Dubai - City of Captivating Contrasts

Visited Dubai during the Easter Sunday long weekend. My first impression as I traveled along the Sheikh Zayed Road from Abu Dhabi to Dubai was that Dubai is a city under construction. There must be hundreds of skyscrapers under construction with numerous highway and metro projects in progress. I was told that half of the world’s cranes are in Dubai. I’m not sure if that’s true but the skyline is really littered with cranes! The area around Jebel Ali, Jumeirah and Burj Dubai (soon-to-be tallest building in the world) is under massive construction work. There’s so much happening here!

I visited the Mall of the Emirates which is home to Ski Dubai – the place where you can do snow-skiing in the Middle East. I walked around Souk Madinat Jumeirah which is the Venice of Dubai with meandering waterways and bazaars. From there, I had a nice view of Burj al-Arab – the 7-star hotel. I took pictures at Jumeirah Mosque – supposedly the most beautiful mosque in Dubai. I even visited the Open Beach for a view of the Dubai skyline.

If Serangoon Rd is Singapore’s Little India and Leboh Ampang is KL’s Little India, Nasser Square is Dubai’s Big India. This shopping district is packed with Indians and Pakistanis on Friday night. This is the place to shop for cheap stuffs and counterfeit items too (thanks to some Chinese traders). There is also a Gold Souq here where your eyes will be blinded by the glittering golds and diamonds – reminder of the wealth of this place! Then there is the Mercato Mall which is an Italian-themed shopping mall.

The Old Dubai is separated by a waterway known as the Dubai Creek. The area to the east is known as Deira while that to the west is called Bur Dubai. I had a walk down the Dubai Creek which is a very nice place to take in the hustle and bustle of Old Dubai while watching people crossing the creek on Abras. The Bastakiya area is a nice heritage place with traditional Arabian courtyard homes and wind tunnels. The Dubai Museum is a must-visit too – you get to learn about life in Dubai before the discovery of oil. I also learnt how pearl diving was carried out in those days! Nearby there’s also a Textile Souq where you can shop for an endless variety of textiles. The most popular would be the Pashmina shawl. Then there is the Sheikh Saeed Al-Maktoum House – former residence of the Ruler. I also visited the Heritage Center which gives a glimpse of traditional Bedouin lifestyle. On the way I stumbled into a center which is promoting an understanding of Islam. I met the person-in-charge there who’s an Arab with a nice American-accent – appears to be a nice chap.

I was very happy with my Dubai trip. This is truly a city of captivating contrasts. A city of hope for many and despair too because of every-increasing cost of living. But it’s probably the best place to be in the Middle East. Would you want to know more and plan for a Dubai trip? Look out for my virtual tourist page on Dubai soon!