This was a wonderful experience out of the whole skyline Dubai experience. You can take a boat that won't cost you more than 50DH and cross the creek to the spice market where people are very kind and show you their goods and products. Definitively a place to bargain and get good deals. Very close by is the God Souk which is an amazing street filled with gold and jewelry shops.

D 85 - Dubai
Google map: bit.ly/w3vHlz

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Having spent a considerable amount of time in Dubai, I can recommend this city for some serious retail therapy for so many reasons!

1. Dubai is home to the largest mall in the world. You can find over a whopping 1,000 stores in the mall and when you are tired of retail therapy, head to one of the many spas, cafes or restaurants (or check out the aquarium or ice rink) and then admire the views from the Burj Khalifa (yes, you guessed it, the tallest tower in the world - Dubai is very fond of superlatives).

2. Dubai is home to a large number of expats and the shops in the city reflect that. You can visit department stores like Bloomingdales and Galeries Lafayette in the same mall or head to the smaller shopping centres like Mercato (built to resemble a Venetian city - only in Dubai) where you can find smaller boutiques and one off shops such as Ivy which stocks clothing and accessories from places like London, Monaco, France and Italy.

3. Dubai isn't short of space. Located in the desert, the shops are all generously sized, and more importantly, wherever you go, never expect to queue for a fitting room (yes, even H&M and Forever 21 have a plentiful supply of them).

4. Finally, when you are done flexing your credit card (or, more likely, denting it beyond all recognition), jump in a cab and head down to one of the many beaches for some tanning and cocktails. Try ShoChos for their delectable ginger martinis.

www.thedubaimall.com/en
www.mercatoshoppingmall.com/index.php

www.sho-cho.com/

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Ignore the overhyped bling of Dubai's five star hotels and choking traffic and head out instead for an overnight safari in the spectacular rolling red dunes half an hour south of the city.
My wife organised a birthday convoy of 4x4s, hotdogging over yardangs and zeugans accompanied by the screams of fear (or delight) as we flew over crescents of mountainous ochre sanddunes.
An evening camp in a natural bowl, smoking perfumed shisha and eating a birthday dish of barbecued quail was topped by an undamaged and proudly presented black forest gateaux served under the gaze of a herd of wild camels sihouetted against an endless silent starlit sky.
You get a comfy mattress in your tent, the chance to pee in the sand under Ursa Major and fresh, unbroken eggs for breakfast transported carefully by gentle Palestinian drivers.
And to witness a spectacular desert sunrise on the morning after your birthday is enough to make anyone feel alive.

www.arabian-adventures.com
+971 4 343 9966 / 303 4888
1st Floor, Emirates Holidays Building
Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
PO Box 7631
arabian.adventures@emirates.com
Google map: bit.ly/fU56XA

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Not many tourists visiting Dubai and Abu Dhabi travel inland to experience more of the local heritage, the deserts and the oases that make up so much of the character of the Gulf of Arabia. One easily accessible opportunity to do this is to make a side trip from the main tourist centres of the UAE to Al Ain, part of the ancient silk road junction post of Buraimi which the UAE shares with Oman, and where some of the most beautiful areas of desert are easily reached in a standard 4x4. Colours are brightest November to March. If you approach Al Ain from Abu Dhabi, bright green date palms stand against glowing red dunes and a deep cobalt sky as you pass the town of Al Yahar. From Dubai the approach is through Al Foah on the outskirts of the town, through quite different shades of paler sands and the soft green of the iconic Ghaf trees, branches drooping gently until they are clipped on a perfect horizontal line at exactly camel-grazing height! If you're lucky, it will rain. And it does rain in winter, from time to time. That is the time to grab the opportunity to visit the desert. Local families adore desert rain; daily routine might suddenly be interrupted as the whole family pack the car with picnicking basics and the kitchen goes full tilt, flipping pancakes and squeezing orange juice to add to the picnic stash. Everyone piles in to the family's two or three truck-sized SUVs, and out to the desert, where the sand almost seems to breathe the wet air and dormant succulent plants revive; in occasional spots the desert can turn quite green. As a visitor, stay on the better-worn tracks created by multiple desert driving use. If you spot a picnic, simply stop at a respectful distance to curiously observe. Almost certainly, you will be approached; Arab hospitality is not yet a part of history but remains a living tradition for most ordinary folk. Join in. And from that point on, the experience will be uniquely yours.

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This is possibly the best hotel in Dubai, if you are looking for the type of quality you might need from a top business trip. The service is probably globally second to none. Forget the gaudiness of the Burj Al Arab, this one gets my vote

www.grosvenorhouse-dubai.com/
P O Box 118500, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Phone: 971 4 3998888
As recommended by www.grapeshisha.com

Google map: tinyurl.com/32guj8e

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Infinity pool with great views of Dubai. Drinks and snacks available, children are not admitted. Day visitors can pay to use all the hotel's leisure facilities.

grandjumeirah.habtoorhotels.com
PO Box 24454, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Tel: +971 4 408 4444

Google map: tinyurl.com/33brom2

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The United Arab Emirates is probably best know for the sliver of excess known as Dubai that lounges on the western coast 100 kilometres north of its hyper-wealthy neighbour Abu Dhabi. Forget about billion dollar hotels and dazzling grand prix circuits, the UAE is virtually all desert and Abu Dhabi monitors the Empty Quarter from a tiny offshore archipelago held together by the unimaginable wealth and a cheap labour force. The Rub al Khali, to give it its proper name, is the largest sand desert on earth, 1000 miles of dune big enough to lose France in. The ride, Harley's are a favourite over there, will take you on a triangular circuit from the oasis town of Al Ain down to Abu Dhabi and then Liwa. The drive, on virtually unused high-quality black-top, snakes through 300 metre high dunes and vast, mesmerizingly beautiful desert plains. Set off early and the air is cold and still, alone in this ocean of sand and you'll feel like you're flying. This is what motorcycling would feel like if you were the last person on Earth.

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Basically, just a good, friendly pub, usually with live music which can vary from excellent to dreadful and OK food. Gets quite lively at weekends, and has a nightclub next to it which is one of the few of its kind in the city where a group of women would feel comfortable.

Location: Hilton Abu Dhabi, Corniche Road, Al Khubeirah, Abu Dhabi
Tel: 02 681 1900

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This is a fairly standard hotel bar six days a week, but there is live jazz here on Fridays, and while fairly mainstream, it's about as good as you will find in the UAE, where all too often, "jazz" is understood to mean some flat voiced woman singing "Strangers in the night" backed by a cheesy pre-programmed keyboard. There is a core of four regular musicians and when they are all there, the music can be very good indeed, and it is also a very friendly atmosphere.

Location: Novotel Centre Hotel Abu Dhabi, Hamdan Street
Tel: 02 633 3555

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Dubai may not seem like the most esoteric or otherworldly of destinations, but there is one location that is an absolute must for those visitors who would like to sample the rich religious and cultural landscape of Dubai: the Shiva and Krishna Mandir in Bur Dubai at the back of the Al-Fahidi museum (itself well worth a visit with a fascinating range of exhibits including entombed bronze-age skeletons).

The mandir is not reserved solely for Hindus, and non-Hindus are welcomed warmly. You can buy jasmine garlands (gajra) and as you leave the mandir you are given a prasada token - a small carton of lentil soup and some bread.

The only drawback, it can get very congested, especially at the shrines themselves, so if you have small kids, or are claustrophobic then you might try to go when there are fewer people around.

It's a unique insight into the cultural life of Dubai, and a touching sign of religious tolerance: the Mandir abuts a mosque and worshippers and visitors to the vicinity are treated with respect. However, please don't forget to observe local sensitivities regarding dress. Never enter a religious site wearing revealing clothes - and that includes shorts: a pretty tall order for a place as hot as the UAE.

After visiting the Mandir, stroll around the neighbourhood of Bur Dubai; you can enjoy the huge range of Subcontinental and East Asian cuisine on offer and marvel at the rich diversity of the area - as well as the tacky shops, themselves somehow worth a visit.

To get to the Mandir just walk from the Dubai Museum (Al-Fahidi fort) towards the Dubai Creek, about a 100 meters or less from the museum. Turn left and you will see what looks like a large scale busstop overlooking the creek: this is the rear entrance to the mandir complex (which also includes a Sikh gurdwara). If these directions don't help, ask any resident and they will readily show you where it is.

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