In terms of Dubai vs Abu Dhabi - Dubai is very glamorous; huge flashy commercial and residential buildings everywhere you look, 8-lane freeways, hotels, shopping malls. Dubai is quite small so everything is tightly packed. Sadly no character at all - apart from some signs written in arabic you really could be in any metropolitan city. Abu Dhabi somehow feels more homely - far less showy, more calm, and more real. It's more of a sprawling city and you can see huge empty sand-filled lots everywhere.
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque - Abu Dhabi
If there is only one thing you see in the UAE, make sure it's the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. It is truly breath-takingly spectacular and absolutely free. You should know their dress code is strict. The website says
Long, loose fitting, ankle length trousers or skirts for women and men. Women must wear a headscarf.
I thought I would be ok in ankle length pants and a short-sleeved t-shirt and scarf. But you actually need to be covered down to your wrists, so I was ushered into the basement to line up for an abaya which you just slip on top of what you're wearing (yes SUPER HOT). It may have been way too big for me but being in a mosque I actually found it comfortable. I would have felt out of place if I was wearing my normal clothes.
The mosque is made predominantly of a white marble with gold accents. The beautiful blue reflection ponds on the outside reflect the blue skies. The main prayer hall features humongous crystal chandeliers, beautiful carpet, stained glass windows and pearl inlays into the thick marble pillars.
I would most certainly go back again. I'd love to be there around sunset and get some pics with the lights on. I'd also like to do the free tour they offer 3x a day. I'm pretty sure this is just a tourist attraction and isn't actually used as a mosque but don't quote me on that.
Desert Safari
I did this in Abu Dhabi but you can also do it in Dubai. There's a few operators but I think they are mostly the same. They take you out to the dessert and do some 4-wheel-drive dune bashing. It was a thrill and super crazy at times but honestly it went for too long. I was done after 2 minutes but it it went for an hour!!
Finally it was dinner time - a classic arabic buffet which was phenomenal (probably average by their standards). After dinner a belly dancer came out and wowed us with her hips. They move as if independent from her body!! Finally we ended the night with shisha (my sister choked on the smoke and couldn't stop coughing - hilarity ensued).
Not to be a complete Debbie Downer but if you're pressed for time, I would just do the two things mentioned above. The rest of what we did was mainly to pass time (we were there for 4 days).
Burj Khalifa
Here you go.....
That's all folks
Friday Brunch
Friday is the first day of their weekend as their working week is Sunday - Thursday. Many expats will go for Friday Brunch which involves a late boozy lunch at one of the million hotels (alcohol can only be served in hotels in the UAE). It cost AED500 which is about AUD$180 so not at all cheap but it's a 3 hour all you can eat/drink fare with light entertainment. Great if you eat/drink a lot which sadly, I don't.
Emirates Palace
I only really went to see the ATM that dispenses gold bars. And I did. And then I was done.
Old Town
Well it was really bloody hot when I went (50 degrees celcius) so I really didn't last long. It's kinda like a ghost town there anyway. Beautiful, but ghost-y.
Dubai Mall
Everything in Dubai is grandiose and over-the-top opulent. Dubai Mall is a great example of that. Yes that is a real dinosaur inside the mall. Because why not. It's Dubai.
Also a huge aquarium inside the mall. Because why not.
Hierarchy is huge in the UAE. Expats are clearly at the top of the pyramid and migrant workers are at the bottom. Due to this, service is impeccable bordering on pushy. I had a waiter literally standing nearby staring at me til I finished my cocktail and before I could place the glass down he had already taken it out of my hands and offered me another. It's great in some respects but I found it quite annoying.
Cost of living is pretty high - at a nightclub they charged AUD$30 for a gin and tonic. I guess if you work here and don't get taxed it's not that bad but it's a different story for tourists.
There is pretty much no crime but here is a freaky story. I remember reading in the SMH a while back that a local Emirati woman stabbed an expat to death in the bathrooms of a shopping mall. One morning my sister and I decided to pop into the tiny shopping centre round the corner for a coffee. At some point we split up and I found myself walking through the mall by myself and randomly, the story of the expat being stabbed just came to me. A few days later my cousin and his girlfriend were talking about the stabbing and how the perpetrator was executed and my cousin said to me "Oh yeah that happened at the shopping centre round the corner."
Oh WTF. So creepy.
That's the end of my UAE story.
