Do Buy Dubai! It’s worth it!

As you know if you read last week’s blog I visited the UAE whilst on an MSC cruise. This week let me tell you about the ports and the do’s and don’ts!

The best time to visit the Middle East is December to March as during the summer months temperatures can reach in excess of 50 degrees which is hot for even the most die hardy sunbather!

I was there from the 6^th – 15^th February and the hottest we had was 34 degrees so be prepared to take plenty of sunscreen – I had protection factor 50.

The UAE is made up of seven Emirates of which I visited three – Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. Size wise the UAE has a population of 9.2 million of which 1.4 are Emiratis and the remainder are Expatriates.

Dubai

First impressions upon landing at Dubai were how remarkably clean everything was and how polite people were. Exiting the airport there is a huge taxi rank and the taxis with the pink roofs are driven by female taxi drivers. Only single women and families can travel in these taxis and to be honest I thought this was a great idea as my 15 year old daughter hates getting in a taxi  alone if it’s a male driver.

Now where to start with Dubai. Do I start with saying how huge it is and how I thought everything would be close together? Hotels are spread out all over the city with some of the most reasonable priced hotels being in Bur Dubai or Old Dubai and some of the most expensive at The Palm and Jumeirah but one this is for certain there is a hotel here to suit all budgets.

The sheer scale of the buildings is amazing and the impressive height of the Burj Khalifa is something that I will remember for a long time as well as the amazing fountains. Close by is the Dubai Mall and on a weekend (Friday and Saturday) you find local Emirati families out till the early hours with their families.

Old Dubai and the Dubai Creek area is an area that is often over looked but it is here that you will find the Spice and Gold Souk’s – make sure you haggle as its part of the process of buying here and I was frequently told I was breaking their hearts by demanding such low prices but they still had a smile on their faces when I left.

There is also plenty to do for everyone here with public and private beaches as well as waterparks galore and of course the obligatory Desert Safari which was truly amazing.

I visited Atlantis and was astounded by the size and that its occupancy is 100%. The cars in the car park were like a Top Gear special with a McClaren, Lamborghini, Maserati and Bentley all parked in a row. Could not resist having my picture taken with the McClaren which apparently costs £1.3 million!!

Abu Dhabi

Unlike its neighbour Dubai is not quite as built up and still largely relies on its huge oil reserves as opposed to tourism. What is apparent is how highly respected the Sheikhs are as everywhere you go there are billboards with their faces on. I did an open topped bus tour here that was 46 euros and was well worth the money visiting places such as the Shekh Zayed Mosque and the Corniche. I even got off a few times and wandered the streets alone and felt completely at ease. In fact I went to get a bottle of water from a shop and the queue was quite long and all the men moved aside to let me be served first.

Khor Al Fakkan

If your cruise ship itinerary includes this port then please book a trip with the cruise line as there is nothing to do apart from visit a fish market and vegetable market. The funniest memory here was that the shuttle bus picked us up from the ship then drove around the corner before depositing us at immigration where we had to walk through heavily armed security before being picked up again by the bus and deposited a further 200 yards away. Bizarre!

Muscat

Muscat was a vast contrast to Dubai and Abu Dhabi as it seemed to have been carved from the huge mountain rages around it. The buildings were all traditional Arabic and most of the women that we encountered were in full abayas. The souk here was very entertaining with everyone wanting us to buy camel pashminas! Again we took advantage of the hop on hop off bus for 46 euros which took us on a tour of all the sights. I was surprised to see a magnificent opera house on the outskirts of the city.

We were also privileged to see the Sultan of Oman’s yacht, Al Said, which at 15580 tonnes is bigger than some of the smaller cruise lines in the market place. The yacht has 140 crew and has a concert room onboard that can accommodate a 50 piece orchestra.

Khasab

This was our final stop and again a shore excursion is highly recommended as there really is very little to do. We decided to book on one of the ships excursions which was a Dhow Cruise to the Arabian Fjords for 76 euros which I have to say was well worth every penny. Our trip started at 9am and we were escorted from the ship to a line of 3 dhows were we were helped on board. We positioned ourselves at the front of the boat. Once we had lifted anchor we set off with a guided commentary on the way. The scenery was breath taking and the pictures really do not do it justice.

Again we were very lucky as we managed to find a whole school of dolphin’s that followed us as we moved deeper in to the fjords. Some of the villages here are only accessible by boat. We dropped anchor at a place called Telegraph Island which is where the telegraph cable was lain in the late 1860’s by the British. The area was chosen as it was easier to defend than on land. Some of the existing buildings can still be seen. We also had an opportunity to swim in the sea but were warned not to swim to the island as there were lots of sea urchins.

Summary

All in all I found the Middle East to be a place of magical beauty with the mystical sound of the Adhan (call to prayer) to the amazing architecture of the high rises in Dubai it is truly a first class holiday destination.

Regarding do’s and don’ts I would say like any country that you visit you have to respect the culture and the only time I had to cover up was when visiting a mosque. Otherwise I tended to wear cropped trousers and a t shirt with a short sleeve during the day and a dress in the evenings.

Feel free to call me if you have any queries at all on the Middle East or if you think you would like to visit click on the link below for the latest deals.

Latest offers for Dubai with MSC.