Dubai

Dubai was my final stop on my way back home and what a city.

I was surprised by just how international Dubai was and it wasn't as much of a high rise city as I had expected (I thought it would be like New York). There is so much to do, but be prepared with the £££. There is about 4.5AED to £1.

The Burj Khalifa

This is the tallest free standing structure in the world and is accessible from the Dubai mall. Don't worry about going all the way to the 148th floor. The view is similar to floors 124/125 but the ticket is twice the price. It's 200AED to go to floor 125 and 500AED to go to floor 148. It's seriously not worth the extra money. The view is incredible though and you get a good view of Dubai. You can't see the palm island from the top and there is a dust haze, but it was definitely worth a visit. There is an outdoor viewing platform on 124th floor and a shop.

Dubai Mall

Wow. What a place. There is an aquarium tank that can be viewed from the ground floor. There are high end shops, so it is a brilliant place to go shopping. It has a waterfall that covers 3 floors with little sculptures in it. Outside is Dubai Fountains. There is a water show at 13:00, 13:30 and half hourly from 18:00. The show was much shorter than I expected, but I don't know if that is because I went during the day time. There is also an ice skating rink if you want something more active. You will need at least a whole day to dedicate to just the Dubai mall.

Aquarium @ Dubai Mall

I bought the 120AED ticket, which got me a ride around the top of the aquarium tank in a glass bottom boat and a go in the underwater submersible simulator, guided by a cartoon turtle. You walk in through the aquarium tunnel and then go up to the 2nd floor for the rest. There is also a night time animals area and lots of pretty fish. There are events during the day and the crocodiles are fed daily at 16:00. I did enjoy my trip to see the fish and sharks - the zebra shark and leopard stingray being my favourite. There are different tickets which give you access to different activities.

Gold Souk and Spice Market

I took a water ferry for 1AED across the creek to visit the gold souk. I don't think I have ever seen so many jewellery shops full of gold all in one place. It was so shiny and one shop has the world's heaviest ring (complete with its Guinness world record) on display in the window. The gold is sold by weight but there is still scope to negotiate on the price. The spice market nearby is full of bags of colour and scent. They are beautiful displays of herbs and spices and worth going to see even if you don't buy any spice.

Dubai Museum

This cost 3AED to visit, but is very popular with coaches and gets pretty busy. It is based in Al Fahidi fort, which is thought to be the oldest building there. It was interesting to see about the history of Dubai and the origins it had as a pearl diving community at the creek. You only need a couple of hours to visit it.

Bur Dubai

This is also known as Old Dubai and is located on the creek. There are Souks and malls, so it caters for whichever type of shopper you are. There are places to eat along the creek and it is quite nicely lit up at night.

But seriously, forget the Burj Khalifa and the shopping, what you have to in Dubai is to go on a Desert Safari. 

I had the most amazing experience on this half a day trip. There are 7 seater land cruisers which collect in convoy to drive across the sand dunes. With air let out of the tyres, you speed across the dunes, sliding down sideways and roaring back up again. It was thrilling. The desert is huge and you could see hundreds of other cars doing the same thing. We went to a camp for dinner and there were other activities to do there - quad bikes, camels, henna, shisha and dances between dinner courses. There were the classic belly dancer, whirling dhirvish and fire eater. I may have left my camera case behind in the dark, but what an experience it was. If you do nothing else in Dubai, do this.

I had always heard mixed reviews about how long I would need in Dubai. Some people told me 3 days was enough, whilst others told me it wasn't. For me 3 days was plenty, especially for my bank balance. However, I stayed up in the city and I would go back again for a few days to go and explore the area around the Palm and the beach. It is a city of variety and you certainly won't get bored there.