Flight to Dubai from Bengaluru: 28.12.18
My son booked tickets by Emirate Flight EK 565 in Economy Class from Bengaluru International Airport to Dubai on 28.12.18 departure at 10.25 am. When we reached the Emirates Counter to get boarding passes, my son was approached by an Executive of Emirates Airline and offered to change the tickets in Business Class at a discounted rate. Immediately my son agreed and upgraded the tickets to Business Class. It was the first opportunity for me and my wife to travel in the Business Class which we enjoyed very much with the extra comforts available.
After reaching Dubai Airport at 1pm (Dubai time), we had to go to another part of Terminal 3 by a Train for completing Immigration process and Baggage clearance.
On reaching Dubai Airport, we were met by Marhaba Service Executive who arranged for VISA on arrival for my son and Immigration Checking in a very short time. In the absence of their Service we would have spent at least two hours to complete the process in view of big queues in front of the VISA and Immigration counters.(Marhaba is an exclusive meet and greet service that makes the airport something to look forward to—for you, your clients or your loved ones. From fast-track clearance through arrivals or departures to helping with transfers, baggage and family travel, we ensure a swift, smooth and safe passage through the airport."Marhaba" is an Arabic words, it is used in middle east to greet people, as Hello in English and Namaste in Hindi. The literal meaning of marhaba is as per it's Syriac origin is: Mar: Master or God. Haba:Love. Marhaba: God is love.)
After clearing our baggage, we were met by Mr.Abdul, a Driver cum car owner who was engaged by my son for our travel in Dubai from 28.12.18 to 2.1.19. He took us by his car to Al Bandar Rotana, a five star Hotel in Dubai Creek.
Courtesy: Google Photos
Inside view of Rotana Hotel
Sight seeing in Dubai on 28.12.18
After taking rest in the Hotel room, we went to Palm Jumeirah island (The Palm Jumeirah is an artificial archipelago in the United Arab Emirates, created using land reclamation by Nakheel which extends into the Persian Gulf. It is part of a larger series of developments called the Palm Islands, including Palm Jebel Ali and Palm Deira), which, when completed, will together increase Dubai's shoreline by a total of 520 kilometres (320 mi). It is located on the Jumeirah coastal area of the emirate of Dubai Wikipedia).
Palm Jumeirah island Courtesy: Google photos
To reach the island we had to travel by a tunnel constructed under the Sea. We could have a glimpse of Atlantic Hotel situated in the Island.
It was really a treat to see all the trees en-route illuminated with lights everywhere.
From Palm Jumeirah, we proceeded to visit the famous Burj Khaleefa (The Burj Khalifa, known as the Burj Dubai prior to its inauguration in 2010, is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. With a total height of 829.8 m and a roof height of 828 m, the Burj Khalifa has been the tallest structure and building in the world since its topping out in late 2008. Wikipedia).
Before reaching Burj Khaleefa ,we had our dinner in a restaurant inside Dubai Mall which was near the tower. After that we could see the Fountain shows in the lake and Laser show of Burj Khaleefa.
Night view of Burj Khalifa
On 29.12 18 after taking breakfast in the Hotel, we proceeded to Abu Dhabi ( 140 kms from Dubai)by car. On the way we could see many skyscrapers in different shapes. On reaching Abu Dhabi , visited first Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque which is one of the world’s largest mosques, and the only one that captures unique interactions between Islam and world cultures. Sheikh Zayed's vision for the Grand Mosque was to incorporate architectural styles from different Muslim civilizations and celebrate cultural diversity by creating a haven that is truly diverse and inspirational in its foundation. The mosque’s architects were British, Italian and Emirati, and design inspiration was borrowed parts of Turkey, Morocco, Pakistan, and Egypt among other Islamic countries, revealing a glistening architectural marvel with an astonishing capacity of 40,000 worshipers and visitors. (Source:https://visitabudhabi.ae/en/see.and.do/attractions.and.landmarks/iconic.landmarks/sheikh.zayed.grand.mosque.aspx)
In view of the huge crowd of people visiting from all over the world, there is a big queue in the mosque regulated by security guards every where. The mosque is magnificent in every aspect of architecture, size and design. Some of the pictures captured by me are posted below:
Different views of the Mosque
After visiting the mosque we took lunch in Hotel Saravana Bhavan and after shopping in Lulu Mall we proceeded to the famous Museum in Abu Dhabi which is known as Louvre Abu Dhabi .( It is approximately 24,000 square metres (260,000 sq ft) in size, with 8,000 square metres (86,000 sq ft) of galleries , making it the largest art museum in the Arabian peninsula.-Wikipedia).
We could visit all the galleries consisting of sculptures,paintings ,ornaments,weapons etc reflecting different civilization of different parts of the world,
I have posted below some of the pictures taken in the Museum:
Miracle Garden: Our first visit for sight seeing was to Dubai Miracle Garden.( Dubai Miracle Garden was launched on Valentine’s Day, 2013, and is set in the heart of Dubailand.Seeing the garden in full bloom with its 150 million flowers arranged in colourful arches and patterns, and the myriad shapes they form, is truly magnificent. Dubai Miracle Garden’s breathtaking landscaping has earned two Guinness World Records for the largest vertical garden in 2013 and world’s largest floral sculpture forming the shape of an Airbus A380 in 2016. https://www.dubaimiraclegarden.com/ )
We were enthralled to see the magnificent Miracle Garden which has all types of flowers and plants beautifully arranged in different shapes viz Disney cartoon characters, Houses,Animals, Bus,Aeroplane etc. There are many eatouts in the Garden with benches ,chairs etc to sit and relax. As in other places there was huge crowd of peoples from different parts of the world to enjoy the beauty of the Garden.
I post below some of the pictures taken in the Garden:
Desert:
After enjoying the visit to Miracle Garden, we proceeded to have a glimpse of the Desert outside Dubai. On the way we could see small mountains which are actually, the garbage collected and dumped by Trucks.
Green mountain formed by Garbage dumped
We could also see on the way two places where Confiscated vehicles were dumped.
Confiscated vehicles Yard
Finally we reached the beginning of the desert but did not venture to go for Desert safari.
Our driver by oversight drove the car in the sands of the desert and the front tyres were struck in the sands. After struggling to take the car out for some time,luckily a Gentleman from Oman after seeing our flight came to our rescue. He towed our car with his car and pulled out the vehicle. It was really an anxious and thrilling experience for us.
Car struck in sand
Glow garden:
After the visit to Desert we returned to Dubai and had our lunch in an Iranian Restaurant. After taking rest in the Hotel, we visited the Glow Garden of Dubai in the night. ( Dubai Garden Glow is a World of Imagination with a Skillful blend of World’s Unique Art and Theme creating an amazing concept.
- Glow Park : The ‘largest glow-in-dark garden’ made of Millions of energy saving bulbs and yards of recycled luminous fabric
- Dinosaur Park : The ‘biggest Dinosaur park’, that displays more than 120 animatronic Dinosaurs
- Ice Park : The Polar climate in the Middle of the Desert with ‘All New Marvelous Ice Sculptures at Ice Park’
- Art Park : Very New ‘Eco-Friendly ART Park’ made up of Thousands of recyclable Small Bottles, Ceramic Dishes and CDs.
- http://www.dubaigardenglow.com/)
In the Glow garden we could see the illuminated images of animals,birds, cartoon characters etc. We could also see many animated dinosaurs in the Dinosaur park.
I post below some of the pictures taken in side the glow garden:
Dubai Miracle garden and Glow Garden are a must to visit and enjoy for all persons visiting to Dubai
Sight seeing in Dubai on 31.12.1918
On 31.12.18 we shifted to Asiana Hotel since my son extended the stay for further three days and rooms were not available in Hotel Rotana.
After taking rest till noon, we wanted to see the Fireworks of Burj Khalifa. Since we were told that there would be huge rush near the tower, we decided to watch the fireworks from a distance.We selected a place near the famous Dubai frame.
The Dubai Frame is an architectural landmark in Zabeel Park, Dubai. It has been described by The Guardian newspaper as "the biggest picture frame on the planet"The Dubai Frame is created out of glass, steel, aluminum, and reinforced concrete. It is positioned in such a way that representative landmarks of modern Dubai can be seen on one side, while from the other side, visitors can also view older parts of the city.(Wikipedia)
Watching the Dubai Frame very close itself was amazing due to the frequent change of colour of the frame. I post below some of the pictures of the building with different colours.
We could see Burj Khalifa within the Frame at a far distance. When the time was approaching 12 pm for the beginning of the Fireworks, a huge crowd of people gathered near the Frame and standing on the nearby bridge and flyover. At sharp 12 pm we could see the Fireworks (but it was not so impressive since we saw it from a far place)and people gathered there started to shout Happy New year.
Sight seeing in Dubai on 1.1.2019
On the morning of 1.1.2019 we went for shopping in Dragon Mall .
Water fountain in front of Dragon Mall
After taking lunch and rest in the Hotel we went to Jumeirah Beach.The Jumeirah Beach is particularly famous for its white sands. The soft and clear, fine granules let your feet sink right in. We could see a lot of tourists in the beach and many sea gulls were flying there. We could also see beautiful flower plants.
We also enjoyed a spectacular sunset view of the seven-star Burj-Al-Arab in Dubai, and the stunning monument is set against Dubai’s coast and is a sight to marvel at.
Burj-Al-Arab
After visiting the beach, we went for shopping again in roadside shops near the place where many decorated boats /some of them with restaurants were taking passengers for boat rides.
Return trip from Dubai to Bengaluru on 2.1.2019:
After spending/enjoying nearly a week trip in Dubai we left by Emirates Airline EK 566 at 1.35 pm and reached Bengaluru at 6.35 pm.
Thus we had a hectic, enjoyable and memorable trip to Dubai.
