Destination Dubai
by Josephine Agostino
Destination Dubai: The Middle East's crown jewel takes luxury to a whole new level
First time visitors may be intimidated by the vastness of the city, with its busy multi-laned highways and predominantly Arabic street signage (English is commonly spoken as a second language) so it helps to have someone show you around, at least for your first day. As my stay is limited to a three-day stopover, a half-day city exploration with Lama Tours is the perfect way to get my bearings, allowing me more time to put my dhirams, the currency of the UAE, to good use in one of the 57 malls the city has to offer. With the knowledgeable and amiable guide, Mustafa Ghulam, as our driver, we speed along Dubai’s main highways in air-conditioned bliss, oblivious to the hot and humid 39°C conditions outside. Our first stop is Jumeirah Beach to see the 321-metre high sail-shaped Burj Al Arab, the most famous landmark, not to mention the most expensive hotel in Dubai. Entry is strictly limited to guests and pre-booked guided tours only, so there is no chance of popping into the lobby to have a look on the premise of using the bathroom. Next we take a drive to the nearby Jumeirah Beach Road precinct for a view of the great dining and shopping options on this side of Dubai Creek and a tour of Saga World, an art-gallery like multi-level boutique of precious silks, hand-woven carpets, jewellery and ornaments made by community organisations from all around the Middle East.
While 80% of Dubai’s population are foreigners, the Dubai Museum, set within the 18th century-built Al Fahidi Fort, represents the strong ties the city has with its Bedouin origins. It is a worthwhile look, housing 4,000-year old archaeological pieces and dioramas of traditional life in the desert, and yet is compact enough to weave through in half an hour. In another glimpse into the Dubai of old, Mustafa takes us to Al Bastakiya, a historical precinct along Dubai Creek that has recently been transformed into a cultural centre of museums, galleries, restaurants and traditional markets. We only have time for a quick browse before we are back on one of Dubai’s wide-lane streets – where the speed limit is mostly 140km - zipping past just some of the city’s 780 mosques, dwarfed by the skyscrapers dotted amongst the landscape.
There is no hiding the Jumeirah Grand Mosque. With its 70-metre high minaret and 54 domes, it is an imposing sand-coloured structure that must be seen by believers and non-believers alike. While we are just on time to hear the evocative calls to prayer through its outdoor speaker system, we are too late to go inside. Tourists are only permitted to enter between 10 and 11.30am and both men and women are expected to don the cover-ups provided.
Dress codes are more liberal for female tourists than Dubai’s neighbouring city of Abu Dhabi, with sleeveless tops and shorts commonly worn. But women are advised not to wear swimwear other than in their hotel and to the beach. And definitely no topless sunbathing.
Just as Dubai’s landscape is full of contrasts – lush green golf courses sitting side by side with sand dunes and creek beds, the shopping experience is just as wide-ranging. One minute I am wiping beads of sweat from my brow as I browse the outdoor spice souk, with its narrow lanes filled with the pungent smell of cloves, cardamom, incense and dried fruit bursting out of their open sacks. The next I am in a taxi, staring in wonder at the air conditioned glass domed bus stops on my way to my first shopping destination recommended by Mustafa, the 450-store Mall of the Emirates. Before I even have a chance to contemplate the limit on my credit card, I am awestruck by the mall’s entry centrepiece – a mass of picture perfect white snow manicured into five slopes that is Ski Dubai. If the air conditioning in the mall were not so good, I would be tempted – but all those glistening boutiques surrounding Ski Dubai are pulling me away.
First up is the Harvey Nichols department store, then a stroll along Via Rodeo – a re-creation of the famous Beverly Hills strip with a who’s who of European fashion houses – and when the hip pocket is suffering a beating, chain store favourites Zara and The Gap are worthwhile back-ups. With an indoor amusement park, more than 75 restaurants and Arabian souk, it would be too easy to spend a full day, if not more, at the Emirates. But I take my shopping bags, give thanks to 10.30pm retail closing time and I make my exit, fitting in quick trips to Deira City Centre, a local favourite close to Dubai Creek, and WAFI, a more refined luxury goods mall. Each are within 10 to 15 minute taxi rides of each other and I am left with change from 50Dh [$20] from each trip.
It is at WAFI where I can not help but admire the elegant Muslim women shopping hand in hand with their husbands, covered head to toe in traditional black abayas, swinging their designer bags (black patent Versace is the style du jour) from their gold-bangle adorned arms, as their bejewelled strappy seven-inch heels peep in and out from beneath their robes. Dubai’s hotels are just as heavy on the bling and are not afraid to show it off. Among the newest hotel openings is the Atlantis The Palm – imagine a SeaWorld within a resort – across a whopping 46 hectares of land. It is the unmistakable, brightly painted pink jewel in the crown on Palm Jumeirah; a man made island of more than 25 square kilometres that juts from the coast of Dubai into the Persian Gulf. Using 94 million cubic metres of sand and millions of tonnes or rock, 560 hectares of reclaimed land was shaped into a palm tree with 17 fronds, surrounded by a habitable breakwater. Today it has become the most desirable place to live, especially for well-heeled foreigners.
The plan for the Palm Jumeirah is to be the eventual home of 30 hotels, several marinas, shopping centres and tens of thousands of residents. David and Victoria Beckham are among its cashed-up homeowners. Amazingly, it will soon be dwarfed by the much larger offshore developments, including The World, a man-made city built on hundreds of small islands formed in the shape of a world map. My hotel, Sheraton Dubai Creek Hotel & Towers, is less Disneyland and more five star chic, complete with a pool, beauty spa, restaurants and butler service in some rooms. What’s more, if the mood takes me, I can always hop on the hotel shuttle and use the resort style facilities at the sister resort at Jumeirah Beach. It may be Dubai’s second oldest hotel, but a refurbishment and restaurant renovations mean you would never know it. My luxurious, yet comfortably decorated room is bathed in sunlight, thanks to the floor-to-ceiling windows that look out onto Dubai Creek. At night, I gaze out into the water as wooden dhow boats cruise past twinkling skyscrapers. From around 1450 Dh [$580] a night, the Sheraton is understated luxury by ostentatious Dubai standards. Visitors wanting a hotel with multiple or private pools, beachfront location, golf course, or an in house Michelin-starred restaurant will have no trouble finding one, especially in the Jumeirah precinct but be ready to pay double the nightly rate for it. The most basic room at the Atlantis, for example, is 2350Dh [$940 a night]. Outside hotels, there is treasure trove of delights to be found in Dubai’s great outdoors. There are adventures from the sand to the sea, such as camel riding at sunset, four-wheel driving on treacherous dunes and scuba diving and snorkelling at natural and man-made reefs off shore.
It is enough to satisfy any traveller’s appetite.
There is a plethora of offerings from Middle Eastern, Moroccan and European cuisines, but the highlight of my gastronomic adventure is at the Sheraton’s award winning north Indian restaurant, Ashiana, with its refined take on the region’s traditional dishes set against a gorgeous and intimate backdrop of dark oak walls, golden lanterns and ornate tapestries. After just three days, I leave Dubai with satisfied tastebuds, a suitcase full of new threads, an appreciation for the Arabic culture and a bubbling anticipation of what Sheikh Mohammed will have in store for me next time. The possibilities are endless.