City of big money - Dubai
Good evening, forum users. Finally got to write my story about a trip to Dubai. Back in the summer, I decided on a hotel (Radisson Blu Hotel Dubai Downtown 4 * - review about the hotel http://www.turpravda.ua/ae/dubay/Radisson_Blu_Hotel_Dubai_Downtown-h31746-r96760.html), he really won me over with his location and price (I followed the price, and it turned out to be the lowest in the period from December 10-14.2013) operator Join Up (very ambiguous according to reviews, but everything went fine), I ordered through the New Wave Travel travel agency. My girlfriend and I were issued visas 2 days in advance, and a week before the vacation, a terrible thing happened, my girlfriend went to the hospital with pneumonia, and it was sad to realize that she would not be able to go, it was hard, but they found a replacement in a day, and quickly (thanks to Marina with New Wave Travel) managed to apply for a visa on Tuesday, on Thursday the visa was ready, and the flight was on Saturday. The flight went well, in 5 hours I managed to sleep and eat and read and I got tired of sitting (Fly Dubai flight - you can safely take food on board, since they don’t feed there, they didn’t take anything).
We got to the hotel around 16.00, quickly settled, asked for a room with a view of the Burj Khalifa, but there was no free room, settled with a side view on the 12th floor, offered to come in 2 days, clarify, but we no longer did this. First of all, we went to look at the Singing Fountains, they are within walking distance from the hotel, like Dubai Mall and Burj Khalifa, about 10 minutes on foot or by transfer (the schedule will be given upon check-in), but it travels a lot (in general, roads are a separate issue, so to get to one place that you see before your eyes, the car will make 10 turns, U-turns, detours, and only then it will arrive at the end point, and if it’s a taxi, then imagine how many dirhams the meter will count).
The first time we went by transfer, it brings us to the parking lot, we joined some kind of excursion group, and went to the Dubai Mall, at every step there are information posts that will help you figure it out + be sure to take a newsletter in Russian with a detailed map of the Mall + there are also electronic scoreboard cards + look at the signs, the easiest way to navigate. We found the Burj Khalifa ticket counter and bought tickets for 16.12 at 18.00. 2013 - 125 dirhams. And we spent the whole evening watching and listening to the Singing Fountains - this is a breathtaking sight that captivates and it is impossible to take your eyes off)) We spent every free evening near them, we also saw the preparation of the show for the New Year, and on the last day we even saw daytime singing fountains.
On the second day, we decided to go to the sea, but somehow I missed the time for the transfer and we were late.
Since back in Kyiv I made a plan for my vacation, and determined everything that I want to see, without hesitation, we quickly rushed to Dybai Miracle Garden - the world's largest flower park (before that, they took a map of Dubai in the hotel), there is a public transport does not run, since this is still a detuned area, and it's easier to take a taxi there - 40 dirhams, entrance - 20 dirhams, and beauty is in front of you. The park contains more than 45 million flowers of various species, many of which were first brought to the Persian Gulf. The park has already received the unofficial name "multi-color oasis", since flowers of 60 different colors are presented on its territory. The main attraction of the park is a "flower pyramid" 10 meters high and 144 square meters in area, as well as a wall of flowers surrounding the park with a length of 800 meters and a height of 3 meters.
Having walked a lot and taking a lot of photos, we returned back by taxi - already 50 dirhams (since the roads are something, 5 turns, U-turns and on the spot). We just had time at 13.00 to transfer to the beach, brought to Jumeirah Park, to 3 gates, paid beach - 5 dirhams (I won’t say that it’s very clean). In the evening there were singing fountains.
We spent the next day on the beach, and in the evening we went to conquer the 124th floor of the Burj Khalifa. The queue passed quickly in a couple of minutes, the elevator lifted to the 124th floor (it lays ears a little) and here we are. Since I am not afraid of heights, it was very interesting and exciting for me to look at the expanse of lights, highways and singing fountains (the music is almost inaudible), but the beauty of what is happening from above is amazing.
On the fourth day, we went to explore Dubai using the metro (do not forget to take a metro card when you buy a ticket), having bought a ticket for the whole day (only then I realized that it is better to buy a silver card, it also applies to the bus, not the red ones, otherwise we got on the bus, but we don’t know how to pay, without a card, we rolled on the ball 1 stop)). Our first point was the Parus hotel (red metro line - stop number 32 Mall of the Emirates), it takes about 20 minutes to walk from it and you are at the goal, and looking at the Valdi water park, right next to the Parus, we continued on our way. We went to the Mall, looked at Ski Dybai and at the joyful smiles and exclamations of the Indians, who had never seen snow, drove on.
The next stop is the red line No. 35 Nakhell (before that I read that it is problematic to get to the monorail on your own, and indeed it is, Dubai is a continuous construction site, everything is being built everywhere) having traveled by taxi (11 dirhams), we were convinced of this, the entrance to the monorail from parking, there are always a lot of people, so do not get lost, round trip - 25 dirhams, there is a schedule in front of the ticket office. It was interesting to ride the monorail without a driver, in the front seats and see the Atlantic. On Palma itself, we walked along the embankment, took pictures near the Atlantic and drove on. Our next stop was Dubai Marina. We walked to it for a long time and through different bushes and squares, since everything was dug up. Well, we got there, just caught the daytime and how the evening was approaching.
After walking along the embankment and taking a boat ride, we went to the metro station, immediately next to station number 36 Dybai Marina (in Dubai, the metro stations are all the same, yellow-golden in color, so you will always understand and find). In the subway, we realized that we were insanely tired, since we were going around Dubai, probably no one was walking, and we postponed our trip to Mall Wafi the next time, since Abu Dhabi was waiting for us tomorrow.
Day five. Early rise and gathering in Abu Dhabi. Subway station No. 25 - Dybai Mall, it is very long to go from the mall to the subway for 20-25 minutes along horizontal escalators. And then a surprise was waiting for me, I slipped on the escalator and severely broke my knee, but the pain itself and the realization that it was bad for me already on the bus in the direction of Abu Dhabi (red line station No. 39 Ibn Battuta, time 9.
10, price - 25 dirhams), I turned to the waiter (yes, in Dubai, every intercity bus has a driver and a waiter, you can’t get up and walk when the bus is running, just contact the waiter) for a first aid kit, and it was very funny (everything still realize that they are not the best and ideal in everything), when he opens it in front of the whole bus and it turns out that it is empty. So I treated the wound myself with improvised means and drove on. We met Russian tourists on the bus and agreed to go together to the Sheikh Zayed Mosque. For 4, it turned out like 58 dirhams. Entrance is free (only before the entrance there is a small building where girls who do not have appropriate clothes can take a cape for free, you must leave some document as a deposit), Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi is the largest mosque in the United Arab Emirates and the sixth largest mosque in the world.
30 when it was dark - captures more), so there is nothing more to do and pay 60 bucks, respectively, too. All other attractions are designed either for children or for mega Ferrari lovers, and the park is beautiful, it is clear that a lot of money has been invested. But there were also pleasant moments, we met a guy from Ukraine, Igor (Lviv), talked, he told how he works and lives in Abu Dhabi, there are 10 of our people working there, he said that a very cool new water park is next to Ferrari Park on Yas Island. Igor also helped me with first aid, he took me to the Ferrari Park medical center (everyone can go there), where they helped me treat the wound and clean it absolutely free of charge, even without insurance + they also gave me medicines.
We went back to the station by taxi, it was sad, but we were late for the bus that goes to the red line stop, station No. 39 Ibn Battuta, we had to take another one - the green line of the metro station No. 24 Al Ghubabia, the price was 25 dirhams (although before that I read a lot of reviews that the cost back is 15 dirhams, but no - 25). I was very surprised that we were passing station No. 39 Ibn Battuta, but he did not stop, since he had a different route, it was sad to pass our stop and go further, but there was nothing to be done, we were tired returning back to the metro.
Our sixth day was dedicated to the beach. Since the tourists suggested a very cool free beach to us, we chose it for the rest of the rest. How to get to it: the bus takes you to the 3rd gate of Jumeirah Park, you go to the 6th Gate to the end to the fence, then lead the deserted beach in front of you, this is it. The water and sand are much cleaner, there are few people, so there is still a bay in which it is quiet and calm.
I recommend to everyone. Evening - Singing fountains.
On the seventh day - in the morning there was a beach, and in the evening the only excursion that we took from the guide - Safari (I work out the route myself, it's more interesting). Cost - $ 55, on the beach you could take cheaper. Around 16.00, a Toyota jeep drove for us, there were 6 of us, the driver was cool, he drove us cool through the dunes, it was fun and good. Then we were taken to the desert, where we met an incredibly beautiful sunset, there was a show and dinner in the village (the average is the first, the second), by the way, it is very cold in the desert in the evening, dress warmly. We were back at the hotel at 10:00 pm.
On the eighth day, we all went to the same place - to the beach, the Persian Gulf was surprisingly good and warm, but by 15.30-16.00 it gets cold, it's still December, whatever one may say. In the evening, the plans were for the Mall, called Wafi in the form of a pyramid (according to reviews, I read that a laser show is held there every day).
How to get the green metro line station number 28 Dubai Healthcare City (of course, they have confusing transfers, but you can figure it out, the main thing is to remember the names of the terminal metro stations of each branch). The pyramid is visible from the station, but it just confused us. As it turned out later, it was known that the building itself in the form of a pyramid is a hotel, and in front of it is the Egyptian-style Wafi Mall. Pretty, about like everywhere - shops, clothes. people, the Christmas market and, unfortunately, the laser machine was broken. We walked and went home.
On the last day, we vacated the room at 12.00 and went for a walk around Dubai, because we had a late flight at 23.55. First, we walked around (at least once, otherwise we always climbed at night) the territory near the Dubai Mall, looked at the daytime Burj Khalifa, walked along Business Bay and went to the still unexplored area of Deira and Dubai Creek.
In Deira, my goal was the Dey to Dey store, we found it (get off the metro, turn left, and, as it were, enter the street, cross the road and there will be a store in front of you). It has very cheap souvenirs, well, if you compare, then: in the Dubai Mall, a simple magnet costs from 25-35 dirhams on average, in the same place for 12 dirhams you get 4 magnets, or a huge and beautiful one for 10 dirhams. You can also buy sweets and Turkish delight for gifts there (around 12-18 dirhams per package). And like any girl (at that moment I felt myself deeply in the roots of a blonde) I fell in love with a very pretty suitcase. And I couldn’t resist buying it, although before that I had already done shopping at the Dubai Mall, I just had no idea how I would take it all and how much it would weigh, but to my great surprise I had an advantage in two suitcases by 1.5 kg and in hand luggage by 1.5 kg. 600 grams, but I did not pay extra, everything was ok.
The flight was really delayed for half a hour, but the plane was half empty and I calmly overslept all the time in 3 places.
In conclusion, I can say that Dubai has long attracted me to itself, and finally I went there, but not everything is as perfect as in a fairy tale, everywhere there are pluses and minuses. The country is young, developing, wants to prove to the whole world that it is the best, hey, this is possible thanks to oil reserves. Dubai - for me is associated with continuous construction, there is something everywhere, near the hotel, near the Parus, near the Burj Khalifa, the roads are blocked, this is a huge minus. At the same time, everything is created there for the convenience of tourists, as if you found yourself in the distant future, in which everything is automated and simplified. Dubai is a fairy tale of the future, which I would like to visit in 10-15 years and see how it has changed. Travel and enjoy. I hope my review will help you, if anything, please contact me, I will be glad to help.
