Renato1
Established Member
- Joined
- May 1, 2015
- Posts
- 1,730
We visited Dubai two years ago in early November for three days - staying at the Radisson Blu in Deira - and had a great time, especially wandering around the shops between the Gold Souk and Baniyas Square. Weather during the day was 27C and sunny - though not sunny enough to cause sunburn the way it would have in Melbourne.
So we visited again at the same time this year for four days. Unfortunately, apparently the cool season was a bit late this year, temperature was 35C most days. So it was shopping malls the first day, a desert safari the second day (where surprisingly, it was a pleasant 26C in the desert), and an Abu Dhabi tour the third day (pleasant enough, hopping in and out of a very cool bus into the very hot areas) and luckily - we finally got a cool change on the fourth day which made wandering around a little easier.
What became obvious was that the place was a lot dearer than on our previous visit. Prices seemed to be exactly the same in US dollar terms as they were two years ago, which meant they were around 40% dearer for us.
My wife kept commenting that the prices in the big shopping malls seemed now to be the same as, or dearer, than back home in Australia. Fortunately, prices in strip shopping places (e.g. in and around Baniyas Square) were still much lower than in the malls, and thus it was not a waste of time exploring them. Baniyas square and surrounds was a place that we love walking around - despite the crowds - even very late at night, feeling perfectly safe.
Meals in the various restaurants at our hotel were thus a lot dearer. Fortunately, our hotel gave us a Club Carlson card which got us 20% off most restaurants, and 40% off the Chinese Noodle place there - so we wound up eating delicious Chinese meals there at around Aussie prices.
If you don't get very queasy on amusement park rides, I can highly recommend the Desert Safari Tour that we did through Arabian-Adventures. They will slow down the four wheel drives and take the dune bashing a bit easier for you, if you say that you are starting to feel ill. The huge meal in the desert camp later that night, was excellent - and they even had heaps of Coke Light for me, which I always look for given my medical condition. And the belly dancer after the meal made the local belly dancers I've seen in Australia look decidely average.
The question of hotel bookings is interesting. My travel agent booked the hotel room for A$212 a night through Dubai Stopovers, including breakfast. The best Booking.com could do was $305 a night for the same room.
Regards,
Renato
P.S. Handy hints.
1. If you are male, do not get into the Women & Children Only carriages of the Metro train. 100 dirham fine if you are caught.
2. When you come across a McDonalds which has an outdoor counter selling ice creams, if you are male you have to get into the long line on one side. If you are female, you go to the very short or non existent line on the other side of the males at the counter - where all women are served first. If you are male, it is perfectly acceptable to send your wife to buy you an ice cream at the female counter.
So we visited again at the same time this year for four days. Unfortunately, apparently the cool season was a bit late this year, temperature was 35C most days. So it was shopping malls the first day, a desert safari the second day (where surprisingly, it was a pleasant 26C in the desert), and an Abu Dhabi tour the third day (pleasant enough, hopping in and out of a very cool bus into the very hot areas) and luckily - we finally got a cool change on the fourth day which made wandering around a little easier.
What became obvious was that the place was a lot dearer than on our previous visit. Prices seemed to be exactly the same in US dollar terms as they were two years ago, which meant they were around 40% dearer for us.
My wife kept commenting that the prices in the big shopping malls seemed now to be the same as, or dearer, than back home in Australia. Fortunately, prices in strip shopping places (e.g. in and around Baniyas Square) were still much lower than in the malls, and thus it was not a waste of time exploring them. Baniyas square and surrounds was a place that we love walking around - despite the crowds - even very late at night, feeling perfectly safe.
Meals in the various restaurants at our hotel were thus a lot dearer. Fortunately, our hotel gave us a Club Carlson card which got us 20% off most restaurants, and 40% off the Chinese Noodle place there - so we wound up eating delicious Chinese meals there at around Aussie prices.
If you don't get very queasy on amusement park rides, I can highly recommend the Desert Safari Tour that we did through Arabian-Adventures. They will slow down the four wheel drives and take the dune bashing a bit easier for you, if you say that you are starting to feel ill. The huge meal in the desert camp later that night, was excellent - and they even had heaps of Coke Light for me, which I always look for given my medical condition. And the belly dancer after the meal made the local belly dancers I've seen in Australia look decidely average.
The question of hotel bookings is interesting. My travel agent booked the hotel room for A$212 a night through Dubai Stopovers, including breakfast. The best Booking.com could do was $305 a night for the same room.
Regards,
Renato
P.S. Handy hints.
1. If you are male, do not get into the Women & Children Only carriages of the Metro train. 100 dirham fine if you are caught.
2. When you come across a McDonalds which has an outdoor counter selling ice creams, if you are male you have to get into the long line on one side. If you are female, you go to the very short or non existent line on the other side of the males at the counter - where all women are served first. If you are male, it is perfectly acceptable to send your wife to buy you an ice cream at the female counter.
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