Best of Dubai for Visitors

I get asked all the time about the best things for visitors to do in Dubai, so I'm putting my thoughts down for easy reference! Here's my list:

New Dubai/Downtown Dubai/Dubai Mall area: the Dubai Mall is where you'll find the best high-end shopping, a full-size skating rink, the Dubai Aquarium, and the entrance to At the Top of Burj Khalifa (the world's tallest building). You can buy timed tickets in advance for 125 AED or pay 400 AED for immediate entry to the observation deck of the Burj Khalifa ((http://www.burjkhalifa.ae/en/ObservationDeck/TicketInformation.aspx). Walk across the bridge over the fountain area to see the Souk Al Bahar (many small gift shops and nice restaurants--Rivington's balcony has a great view of Fountain show) and the Palace Hotel (Asado's Argentine steak restaurant)

Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC): (where many business offices are located) is a short drive from the Dubai Mall with many offbeat art galleries and restaurants. Especially good are Zuma, La Petite Maison and Ivy

Jumeirah Mosque: tours are offered at 10 am every day except Friday, arrive at 9:45, no reservation needed, 75 minutes long (http://www.cultures.ae/index.php/ouractivities/jumeirah-mosque-visit), have lunch afterwards at Lime Tree Cafe nearby, cross Jumeirah Beach Road and take a walk on the beach 

Old Dubai:  Dubai Museum in Bur Dubai (open every day from 8:30 am-7:30 pm except Friday opens at 1:30 pm); stop in the XVA Art Hotel/Gallery nearby with nice restaurant and gift shop; visit old souks--textile souk is on the Bur Dubai side where the museum is, take an abra to cross the creek and visit the gold and spice souks on the Deira side of the creek. Stop in the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding, which offers cultural meals (breakfast and lunch) and heritage tours (http://www.cultures.ae/index.php/ouractivities)

Jewelry: try the Gold & Diamond Park at Interchange 4, Sheik Zayed Road; Mamiya's shop is recommended for Arabic influenced pieces, cheaper than gold souk

Desert Safari: many of these involve "dune bashing", which is not recommended if easily nauseated--look for a different type of tour, maybe in early morning or evening. Check out Platinum Heritage safaris--breakfast with a bedouin and falconry and wildlife offerings sound interesting (http://www.platinum-heritage.com/heritage-collection). Consider visiting Bab Al Shams--classic desert resort, good place to start desert excursion

Jebel Ali Shooting Club: skeet, trap, sporting clays, pistol range and archery 

Mushrif Park: desert hack on horseback at the equestrian club, nice track for running and biking (bring your own)

Other malls: Mall of the Emirates (Ski Dubai), Mercato (small, on Jumeirah Beach Road with new movie theatre)

Unique restaurants: Bu Qtair fish shack in Jumeirah, Ravi's in Satwa, Antique Bazaar (Indian with alcohol and live entertainment) at Four Points Sheraton Bur Dubai. Decent restaurants close to our apartment in Jumeirah 3: Arz Lebanon, Reem al Bawadi, Barracuda, Smiling BKK, Jones the Grocer, Marita Bonita, Shakespeare & Co., Rock ‘n Sole Plaice

Seawings flight: (http://www.seawings.ae/scenic-tour/dubai/) leaving from Jebel Ali Hotel: aerial tour of Dubai, expensive, highly recommended, and by far the best way to see the man-made islands, which do not look like islands from the road level

Global Village: amusement park with booths from countries around the world selling arts, crafts, clothes, and foods, very cheap, opens late afternoon winter season only so check before going

Palm Jumeirah: Atlantis Aquaventure and Rostang, the Italian restaurant at Atlantis; Jumeirah Zabeel Saray (Turkish theme luxury hotel), especially the coffee bar and Voi, the Vietnamese restaurant; 101 restaurant at the One and Only the Palm

Madinat Jumeirah: nice shops and theatre near Burj Al Arab, favorite restaurants include Anar (Persian), Pierchic (most scenic) and Friday brunch at Al Qsar (highly recommended)

Camel Racing: the new camel racetrack is in Al Marmoum--take the Al Lisali exit off E66 (the road to Al Ain) before Rugby Sevens stadium--winter season only--races at 7 am and 2 pm. Call to confirm race days and times before heading out--Dubai Camel Racing Club (04 832 6526). Admission is free, very few spectators, mostly locals. 

Timeout Dubai: the weekly magazine and website (http://www.timeoutdubai.com) are a good source of information about local events and special offers. Meal deals, special offers and coupons are very popular and widely used by expats in Dubai to counter high prices.

Further afield, a few must-sees:

Abu Dhabi: the Grand Mosque, tours daily except Friday, Palace Hotel, Corniche

Al Ain: Jebel Hafeet mountain (good lunch at hotel at top), Wildlife Park, Palace Museum (former home of Sheikh Zayed, UAE's founder), National Museum, Oasis

Doha, Qatar: Museum of Islamic Art, designed by I.M. Pei; Damien Hirst's new series of monumental sculptures outside Sidra Medical and Research Center; the "Relics" retrospective of Hirst works at Al Riwaq (may be fully booked through November)

Really Big Book

Dubai is known for going after records for large things, but even I was surprised to come across the latest record breaker. It's the world's largest book, as certified by the Guinness Book of World Records, on display at the Dubai Mall during Ramadan. What is the book about, you may ask. It's in Arabic, of course. Its title in English translates as "This is Mohammed, Peace be upon him."  It tells the story of the Prophet Mohammed, peace be upon him (a phrase you are supposed to say whenever you say the prophet's name, which can be abbreviated as p.b.u.h.). No author is noted.

The world's largest book is now on tour, and small versions of the book are to be distributed in Arabic and other languages in various countries in the Middle East, Europe and America. Fifty thousand free copies were already handed out at the London Olympics. You can get a copy at this-is-mohammed.com, but, surprisingly, it's not free. The sale price is $27, and it will ship to you in one week, "Inshallah" (God willing). Better be a good book at that price.

My Cell Phone, My Identity

Another thing I have overlooked is the UAE's campaign to register all UAE cell phone numbers. This has been a requirement for over a year, with several deadlines already passed. According to an SMS I just received, my line will be disconnected if I fail to register within 90 days.

Looks like this will an easy process. I can use my passport OR my Emirates ID (which I still don't have), so no problem there, with many different locations where I can get this done. Unless I forget and leave the country without doing it. Better put it on the calendar.

Tourists don't need to do anything unless they get a UAE cell phone, which should include this registration in the SIM card activation process.

The stated goal of the policy is to protect consumer's rights and confidentiality and to fight fraud. Am I worried about privacy? No, not any more than I would be in the U.S. The systems here, being newer, are probably more protective. I am worried about fraud so anything they can do to prevent fraud is a good thing in my book.

At Loose Ends

Having nothing better to do during Ramadan, I decided to clean up some loose ends. Ever since I got my UAE residency visa, I've been needing to get a UAE driver's license. My Pennsylvania license was all I needed to drive legally when I was here on a tourist visa, but that's not the case any more. I kept putting it off, dreading the hassle and taking the risk of getting caught. Not knowing what would happen if I got caught combined with the increased risk of accidents during Ramadan (see prior post), got me thinking it was time to get legal. My husband's office gave me explicit instructions and paperwork to get started, so I headed off yesterday to get this done.

Long story short, I got my UAE driver's license, good for 10 years. Hooray! It put me out a few hours and a pretty penny, and it was all bureaucracy and paperwork--nothing substantive involved whatsoever. I could be the worst driver in the world for all they know. First off, I got some passport-size photos at the Kodak store, minimum of 8. Then I got my eye test, requiring one photo and my reading a line of letters on an eye chart, which I actually had trouble with, but they passed me anyway. Then I found the window for the driver's license, pulling out everything I needed--eye test, passport, UAE residency visa, Pennsylvania driver's license, no objection letter from my husband, my husband's passport and UAE residency visa--which was all fine, except for one thing. I did not have an Emirates ID card. This is a relatively new requirement, put in place a few years ago, whereby all UAE residents are required to get an ID card. I never bothered, not understanding the need for it, even though there were well-publicized deadlines. Now it came back to bite, as they said I had to have the ID to get the driver's license. Chicken and egg sort of thing.

The good news was, I could apply for an Emirates ID that day in the same building, and the application would suffice to get the driver's license. The bad news was, I would have to pay a fine of 1,000 dirhams ($272) and go to the Emirates ID authority elsewhere to complete the application. They didn't seem to think I was going to pay the fine, but I coughed it up and they prepared the application, which enabled me to get my UAE license with only an hour's extra wait. They didn't ask for a photo, taking a new one there.

Emboldened by my success with the driver's license, I decided I might as well finish up with the ID. I took a cab to the nearest Emirates ID Authority, in the middle of nowhere in Al Barsha. I could have gone to the one in Al Satwa, like my husband's office suggested, but the people at the municipal building told me to go to Al Barsha, so that's what I did. When I got there, I was pretty surprised to be told that I needed to get fingerprinted somewhere else, and I told them so, vociferously. They then directed me to the almost empty ladies reception area, where I got fingerprinted. (Why they didn't just do this in the first place, I have no idea.) They took a new photo as well (leaving me with 7 unused photos), certainly the worst of the day since I was kind of fed up by then. I did not have the satisfaction of leaving with my Emirates ID, however. They told me I would be notified to pick it up at the nearest post office at a later date. Nearest to what and when, I have no idea. Not sure I'll ever need the actual ID card, but you never know.

All told, the requirements cost me AED 35 (photos) + 25 (eye test) + 1,000 (fine) + 410 (driver's license) + 270 (ID card plus application), for a grand total of 1,740 dirhams, which is around $474!!! A Pennsylvania driver's license seems very cheap by comparison.

When people say Dubai has no taxes, it's worth noting that the fees here are pretty high. When you add up the high cost of speeding tickets (automated to catch you everywhere and impossible to contest), tolls (also automated), and the various fees for leases, utilities, licenses, visas, and ID's, it's a hefty bundle.

My husband still has me beat on UAE ID's, since he also has the "alcoholic license" needed to buy alcoholic beverages in Dubai. It expired and he's trying to renew it, but it could be a while before that happens, especially considering it's Ramadan.

One loose end I did not manage to clean up: getting my husband's car fixed. It suffered some minor damage months ago in the parking garage--passenger side mirror cracked, bumper gashed, after someone nicked a column (not me!). The dealership says they can't fix it without a police report, even though there was no "accident" the way I think of it. I offered to pay the cost, but that didn't work. (They said it would be very expensive, so probably best to have insurance cover it anyway.) I tried going to the police station and asking them for a police report, but they refused despite my taking it to a higher level. They insist that my husband have the police come to the parking garage to fill out the report. Seems ridiculous, and I told them so, but that's the way they do it here in Dubai.

Maybe it's just me and the effects of Ramadan, but I don't think I'll be missing this place much.

Ramadan Kareem?

Somehow I managed to avoid being in Dubai during Ramadan, until now. I find myself here for a good part of the holy month, which started on July 10. Muslims must fast from dawn until dusk, and most places serving food and drink are not open for service during that time period. The coffeehouses I usually frequent when I'm out doing errands are, sadly, closed. At dusk, around 7:10 p.m., the fast is broken with the "iftar" meal, and restaurants and coffee shops are open for business. Many restaurants offer a special iftar buffet with traditional foods and sweets.  Muslims take another meal before dawn called the "suhoor", which may be eaten later in the evening or very early before dawn.

Non-Muslims, including tourists and the many expats who live in Dubai, are required to respect Ramadan customs by not eating or drinking anything in public during the daytime. Hotel restaurants can remain open during the day for tourists provided they are well-hidden and not observable from the outside. A few places also offer takeout during the day for those not required to fast. The supermarkets remain open, and, of course, it is perfectly okay to eat and drink where you cannot be seen in public.

The UAE dress code--which calls for modest clothing in public places like the shopping malls--seems to be more in force now. Women should wear clothes covering their shoulders and knees, while shorts and sleeveless shirts are frowned on for men. While rarely enforced, it's worth observing if only to avoid embarrassment.

McDonald's and KFC offer special value meals for Ramadan, including the sparkling fruit juice called Vimto that is popular here during this season. There's festive signage--"Ramadan in Dubai brings us closer"-- and Ramadan special sales.

Tourist attractions are also open. My two sons and I visited Aquaventure, the waterpark at the Atlantis resort, and it was nice not to have to fight any crowds. The tickets were not on sale, unfortunately, and it felt a bit weird to be in a Ramadan-free zone, even temporarily.

The combination of Ramadan and the summer's heat makes for a very slow time in the city, with the exception of that brief period between the end of the work day and the beginning of the iftar dinners. All the fasting Muslims speeding to dinner makes for a very dangerous time on the roads. Finding a taxi can be difficult as many of the cabbies are Muslim and go off work to break the fast. Entertainments are also in short supply, although movie theatres are open.

Ramadan Kareem means Blessed Ramadan, but I dare say that is not the term that comes to mind for those us stuck here for work or family. I did not expect it to be a problem for me, but I have to admit that I'm tired of it already. I can't believe it lasts a whole month. How do businesses survive this dry period? I've seen many employees of restaurants and shops just standing around, twiddling their thumbs. Definitely not a good time to visit! It moves up ten days every year, based on the lunar calendar, so make sure to check before you come.

Washed Up on Jumeirah Beach

Here are photos of what my husband found when he went out to the beach in front of our apartment recently. Dubai was hit with unusually high winds and choppy seas last week, with one woman swept to her death while trying to photograph the waves along the crescent of Palm Jumeirah. Neal reports that the kite surfers are out in force, despite evidence of what looks like a brown tide below. Let's hope it's algae and not something worse.