First, I have to be clear about something, Dubai is not in any way my kind of city. It is similar, for me, to places like Las Vegas. I know, many people love both those locations and that is awesome. Just not me.
However, if nothing else we are opportunists. As we were in Abu Dhabi and needed to get to Mauritius with the best flight options departing from Dubai, fate would dictate we would at least stop over there. No traveller with any self respect would pass up the opportunity to visit an attraction like Dubai when you are only a 90 minute bus ride away.
So hop on the bus we did. First the very nice municipal bus in Abu Dhabi (they even have luggage storage underneath), then the intercity bus to Dubai.While waiting to depart in Abu Dhabi we popped into the shawarma kiosk in the bus station and enjoyed a delicious lunch prepared by this fine gentleman.It has been interesting going from Oman to Abu Dhabi to Dubai. Each location has had things they do very well. Dubai by far had the nicest public transit set up. Their Metro was inexpensive, clean and efficient. It also took us straight to our hotel from the bus station. When we departed, it delivered us right to the airport.
I am aware that Dubai has dozens of unique and interesting sights and activities to do. However, timings and our preferences indicated that we would only be glimpsing some of these.
The Burj Khalifa was certainly something we wanted to see. So the evening we arrived we took the Metro over and did the walk around. The line ups for last minute tickets were ridiculous, so going up was not an option. We knew we were diving the next day so we also knew that ruled out going up the next day as well. Diving then flying, or going to excess heights is a high risk combination for giving yourself the bends. No view is worth that.We did manage to see a few of the water fountain shows as we walked about and enjoyed dinner. It is a beautifully developed area with some very cool architecture. We also got lost in the Dubai Mall for a while. It is in the same area as the Burj. Honestly though, the only activity we knew we were doing when it was decided we would be passing through Dubai was to go scuba diving in Deep Dive Dubai. It is the worlds deepest indoor pool. Certainly one of the most expensive dives we have done, but it is an experience. Right from a personal guide to introduce you to the gear. It was the first time either of us had ever used a backplate and wing BCD so an education session was needed. By the way, we loved them.As you swim through the kitchen set up around 28 metres down you can have a seat.Just don’t be alarmed by the F1 car hanging down below 30 meters. The pool is 60 metres deep and you can go as deep as you are certified to go. We got down to 30 metres.Karen had a problem not spilling her coffee.Our guide, Mo, played some basketball with us. He was also good enough to click some photos of us together.We were able to relax in the 29ºC fresh water and play some chess.Then we headed over to the motorcycle sidecar for a ride. Flying on the Ducati. As this complex is part of the governing families health and wellness area the high priced props weren’t that surprising. The fact that they had a recompression chamber on site certainly is an added safety bonus for everyone.After the dive we were fitted with our warm house coats and headed off to the spa like change rooms for a hot shower.
The whole experience at Deep Dive Dubai is classy and professional. If you are into diving and doing something a little different it is worth it. Because we were there early in the morning we had the entire tank to ourselves which makes for a unique atmosphere. Go early if you are able.
We were supposed to check out The Frame in the afternoon however chose to rest for a bit instead. We did go for a walk in the Mall of the Emirates, that is the one with the ski hill in it (no skiing for us).
As I mentioned earlier, our main focus is getting to Mauritius where we have a week of diving booked. Risking getting a cold due to being too run down simply is not an option and getting run down is a bit too easy for me these days so showing some restraint is essential. When booking this trip we found that we could fly Dubai to Mauritius, or Dubai to Mumbai to Mauritius. The Mumbai option is so much cheaper that basically our stop over in Mumbai is free.
Stay tuned for the report on our 58 hours in Mumbai.
We visited Dubai like you did–an opportunistic stop on our way from South Africa. Agree it’s like Vegas. Gotta do it once. No diving for us (hadn’t heard about that wild experience!) but the souks were pretty fun. I’m beyond jealous of your Mauritius plans, by the way.
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