A trip to Dubai a few years ago was an interesting and intense travel experience. During six days, we managed to see different faces of the city: from skyscrapers and singing fountains to the desert, the sea and neighboring Abu Dhabi.
This article is not a tourist guide to Dubai and is not an attempt to describe what the city is like today, but I am checking out mostly everything we have seen and it still exists, I just think the city has grown with even more things to see and have a good time. This a personal travel experience captured in the moment – a memory of Dubai, which has already changed to some extent over the years.
First impression of Dubai: scale, cleanliness and rhythm
From the first hours, Dubai gives the impression of a city that never pauses. Everything seems perfectly organized: roads, space, transportation.
Even Dubai metro – automated, driverless, with clear zoning and separate cars for women and men. The city seems extremely clean and well-thought-out, as if created according to one grand architectural plan.
Burj Khalifaand a Musical Fountain Near Dubai Mall
We dedicated one of the days of the trip to Burj Khalifa – the tallest building in the world. Climbing to the observation deck, located on the 124th-125th floors, allows you to see Dubai from a height, where its geometry, scale and contrast between the city and the desert are clearly visible.
In the evening, life concentrates around Dubai Mall. It is here that the famous The Dubai Fountain. Water, light, and music combine in a show that begins unexpectedly and draws hundreds of people. Even if you didn’t plan to watch the fountain, it still becomes part of the evening.
Dubai Mall
Dubai Mall is more than a shopping center. A walk through the mall itself is impressive in scale and in general you can find a lot of interesting things there. Various boutiques with interesting window displays, food courts with low prices. In addition, Dubai Mall has an ice rink, a room with VR gaming zones, and even an internal embankment with fountains and water installations.
Also inside is one of the most famous aquariums in the world — Dubai Aquarium.
Even without a separate ticket, the aquarium makes a strong impression on visitprs of mall: huge tanks of water, sharks, stingrays – and all this is right in the middle of a shopping area. I have seen large aquariums in other cities, but here the combination of scale and everyday life is surprising.
Dubai Beaches, Sea and Burj Al Arab
We spent a separate day on the beach Jumeirah Beach with a view of Burj Al Arab — the famous sail-shaped hotel, often called the “sailing ship.”
The warm sea, light sand and the feeling of a resort inside a metropolis create a completely different mood. I especially remember the mango cocktails – a simple but very bright pleasure, which has become for me a gastronomic symbol of Dubai. In addition, I advise you to take an interest and taste unusual fruits that we do not have, such as durian and others whose names I do not even remember.
Desert safari: a contrast to the city
The trip to the desert was one of the highlights, although I don’t know, it seems like all the highlights were. The Dubai desert safari included jeep rides through the sand, quad biking, and a stop at a Bedouin camp.
There we were treated to have a traditional dinner: falafel, hummus, meat on the fire, fragrant spices. Alongside it were dancing and singing, lights and candles, a light desert breeze. This is a completely different Dubai, contrasting with the city and skyscrapers. This experience was especially memorable for how the city can combine the ultra-modern and the traditional in one route. It is here that you especially feel that Dubai is not only skyscrapers, but also a land with history.
Abu Dhabi Trip: Ferrari World and Sheikh Zayed Mosque
A separate day was a trip to Abu Dhabi.
First we visited Ferrari World, the largest Ferrari-themed theme park in the world. It has adrenaline-pumping roller coasters, speed simulators, and a “mad city” feeling, but in an amusement park format.
Ferrari World is especially interesting to visit after the crazy Dubai: it is a concentrated dose of emotions, technology and style of the brand, which symbolizes speed and perfection. The main Formula Rossa slide is the fastest in the world, accelerating to 240 km/h, and even just watching it, you understand that the sensations in the park are built on the principle of “maximum drive in one day.”
Ferrari World added adrenaline, there are both wonderful models of this brand of cars and various attractions. Also after Ferrari World we stopped for a while at the water park, also a wonderful place with a variety of entertainment.
However, the real emotional highlight was the Sheikh Zayed Mosque.
It is one of the largest mosques in the world, which can accommodate over 40,000 people. Its marble facades, huge domes, and luxurious interior decorations capture the imagination.
Facts that impressed me:
- domes and columns inlaid with precious stones and marble from around the world;
- the carpet in the main prayer hall is the largest hand-woven carpet in the world;
- The evening lighting creates the effect as if the mosque is glowing from within.
This place was a kind of pause after the active, noisy Dubai, but the impressions remained for a long time.
White, spacious, with evening blue lighting, it creates a feeling of silence and peace, because you couldn’t talk loudly there. After the busyness of Dubai, this place became a kind of pause – very strong and memorable.
This mosque is striking in its beauty both outside and inside. The carpet that covers the entire floor of the main hall also looks amazing.
Imagine Show in Dubai Festival City Mall
In addition to the classic singing fountain, we saw another evening show — Imagine Show in Dubai Festival City Mall. It’s a water-laser music show, where water is used as a screen for light and video projections. We came across it quite by accident, as we were looking for a place to have dinner. We had dinner at a nearby place, and everything was delicious with excellent service from the waiter. I was impressed that we wanted to pay separately, and there were 15 of us, and he brought 10-15 trays with checks, because some of us had joined together.
In Dubai, it feels like you’re not just standing in a shopping mall, but in a full-fledged multimedia performance in the open air. This is another example of how entertainment in Dubai goes beyond standard formats.
Dubai Marina Walk: a Walk Among Skyscrapers
A walk Dubai Marina Walk discovers a different rhythm of the city. The waterfront, yachts, dense skyscrapers and evening lights create a very cinematic landscape.
We walked along the water to the beach, just looking around. This is where you can feel these majestic, diverse skyscrapers and the modernity of the city.
Dubai Frame and a city that is constantly changing
We also saw Dubai Frame is an architectural installation in the form of a huge frame, from which a panorama of the city opens. We did not go inside, but even from the outside this structure looks symbolic: an attempt to capture a city that constantly goes beyond its own borders.
Conclusion:
I don’t know what Dubai is like today. However, it has impressed me because it is a city of speed, big money and expensive cars, a city where you feel a big excitement if you are there for the first time and only for 6 days. Maybe because it was the first my city with such skyscrapers back then for me personally. We all have different experiences of the sequence of countries we see and visit.
I hear from many people that they don’t feel the history there, that the city is too new and something like that, that’s why they don’t like it. As a person who is used to looking more into the future than into the past, I liked this city for its modernity. Of course, if I lived there, maybe I would change my mind, but I’m talking about what impressions I personally had from the experience I had.
Maybe it’s even bigger now. But my Dubai remained the same as I saw it few years ago – the loud, bright and very saturated, unusual and beautiful city.
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