dedicated to the visit of the Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi via an excursion we had booked on Get Your Guide.
The driver picked us up at the hotel and dropped us off at a meeting place where we boarded a mini bus with the other participants and the guide.
We made a stop on a kind of highway area where we were lent an abaya and a veil to visit the mosque. We then took the bus back to the mosque. Our PCR tests were barely checked by the mosque staff.
The visit was very pleasant, the mosque is huge and very beautiful.
Our guide gave us historical details about the construction of the mosque (built from 1995 to 2007) and its architecture.
This mosque is open to non-Muslims, unlike the 200 local mosques in Abu Dhabi which are closed to non-Muslims.
Once back at our hotel, we went out for a snack outside before returning to pack our bags (our return flight was scheduled at 4:05 am the next day).
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