The greatest and most extravagant city within the UAE and the Middle East.
One of my good friends Chris moved to Dubai around 6 years ago, it was only supposed to be a move for a year but as what has happened with many in Dubai, he just never left. It took me a while but finally myself and another Chris went out to visit him for a short trip.
Knowing someone who lives in a city is always great, after 6 years he really knows the city and took us to some amazing restaurants, parties, beaches and cooked us up some awesome food. We also met so many lovely people there too who I have since met up again with in Cape Town.
We went to some high end and also some not so high end eateries, each did not disappoint with the food. We saw all the sites including taking a trip to to the top of the world tallest building the Burj Khalifa, had a Dubai brunch in the worlds tallest hotel and went on a desert safari amount many other things. All as you can imagine extremely extravagant as is the city it self.
The knowledge of a local was priceless and I would now like to pass some of this on to you. Here are my 5 recommendations if in Dubai from my own short travels there.
1) Barasti Beach Bar - This is a really cool bar and beach near the palm, you can relax on the beach, eat and drink. In the evening it turns into a club bar. Great views and surroundings so worth popping by: https://www.barastibeach.com/
2) Dubai Marina - There are some world class and incredible restaurants, a great place to have a lovely dinner with great wine offerings. The setting is beautiful to dine in over looking the marina.
3) Dubai Mall - The largest shopping mall in the world is a must visit, copious amounts of shops and eateries. It even has a huge aquarium in the center complete with sharks and other types of water creatures. Do also check out The Majlis within the mall, the first and finest camel milk cafe and also take a trip up the Burj Khalifa, the worlds tallest building, entrance within the mall.
4) Desert Safari - You get picked up from where you are staying and driven out into the dessert. The driver will drive all over the dunes very fast which is great fun and a little terrifying in places. You then go to a camp and eat lovely food, smoke shisha and watch some traditional entertainment such as belly dancing. You can have camel ride too although we didn't bother with that, been on loads of them already.
5) Dubai Brunch - These are very popular with many expats and great fun, given the alcohol policy in the country drinks are generally quite pricey. A Dubai Brunch therefore is great value and amazing fun, we got to meet and hangout with some lovely people. The one we went to at the Marriott was 100 GBP for all you can eat and drink for four hours. We had a brilliant time and a must do. For a buffet the food was absolutely awesome and well worth the money.