My Trip To Dubai (Part 2)

Me

Roaming the streets of Dubai—with my apple juice in a large cup from McDonald’s that I can’t seem to get in the States.

There are seven emirates in the UAE—Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah, and Fujairah.  I was in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and briefly touched down in Sharjah.  But the goal next time is to visit all the emirates no matter how briefly—just so I can say I’ve been to them all.  And you know I’ll do it just because!

The Palm Jumeirah & Dubai Creek

I had my own personal escort to the beautiful Palm Jumeirah and the Dubai Creek.  I can’t even begin to describe the beauty I saw as we drove around the crescent of Palm Jumeirah.  It’s a sight to behold.  We also went to a couple of nightclubs that week and I had a blast.  It was not a problem for me to be out late at night especially since it was still daytime in America—my body clock was still trying to adjust to the time difference.

The time difference in the Middle East took some getting used to at first, but I survived.  Since we had just turned the clocks back an hour in the States, I was in a country that was 10 hours ahead of America.  But the first day I landed, I was determined to get on the Middle East schedule.  And, boy, did I have fun once I did!

Here’s a video I found from the “Documentary & Life Discovery Channel” on how the Palm Jumeirah came about.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYAo6cCDXF0

The Dubai Mall

The Dubai Mall is so massively huge that I didn’t have time to hit all parts of it.  But I did see some of the highlights.  I actually went to the mall on two different occasions with two different gentlemen who were kind enough to keep me company.

The aquarium inside the mall is the largest I’ve ever seen in my life and it’s so beautiful.  You can actually go scuba diving inside it as well, but I didn’t have a big desire to swim with all the sharks inside of it—so I opted NOT to do that activity.  I’ve grown to like my fingers and toes over the years and prefer to keep them.

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The Dancing Fountains are also something I had the pleasure of seeing.  I just loved it.  The water dances its little heart away to music.  And can I just say—this is a daily mall attraction that happens every evening right outside of the mall.  Every 30 minutes for about 5 hours or so, there’s about 5-minute water show.  (I’m still trying to figure out what the mall in my hometown does every day.)

The food court inside this mall is SO huge that I couldn’t decide where I wanted to eat.  It’s a massive square you walk around.  I walked around it three times and still couldn’t decide where to eat.  So, naturally, I stopped at three or four different places—as only I would do—and got something from each of them.

There’s a huge ice rink inside this mall, too, but I didn’t have a chance to give it a whirl.  It looks like fun and I’ll have to go skating on the next go ’round.

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I was just in awe everywhere I went in this town.  Something that impressed me was the Metro system.  It reminds me of the subway system in New York City in the States—EXACTLY like it except that there is no driver on this Metro system—it runs automatically all day long—and it’s CLEAN and SPOTLESS!

There are thousands of people who ride this thing all day long sitting and standing everywhere—but look at how CLEAN it stays!!  This is NOT what the subway in New York looks like—I can tell you that!  It makes me wonder why the people in the States can’t keep their subways clean at all times.  I was so impressed I had to take clicks of it.

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I went to the Dubai Museum, too, but I wasn’t all that impressed with it.  I don’t know why, but I was a little bored there.  At least I got to see it though.

The Gold Souk

Oh, and the Gold Souk—this is a whole other part of town—like the “old Dubai” part of town on the other side of the creek.  After I used the bathroom just one time on this side of town, I could pretty much tell on my own that this was the “old Dubai” area of town.  Omg!

I had two lovely gentlemen escort me around this part of town where they have a shop they run.  One of them came to get me from my hotel in the evening and we took the Metro to this area.  It took a little while to get there, but we finally made it.

I told them I wanted to buy myself a hijab like I see some of the ladies wearing around town.  I wanted to absorb the culture.  They took me to a shop that sold them and the owner put it on me—SOLD!  I could only wear it about five minutes though because I started sweating under it!  I don’t know how they wear those things all day long.

Oh, you don’t even want to know how much fun I had sending a picture of me in a hijab back home to the States to my family and friends!  Omg.  You should have seen all the text messages coming back through on my cell phone after I sent that picture!

I also got to ride an abra back and forth across the creek.  Of course, me being me, I’m looking around for life jackets—but NO—everyone just piles onto a rickety boat wherever they can fit and off it goes.  No life jackets—nothing!  You’re pretty much on your own during a sinking.  All I was doing was thinking about what my move was gonna be should we capsize.

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We were so close to a mosque in the above video that you can really hear how loud the prayer was during this time as we’re pulling up in the creek about to get off the abra.

So, if you have nothing else to do today, consider getting yourself a hijab if for no other reason than to conceal your identity when you really don’t want to be bothered.

Take-Away Life Lesson:  Just sit and thank the heavens if you have modern restroom facilities to use in your hometown whenever you need to use the bathroom.  Don’t ask me WHY!  Never mind the details.  Just thank the heavens.

RELATED ARTICLES:
My Trip To Dubai (Part 1)
My Trip To Dubai (Part 3)
My Trip To Dubai (Part 4)
My Trip To Dubai (Part 5)
My Trip To Dubai (Part 6)

46 thoughts on “My Trip To Dubai (Part 2)

  1. Question: when you said “for a gentleman to keep you company” at the mall did you mean you had to have man with you? I hope that didn’t come off as bad. I’m just curious to the customs! It’s definitely a place I’d like to visit at some point.

    1. Oh, not at all. I met lots of people there and one day one of them showed me around at the mall. And then I went with another guy another day. It was just nice that I didn’t have to always traipse around Dubai by myself. But it wasn’t something that “had” to happen. I walked around plenty of places by myself, too.

          1. LOL! I am never used to black hijabs. Only the very conservatives Muslims wear it here in Indonesia.

            It does, however, command a certain “respect” from others. People tend to keep their distance from ladies wearing black hijabs, because they look more religious and they are probably from powerful or influential families.

          2. I bet. Although I had a friend tell me once they saw a woman wearing a hijab and burqa bopping her head to rap music—which looked hilarious. 😀

          3. Oh, I have seen those!
            It’s a common view here. 😀
            Some young ladies wear the hijab or burqa because their moms forced them too.
            They are still wearing those when they dance to Beyonce or sing along Madonna! XD

          4. Interesting. I guess people think they’re so religious that they do nothing “worldly.” Good to know. You learn something new every day. 😉

  2. I totally loved reading this and can’t wait for more! I was just like you, of course it was many years ago now, but it’s so fun reading your escapades – thanks so much for sharing this! ❤❤❤;^)

    1. You’re welcome, Aisha! <3 I'm so glad you enjoy my escapades in life. The exciting part is I never know what's gonna happen next. But you can be sure I'll let you know. 😉

  3. It sounds like you had a fantastic time. Bravo to you for stepping outside your box and flying half way across the world and gaining experiences you will never forget!!

  4. You really had a whale of a time. I have been to Dubai and I almost relived my holiday through your post. The Dubai mall, the aquarium, the souk, the food, everything everything is so awesome. What about the Desert Safari? But I guess it will feature in your future posts ?

    1. You know me so well. It will definitely be featured on one of these posts. Dubai is my new home away from home. 😉

  5. Dubai is one of those places I’d like to spend a couple of days, but I haven’t made it work yet. Sure looks like you had a good time.

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