Dubai:Desert Safari,Beaches

                                         Rising Sun,Melting Dew,With My Friends and Sea so Blue                  

Brilliantly jaw dropping Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building ushered on New Year 2014 in vibrant colors of fireworks,drawing the colors of UAE Flag making the whole world watch in awe.It was then,Dubai broke Guinness World Record with the largest fireworks display this New Year.



For those who might be thinking the event was an exception,you might just be wrong.Dubai is a place for celebrations.When I am penning down the post now,the World Expo 2020 winner Dubai is celebrating Dubai Food Festival which lasts for 23 days.Dubai International Kite Festival is the only event of its kind in the Middle East and the celebration starts from 17th January 2014.When I was there,I visited the Dubai International Parachuting Championship,where Skydivers from across the world had come to participate and form various Formations mid air in the very popular Dubai Skydive.The list of festivals in Dubai for this year is here.

For those who are already tempted to visit Dubai,Emirates has recently launched packages worth 30k inclusive of Airfare during the 19th edition of the Dubai Shopping Festival for 3 nights/4 star properties.If you still want to do it on your own(which I had suggested in previous post might turn out to be equal or more than the packages),you can go for the options here.

                                                     Unbelievably Torqoise,The Surfing Point

There is no other place in this world I guess which combines the modern with the old with such panache.I was surprised to know Dubai has some of the most drool worthy beaches too,yes it isn't only Desert Safari.The question is what we know about Dubai is really not even 2% of Dubai.What I have covered may be just a fraction,but it will I assure be quite enough to open your mind and explore the UAE!It doesn't hurt when we have Emirates and Qatar flying in and out so very often.May be walking down the Corniche was a great idea or may be driving down to Oman with prior visa was well-worthy.May be even taking a short trip to the other parts of the Emirates would have been great.I couldn't even Shop properly in those 5 days,just a few shoes,but had it been at least a week,I would have got something for you all,poor me :)

As I said before my trip, to Abu Dhabi and Dubai was purely personal.I wanted a vacation which was just me and my friends.Thanks to Canada Tourism,Thailand Tourism,Visit Scotland and Visit Britain for having faith on me the last year and sponsoring my trip.However,this was a trip when Social Networking was last on my mind.I didn't have a checklist on which places to go either,may be just a rough Idea the way it was for Maldives.I love the recognition the rat race in the mind provides,I mean ain't we all running in the race for being the best intentionally or unintentionally.For once I ain't doing bad,300000 visitors in just 2 years,so many comments and recognitions,recently listed in top 4 travel blogger to get inspired from,top 11 adventure bloggers to follow,in top 25 Indian Travel Bloggers,plenty of brand associations and interviews and I have interesting career to support me.Frankly,I feel blessed.It wasn't that I had these things in my mind prior,but along the way came beautiful people who trusted in me and experiences I wouldn't have got otherwise.

I think it's up to me to pace my life,I love my friends(and I have lots of them),my family,my parents and everyone in my life who I think is worth mentioning.I know time would fly,but there are people and moments you remember the most.And it is for them and you lovely people,that my smiles are more than smiles.I love the fact that I can survive without even my cellphone and a TV (I haven't watched TV for last 5 years) and be happy about it.Like recently,I took a vacation with my 9 college friends to Goa and we all had a blast.In fact,we literally slept on the beaches,and nothing else but fun was in our mind.So did we discovered Islands,drove down to places which we thought was worthy,danced on local tunes and had
beer by the midnight.What else do we want from life?Coming back to Dubai,lets begin with what we did,shall we?

Dubai And The Beaches

                                          The white sand and the gorgeous coastline of Dubai             

Constantly voted as the world's most luxurious hotel,Burj Al Arab is situated overlooking the tortoise blue coastline of Dubai.The sea reminded me of Maldives.In fact,the gorgeous Dubai coastline with white sand and tortoise water followed us even while driving from Abu Dhabi to Dubai.The broad roads on the highway were meant to provide a stunning view,so this side or that side was the sea and our road.In fact,here is the list of some of the beautiful beaches of Dubai you may want to stroll in.Here is the list of Car Rental Services in UAE.

http://www.kayak.com/Cheap-Dubai-Car-Rentals.6080.cars.ksp
http://www.budget-uae.com/index.php?page=home&act=viewpage&option=newbooking&step=2

We had great fun in the beaches.And after we were done admiring the natural beauty with the man made creation just alongside,we decided to eat at a local dhaba. Fish fry ,Rice and Curry was what we had ordered.And believe me the flavors were melting in my mouth,the same way last time in Abu Dhabi Papparoti did the trick.

                       Ah! For once I love being a Non-veg.The fresh fish fried and served.

Dubai Desert Safari:An Entertainment Oasis in the middle of the Desert

After choosing our pick up point from the Mall of the Emirates,at around 3pm our bus came.We were told that we would be transferred to the Land Cruiser (4wds) at the Desert Site.And when we were,the ride began with much gusto.

I play hide and seek with the Sun on the Dunes
The golden sands and our 4wds cruising its way speedily over the up and down dunes making its way forward with bollywood tunes(Yes!) playing in our (4wds) .It was then we saw most beautiful sunset making the sand shimmering like gold.

Quad Biking / Sand Surfing are some of the sports in the Desert

For those who are not aware:Sandboarding (also known as Sand Surfing) is a board sport similar to snowboarding that takes place on sand dunes rather than snow-clad slopes

An Encounter with Falcons,ain't they cute

Tanned yes! But enjoying every moment

Corn on the go!

The Mehfil...

And the master performances

..And I danced too

But not so mind-blowing as the belly dancer

And when we were all ready to settle in and sit and enjoy the belly dance we were amused to see the performances that followed.It was magical.I still wonder Shakira like moves would take so much practice and performing in front of cheering audience,an applause for sure.




Dressing up in Abaya,holding the falcons,eating the best of Kebabs at the site were some of the attractions.

The pretty lady in Abaya! Do you like me?
An ideal Desert Safari with renowned Arabian Nights would cost roughly 80$ pp.Sangeeta Reghu Nair from SangryWords gives her insight on Dubai and Oman and says that we can even do an overnight Safari with stay in the desert in Dubai but that costs a bomb,but should be worth it.If you are looking for cheap options,we do have Groupon deals on the UAE website but I am not sure about the experience they provide.

To know more visit : Dubai Tourism Official Website
To know more about UAE(Visa/Flights/Places) :All Previous posts on Abu Dhabi and Dubai

In the next post,we discuss the best Shopping Joints,the best Food Joints,The Dubai Parachuting Championship,The Dubai Mall and the spectacular light and sound show.Tada :)