The World’s Tallest Building, the Great Mosque and Sand Dunes - WHERE AM I?
When Millennials are asked the question, “Name one place you would love to travel to?” The top 3 places I hear are: Bali, Thailand and Dubai. Like I mentioned in the Bali blog, I have been to all 3 and this is this your Travel Tea on………………
DUBAI and ABU DHABI
Air Tea:
My trip was a little unconventional as I bought my tickets 7 days BEFORE I left. (SN: Don’t ever do that). My flight was $993(YIKES!!!). We flew Emirates and we did not have a layover which is always a plus to me. Emirates is the best international airline I have flown. They treat you AMAZING. The food, the in-flight movies/shows, the seats and even the bathrooms are above average. (SN: I will be doing a blog on international airlines I’ve flown). We flew in and out of Dubai, but for the first few days we stayed in Abu Dhabi. There are several ways you can get to Abu Dhabi when you fly into Dubai: a taxi, a car service or the Emirates bus which is included when you purchase a flight directly through Emirates. We chose the bus and it was a loonngggg bus ride (2 hrs and 2 mins to be exact), but it was worth it because it was FREE.
Accommodations Tea:
I would suggest visiting Abu Dhabi and Dubai when traveling. 2-3 days in Abu Dhabi is enough. You should spend the bulk of your time in Dubai.
In Abu Dhabi, we stayed at the Novotel Gate Hotel. If you are looking for a 4 star hotel that isn’t expensive, but is nice- This is your place. It was about $80 a night. The staff was so friendly.
In Dubai, we stayed at the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai. The cost was about $150 a night. This hotel was EVERYTHING- the rooms, the staff, the restaurants, the clubs. The hotel has over 70 floors, 10 restaurants, 2 clubs, a spa, a huge bar on the top floor. This hotel is one of the few places you can indulge in alcohol(wink wink). We stayed on the 61st floor and the room was pretty spacious. It had floor to ceiling windows with a view of the Burj Khalifa and everything in the room was controlled by a touch screen panel-the lights, the curtains, the heat/AC, the TV, room service. The bathroom had 2 sinks, a rain forest shower, a full-size bathtub and a separate water closet with a toilet and bidet.
If you are willing to splurge on a hotel in Dubai, I highly recommend this hotel as most of your partying will done in this hotel or in this area.
Transportation Tea:
Transportation in Dubai and Abu Dhabi is very easy. To get from Abu Dhabi to Dubai, we opted on using a car service as the cost was the same as taking a taxi. We booked this through our hotel, the JW Marriott.
We either took Uber or Careem everywhere. At first, I was a little nervous about using Careem because I hadn’t heard of it, but the prices were always better than Uber(LOL) so I gladly used it. Like in most public places in the US, most of the places had a designated location for Uber/Careem drivers so you do have to walk sometimes to get to your exact location. You don’t have to worry about a language barrior in Dubai as it is like the New York City of the UAE- it’s a melting pot. Most of the population are expatriates and are fluent in English.
Enjoyable Tea:
Like I mentioned above, we spent the first few days in Abu Dhabi and the remaining of our time in Dubai.
Dubai/Abu Dhabi love their superlatives and we got to experience them ALL.
World’s biggest Mosque - The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
World’s fastest roller coaster- Formula Rossa
World’s tallest building- Burf Khalifa
World’s longest urban zip line- X Zipline
World’s biggest mall- Dubai Mall
Abu Dhabi
The Grand Mosque- This mosque is beautiful and a must see in Abu Dhabi. You have to be fully covered from head to toe, in loose fitting clothes. I wore a beautiful white and gold abaya and hijab that I purchased from Amazon. The best time (and busiest) time to go is right before sunset. This way you can see the mosque during the day and at night. The photo ops are the best here. Be mindful of your hijab and ensure it doesn’t fall off (Security will be vocal if it does). Entry is FREE.
Ferrari World- I am a thrill seeker and Ferrari World scratched that itch. There really isn’t a dress code so I dressed comfortably. I didn’t even care about the cars. I was there for the rollercoasters. They had around a total of 5 or 6 adult rides and several children rides as well. My favorite ones were the Turbo Track and the World’s fastest roller coaster- Formula Rossa. Turbo Track is really short, but super thrilling. The Formula Rossa is the only roller-coaster that have that is completely outdoor. I rode about 5 or 6 times as it was great each time. The ride is so fast that you have to wear protective googles and like most roller coasters- Don’t forget to pose for the picture. Entry to Ferrari World about $75/person.
Moroccan Bath Treatment- Moroccan bathes are somewhat traditional to Abu Dhabi so of course I wanted to try one. I chose an 80-minute bath treatment with a 60-minute massage. The bather washed me up with Moroccan black soap then I sat in the steam room for 10 minutes. She rinsed me off and then scrubbed my entire body with a luffa scrub. Lastly, she rubbed me down with Moroccan charcoal clay, sat me in the steam and then be rinsed and dried me off. The 60-minute massage was good, but Bali has the best massages. I give a detailed review on the bath treatment on my vlog. This cost for the bath treatment and massage was $100
Dubai
Burf Khalifa- Burf Khalifa is the tallest building in the world. If you are in Dubai for the first time, this is a must experience. We bought the At the Top fast track tickets on Groupon for $44 around 50% less than what they were charging at the venue. The catch is you can only go Sunday- Thursday. Even though we didn’t go during peaks and had a fast track, there were still lines that we had to wait in. There are several stops before you get to the top to read the history on the Burf Khalifa. Once we FINALLY got to the top, the views were amazing. Perfect photo op. Of course, they had people to take pictures of us, but my friend and I did a great job capturing pictures of each other. On the way down, the Groupon came with a treat from the Café. This is one of those experiences that once you had, you don’t need to go back again.
X Zipline- So remember I told you I was a thrill seeker soooo we most definitely had to try the World’s Longest Urban Zipline. (SN: We wanted to skydiving, but I am too thick for my height- Black Girl Problems). This was the great substitute. We did the Double Trouble XLine experience which means my friend and I basically raced each other. When we arrived at our designated time, they took our weight and give us a waistband according to our weight. The weight max for women is 220 lbs. They transferred us by van to the start of the zipline. Once at the top, the fun begins. Unlike traditional ziplines, with this one, I laid flat and my entire body was strapped in from my breast to my knees. The strap-in process was the scariest part as I was laying flat on my stomach looking over the side of a building. Nevertheless, I felt secure. Once we were both strapped it, we started the race to the finish line. The view from the zipline was so surreal. I was so busy checking out the view, I lost the race LOL. We purchased the tickets online a couple of days before. This was our most expensive adventure at $161 per person. The price included videos and photos of the experience. The zipline office is at the Dubai Marine Mall.
Dubai Miracle Garden- This garden was a bit far out, but worth it even if you aren’t in love with flowers. Everything is literally made out of flowers- castles, Emirate’s A380 plane, Walt Disney characters, a big Teddy Bear, Hearts Passage (which is a famous place for pictures). They even have a butterfly garden. The garden isn’t open all year around so check their website for the operational months. We spent a few hours here enjoying the attractions. This was our cheapest excursion at $15 per person.
Red Dunes and Camel Safari- This is an absolute must do while in Dubai. I am sure you have seen everyone that visits Dubai on one of these tours, but it is a part of the Dubai experience. We chose the Evening Red Dunes Desert Safari Dubai with the VIP BBQ Dinner Service through OceanAir Travels. This is about a 7-hour tour. They picked us up the hotel around 2:30pm. The first stop was the quad bike ride (this cost extra). The quad bike was just okay. I’ve experienced better. We basically rode the quad bike in a sand field. From there, we drove to the desert to do the dune bashing which was super cool. The Land Cruiser they picked us up basically drives insanely fast and does 180 spins up and down the dessert mountains. Next, we did sandboarding which is quite hard if you aren’t good at keeping your balance, but it is super fun. We got to watch the sunset in the desert which was beautiful. The last part of the tour is at a camp. Once we got to the camp, we rode a camel for about 10 mins and I took pictures with a falcon. The camp is where you have dinner and the BBQ dinner was amazing. Since we had VIP service, they served us and we did not have to stand in the buffet line. At the camp, there was a show with a belly dancer, a Tanoura dancer and a fire breather. They all did a great job. Also, at the camp, we got henna on our hands and smoked a Shisha pipe. We paid $102 per person including the quad bike ride. For $102, we had a jam packed day. We were exhausted afterwards. I would rate this company a 4/5. I took away one star as they lost our reservation to ride the quad bike, but they eventually found it and we got to experience all the activities they had to offer.
Dubai Mall and Fountain Show- Dubai’s Mall is world’s biggest shopping mall with over 1000 stores. I felt like we walked for an hour in the mall and didn’t see 1/3 of it. Inside the mall, is the world’s largest suspended aquarium which was super dope. You will find there are a lot of activities that are in the mall or connected to the mall. The Fountain Show is right outside of one of the exits of the mall. We went to an evening show around 9pm. The evening shows are every 30 mins from 6pm-11pm and it is super crowed. If you want to get a good view, I recommend watching the last 5 minutes of a pervious show and moving towards the front of the fountain once that show is over. This is a free show and is only about 10 mins long. This fountain is also a great place to get a full photo of the entire Burj Khailfa.
Seven Sisters Brunch and White Dubai- This is for my party people. On Friday, they BRUNCH. Its sounds crazy, right? But their weekend is from Thursday- Saturday while we are used to weekends being Friday-Sunday in the US. People usually brunch at Saffron at Atlantis or Seven Sisters at the JW Marquis. We chose Seven Sisters since we were staying at the hotel and we met friends from college there (Yes, there is a lot of Black Girl Magic going on in Dubai). The official name of the brunch is called the Sundown Friday and it’s from 3pm-7pm even though we stayed to party longer than 7pm. There are three packages: Food only, food and house liquor and food and premium liquor. Food only is about $55. I didn’t know the house liquor so I chose food and premium which was about $122. I would give this experience a solid 9/10. The food was amazing and the drinks were flowing heavy. It was upscale and you can choose to seat or stand for no extra cost which I loved. The DJ played mostly Hip Hop and R&B. There is no dress code, but they do not allow women to wear flip flop sandals even if they are stylish or designer. I took one point off because they allow smoking and you have to have more than 3 people to get a good table. TIP: Reserve brunch a couple of weeks in advance.
White Dubai is a club where the American rappers come to perform and host when in Dubai. Their most popular days are Thursday and Saturday. I think Young MA was there when we were in Dubai. If you want the Vegas experience in Dubai, go to White Dubai.
To check out pictures and videos from these places, follow me on Instagram @Lala_Gilly
All the Tea You Need:
Abu Dhabi is a little more conservative than Dubai so be mindful of that.
There are some public places that require your head to be covered. Always bring a head cover just in case.
Dubai is HOT, but the dessert gets cold at night so bring a light jacket.
Everyone speaks English so you don’t need a translator.
Check out Emirates website for the bus schedule from Dubai to Abu Dhai and vice versa.
Buy all tickets online a couple of days before each adventure so you won’t have to wait in long lines to purchase tickets. Check Groupon or TripAdvisor for deals. You can use your credit card everywhere, but bring AED for small things and for the taxis.
Buy at fast track for Burf Khalifa. It will be worth it.
Wear comfortable shoes because there is a lot of walking. Most places we went were HUGE.
Another good place to party that as great music is Cove Beach.
As for most international trips, WhatsApp will be your BFF when it comes to getting in contact with your driver and most establishments you will visit especially if you have to make reservations prior to arriving.
Well, that’s your Travel Tea on Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
If you have any questions, feel free to DM on Instagram @Lala_Gilly. And don't forgot to subscribe to my YouTube channel, Travel Tea.
