Vacay 09 (1): Dubai 18 August 2009 (1)
Our three weeks holiday this time felt so fast yet so fun and fascinating. We had great time both in Dubai and Bali! We are so blessed to be given the opportunities to visit Dubai and to have such a great family! It is indeed an unforgettable vacation for us...
We had been to Dubai for a number of time for transit only. This time, we took our chance to visit Dubai for a real holiday and we are glad that we did! We flew from Manchester to Dubai on Emirates Airlines flight no. EK020 at around 11 pm (Manchester time) after being delayed for 2.5 hours, arriving in Dubai at 10 am (Dubai time). Before going to through the immigration, we had to do the iris scan for security purpose. It did not take us long to get our passports stamped and to get hold of our luggages, everything went swiftly. I have to say that Dubai International Airport is MAGNIFICENT! Beautiful white wall that glitters and gorgeous architecture style really make the building awesome!
The heat immediately welcomed us as soon as we were out of the airport building looking for the taxi to take us to the hotel. Dubai's sky is clear of clouds, only the rays of sunshine dominate the weather. The dryness of the desert and the dusty hot winds brought our sweats out like little pearls. Truly a rough hot season! The streets are wide and structured, the attempts of making the city as green as possible can be seen from the amount of plantations that the government put here and there, the buildings are varied; from the skyscrapers, the shops, the malls and the houses. It is impressive that all those skyscrapers are of different styles, shapes and odd (in a great way)! They are all awesome and stunning, indeed awesome!
We arrived at our hotel after around 30 minutes drive. The Harbour is a 52-floors hotel situated at Dubai Marina (where the harbour is) and is very close to the Palm Island (the magnificent man-made island with the shape of palm tree). Their service is superb and beyond friendly, our studio room was very very comfortable and really worth the value! We were beyond satisfied with our choice! We were given the studio room number 212 on the second floor, but even so, we could see The Atlantis hotel from our window and the sea beyond. The room was clean and spacious, with a little convenient kitchen.
There was a little incident when we were checking in, one worth to write about hehe... Since the booking was under my name, I was to pay the down-payment using my credit card. So I confidently gave my credit card when they asked it. Then, when was asked to enter the PIN, I stood froze and panicked. I FORGOT MY PIN NUMBER! I asked Lan, he did not have a clue either because he was panicking with me. Thank God they were not suspicious, they told me "It's OK, you can sign, if you want." Phew! I got away that time...
When we got to our room, we took our time of resting from the long flight. We had a relaxing shower and took a bit of nap. We did get too comfortable that we were contemplating about going out... LOL! But, finally, we got ourselves out of the hotel and started our wonderful adventure. Our destination was Dubai Mall, the largest mall in the world (and so they claim!). It is truly huge and spacious, they have from the world's top designer brands, gold souk (gold market), food court, magnificent water fountain shows, ice skating rink and huge aquarium/underwater zoo! Our aim was NOT shopping, but visiting the gold souk, the underwater zoo and watching the water fountain shows.
As a gold-producer country, UAE is really proud of their gold. Most of the jewellery that were displayed are at least 22K. There were also plenty of pearls and diamonds; all glittering and shiny! But we're not there to buy, just to feast our eyes and fascination! This indoor gold souk (gold market) is an imitation of the original gold souk, which is actually a market with jewellery shops at both sides of it, dominated by the Indians.
Being indoor, of course we don't have to worry about the heat, but we cannot bargain the price, unlike in the original gold souk. But, at least, we can walk peacefully without being pulled here and there by the sellers to their shops!
After the gold souk, we went straight to the Aquarium. It is an aquarium built within the mall with the bottom being on the ground floor and it goes as high as the mall (2nd floor). We paid AED50 per person to walk through the aquarium and to get into the underwater zoo. It was a beautiful experience indeed! We can see numerous of sharks (both huge and small), stingrays, giant fishes, beautiful corals within the aquarium. We even got the opportunity to see the divers fed the sharks.
At the zoo, we saw some animals that we never had seen before! The water rats, the beavers, the penguins, jellyfish, and many others. We spent plenty of time there and was very happy to be there together.
Afterwards, we had our dinner at the food court. Our choice fell on the Lebanese restaurant 'Mashawi Express', where we ordered Kabab Mixed Grill. It was definitely yummy!
Phew! That's a long one! I shall continue my story next about our night adventure; the water fountain shows and the visits to the famous hotels! Stay tuned!
We had been to Dubai for a number of time for transit only. This time, we took our chance to visit Dubai for a real holiday and we are glad that we did! We flew from Manchester to Dubai on Emirates Airlines flight no. EK020 at around 11 pm (Manchester time) after being delayed for 2.5 hours, arriving in Dubai at 10 am (Dubai time). Before going to through the immigration, we had to do the iris scan for security purpose. It did not take us long to get our passports stamped and to get hold of our luggages, everything went swiftly. I have to say that Dubai International Airport is MAGNIFICENT! Beautiful white wall that glitters and gorgeous architecture style really make the building awesome!
The heat immediately welcomed us as soon as we were out of the airport building looking for the taxi to take us to the hotel. Dubai's sky is clear of clouds, only the rays of sunshine dominate the weather. The dryness of the desert and the dusty hot winds brought our sweats out like little pearls. Truly a rough hot season! The streets are wide and structured, the attempts of making the city as green as possible can be seen from the amount of plantations that the government put here and there, the buildings are varied; from the skyscrapers, the shops, the malls and the houses. It is impressive that all those skyscrapers are of different styles, shapes and odd (in a great way)! They are all awesome and stunning, indeed awesome!
We arrived at our hotel after around 30 minutes drive. The Harbour is a 52-floors hotel situated at Dubai Marina (where the harbour is) and is very close to the Palm Island (the magnificent man-made island with the shape of palm tree). Their service is superb and beyond friendly, our studio room was very very comfortable and really worth the value! We were beyond satisfied with our choice! We were given the studio room number 212 on the second floor, but even so, we could see The Atlantis hotel from our window and the sea beyond. The room was clean and spacious, with a little convenient kitchen.
There was a little incident when we were checking in, one worth to write about hehe... Since the booking was under my name, I was to pay the down-payment using my credit card. So I confidently gave my credit card when they asked it. Then, when was asked to enter the PIN, I stood froze and panicked. I FORGOT MY PIN NUMBER! I asked Lan, he did not have a clue either because he was panicking with me. Thank God they were not suspicious, they told me "It's OK, you can sign, if you want." Phew! I got away that time...
When we got to our room, we took our time of resting from the long flight. We had a relaxing shower and took a bit of nap. We did get too comfortable that we were contemplating about going out... LOL! But, finally, we got ourselves out of the hotel and started our wonderful adventure. Our destination was Dubai Mall, the largest mall in the world (and so they claim!). It is truly huge and spacious, they have from the world's top designer brands, gold souk (gold market), food court, magnificent water fountain shows, ice skating rink and huge aquarium/underwater zoo! Our aim was NOT shopping, but visiting the gold souk, the underwater zoo and watching the water fountain shows.As a gold-producer country, UAE is really proud of their gold. Most of the jewellery that were displayed are at least 22K. There were also plenty of pearls and diamonds; all glittering and shiny! But we're not there to buy, just to feast our eyes and fascination! This indoor gold souk (gold market) is an imitation of the original gold souk, which is actually a market with jewellery shops at both sides of it, dominated by the Indians.
Being indoor, of course we don't have to worry about the heat, but we cannot bargain the price, unlike in the original gold souk. But, at least, we can walk peacefully without being pulled here and there by the sellers to their shops!
After the gold souk, we went straight to the Aquarium. It is an aquarium built within the mall with the bottom being on the ground floor and it goes as high as the mall (2nd floor). We paid AED50 per person to walk through the aquarium and to get into the underwater zoo. It was a beautiful experience indeed! We can see numerous of sharks (both huge and small), stingrays, giant fishes, beautiful corals within the aquarium. We even got the opportunity to see the divers fed the sharks.
At the zoo, we saw some animals that we never had seen before! The water rats, the beavers, the penguins, jellyfish, and many others. We spent plenty of time there and was very happy to be there together.
Afterwards, we had our dinner at the food court. Our choice fell on the Lebanese restaurant 'Mashawi Express', where we ordered Kabab Mixed Grill. It was definitely yummy!Phew! That's a long one! I shall continue my story next about our night adventure; the water fountain shows and the visits to the famous hotels! Stay tuned!
wah gile itu mal nya udah kayak seaworld ya...
ReplyDeletefoto2 nya kurang banyak nie... hehehe
Photo2nya ada di Facebook, Man :)
ReplyDeleteAku pikir itu Sherly lg nyelam whahahhaa Eh itu maksudnya underwater zoonya didalam mall ?
ReplyDeleteAku kdang juga luga pin debit cardku hehe
Kamu langsingan, Sher. Cakep.
Hi... salam kenal...
ReplyDeleteEnak banget ya udah jalan2 ke Dubai... gw aja yang tinggal di Qatar belom pernah nih :D
BTW... souk itu artinya pasar... bukan street... jadi kalo gold souk itu berarti pasar yang jualan emas...
Dian: Thank you!! :D Iya underwater zoonya di dalam mall.
ReplyDeleteHeni: Salam kenal, thanks buat koreksinya :)
test
ReplyDeleteitu anonymous aku say , soalnya tadi perasaan dah nulis comment tp entah kemana masuknya , hehehe
ReplyDeleteiya tuh aku dah liat foto2 di facebook , bagus2 bgt , cuman mikir aja kalau keasyikan ngeliat underwater zoonya bakalan lupa shopping ya :)
waaah Dubai emang keren .. aku juga dah liat poto2 nya waktu My cousin kesana . gilee keren amirr .
ReplyDeleteAku sempat panic jg pas baca kamu lupa PIN , ha222 kebayang how panic you're ha22
untung bukan tampang yg patut dicurigai yah ! ha222
keren ya dubai sher, ayo donk lanjut lagi :D
ReplyDeletesher, kasih ancer2 harga donk, jadi gua tahu mesti nabung berapa taon kalo mau ke sana wuahaha :D
Iris scan? Buat apa tuh? Wew, serem amat sampe iris mata aja harus di-scan, hahaha...
ReplyDeleteWaaa, Dubai emang keren yah tapi bener juga tuh, kalo kesana harus bener2 memperhitungkan masalah iklim yah :D Kalo panasnya gitu sih bisa2 emang sih kotanya keren banget tp gak nyaman karena panas banget, hehe... :) Tapi keren2 tuh arsitekturnya, jadi gimana dong? haha
Btw, di dalam Dubai Mall ada itu kan tempat buat ski?? Hmmm
Btw, hotelnya brapaan tuh semalam?? Soalnya AirAsia buka pesawat KL - Abu Dhabi (deket Dubai kan?) nih, kalo hotelnya murah kan sapa tau ok, hehe. Btw, kalo masuk Dubai butuh VISA ga sih??
Zilko: Ke Dubai butuh VISA, makanya harus IRIS scan pas sampe sana. Iris scan itu kayak cap sidik jari gitu, kan setiap orang irisnya unik...
ReplyDeleteViol & Zilko: Hotel yg tempat kita tinggal itu satu malem 127 pounds. Agak mahal tapi well-worth it! Dapet breakfast, superb service plus kamarnya OK banget!
Fotonya kok kecil-kecil?
ReplyDeleteHihihi, iya, iya...nanti ke FB. :-D