Emirates, Emirates.
Emirates, Emirates.
Rest in the Emirates 2015, November 3-18. Hotel in Sharjah. Villa Al Khalidiya, double room $54. No meals. A nice calm pool. They drove to the beach of a five-star hotel daily from 9-13 o'clock. The beach was free for us. They drove to Dubai 5 times a week after lunch.
The dollar exchange rate is 3.67 dirhams to the dollar.
Hotels in Sharjah are sometimes 30-40% cheaper than in Dubai.
1. Geography
Dubai and Sharjah are practically one city with two centers. Skyscrapers start in Sharjah and stretch all the way to Dubai. The road between the center of Sharjah and the first metro station in Dubai (Union) by taxi or bus takes about 20 minutes.
2. Clothes for visitors
In Sharjah, along the streets near beaches and hotels, in malls, on safari excursions and others, all tourists, men and women, walked freely in shorts (just above the knee) and sandals. Some women are wearing strappy dresses. The local population not only does not look in their direction, but does not even notice.
3. Beaches
We were once on a wild beach - this is not a vacation. In the shade of a rusty fence, while standing, you hide from the sun, you hang your bag with things on it, lie down on the sand, on a towel, without an umbrella - you will burn. You change clothes, modestly wrapping yourself in a towel. There is no toilet or running water. In general, you remember your barefoot childhood.
Paid beaches belong to nearby hotels and prices are from $13-20 per person. For an umbrella and a sunbed. Therefore, if the hotel is located in the city and will not take you to a paid beach, you must urgently move out. And if he does, he will add $25-40 for two to the cost of the room.
You can take only those city hotels that give you the opportunity to use the beach of some coastal hotel for free, and then upon arrival they may refuse to take you, motivating force majeure.
4. Food
In the cafe it is easy to find dishes with pieces of meat and rice, sold in large portions. Such a dish costs from $ 6, enough for two. It is also served by waiters for two. Large lavash $1. , a bottle of mineral water in a cafe $1. In the range of 6 to 8 $ there is a choice of dishes sufficient for 2 people.
5. Ice cream.
"Horn" at McDonald's from 30 cents. In other places from 3 -5 dollars.
6. Taxi
The minimum amount in a taxi according to the meter is 11.5 dirhams ($3). Anything less is rounded off by the counter. For each trip, the counter at the end adds 1.5 dirhams. If the meter is allowed 15 dirhams, then after turning off, automatically, the meter adds 1.5 dirhams. Landing in Sharjah 3 dirhams ($ 0.8), from 11 at night 4 dirhams ($ 1). All this is provided for in the rules placed under the windshield opposite the passenger seat and on the rear door glass. Landing at the airport is 25 dirhams ($ 6.8). When crossing the conditional border between Dubai and Sharjah, the counter adds 20 dirhams ($ 5.5). You can also ride on "private traders", that is, not a taxi. It is better to look for them in parking lots near shops. Individuals will be cheaper. Taxis shamelessly “roll” around the city or pretend that they accidentally missed a turn, and so on.
7. Fur coats
Prices for fur coats have fallen sharply. On Nasser Square (we didn’t get to the famous Abrazhka), we bought a black mink coat just above the knees, Greek for $ 850. The fur is thick. Sleeves are detachable below the elbow. In the spring we were in San Marino (Rimini), we almost bought the same one for $ 2200. We bought a second fur coat, sheared, beige, Greek below the knees, also for $ 850. We paid by card. For each fur coat, the owner of the company first asked for $ 1800-1900. It is clear that with the expectation to give way in price. The bargaining was about 30 minutes, but not fierce, but friendly, with humor, tea, coffee.
8. Rags
I don't see any point in buying clothes. If in Europe in such inexpensive stores as H&M, Mango, Zara - there are queues at the checkout and a full hall of people, then in Dubai mall 2 people go to these stores and do not take anything. Prices are much higher than in Paris, Milan, Barcelona, Rome, Rimini. If you look at the crowd in the Dubai Mall, then approximately for every 300 people you see one in the hands of a bag from a boutique. The rest are just walking.
9. Technique
The prices for equipment are the same as ours. Full of Chinese-made equipment. Maybe there were some new models, well, I don’t know, for this you need to study the market, but I’m too lazy.
There are discount stores - all for 10 dirhams, for 5 dirhams. I bought a Chinese fake Rollex - for $ 2 in general!
10. Gold
Not interested.
11. Excursions.
I recommend jeep safari. It costs $40-55 per person. You buy an arafatka (checkered scarf), tie it on your head, and together with these horsemen of the desert, you start somersaulting along the dunes in a jeep. Often the car practically lies on its side or vertically, sideways (! ) collapses from the dune. Dunes as high as a 9-storey building. The women scream in unison. The first 5-10 minutes you scold yourself and consider whether the insurance will be enough to pay for the operation in the Sharjah hospital. Then you get used to it and soak up the adrenaline. Then a photo shoot on the dunes. And in the evening, a Bedouin starry night in the sands, belly dancing, hookah, camel riding, henna painting on hands, barbecue and beer for $ 7 a jar of 33 ml.
Famous fountains - don't take the subway . From the station, go 5 kilometers along the transitions, and then back again, all the pleasure will be lost.
Overview of Dubai ($20-25) be sure to take. No independent transfers or Bass tourist will replace. Immediately stipulate that the bus was high (like a double-decker), otherwise you won’t see anything. There is a sail hotel (Burzh Arab) and Venice in Arabic and the island of Palma, and markets and fountains and a pier with an aquarium. You will see and take pictures.
12. Bus from Sharjah to Dubai and back.
Departs from the bus station near the Parovoziki market (buildings look like trains). Attention! There are no tickets in our understanding. You will be sold a silver card. The card itself costs 25 dirhams, of which the cost of the card is 10 dirhams and 15 dirhams on the account. To Dubai (to the metro station Union or Deira - the center of the mall) they will withdraw 10 dirhams ($ 2.7). Then you will replenish it (you can even pay 5 dirhams) at vending machines in the metro and at bus stations. Cheaper buses run every 50 minutes.
Get ready at the bus stations, you will not see the schedule or the price!
13. Products
Bananas from $1 kg, Oranges from $1 kg (but not everywhere), cheese creams, butter, milk. All prices are the same as in Europe. Be careful with yogurt. 400 gram jars are cheap, but 125 gram jars are three times more expensive (if calculated in proportion to weight). Bread 1.5-2 dirham baguette ($0.4-0.54). Fried chicken comes across from $5-6 for 500-600 grams. Often price tags are removed from cheaper products, and then they strive to break them at the checkout as more expensive ones. Inexpensive Fetaca cheese from 11 dirhams kg ($3). Sausage is expensive, but cheap, like liver. There are small supermarkets in tourist areas that do not have any price tags at all. In the expectation that the tourist, having already learned the price at the checkout, will be too lazy to return to the counters. In Deira city center cigarettes from $2-3 per pack. Be careful in the Dubai Mall supermarket, all prices are 30-50% higher, and cigarettes have no price tags at all.