United Arab Emirates – Dubai

Why visit Dubai?

I finally booked a trip to a destination I had been eyeing for years – Sri Lanka! But it is so far away, on the other side of the world. And then there were terrorist attacks in 2019, followed by the pandemic years. But now Sri Lanka is welcoming visitors.

I looked for flights to Sri Lanka, and many of them connected through Dubai. And I thought, why not do a stopover there? It’s a dazzling city, home to a lot of “biggest in the world” structures, and known for its over the top opulence.

And then I looked at a map, and saw that Maldives is very close to Sri Lanka, so why not do a stopover there on the way home?

Well, because it was really difficult to book flights for this adventure, from Regina, Saskatchewan. I enlisted the help of a travel agent who claimed to be a solo and adventure travel specialist, but gave up on them. I finally booked through Aeroplan somehow with a combination of points and cash.

If anyone has a good travel agent who could help with a trip like this please share!!

Are there some different laws to follow in Dubai?

Yes, there are a few interesting rules you should know about Dubai. The official religion of the United Arab Emirates is Islam, and that influences some strict laws and cultural rules.

Some prescription drugs, such as codeine or zanax, are banned. Check a list before you go. And definitely don’t smuggle drugs, as you can receive the death penalty.

If you’re travelling with a partner, your hotel may ask you for a marriage certificate. You can be imprisoned or deported for sharing a hotel room if not married! Some hotels will not ask, so check their websites where hotels usually state their policy. You might be better off in an apartment or airbnb just in case.

Drinking or being drunk in public is against the law, so you should only drink in licensed locations and try not to stagger when you leave them.

You must have a licence to purchase alcohol. This is easy to get for non-Muslims at a liquor store, with your passport. However the liquor store part is not so easy – in the entire huge area where I stayed, there was only one liquor store where I could have bought a bottle of wine!

Public displays of affection, swearing, eating in public, taking pictures of people without their permission, and viewing pornography are all illegal and can potentially land you in jail.

And it’s always best to dress conservatively. Wearing a bathing suit when not around a beach or pool could get you in trouble.

Where should you stay in Dubai?

There are many different areas of the city where you can stay, ranging from hostels to all-inclusive luxury resorts on a beach.

Fifty years ago Dubai was a fishing village. The discovery of oil started its transformation to the futuristic city of wealth it is today. Some of the old city still exists.

I chose to stay in the Deira area, just across the Dubai Creek from the oldest part of the city. I found a reasonably price hotel, close to a metro station and the airport. And it conveniently turned out to be right across the street from a stop on a hop-on-hop-off bus!

Can you visit Dubai on a budget? Or at least not spend a fortune?

Yes and yes! In the older parts of the city, very nice hotels can be affordable. I only had dinner once on my own, and and found a little restaurant on a nearby street with really good cheap food.

Taxis, that you can book using the Careem app, are inexpensive. I could go from one area of the city to another, maybe a 20 minute ride, for less than $10. I didn’t use the metro but it is cheap.

Is Dubai safe?

Yes, Dubai is very safe.

They say you can leave your Lamborghini running, with your Chanel bag, your Gucci wallet, and your phone in it, and come back to find them all there. Because if you’re caught, your hand will be amputated? No, this is a myth, but you will likely be sent to jail for a long time.

A huge percentage of the people living in Dubai is migrant, from Pakistan, Iran, India, and many other countries. And a lot of these immigrants are men, who leave their families behind while they earn a living in service jobs. So you see a lot of groups of men on the streets at all hours. They will stare at foreign women, whether you are dressed conservatively or not. This is a little disconcerting.

But I found that if you asked for help with directions, the entire group smiled and offered whatever help they could. After that, I just smiled when I was under scrutiny. I felt very safe.

Dubai airport

I arrived at the Dubai airport, known as one of the most luxurious in the world. It was sparkling and flashy and lived up to its reputation. On arrival you receive a sim card for your cell phone, for free internet! The sim card came along with a tool to help you change the card. Nice! (I didn’t use the sim card, as I had paid for an esim on my phone, no physical card required.)

Outside the airport, taxis lined up. The official ones are cream colored with different colored roofs – each company is a different color. Pink ones are for women, driven by women. There is also a pink car on the metro for women only!

I had a short cab ride to my hotel, with Arabic themed rooms and a very nice fruit and sweets plate waiting for me.

Three days in Dubai

Here’s what I did:

Exploring the old town

Day one – In the morning I crossed the Dubai Creek on an abra (a traditional wooden boat, cost less than $1!). Explored the Bur Dubai area, the oldest area of the city, by foot.

In the evening joined a walking food tour (Frying Pan Adventures) that took us from the Spice Souk in Deira to a traditional Emirati dinner in Bur Dubai. We crossed the creek again on an abra. All the boats and the city are lit up at night and it was magical! This was the most expensive thing I did.

Seeing the biggest and most expensive structures in the world

Day two – Hop on, hop off Big Bus tour to see and hear about the glitzy highlights of the city. That was a long ride! I felt like I was in the Jetsons cartoon with all the futuristic buildings, overpasses, monorail and helicopters.

There are two loops to the tour so you must changes buses. There are some amazing sights but over huge distances. I got off only once, at the Atlantis resort complex on the end of the man made islands shaped like a palm tree. I hoped to do the loop again to see the night scene, but after eight hours already it was just too much for me! For my dinner I went to the markets close to my hotel.

Heading out to the desert for an adventure

Day three – In the morning, I shopped a bit in the Gold Souk that I could walk to from my hotel. I was looking for a simple pendant but nothing was simple there. Ostentatious was more normal.

In the afternoon, I went on a Desert Safari. Evening Red Dunes Desert Safari with buffet dinner, run by Desert Fun Tourism, booked through Get Your Guide. My cost was $73. Such a fun adventure!

The tour guide, Mohsin, picked me up in a white Toyota Land Cruiser. (Those things are indestructible!) A German group of five joined. We drove an hour out of the city, in the Dubai emirate, to another emirate, Sharja, where yellow sand changes to red.

First stop was an activity centre where we could have pictures with a falcon, ride a camel, and add a dune buggy rental.

Back in the Land Cruiser we went “dune bashing” with a few hundred other vehicles. This was fun! But not for Julia in the back. She thought she would throw up, then couldn’t feel her hands or her legs, and had to be carried out of the car and laid on her back in the sand. She recovered and switched places with me for the front seat and then was fine.

More dune bashing, then another stop for sand boarding on the red dunes, and a lot of pictures. Moshin was a very good photographer and had us all posing like models. We watched the sunset, then headed back to the yellow sands of Dubai emirate to a desert camp.

We joined hundreds of other people for a barbecue meal and entertainment. This included a henna tattoo, shisha pipes, a falcon, an amazing belly dancer, a fire show, and my favorite, a tanoura dancer. The tanoura is much like the whirling dervishes of Turkey, but with colorful skirts with lights. Amazing!

We drove home past the massive estate of the the crown prince. He has expensive horses and camels, plus lions and tigers. Julia had recovered from her panic attack to try to figure out ways to meet him and become his third wife (he can have four).

On the way back, I got to know our guide Mohsin a little. He is Pakistani, Muslim, has been here in Dubai for 18 years, and has a wife and kids in Pakistan. He felt he had a good life compared to mine, living alone with no husband or kids. Hmm.

The next day I left for the main part of my trip – Sri Lanka.