Wanderlust: Dubai

Siiiiiiiiiiiigh.... I'm sighing not so much due to my departure from the city as it is for my having to say goodbye to J.... yet again. But still, it was a a perfectly fabulous week in every sense... the weather (which got crazily hot at times), the heavenly beach, having breakfast at 0730hrs and going back to sleep till 1030hrs, riding a camel, driving down sand dunes at awesome inclines, having a splashing great time at Wild Wadi (pics taken
on old-school camera so must be developed and scanned), and did I mention my tan?!? I was wined and dined at chic little cafes (one I particularly liked called Central Perk... yes after the coffee house in Friends!) and impressive restaurants where you sit in ornately decorated tents and puff on shisha the whole night - VERY GOOD shisha... better than any I've ever had in Singapore; driven around in a boxster... In short, I was treated like a princess ;-)

Though I must say that Dubai wasn't exactly what I thought it'd be. Yes it does have a certain amount of grandeur, it IS terribly modern and the architecture of certain key structures really are impressive, but on the whole I don't think it really lived up to any of the descriptions I'd read on the net about it. The hustle and bustle I'd been expecting was surprisingly absent, apart from the jams you're unfortunate enough to get stuck in; the landscape was marred by the on-going construction every few hundred yards; the villas appeared to be rather boxed in - like a very spacious cube (I like open spaces, though I must say the villa J lives in is SWEEEEEEEET) and save for the hip and trendy cafes and night spots, I found the city rather low-key in general. There wasn't that buzz and electrical pulse one would usually feel when in a fast-paced city. I guess high expectations will always eventually spoil things for you :p But then again, maybe I misunderstood the articles and Dubai really ISN'T a fast paced city...

And another point I must make here, something I also found not to be in accordance to all the articles I've read online. The women here dress to kill!! Not all of them and certainly not the locas (I guess) but there were more short skirts and cleavage revealing tops in the shopping mall than in Attica. And here I was being all prudent and packing decent trousers and tops and holding back on the shorts and tubes. The advice that kept repeating like a mantra on the websites about being careful not to offend with the way you dress is really completely unnecessary.

Anyway, but then there's old Dubai, which I love, with its souks and narrow alleys, alot like Little India back in Singapore... where you don't see a single Westerner save for the red-faced, sweaty tourists in their shorts and sun-burns. This side of the Creek felt more authentic with none of the fancy-shamsy shingdings that one would see on the other side. I had a lovely time window shopping there. Had a little chat with the merchant at one of the spice souks about Indian cooking (Oh and I managed to find vanilla pods! Hello puddings!!!), brought J up to speed with what to look out for when buying a diamond ring at the gold souk (Was ONLY sharing some information... I swear!), took a ride on one of the many abras that lined the banks, bargained for a camera I could ill-afford (i got the currency exchange wrong :p), bought myself a pair of cute but oh-so uncomfortable pair of Aladdin-looking slip-ons after being assured that the leather would stretch-out once I wore them a few times...

Anyway I could go on... and then I wouldn't have any space left for pics. So here they are... some taken when I was there, some from J's stash when he first moved over. Didn't think it necessary to take duplicates...

Note: Madinat Jumeirah is definitely a place of note. I guess it could be compared to Chijmes in Singapore in terms of concept and clubs and restaurant, but that's about it. You step into the main archway of this Arabian Resort and you're immediately blown away by it's opulence... It's like you'd been transported into a whole different world that exists only within those 4 walls, a hidden fairy-land of lights and decadence. People lounging and puffing on shisha, catching up on life, drinking in the night... It's apparently styled to resemble an ancient Arabian citadel, with courtyards and waterways where hotel guests are transported by boat. It simply takes your breath away. Unfortunately I got drunk rather quickly thanks to the fabulous cocktails, and so was unable to truly appreciate the sights of the night time desert as seen from another bar perched at the very top of the building :p Oh well...