Nearing the Sheikh Zayed Mosque on our drive, my sister said lookout for a huge gleaming white mosque – that’s the Grand Mosque. I did and can only describe my first sight of it as truly special – a magnificent structure in white with domes in multiple sizes and beautiful minarets against the setting sun, green palms and white sands. Quite unforgettable.
Sheikh Zayed Mosque / Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi
I love Books and I love Coffee. Add “a quaint colourful coffee shop” to the mix and viola – it’s my perfect mix for spending a lazy sunny afternoon.
Thus on a recent trip to Dubai I was researching quaint cafes to visit when I came across this article on “How Cool are these Dubai Cafes”. A quick read of the article and a run through, of the name, through my cafe filter test (basically checking the menu for maximum vegetarian options) I decided to visit the Comptoir 102 and the Book Munch Café. While I wasn’t able to visit Comptoir 102 (I reached late and they had closed for the day), I managed to visit the Book Munch Café for a lazy Sunday brunch.
Book Munch Cafe, Dubai
I travel a fair bit for my official work and in November last year I had a chance to visit Dubai for our office offsite. As I had been to Dubai for a holiday once before, I had seen and done many of the typical touristy things. But my travels have taught me that even repeat trips to see the same sights can be fun – you can see things that you missed in the excitement of last time or try new ways of experiencing the same sights. And I tried re-experiencing “At The Top” in Burj Khalifa, but this time in the night and by learning more about this architectural marvel.
The Burj Khalifa, Dubai
Everyone associates Dubai with just world-class shopping. But during my trip here, I realized that but there is so much more to see and experience here than just wandering around in one of its many malls. This city has something for everyone – be it culture, art, history, architecture (modern and traditional), food, etc etc. And based on my own experiences, today I am sharing 5 must see places that should definitely be on your travel itinerary for your next trip to Dubai –
The Dubai Skyline
I found the topic for this week’s weekly photo challenge – Eerie to be slightly tough. The challenge was to post black and white pics that have a mysterious, otherworldly vibe where the viewer wonders what lurks in the shadows. Something eerie that has a story to tell — one you aren’t quite sure you want to know.
So I kept hunting through my photograph gallery and just couldn’t find anything that was apt for this topic. And then I stumbled upon two pictures that I had clicked of Jellyfish at The Lost Chambers Aquarium in The Atlantis, Dubai. I somehow found their hollow fluorescent look and the movement of the umbrella-shaped bell and the long tentacles quite eerie and mysterious. Somehow I wouldn’t want to know as what is this jellyfish thinking.
Dramatic Jellyfish
Writing about my Dubai visit (November 2012) has been a lot of fun, and with each of my posts’ I have kind of revisited my entire vacation. However as all good things come to end, this is my last post for that particular Dubai trip. Though I am sure I will travel there again, but for now I couldn’t think of a better way to end this series than with a post on some of the unusual things to see and do in Dubai.
So do read on for my list of the most unusual things that you must see or do in Dubai –
Try Camel Milk
Writing about my Dubai visit (November 2012) has been a lot of fun, and with each of my posts’ I have kind of revisited my entire vacation. However as all good things come to end, this is my last post for that particular Dubai trip. Though I am sure I will travel there again, but for now I couldn’t think of a better way to end this series than with a post on some of the unusual things to see and do in Dubai.
So do read on for my list of the most unusual things that you must see or do in Dubai –
Try Camel Milk
Shopping in Dubai offers everything that any other fun activity does – there is that thrill at the sight of beautiful new things, an adrenaline rush at finding something that you have always wanted (that too after a major hunting exercise) and the sheer joy on the swipe of the credit card for a purchase well made. During our trip to Dubai we indulged in this activity quite a bit, well to be honest, we spent 6 days in various malls and still didn’t see it all. While such mad non-stop shopping is fun, it also entails long hours and frequent energy breaks; and such breaks mean it’s time for some food and coffee. Since we spent a lot of time in malls, we got a chance to try out quite a few new eateries here, especially fast food chains, cafes, ice creams etc.
And based on my experiences, below are a few of my recommendations that you must try whenever you find yourself in any mall in Dubai 🙂
Just Falafel – This is an all vegetarian fast food chain with a menu consisting of all kinds of falafels (of course) and French fries, hummus, dips, salads, drinks and desserts. Also, their falafels are from around the world i.e. they have falafels in all the following flavors – Indian, Mexican, Greek, Japanese, Emirati etc etc. By the end of my trip this turned out to be one of my favorite places in Dubai (also a vegetarian’s delight) and I literally tried everything on their menu, though Mexican and Greek were my favorites. You can find out more about them at http://www.justfalafel.com/
Just Falafels
Dubai is definitely the land of malls where you can’t drive for 10 minutes and not come across a mall. However malls here are not just for shopping, but they are more like an experience (including a cultural one). For some reason it seems like malls here intend to be a means of shopping cum entertainment cum sightseeing. Like the city, nearly every mall in Dubai has something unique to offer from ice rinks to skiing to themes to souks. And each one of them has its own unique charm and attraction.
As far as the actual shopping is concerned, while you find pretty much all the brands here (including the high-end ones) – nothing is cheaper. The only thing we found cheaper were TVs (as compared to India), rest everything was pretty much as it is in India.
The Dubai Mall
During my trip to Dubai I felt that this is one city which does not believe in being content with what it has; but is a city which must have everything possible in a place – skiing slopes, completely new islands in various shapes, 7 star hotels, water parks in a desert, the tallest structures in the world etc etc. This city has to have everything exotic that money can buy.
And I think one of the biggest examples of this attitude, are the artificial islands of the Palm Jumeirah and the World. While I havent seen the World Islands, I saw the Palm Jumeirah during my visit to Dubai last year. The Palm Jumeirah is an artificial cluster of islands, created and arranged in the form of a giant palm tree – complete with a trunk, a crown, 16 fronds and a crescent to complete the outline.
The Palm Jumeirah – photo courtesy – http://www.dubai-architecture.info
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