I didn’t see Dubai for the first time in 2011. lol. And it left me quite inquisitive about the city. You must be thinking what kind of a statement is this?? Well, hua kuch youn bhanyoun k I was going to the USA on Emirates Airline and my transit was for hardly one and a half hour. I was traveling with my mother. As soon as the aircraft said hello to the blue colored giant glass capsule, it took my breath away. What an airport it was!

The first thing I told my mother was that we made a big mistake by not taking Dubai Visa and explored the city. Anyway, since we had very less time to board on our A380 and it was my first time to be my mother’s guide, I hardly got a chance to see my surroundings. While landing, the glimpse of the city was very heart warming but we had no plans to stay here. It was a TAG (I have recently gotten to know that TAG means Touch and Go) but I did make a mental note to come here one more time.

So it was 2012, hardly a year later, when I came to Dubai. This time with my husband and that too on my honeymoon. Idea was to stay here for a week and then head for Umrah. From Lahore, the flight takes roughly 3 hours to reach the place. It is a beautiful city, totally man-made though.

My husband had worked in Dubai prior to our marriage so he was very comfortable driving on the road or showing me around. We visited the highest floor of Burj Khalifa – the one open for the view. Btw, the lift is hydraulic, which means that they use air/water/or whatever pressure to pull it up 1km from the ground. No string attached! The idea was both scary and over-whelming. No doubt, both science and technology has come a long way to facilitate mankind.

Then, there was this whole day dedicated for desert Safari. It’s a great one-time activity. The dunes bashing, local Arabic food, camel ride and finally the belly dance are a complete entertainment package. In case this is your first time, do make a point to get yourself booked for this venture. Otherwise, people would keep on nagging you about not experiencing this.

Dubai is dotted with beautiful malls and state-of-the-art architecture that make you wonder whether you have entered a whole new planet where everything is artificial. Btw, I’m not a mall person so I barely spent time at Ibn-e-Batuta or Mall of Emirates. The only attraction, at Dubai Mall, was the fountain show. It was nice.

We also visited Fujairah beach. The ride was soothing. Highlight of this trip were the small beautiful mosques on our way and the shells I collected from the white beach, brought them back home, bought a little candle stand and put them there. I still have them !!

It was scorching hot so I don’t know whether they were doing water sports or not at the beach. We just had a random walk and that’s it. Another highlight of my trip was Dubai-Oman border and the place was called Al-Ain. The roads were beautiful. By the time we reached, night had fallen so the temperature was nice too. They had made a small restaurant at the mountain top. There is nothing much to do at the main spot except for taking pictures and seeing here and there and keep telling your partner “Oh look! that is Oman”.

I was told about the zoo at the foot hill but since it was night already, we rushed back to our place. Even if you miss this place altogether then you won’t be missing anything much btw.

We spent another full day at Sheikh Zayd mosque which is located in Abu Dhabi. It should be named one of the wonders of the world – the interior is majestic and the exteriors are totally out of this world. Please do pay it a visit.

Btw, if you ever plan to visit Dubai then try going there between November and March. May be spending your new year night here would be much more fun.

Another place to visit is either the Wild Wadi or the Atlantis. Both are water parks. We spent one full day at Wild Wadi. The rides were really fun.

Sight-seeing at Palm Jumeria and JBR walk are also a must-do activity. You can wrap them both in one evening though. Food is definitely tasty and yummy – whatever cuisine you may pick from there.

Dubai is fast-paced and a much smaller place. You can see the whole of it in 5-days excluding your arrival and departure days. Taxi ride is expensive and so are the hotels. But I found shopping similar to Pakistani standards. I mean, if you can find a good sale then all the branded stuff (my inclination from my second trip, about which I’m going to talk about shortly, was my kid’s clothes) can be found at the same price you buy in Pakistan at full price. So just keep imagining that you are shopping in Pakistan at full price!

I had enough of Dubai in my first visit. I won’t lie but from touristy point of view, once is enough. After all, how many times can you keep coming back to see the same or new buildings and great roads. But my sentiments were changed in March 2017 when my husband had to go to Dubai for work purpose (he had gone there many times earlier as well and I refused every time). This time he asked me again if I can join him. And I didn’t refuse.

This time around, however, I had a twenty month old kiddie with me. Before leaving my country I had a fair idea that my husband won’t be with me during the day time and will meet me in the evening only. But since by 2017, I knew already from my Singapore trip that I will have a blast with myself so I won’t be missing much of a company either so I was pretty ok with the arrangement. Btw, you can read my tips on traveling with the baby from my blog post “When you are traveling with a baby?“.

And trust me, I had the time of my life on this trip. I would wake up in my own sweet time with no agenda ahead. After getting myself and my kid ready, I would have a nice breakfast and then with a free shuttle service from our hotel to the Dubai Mall, my day would begin.

Our hotel was Marriot. It was very nice. I mean really nice! I had seen Dubai as a newly wed couple back in 2012. This time around, the city unleashed itself as a real entertainer for both a toddler and a mommy. We would shop and eat at the food courts. I also took her to the aquarium. It was really fun and she enjoyed watching fish and crocodile. Btw, there is a metro station from Dubai Mall so I never stayed at one mall but instead would take the train and make little excursions of the city.

Since I had seen almost all the ‘must-see’ places of Dubai in my first trip, I decided to cover those points which were new and kid-friendly. We also explored Butterfly Garden. It was quite away from the city though. Although there was another garden adjacent to this one, called the Miracle Garden but since it was a particularly hot day and I didn’t want to exhaust my child in the outdoors so we happily skipped it. Butterfly Garden is made indoors. It was nice!

My second trip was the kind my husband would have loved for himself i.e. with “No agenda”. We missed going on a Dubai Cruise (heard good stuff about the fancy cruises), Lego Land and Bollywood theme Parks. If you have time then do pay them a visit. But the mesmerizing late night walk at the JBR, a relaxing evening by the pool side of our hotel were all which were much needed and enjoyed.

Dubai is equally entertaining for couples and families. You can absolutely do everything here with or without kids. So feel free to make your week longer plan at this place and enjoy the wonders of the world beautifully crafted by mankind.