1 week in Dubai – My first international trip

Prior to this trip, I had only taken flights across the United States so this was going to be my first international flight. Let alone with me already being anxious about flying, it was the first time traveling without family. Luckily, I was going to be able to spend 1 week exploring Dubai with one of my closest friends and her family to help make me feel a little less anxious. 

I had heard of Dubai before, but it was never really on my radar to go to visit, let alone be my first international trip. The opportunity came, and I took it. We ended up going the last week of April in 2017.

Currency in Dubai is the AED, where 1 USD = 3.67 AED

FLIGHT/HOTEL

We boarded our overnight Emirates flight and let me tell you, it was something special.  I was a little nervous about being in a plane for 12 hours non-stop considering the size of planes I was used to while flying domestically, but that all went away when we boarded.  The flight attendants were incredibly nice, and the seat rows were pretty spacious.  During our flight we got 2 meals: breakfast and dinner. The food was pretty good for being meals on a plane.  We were also welcomed with an overnight kit which included basic toiletries and a face mask. The flight was fine until about 3 hours into the flight...my entertainment system busted! So I called the flight attendants for some help. They tried restarting the system but still didn't work.  I ended up having a 9-hour flight ahead of me with no movie screen.  This was probably the only bad thing about the flight. Other than that, things went smoothly.

We ended up staying at Savoy Suites Hotel Apartments in Bur Dubai.  With two twin beds and a pull-out couch, the room was spacious. The room had a full kitchen and a full bathroom.  I think we were mistakenly put into an accessible room because we had a walk-in shower which led to water getting everywhere.

The hotel had complimentary breakfast and it was a beast! It had pretty much everything you would need.  The staples were potatoes, dates and these fig newton type of things. The "figs", as we would call them, were too amazing! They were not as sweet as the fig newtons here in the States, but still really delicious. 

Activities -

In the one week that we were there, I feel like we made the most of our time.  We were able to do some tours, but we also were able to explore by ourselves. Since we went in April, the sun was shining, and the weather was super dry. The first stop we had was at Jumeirah Beach.  Because of the weather, there were lots of people at the beach but it wasn't overly crowded.  The water was pretty clear, and the sights were amazing.  From the beach, you could see the famous Burj al Arab hotel.

The Dubai Miracle Garden (DMG) was probably one of the coolest things I have ever seen.  Despite being in the middle of the desert, I was surprised to see how large the garden was and how vibrant the colors of the flowers shined.  You could easily spend a few hours walking around the garden enjoying the scenes that they had created by only using flowers.  They even had a replica Emirates plane in the middle of the garden!

Probably the most famous building of them all, the Burj Khalifa, was pretty sweet.  We went to see the building around dinner time.  Fun Fact: the building is so high that you can actually see the sunset twice: once from the bottom and then again from the viewing floor.  The sight from the viewing platform was definitely breathtaking.  You really couldn't tell that you were in the desert.  It kind of reminded me of being at the Empire State Building and looking out over the city.

There's also the Dubai Fountain at the Burj Lake located at the base of the building. Here you'll find one of the largest water shows in the world. With the length of almost 2 football fields, there really is no bad spot to see the fountains. I would definitely try to get there early in order to get a spot on the boardwalk.

Following the Burj Khalifa, we took a desert safari with Desert Safari Dubai.  Here we all jumped into a Lexus SUV and rode the red sand dunes to the camp where dinner was going to be held.  You always see pictures of the endless hills of the red sand desert, but seeing it in person was definitely a sight to be seen.  We also got the chance to ride a camel.  Once we were at the camp, there was some entertainment, a dinner, and a henna tattoo setup.

With the desert heat, who would have thought you would be able to snowboard?? Well, we were able to do just that.  At their mall, they have Ski Dubai , an indoor ski/snowboard park with a ski lift that is open to the public,  including snowboards and gear to rent. Also, with your lift ticket, you receive a pair of snow gloves to keep.  Definitely a pretty nice souvenir!  Pricing was pretty decent which is always a plus.  For unlimited snow park access and the 40-minute penguin experience, it was about 430 AED which is equivalent to about 135 USD.  It was pretty cool going from the heat outside, and then going into the "snow" that they offered.  Obviously, the runs weren't very long; however, it was a decent place that had beginner and advanced runs open.  Within Ski Dubai, there was also a play area with bobsledding, zorbing, and a penguin exhibit.  I mean, most people can't even snowboard and see penguins in a regular environment, but we were able to do both in a mall in the middle of the desert!

We were about halfway through our trip when we took a drive to Abu Dhabi.  Prior to the trip, I had no knowledge of Abu Dhabi outside of what I had seen in the movies Sex and the City 2 and Furious 7.  On the drive there, I had no expectations set, but driving back my mind was definitely blown! We first went to the Ferrari World Theme Park, not to ride any rides but to check out the cars. That was a pretty cool experience as I had never really seen a Ferrari up close before.  We also stopped at the church where Jazelle was baptized.  After those stops, we made it to the one and only Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.  I had never seen a more beautiful building in my life before here.  Due to their customs, they had strict dress codes so all women and any tattoos had to be covered. Luckily, our tour guide provided us with hijabs and we were able to enter the mosque.  I was never one for architecture; however, after entering and seeing the pure beauty and detail of the mosque, it made me so much more appreciative of the finer details.  I mean during certain times of the year, 41,000 people come here to pray. The size of this mosque was huge.  We walked throughout the mosque barefoot as shoes were not allowed inside.  They had lines set up and they were very efficient with leading people throughout.  To be honest, I wasn't really paying attention to anything except for the details in the ceiling as well as the lights and chandeliers. I may or may not have shed a tear while walking through the mosque since I was just in disbelief that I was able to visit a place like this in the desert.

Our last place to visit was Atlantis Aquapark located at the famous man made The Palm Jumeirah. It definitely was a cool waterpark that had your typical water slides and water rides, but I personally think what sets this park apart from others was the sheer number of aquariums it had.  I was able to ride a few rides, but I had to sit out for the most part, unfortunately. I suffered a knee injury while snowboarding (nothing new!), so I wasn't really able to walk around as much. So, I just laid out in the sun and worked on my tan!  Overall, it was a really cool place and was a nice way to end our trip.

Overall, my first international trip and first trip with friends was definitely a success!  I really had no expectations, but I was left with a lifetime of memories.  We weren't there for very long, but we packed so much in so little time that I felt we were able to see much of what Dubai had to offer.  The mix of the city tours and us roaming around ourselves was definitely a good mix.  I don't think I could do a tour every single day being stuck in a stuffy bus.  Although we were in the desert, it wasn't too bad being in the hot and dry weather. I would definitely recommend a visit to Dubai for anyone who has the chance.  I would love to visit again since there was a lot of construction going on during our visit in 2017.  I can't imagine what they have been able to build in the last 3 years.