Jeremy & Hui Chin were leaving London and moving back to KL for good. So on their extended journey home, they stopped by Dubai for 5 days (from 31st Jan – 4th Feb), followed by a 2-week trip to Cairo and Jordan. They then returned to Dubai for another 2 days before returning to KL on 22nd Feb.
They were hoping to get an inside view of the Burj Al Arab, but only hotel guests and pre-booked dining guests are allowed to enter the Hotel, so I advised them not to waste a shit-load of money on a meal at Burj Al Arab just to gain entry into this 7-star all-suite hotel.
We did however get a look of Burj Al Arab from the outside, as I brought them to the beach and Madinat Jumeirah. We had dinner at Japengo restaurant within the Madinat Jumeirah, where Chef Andrew works, followed by drinks at Bahri Bar for a nice view of Burj Al Arab by night.
They were to arrive at around 6.30am on the 31st, so I called Rana beforehand to get him to pick me up at 6.00am, then drive to the airport to pick them up. Rana however only arrived at 8.30am, while Jeremy & Hui Chin waited for at least 3 hours till we finally reached the airport. Instead of a van, Rana drove his small sedan which could only fit one suitcase in the boot, so Hui Chin & Jeremy had to squeeze in the back seats with another suitcase and bags.
Quite soon after we left the airport, a car hit into Rana’s from the back and the bumper fell off! So Rana had to hail a cab for us. Rana has proven that he’s not very dependable, but sometimes it’s nice to use a car-lift whom you know… I consider him a familiar face. He has since sold off the sedan and now has a permanent day job ‘cos being a car-lift is illegal and he’d be fined 4,000 Dirhams if caught.
We passed an Egyptian ‘skirt dancing’ performance while we were at Madinat Jumeirah
Ben managed to get 2 days off while Jeremy and Hui Chin were here, so we chose one of the days to go for a tour of the Hatta Pools in the Hajar Mountains. The guide/driver picked us up from Jumeirah Beach Hotel in the morning, and the 4 of us rode in his Ford Land Cruiser past Sharjah, into Omani territory, thereafter Hatta town. After passing sand dunes and small towns, it was great to get away from the dull sandy grey of the city and see mountains, greenery and wadis (rock pools).
The Hajar Mountains were once ocean floor millions of years ago. The rock formations here originated at the bottom of the ocean, and its dark brown and slate-coloured rocks are actually oceanic crystal rocks.
One thing they conveniently forgot to mention when advertising this tour is that the ‘Pools’ are usually dried up unless there has been significant rainfall up in the mountains. And if it’s raining, the SUV would not be able to take us up into the mountains for safety reasons.
Ben spots this tiny frog (or toad) (4-5cm), in camouflage
Luckily, the ‘Pools’ weren’t completely dried up, although it didn’t look as inviting as the deep and azure blue pools I saw on the Internet and TV. One couldn’t dive into the wadi like how the host on Discovery Channel did, but only wade about, if you wanted to. Even so, it was a pleasant trip and our guide, Anasi, was very competent.
After driving up and down the steep and rocky inclines in the mountains and making two stops at wadis to take photos, we enjoyed a nice lunch at the Hatta Fort Hotel. Back in Dubai, we got Anasi to drop us off at The One&Only Royal Mirage Hotel.
Jeremy took a nap on a deckchair while Ben, Hui Chin n I rested by the pool enjoying a drink, and much needed coffee. We took some photos on the beach as the sun set, and then headed to Hard Rock Café for dinner.
Ben enjoyed this REALLY huge burger
One of Hui Chin’s “Things to do in Dubai” was to go watch a camel race. I found out as much as I could about camel racing in Dubai before their trip, but the info on websites are very vague about it. Some say there’s racing on Tuesdays & Thursdays, some say Thursdays & Fridays, some say every morning throughout the winter months…
Most websites say Camel Racing takes place all over Dubai, but don’t pinpoint where, and some say it’s “near” Nad Al Sheba. If you call the Nad Al Sheba Racing Club, they only have info about Horse Racing, and give you another number to call, probably the camel stables or something. When you call this number, someone tells you in a not very convincing way that there “should be” a race on such and such a day and time.
We call Muhammed (a new car lift) and get him to bring us to Nad Al Sheba one afternoon. We pass the camel race track but don’t see any races going on, so I call the ‘mysterious number’ again. The guy on the line says yes, there ‘should be’ a camel race right now, but there we were, parked in front of an empty and deserted track.
The next day we find out from a hotel concierge that camel racing is temporarily banned (because of the use of kids as young as 9 or 10 as jockeys), until they introduce ‘robot jockeys’ sometime this or next year. Ben is against camel racing or any other kind of animal race ‘cos he thinks it’s cruel, so he was happy he didn’t have to watch a race.
Outside Basta Art Café, waiting for the weather to clear up
Hui Chin wants to check out the belly dancing ‘outfits’ and handicrafts in the Souks, so we plan to meet her friend Umica in Bur Dubai, hoping that Umica can help when haggling at the Souk to get the best bargain. Umica is a resident here, actually born here in Dubai.
It’s not a very good day to visit the souks as it’s raining, so we have coffee/tea and really yummy strawberry cheese cake at Basta Art Café while waiting for Umica to arrive. She gets lost as she doesn’t know where the Bastakiya is. When she finally finds her way to the Bastakiya, we follow her in her car as she parks it at a carpark near Shindaga.
We forget it’s a Friday, and Jeremy & Hui Chin are amazed at how crowded the area is. The souks, creekside and just every street and corner is packed with Indian men. Jeremy tries to spot a woman, any woman, in the crowd but it’s like trying to find ‘Wally’.
I spent my first month here studying the Dubai Explorer, Street Guide and TimeOut, so Hui Chin n the guys find it very amusing that I know the area so well whereas Umica who’s been living here her whole life is kinda lost. It’s still drizzling as we walk through the Textile Souk and the Old Souk. Ben buys some really shiok Indian deep-fried snacks, and we take the abra over to the Deira side of the creek.
We visit the Gold Souk and other fringing souks, and later find out from Umica that there are so many Indians in Dubai that Hindi is the ‘official’ language at markets and small shops instead of Arabic. Even most of the Emiratis speak Hindi.
The souks aren’t like what Hui Chin was expecting, as she thought it would be more authentic like those in Morocco or Istanbul, with local Arabs selling handicrafts and such. Instead, it was like Little India, but she and Jeremy did enjoy the experience, especially seeing so many Indians congregated in such a congested area.
We take the abra back to Bur Dubai and ask Umica to bring us some place where we can try authentic Arabic/local food. So we have dinner at a restaurant in Garhoud. Arabic cuisine is pretty similar to Lebanese food, with influences from the Mediterranean too. We enjoy stuff like grilled skewered meats (kebabs), shish tawouk, hommous, arayes and zatar bread, and local flatbread with this really yummy & creamy garlic spread.
Then Jeremy orders this really weird drink that he spotted in the Fruit Juice list, something called ‘Jalab’. He asks the waiter what it is, and he says it’s date juice with pine nuts. It tastes really gross and Hui Chin says it smells like insecticide, but Jeremy seems to enjoy until we keep seeing different waiters pass by, whisper to another waiter, then stifle a laugh.
We also try some shisha, which is pretty gross too. The waiter who gives us the disposable plastic mouthpieces for the pipe tells Jeremy that it’s called “biz” in Arabic. So Jeremy keeps saying “biz” till the restaurant manager comes up to him, telling him not to say it ‘cos it means “breast”.
Ben n I order Nescafe and the waiter brings us this:
DIY coffee
We also bring Jeremy & Hui Chin to the ‘famous’ malls, probably the only thing that Dubai proudly boasts – Mall of the Emirates and Ibn Battuta Mall. They’re not very interested and I can’t blame them. Like I said at the start, Dubai has nothing much to offer a tourist, or even a resident. Ask any Emirati what’s a good place to visit in Dubai, and he’ll say “Mall of the Emirates”.
Ben advises me not to encourage any of our family n friends to visit Dubai. Airfare to Dubai from Malaysia or Singapore cost as much as a flight to Europe, and the hassle and chaos at the airport is enough to make any visitor turn back. Although we now have a huge apartment to ourselves that can accommodate all my Ah Ees at one go, there’s nothing much to do in Dubai, unless you don’t mind parting with a lot of money at the malls and expensive restaurants.
My advice for a fulfilling getaway that doesn’t burn a hole in your pocket, visit a nature spot in your home country (Pulau Ubin or Bukit Timah in Singapore, or Taman Negara, Kota Tinggi, and many more in Malaysia), or take a ‘Glutton’s Tour’, savour the smells, sounds, sights, tastes, take lots of pictures, and share it with everyone you know ☺
They were hoping to get an inside view of the Burj Al Arab, but only hotel guests and pre-booked dining guests are allowed to enter the Hotel, so I advised them not to waste a shit-load of money on a meal at Burj Al Arab just to gain entry into this 7-star all-suite hotel.
We did however get a look of Burj Al Arab from the outside, as I brought them to the beach and Madinat Jumeirah. We had dinner at Japengo restaurant within the Madinat Jumeirah, where Chef Andrew works, followed by drinks at Bahri Bar for a nice view of Burj Al Arab by night.
They were to arrive at around 6.30am on the 31st, so I called Rana beforehand to get him to pick me up at 6.00am, then drive to the airport to pick them up. Rana however only arrived at 8.30am, while Jeremy & Hui Chin waited for at least 3 hours till we finally reached the airport. Instead of a van, Rana drove his small sedan which could only fit one suitcase in the boot, so Hui Chin & Jeremy had to squeeze in the back seats with another suitcase and bags.Quite soon after we left the airport, a car hit into Rana’s from the back and the bumper fell off! So Rana had to hail a cab for us. Rana has proven that he’s not very dependable, but sometimes it’s nice to use a car-lift whom you know… I consider him a familiar face. He has since sold off the sedan and now has a permanent day job ‘cos being a car-lift is illegal and he’d be fined 4,000 Dirhams if caught.
We passed an Egyptian ‘skirt dancing’ performance while we were at Madinat JumeirahBen managed to get 2 days off while Jeremy and Hui Chin were here, so we chose one of the days to go for a tour of the Hatta Pools in the Hajar Mountains. The guide/driver picked us up from Jumeirah Beach Hotel in the morning, and the 4 of us rode in his Ford Land Cruiser past Sharjah, into Omani territory, thereafter Hatta town. After passing sand dunes and small towns, it was great to get away from the dull sandy grey of the city and see mountains, greenery and wadis (rock pools).
The Hajar Mountains were once ocean floor millions of years ago. The rock formations here originated at the bottom of the ocean, and its dark brown and slate-coloured rocks are actually oceanic crystal rocks.
One thing they conveniently forgot to mention when advertising this tour is that the ‘Pools’ are usually dried up unless there has been significant rainfall up in the mountains. And if it’s raining, the SUV would not be able to take us up into the mountains for safety reasons.
Ben spots this tiny frog (or toad) (4-5cm), in camouflage
Luckily, the ‘Pools’ weren’t completely dried up, although it didn’t look as inviting as the deep and azure blue pools I saw on the Internet and TV. One couldn’t dive into the wadi like how the host on Discovery Channel did, but only wade about, if you wanted to. Even so, it was a pleasant trip and our guide, Anasi, was very competent.
After driving up and down the steep and rocky inclines in the mountains and making two stops at wadis to take photos, we enjoyed a nice lunch at the Hatta Fort Hotel. Back in Dubai, we got Anasi to drop us off at The One&Only Royal Mirage Hotel.
Jeremy took a nap on a deckchair while Ben, Hui Chin n I rested by the pool enjoying a drink, and much needed coffee. We took some photos on the beach as the sun set, and then headed to Hard Rock Café for dinner.
Ben enjoyed this REALLY huge burgerOne of Hui Chin’s “Things to do in Dubai” was to go watch a camel race. I found out as much as I could about camel racing in Dubai before their trip, but the info on websites are very vague about it. Some say there’s racing on Tuesdays & Thursdays, some say Thursdays & Fridays, some say every morning throughout the winter months…
Most websites say Camel Racing takes place all over Dubai, but don’t pinpoint where, and some say it’s “near” Nad Al Sheba. If you call the Nad Al Sheba Racing Club, they only have info about Horse Racing, and give you another number to call, probably the camel stables or something. When you call this number, someone tells you in a not very convincing way that there “should be” a race on such and such a day and time.
We call Muhammed (a new car lift) and get him to bring us to Nad Al Sheba one afternoon. We pass the camel race track but don’t see any races going on, so I call the ‘mysterious number’ again. The guy on the line says yes, there ‘should be’ a camel race right now, but there we were, parked in front of an empty and deserted track.The next day we find out from a hotel concierge that camel racing is temporarily banned (because of the use of kids as young as 9 or 10 as jockeys), until they introduce ‘robot jockeys’ sometime this or next year. Ben is against camel racing or any other kind of animal race ‘cos he thinks it’s cruel, so he was happy he didn’t have to watch a race.
Outside Basta Art Café, waiting for the weather to clear upHui Chin wants to check out the belly dancing ‘outfits’ and handicrafts in the Souks, so we plan to meet her friend Umica in Bur Dubai, hoping that Umica can help when haggling at the Souk to get the best bargain. Umica is a resident here, actually born here in Dubai.
It’s not a very good day to visit the souks as it’s raining, so we have coffee/tea and really yummy strawberry cheese cake at Basta Art Café while waiting for Umica to arrive. She gets lost as she doesn’t know where the Bastakiya is. When she finally finds her way to the Bastakiya, we follow her in her car as she parks it at a carpark near Shindaga.
We forget it’s a Friday, and Jeremy & Hui Chin are amazed at how crowded the area is. The souks, creekside and just every street and corner is packed with Indian men. Jeremy tries to spot a woman, any woman, in the crowd but it’s like trying to find ‘Wally’.
I spent my first month here studying the Dubai Explorer, Street Guide and TimeOut, so Hui Chin n the guys find it very amusing that I know the area so well whereas Umica who’s been living here her whole life is kinda lost. It’s still drizzling as we walk through the Textile Souk and the Old Souk. Ben buys some really shiok Indian deep-fried snacks, and we take the abra over to the Deira side of the creek.We visit the Gold Souk and other fringing souks, and later find out from Umica that there are so many Indians in Dubai that Hindi is the ‘official’ language at markets and small shops instead of Arabic. Even most of the Emiratis speak Hindi.
The souks aren’t like what Hui Chin was expecting, as she thought it would be more authentic like those in Morocco or Istanbul, with local Arabs selling handicrafts and such. Instead, it was like Little India, but she and Jeremy did enjoy the experience, especially seeing so many Indians congregated in such a congested area.
We take the abra back to Bur Dubai and ask Umica to bring us some place where we can try authentic Arabic/local food. So we have dinner at a restaurant in Garhoud. Arabic cuisine is pretty similar to Lebanese food, with influences from the Mediterranean too. We enjoy stuff like grilled skewered meats (kebabs), shish tawouk, hommous, arayes and zatar bread, and local flatbread with this really yummy & creamy garlic spread.
Then Jeremy orders this really weird drink that he spotted in the Fruit Juice list, something called ‘Jalab’. He asks the waiter what it is, and he says it’s date juice with pine nuts. It tastes really gross and Hui Chin says it smells like insecticide, but Jeremy seems to enjoy until we keep seeing different waiters pass by, whisper to another waiter, then stifle a laugh.We also try some shisha, which is pretty gross too. The waiter who gives us the disposable plastic mouthpieces for the pipe tells Jeremy that it’s called “biz” in Arabic. So Jeremy keeps saying “biz” till the restaurant manager comes up to him, telling him not to say it ‘cos it means “breast”.
Ben n I order Nescafe and the waiter brings us this:
DIY coffeeWe also bring Jeremy & Hui Chin to the ‘famous’ malls, probably the only thing that Dubai proudly boasts – Mall of the Emirates and Ibn Battuta Mall. They’re not very interested and I can’t blame them. Like I said at the start, Dubai has nothing much to offer a tourist, or even a resident. Ask any Emirati what’s a good place to visit in Dubai, and he’ll say “Mall of the Emirates”.
Ben advises me not to encourage any of our family n friends to visit Dubai. Airfare to Dubai from Malaysia or Singapore cost as much as a flight to Europe, and the hassle and chaos at the airport is enough to make any visitor turn back. Although we now have a huge apartment to ourselves that can accommodate all my Ah Ees at one go, there’s nothing much to do in Dubai, unless you don’t mind parting with a lot of money at the malls and expensive restaurants.
My advice for a fulfilling getaway that doesn’t burn a hole in your pocket, visit a nature spot in your home country (Pulau Ubin or Bukit Timah in Singapore, or Taman Negara, Kota Tinggi, and many more in Malaysia), or take a ‘Glutton’s Tour’, savour the smells, sounds, sights, tastes, take lots of pictures, and share it with everyone you know ☺
No comments:
Post a Comment