During our last trip back to Malaysia in Jan, we travelled with Emirates Airline. It was my first experience flying with Emirates, and also my first experience boarding the gigantic Airbus A380!
Emirates operates its international network from Dubai. We took the opportunity to stop over for a day and visit the city of Dubai. Dubai has been home to many superlative structures built during the last 2 decades. The world's tallest building at over 800 m is located at Dubai and was under construction. Being a structural engineer having involved in a number of high-rise towers, I was eager to see the tallest! :)
From Heathrow Airport, we arrived early before dawn at Dubai International Airport. We had our breakfast at the city centre and then headed straight to our first destination - Madinat Jumeirah. The taxi journey costed us about AED50.
Madinat Jumeirah is a modern and chic place to hang out which includes a 'traditional' souq. A market in an Arab city is called souq. Without further ado, I got out to the outdoor terrace to have a glimpse of the famous sail-shaped hotel, Burj Al-Arab towering behind Madinat Jumeirah Resort.
We strolled around the souq, browsing through the shisha water pipes, textiles, vases, sculptures and various Arabian souvenirs stall by stall. They were not cheap though.
Extensive man-made lakes and canals have been built linking various parts of Madinat Jumeirah Resort & the souq. The surroundings were really scenic with soothing weather of around 20 degree celsuis in the morning.
Abra, which is UAE's traditional wooden boat were available to ferry resort guests around. Tourists could hire the abra to tour the area too - at a hefy price. We toured around as well - but by foot. :p
There were many swish restaurants, cafes and bars located in this complex. Above was one of the alfresco cafes facing the beautiful Arabian architecture of traditional wind towers.
Our morning was basically revolving around the Burj Al-Arab. From Madinat Jumeirah, we walked for about 15-20 min to our next destination - the Jumeirah Beach. No. We were not there for the sun and sand. We just wanted to be at the best location to see - yes - Burj Al-Arab! ;p
Towards afternoon, temperature was rising during our walking journey. I started to take off my jacket and hoodies. Not long after, I even sweated; it was winter and I hadn't sweat for months. Even the Emirati in the poster was getting red-hot. ;)
Jumeirah Beach. It's a beautiful beach, except that construction activities were visible offshore - the reclamation and construction of The World. The World is another ambitious project in Dubai that lands are reclaimed offshore to form the shape of a world map and these plots of land are then sold for commercial and residential developments.
Burj Al-Arab, claimed to be the first 7 stars hotel in the world is a super luxurious hotel in Dubai. The building structure itself is an engineering masterpiece built on top of a man-made island. It costed more than USD700 per night for a standard suite. Tourists were not allowed to visit the hotel, unless you reserve a table at one of the hotel restaurants or bars, and with a certain minimum expenditure spent.
Like most tourists, we could only see from afar.
I have seen ladies in bikini lying on a beach, but not so much women in headscarf, or tudung sunbathing on sandy beach - a truly Arabian state. ;)
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