[vibbs]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Honestly, I find it a bit amusing for the majority of Indians who go there for tourism (no offense to anyone particular), considering the amazing choice of much better locations all around India than UAE.

Although you said you wont post on this matter again, I just want to opine this.

Does it not depend on a person's perspective on what he wants from his Holiday/vacation?

Although I have never been to Dubai for a holiday, I do get the reason why people from India specifically would want to go there. It is a world class city with modern facilities and attractions that they cant see in India. Perhaps it is the easiest Global city they can visit at lowest price other than Singapore perhaps.

I used to think the same way. But I realized when my parents (who have never been out of India) and my In Laws (who have only been to Sri Lanka as a foreign location) were super excited to see Singapore and its offerings when they visited us last year. It was a different experience for them, one that they never had in their lifetime till now. That is an extreme, not everyone travels with same intention, but I hope you know where I am getting from.

After all my idea of a good time does not necessarily need to match with Mr. Xs right?

[CountMe91]

Beautiful Travelogue short and crisp. I had used Dubai as my connecting Airport a couple of times now but was never interested to come out and explore the city using a Transit visa. Seeing your pictures maybe next time I will think of using a transit to explore some parts of the city within 24 hours.

[sameer sultan]

Very nice travelogue of Dubai. The Car Vault visit by you was a bonus!!!

Beautiful pictures of sunrise and sunsets. Really in Dubai its the best place to catch the sunsets especially around Dubai Marina/Palm Jumeirah.

I have used Uber in Dubai, though of late I do not use Uber as they are expensive than the Dubai Taxi's I did not know that they offer Tesla as an option. Just for the novelty factor I will try this out next time. Thanks for the tip.

That DUBAI lacks culture is a very common criticism, they are trying to make amends by tracing their history and have developed a cultural village in the AL Fahidi area.There are also historic walks around the creek and the traditional markets called Souks. But these are not that popular especially with the Indian crowd as Dubai tourism concentrates on promoting the malls high rises and theme parks.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by TheGearBox

Didn't you visit this road? It is lined with car showrooms on both sides and would make for great window shopping.

Didn't do any window shopping, but thankfully all the showrooms on Sheikh Zayed road are clearly visible from the Metro.

Originally Posted by Dhar's

I now crave for a holiday.....in Dubai.

Originally Posted by CountMe91

Seeing your pictures maybe next time I will think of using a transit to explore some parts of the city within 24 hours.

Hope the COVID situation ends soon and your plans can go ahead.

Originally Posted by car love

Lovely thread bro, thanks for that. Will be heading there in December if this Covid thing settles. By the way what watch are you wearing? Looks super

Thanks. Watch is an old DIESEL. Here is an older image taken back in 2014 (Don't have access to it now, thanks to the COVID situation), though the strap was changed to blue leather sometime before the trip last year. Has aged well thanks to the rugged design and some good care (is not my daily).

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

On the contrary, it's far cheaper to travel to a host of other nations around us than UAE.

As for being fortunate workwise, I refused to go to Middle East after that. Always prefer to go somewhere worth traveling to. Although I was lucky (and unlucky - hardly got out of Kathmandu) to travel to Nepal next for another assignment. Although a relatively poor representation of good travel destinations as compared to other SE Asian countries, it's way better than UAE for tourism purposes. And way way cheaper. So is Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Thailand (not talking only about Pattaya, Phuket and Bangkok), Laos, and so on...

I do get your point, just not the argument of one being better than the other. Being 'better' is purely subjective, as none of the above mentioned nations can match or even come close to Dubai for what it offers.

That those nations offer something else, which is also desirable and at cheaper rates - is a fact.

That said - Personally my next choice would be Cambodia mostly, solo or with friends. But that will have to wait - for a better life situation and budget. With family (parents or wife) - the choice of destination may be something else, like Lombok.

[Justin]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

BUT - The public transportation system is so amazing - you would rarely need to use a cab.

This was quite surprising to hear, metro was a great relief but would still have to take a taxi or long walk to reach the destination.

It was a pleasant read, thanks for the write-up and pictures. The view from the top of Burj Khalifa is exciting at night, I would say one must stay back and wait for the view.


Here's a video of the fountain show from At the Top deck of Burj Khalifa.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8Js...ature=youtu.be

Originally Posted by Amrik Singh

Believe me - In Dubai, you can survive without knowledge of English, Hindi / Urdu or Arabic, only if you know Malayalam.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by sameer sultan

That DUBAI lacks culture is a very common criticism, they are trying to make amends by tracing their history and have developed a cultural village in the AL Fahidi area.There are also historic walks around the creek and the traditional markets called Souks. But these are not that popular especially with the Indian crowd as Dubai tourism concentrates on promoting the malls high rises and theme parks.

Had heard of the walking tour while searching options on Klook. IIRC, the tour was of the Creek area and the souks, and of two hour duration. Didnt opt for it because I was not sure of the weather being too hot, and also - the reviews didn't look very promising either.

Originally Posted by Justin

This was quite surprising to hear, metro was a great relief but would still have to take a taxi or long walk to reach the destination.

Could be because of my low benchmarks - or due to the choice of destinations covered. We always had a/c walkways wherever we switched transportation and the single card option was a great convenience too.

[turbowhistle]

Such a pleasant read man, thanks for sharing!

As few others pointed, even I never looked at Dubai as a tourist destination despite passing through it couple of times. But your photos have me hooked and might plan a extended layover soon (off-course when things brighten up).

Originally Posted by vibbs

After all my idea of a good time does not necessarily need to match with Mr. Xs right?

I'd rather prefer road tripping in India rather than driving around in Europe! To each of his own!

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by car love

By the way what watch are you wearing? Looks super

If you are into watches, Dubai is definitely an interesting place to visit, More watch shops than you can shake a stick at! Having said that. I did notice that between my first visit to Dubai and my last it has changed a bit. There are still a huge number of jewellers/watch shops around. But they concentrate on main stream watches. In Dubai that is still a huge wide range of watches, but you will struggle to find some specials, even from the big brands. E.g. nobody has heard of Sinn in Dubai!

Originally Posted by vibbs

Does it not depend on a person's perspective on what he wants from his Holiday/vacation?

After all my idea of a good time does not necessarily need to match with Mr. Xs right?

Exactly!

I enjoyed my visit to Dubai. I would recommend it to anybody, just for the experience. If you have got kids, I can see why this might be a great place too.

But would I go again on a private trip? Most likely not. I just have this feeling that with those 4 days I have seen and done it all.

We have visited many places we would love to visit again, but in all honesty we rarely do. We tend to look for new places more often than re-visit ones we have been before. We’re only human.

My main criteria for a holiday/trip destination is very simple. If I havent been there before, its on my list! Take it as it comes.

Jeroen

[Thermodynamics]

It is a roller coaster ride of probably the world’s biggest theme park. What a comprehensive essay of Dubai, detailed yet relaxing. A perfect plan for prospective travellers. Thanks for writing.

I have heard of luxury cars in Dubai but never knew they are so abundant. Tesla and Lexus as taxis took me by surprise.

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Interior quality seemed like a big letdown. Tesla is certainly no match for the German luxury cars in that aspect and even the Toyota Camry is better for the chauffer-driven!

Probably explains why Mr. Musk has announced a 1 year ban on customers who return Model-S. Link

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by turbowhistle

As few others pointed, even I never looked at Dubai as a tourist destination despite passing through it couple of times. But your photos have me hooked and might plan a extended layover soon (off-course when things brighten up).

Hope the situation brightens up soon.

Originally Posted by Jeroen

If you are into watches, Dubai is definitely an interesting place to visit, More watch shops than you can shake a stick at!

I forgot to mention an interesting experience - We were in the souk area window shopping for bags, when one of the shops asked us to take a look at '1st quality fakes'. Just for curiosity - went along with the guy. The shop was a small one, and he asked us to walk along with him to a nearby apartment. It was a shady looking place - infact almost scary - with almost no lights, a rusty old lift etc.

He went inside and knocked on a door and someone checked and opened - mafia style. What happened next was straight out of a MIB movie - an ultra-posh swanky showroom inside with bright LED lighting and product display - that you can never even imagine inside such a rusty old building.

Their fakes were almost identical to the original and the ladies struggled to find a fault with it - but still very expensive considering the conversion to INR. So, thankfully wife decided to get the original itself! (Turned out to be an excellent decision, because we got a nice little offer from one of the brands which almost matched the fake in price).

Interesting experience though! I was a bit puzzled to see such an established fake market there, considering the harsh nature of punishment in Dubai.

Originally Posted by Thermodynamics

I have heard of luxury cars in Dubai but never knew they are so abundant. Tesla and Lexus as taxis took me by surprise.

I was hoping for some of the better cars in their range. Uber Black generally contains Lexus ES350, BMW 5 & 7, Mercedes E Class and Audi A6 & A8. Uber One has Model X too. I was hoping for one of those to arrive, but got the S instead. Not that I should be complaining.

Here's the official and classy video from Uber One -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4qJ...ture=emb_title

[Amrik Singh]

During my last days in Dubai, (Year 2010), I went for last Gold Shopping with my wife. Bangles, she was looking for. She did not like any in the market, till we reached a shop we frequented quite often. Unfortunately, she did not like any there too. Imagine, such a vast Gold Souq, and nothing to please my wife ?
The shopkeeper asked us to wait and made a call. Soon two persons arrived, one carrying a suit case. Taking us aside, he opened the case and revealed rows of assorted Bangles. No ! She did not find anything of her taste. A final try, they asked us follow them through narrow lanes and reached a shop with Electrically operated door. On seeing them, the door was opened and we were shown a huge collection of Bangles variety. My pocket was lighter while exiting the shop and my wife with a broad grin on her face.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by Amrik Singh

During my last days in Dubai, (Year 2010)

Nothing much has changed on this front then.

This video on a market raid pretty much shows how these shops operate out of apartments and hidden warehouses -

https://youtu.be/OMWK95Znllc

[Dippy]

Thats a nice travelogue Crazy Driver. Dubai is very close to my heart as I spend a lots of m childhood days there. Its incredible what Dubai has become today but even in the 80s it was way ahead than what India was times. The best part is all the old places are still more or less there. Im glad you visited Ravi restaurant, that is a favourite and another one Chicken Tikka Inn as well.

I do visit Dubai twice a year nowadays just to break away from the madness of our land. Unfortunately my March trip this year got cancelled due to COVID.

About Car Vault, its an amazing place and the best part about these exotic car showrooms is that they are very friendly and welcoming. In 2018 i saw Car Vault putting an instagram post about a Ferrari F40 at their showroom. On DMing them, hey confirmed and called me over to visit. Spent an hour there.

Apart from that I took a 4 km walk down Sheikh Zayed Road just popping into the various dealerships

My dad used to take me to the Dubai Motor Show every year as a kid. I now went to the 2019 Edition after 27 years. It was very nostalgic indeed.

As for transport, I love the Dubai Metro and use mostly that except when im with friends in their cars.

[KP56]

Just wow! Reading through your travelogue was like a walk through memory lane from my Dubai trip.
All though I missed going on top of the Burj Khalifa as it was either that or Ferrari world and the 15 year old enthusiast back then chose the latter,but that was different experience altogether. And it is also close to impossible to cover all the tourist spots in Dubai within a week.
Your trip was really well planned with proper rest. Whereas when we went ,just like every other Indian familiy’s first foreign trip was very tight scheduled. So tight that we only had an average of 5 hours of sleep
Dubai is definitely a must visit for every petrolhead IMHO.

Apart from the travelogue, the intro -the things we malayalees are defined by ,was relatable on another level

Attaching my favorite spotting from the Friday night scene in jumeirah- the 911 gt3 in racing yellow.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by Dippy

Thats a nice travelogue Crazy Driver. Dubai is very close to my heart as I spend a lots of m childhood days there.

Hey thanks Dippy. Glad you liked it. Meanwhile, I'm loving your series on the old Topgear India Episode.

I totally agree with you on their hospitality. But then, wondering if it is also related to the higher affordability of such cars. It's much easier to purchase a used sports car there, if not for a Ferrari or Porsche. Anyone walking in could be a potential future customer.

Originally Posted by KP56

Attaching my favorite spotting from the Friday night scene in jumeirah- the 911 gt3 in racing yellow.

Reminded me of another point I had noticed, and mentioned earlier in a Dubai based BHPian's ownership thread - Cars just look so clean and shiny there, despite the lakhs of kilometers on the odo.

Maybe due to the dirty car fine, but still - quite a nice thing to see.