Travel Diaries - 2k16
This Diwali, I visited the United Arab Emirates along with my parents. This country has some amazing places like Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Even though almost everything here is man made, it almost feels as if it were all natural.
The first place we visited in the UAE was Yas Island. We stayed at the Yas Viceroy, an incredible hotel with superb amenities and a great location. The rooms were spacious, comfortable and gave a very homely feel. The view from the room was amazing!
We stayed here for a night. During the course of our stay here, we visited the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, Ferrari World, drove around Abu Dhabi and even looked around the hotel we were staying at. The breakfast next morning had amazing stuff including waffles, pancakes and lots of nutella!
The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque was extremely beautiful and worth a visit. It is named after the Sheikh in whose honour it was built. The interiors of this mosque are huge and it has beautiful carvings inside it. It has a capacity of about 44000 people and is extremely well maintained. As you walk around in this mosque, you will be taken aback by how well they have made it. Even though it was built in 2007, every inch of this mosque looks as good as new. The atmosphere inside it is peaceful, quiet and very welcoming.
The Abu Dhabi city tour was great fun. We got to see different parts of the city, old buildings as well as new. The weather was pleasant and the drive along the beach was extremely refreshing. We stopped outside the cinema for a while, where we saw kids jumping into the sea and having a blast. The view from where we sat was something like this.
The next day, we visited Ferrari World, a theme park with a few roller coasters, fun rides, good food and exciting things to do. This place was buzzing with people and had a good vibe to it. We were here for more then five hours! This place also has a little bit of Italian history in it, given that Ferrari is an Italian company.There were a few rides which even told us a lot of things about how this company comes up with designs for different cars, how the process of getting a car made actually takes place and how everyone in the company has to work hand in hand to make it happen.It is huge and is connected to the Yas Mall, which is a good mall to visit.
After visiting Ferrari World, we left for Dubai. The drive to Dubai was extremely tiring as we were stuck in major traffic. But, as soon as we reached the hotel, we freshened up and then went out for a good Indian dinner. The first two days had been a lot of fun but extremely tiring as well.
For the next 8 days, we were in Dubai, going around the city and checking out different places which attract tourists. Dubai is an insane city, with almost everything you can think of - from artificial snow to actual deserts, from hot exteriors to cold interiors, this city has almost everything that you will ever need; and MORE. There is so much to do here that despite having so much time, we required more.
We stayed at Chelsea towers for 7 nights and at Atlantis for 1 night.
We visited the Dolphinarium, the Jumeirah Beach Residence, Dubai Mall, Mall of the Emirates, Deira City Centre, Jumeirah Beach, The Palm Jumeirah, Gold Souk, Burj Khalifa, Desert Safari and even had a 1 day Sharjah City Tour.
Dubai, as a city, is a fun place to visit as there is a lot to do. Everyday we would be on our way by 10am and not come home before 11 pm at night. We didn't get bored even once, throughout the trip. The Dubai City Tour was so informative as there were many things that we didn't know about Dubai until then. We also got to know that justice is given to everyone, no matter where they stand on the social ladder.
Each place that we visited was buzzing with tourists, yet we did not feel the presence of the crowd too much as everything here is so well managed and organized. The people are helpful and approachable. The Dubai Mall is the biggest mall in Dubai, with 3 large floors, more than 200 shops, play areas, restaurants, cinemas, an ice skating rink and a large aquarium. This mall has so much to do other than shopping!
Every night, we ate at a different place in the Dubai Mall and loved the food at each of these places! Some of my favorites are :
Eataly
Visiting the tallest building in the world - the Burj Khalifa was an experience I won't ever forget! We took almost 3 hours just to go up and come back down plus another half an hour to see the view from the top. The view was amazing, but since we had gone at night, there was not much that we could actually see from the top. But, it was worth a one time visit. The air at the 124th floor is cold, fresh and it makes you feel alive. That is exactly how such places places should make one feel!
We visited the Global Village : A place for all countries to showcase all that they have; their culture, their dance style, their livelihood and stuff like that. It was packed as we went on the first day itself. We did not get to see too much as many countries' stalls were shut, but the place was done up very well, with a man made lake and other such interesting things. There was a separate place for food stalls which had food of almost all cuisines, hence there were many options to choose from.
The last two days of my trip are probably the most memorable for me. We spent the last two days in the Atlantis Hotel, Palm Jumeirah. This hotel is everything GOALS. From the entrance to the lobby to the rooms to the beach, everything is mind blowing. When you are here, you just cannot get bored. not once.
As soon as we reached Atlantis, we checked in and the first thing I noticed was the view from our room. It overlooked the sea and I absolutely loved it! The room was spacious, with two queen sized beds, a huge bathroom and a cute little balcony overlooking the sea.
As soon as our luggage arrived, we changed and left for the Atlantis Water Park. We had a ball of a time here and stayed till the time it shut. The number of water rides here are crazy. There are fun ones as well as scary ones and missing even one of these rides is a no no. The best part is, there is food available inside this water park so you don't have to worry about the hunger that's gonna hit you while you're here. This park has a wave pool, a ride with a very steep slope, rides with extremely dark tunnels and is even connected to the beach.
Once we were done here, we went back to our room, changed and headed for the Lost Chambers Aquarium, which has all sorts of marine animals. It was really nice to see different marine species, ones I've probably not seen before. We walked around inside Atlantis and saw all the different restaurants it has.
Our dinner was extremely lavish with a wide variety of food to choose from. There were a number of Indian that had been prepared as well. We had a feast!
The next morning, we had a great time at breakfast too! The spread of food at various restaurants in Atlantis is UNREAL. So much so, that we had pizza for breakfast! I was so excited to munch on all different kinds of bread and cheese and taste all the chocolates at the buffet.
I enjoyed my stay here and wish I had more days. I can surely say that this was one of the best holidays I have had in a while. I will probably go back again sometime because Dubai always has something new, everytime one visits. It never gets old!
The first place we visited in the UAE was Yas Island. We stayed at the Yas Viceroy, an incredible hotel with superb amenities and a great location. The rooms were spacious, comfortable and gave a very homely feel. The view from the room was amazing!
The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque was extremely beautiful and worth a visit. It is named after the Sheikh in whose honour it was built. The interiors of this mosque are huge and it has beautiful carvings inside it. It has a capacity of about 44000 people and is extremely well maintained. As you walk around in this mosque, you will be taken aback by how well they have made it. Even though it was built in 2007, every inch of this mosque looks as good as new. The atmosphere inside it is peaceful, quiet and very welcoming.
The Abu Dhabi city tour was great fun. We got to see different parts of the city, old buildings as well as new. The weather was pleasant and the drive along the beach was extremely refreshing. We stopped outside the cinema for a while, where we saw kids jumping into the sea and having a blast. The view from where we sat was something like this.
After visiting Ferrari World, we left for Dubai. The drive to Dubai was extremely tiring as we were stuck in major traffic. But, as soon as we reached the hotel, we freshened up and then went out for a good Indian dinner. The first two days had been a lot of fun but extremely tiring as well.
For the next 8 days, we were in Dubai, going around the city and checking out different places which attract tourists. Dubai is an insane city, with almost everything you can think of - from artificial snow to actual deserts, from hot exteriors to cold interiors, this city has almost everything that you will ever need; and MORE. There is so much to do here that despite having so much time, we required more.
We stayed at Chelsea towers for 7 nights and at Atlantis for 1 night.
We visited the Dolphinarium, the Jumeirah Beach Residence, Dubai Mall, Mall of the Emirates, Deira City Centre, Jumeirah Beach, The Palm Jumeirah, Gold Souk, Burj Khalifa, Desert Safari and even had a 1 day Sharjah City Tour.
Jumeirah Beach
Sharjah Corniche
Dubai, as a city, is a fun place to visit as there is a lot to do. Everyday we would be on our way by 10am and not come home before 11 pm at night. We didn't get bored even once, throughout the trip. The Dubai City Tour was so informative as there were many things that we didn't know about Dubai until then. We also got to know that justice is given to everyone, no matter where they stand on the social ladder.
The Gold Souk
Each place that we visited was buzzing with tourists, yet we did not feel the presence of the crowd too much as everything here is so well managed and organized. The people are helpful and approachable. The Dubai Mall is the biggest mall in Dubai, with 3 large floors, more than 200 shops, play areas, restaurants, cinemas, an ice skating rink and a large aquarium. This mall has so much to do other than shopping!
Every night, we ate at a different place in the Dubai Mall and loved the food at each of these places! Some of my favorites are :
Project Cupcake
Eataly
The Cheesecake Factory
Jumeirah Beach Residence is one of my favourite places in Dubai. Its a place where you can just relax with your family and there will be no one to disturb you. People are playing games along the beach, there are many game stalls for children and it even has a water park inside the ocean which is absolutely crazy! There is a long line of restaurants and hotels along the shoreline, including IHOP(International House of Pancakes). Just walking down this street feels so good, it looks beautiful and makes you want to stay there forever! I visited this place twice, I loved it so much.
The Desert Safari was a great experience. We got to drive through the deserts of Sharjah and the ride was very bumpy and thrilling! After we reached the camp amidst the desert, we did some quad biking and that got to see a belly dance show and a fire show which were entertaining. People turn up in huge numbers for the desert safari as it is one of the main attractions here. Here, you will find people from almost every part of the world, specially those who want to know a lot about UAE life and culture.
Visiting the tallest building in the world - the Burj Khalifa was an experience I won't ever forget! We took almost 3 hours just to go up and come back down plus another half an hour to see the view from the top. The view was amazing, but since we had gone at night, there was not much that we could actually see from the top. But, it was worth a one time visit. The air at the 124th floor is cold, fresh and it makes you feel alive. That is exactly how such places places should make one feel!
The last two days of my trip are probably the most memorable for me. We spent the last two days in the Atlantis Hotel, Palm Jumeirah. This hotel is everything GOALS. From the entrance to the lobby to the rooms to the beach, everything is mind blowing. When you are here, you just cannot get bored. not once.
As soon as we reached Atlantis, we checked in and the first thing I noticed was the view from our room. It overlooked the sea and I absolutely loved it! The room was spacious, with two queen sized beds, a huge bathroom and a cute little balcony overlooking the sea.
Once we were done here, we went back to our room, changed and headed for the Lost Chambers Aquarium, which has all sorts of marine animals. It was really nice to see different marine species, ones I've probably not seen before. We walked around inside Atlantis and saw all the different restaurants it has.
Our dinner was extremely lavish with a wide variety of food to choose from. There were a number of Indian that had been prepared as well. We had a feast!
The next morning, we had a great time at breakfast too! The spread of food at various restaurants in Atlantis is UNREAL. So much so, that we had pizza for breakfast! I was so excited to munch on all different kinds of bread and cheese and taste all the chocolates at the buffet.
After breakfast, my parents went to the water park again, while I took a long and relaxing stroll on the beach. During this stroll, I had a good look at the beach, at the swimming pool in Atlantis and even saw the tennis and badminton courts. I was listening to music while walking around aimlessly and even though I was alone, I had a really nice time exploring. There are two large pools with many chairs around them for sunbathing. There are some table tennis tables too, a play area in the sand for children and an ice cream parlour to do away with the heat for a while.
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