Week 26 - A Week in Dubai
- May 1, 2018
- 5 min read
I landed in Dubai, to the familiar and welcoming heat, at 6am. It felt no different to Sri Lanka; warm, lots of energy and a relaxed atmosphere. My flight hadn’t been ideal, but it seems far more enjoyable than Victoria’s!
It was so nice to be back with my sister, after nearly 6 months apart; WhatsApp messages just aren’t the same as real-life face to face conversations. Our hotel was roughly half way between the airport, and the Burj Kahlifa/Dubai Mall, so we had the best of both worlds. Upon arrival at the hotel, we were upgraded to a better room, with a floor level of 43; almost at the summit! An afternoon by the pool, eating pizza and enjoying complimentary ice lollies! After an afternoon of sunbathing and dipping, we headed to the Dubai Mall via the Metro to eat at The Cheesecake Factory. The most delicious burger I’ve had in the last six months. After eating (and being too full to enjoy cheesecake), we wandered around the Mall – it would be SO easy to spend a full day here getting lost, seeing the aquarium tank, the fountain show, played on seesaws and marvelled at the Burj Khalifa at night.
With so many things to see and do in our short time in Dubai, we decided to evenly spread the waterparks and sights over alternate days, so we began our waterpark adventures in our complimentary entry to Wadi Wild Water Park, run by the hotel chain we were staying at. Despite the majority of the rides being fairly tame, we still had a very enjoyable day, experiencing some of the Middle-East takes on water rides, and soaking in the views of the skyscrapers overlooking the water park. If we had not had the free entry, we wouldn’t have ventured to this waterpark, especially being more expensive than Atlantis, but for a free day, it was good. After the waterpark, we enjoyed a Wagamamma’s, and despite almost rolling out of the restaurant, we managed to find space in our stomachs for The Cheesecake Factory desserts.
A coveted photo many people today want to have, is on the beach in front of the Burj Al Arab. Again, the hotel chain we were staying at, runs the hotel inside the Burj Al Arab, and so we were able to use their beach, enjoy the view of the weird shaped building, and take as many photos, until our hearts were content. The beach was so clean and tidy and the sea was perfectly blue and cool. Again we were given the most wonderful complimentary ice lollies; Pineapple flavour and they were so refreshing.
On the same day as the beach, we decided to try and head to the top of the Burj Khalifa. We arrived a couple of hours before our time slot to ascend the highest building in the world, and so before the ride to the top we decided to sit and enjoy FroYo. Many of my friends are aware that whenever I eat a Snog in London, I am expecting the frozen yoghurt to taste JUST like ice cream, and I’m always disappointed. This time, I went into the FroYo store, fully aware it wasn’t ice cream, and it was the most enjoyable pot of FroYo I’ve had: cookies and cream, chocolate sundae and cake mix flavours, topped with various indulgences I am sure were a recipe nearing thousands of calories. Yet it was too good!
The summit of the Burj Khalifa was something else, absolutely magical and totally breath-taking. This building has for certain put Dubai on the map for the tourist industry, and for good reason. Only being up this high are you able to truly see and understand what people here are up against in terms of the weather conditions. Sand and dust for miles, skyscrapers surrounding the city, and a hot sun, that brings so much brightness to the landscape. I wouldn’t describe Dubai or the UAE as a ‘pretty’ country/city so to speak, but the skyline is definitely something to marvel at. It’s an impressive feat, especially from the tallest building in the world.
After the experience at the top of the Burj Khalifa, our mission was to find the Nando’s, which we had seen on Google Maps as being near the Dubai Fountain. After nearly an hour of wandering and searching, we gave up; we could see it on the map, but in reality, it was nowhere to be seen. My dream of going doubly-international with my love of Nando’s in two weeks was dead, and I was heartbroken… We settled for an enjoyable meal at Carluccios, overlooking the Dubai Fountain, watching the water and light shows, whilst tucking into pizza and pasta.
Despite my dreams of Nando’s in Dubai being dead, our penultimate day in the city reawakened these, and my cravings were satisfied… After a wonderful day at Aquaventure, Atlantis, which held some fantastic rides, much more appropriate for thrill seekers; like us, including a waterslide where the floor dropped from beneath you, and then tilted you upside down, plus crazy group float rides where you almost fall out of the chute, and injury provoking sildes, it was a fantastic day. My toe, which had healed fully, got re-opened by the floor-dropping ride, yet, the fun didn’t stop there. No way José was my day going to be ruined by an injury!
We left the park fairly late, after I’d enjoyed an Ice Cone, with blueberry syrup, which I highly recommend. We decided to get the Metro home from the waterpark, after getting the taxi to the Palm in the morning. After reaching the hotel, we had a quick turn around and decided to wander the streets near our hotel, with ONE destination in mind: Nando’s.
Our final full day in Dubai and we decided to have a layin; a late breakfast, a wander around the Dubai Marina in the morning. Whilst at the Marina we came across a water fountain in the ground, and enjoyed standing around it cooling down. We sat in the shade and watched the Marina life bustle by as we listened to the water hitting the floor. We also came across a Starbucks, and enjoyed a doughnut and iced drink. The afternoon consisted of sunbathing, reading and swimming at our hotel and then headed back to the Mall for another evening of eating and watching the fountain. The final show we saw at the fountain was spectacular, and we then decided to head to the hotel to enjoy a cocktail to round off the holiday.
My return flight to Colombo was empty, with each passenger being lucky enough to have five seats each! Despite the huge space, and the crazy early start, I was unable to sleep, and decided to watch a couple of films: Pitch Perfect 3 and The Greatest Showman. Being in Sri Lanka, these films unfortunately do not hit the screens in Jaffna, and therefore a flight is my best opportunity to enjoy them! Both were fantastic films, and I cannot wait to watch them both again on my return to the UK.
Before heading to Jaffna, I had a free day in Colombo, which also happened to be the most important Poya Day in the Sri Lankan calendar, so a holiday day for all; myself and the gang in Colombo enjoyed card games, eating Mango and relaxing together. A late journey up to Jaffna, and a very early morning arrival at my house: 3am!
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