It started. The car purred like a mighty lion, whirred like a roaring helicopter and snarled like an angry tiger. The driver was seated behind the wheels with lots of confidence to such a degree that he could have easily cracked the toughest question in Google Interviews! He was a cheerful person who said he had specialized in the art of driving through the sand dunes on a regular basis. And he really was an expert. The way he handled the speed of the car and manoevered it on the widely undulating terrain of the desert with so much ease and finesse was something remarkable that it made my heart skip for a moment or two on certain stretches when the car was descending downhill a colossal sand dune. The turns, twists, ups and downs was like a thrilling roller coaster ride that is sure to make you thank the driver for such an unforgettable and indelible drive in the sand of time, pun intended.
To top it, I was seated right beside the driver which gave me, other than the driver, the unedited and unfiltered full view of what was coming and what was going to come on that dry patch of smoking hot land. To make matters worse or interesting, the other drivers were competing with each other to overtake, heedless and mindless of the risk, that even one small slip or slide can send the car along with the passengers toppling and tumbling down like a boulder on a sloped mountain. Luckily, no cars had to face the brunt and brutality of that eventuality as they were all seasoned drivers who had a pre-determined route to reach the dining place where we had the ravishing dancer performing her steamy, seductive, sensual belly moves that would have left Shakira open mouthed, the light ablaze Tanura dance and the scintillating fire eaters in the chilly evening of my first ever desert night which ended with a decent dinner and drop to the hotel again.
I had the slight apprehension that the menu would be only non-veg and that I had to go on an empty tummy to sleep. Luckily, they had vegetarian options, however only handful, it was like a blessing from the Angels in the sky and I sunk my teeth into whatever that was available. The situation was not as bad as it was in Hong Kong where either the veg food was extremely expensive or it had some kind of fish or prawns in it or they had no veg item at all - at least in the vicinity where my hotel was. That was the moment I felt being a veg was a curse on occasions if you don't eat anything apart from fruits and vegetables. I had to request the order taker and make him understand that I did not want any fish or prawns or squids in the soupy noodles but just plain noodles. Till date, I have no idea whether what I told him repeatedly for more than half an hour helped me to get a pure veg meal but it certainly created a lasting effect that whenever there is a normal buffet that I ask it's veg or non-veg when the placards aren't placed. In fact, I was left with no other option but to sustain myself on chips, coke, chocolate and water during my entire stay at Hong Kong. This is one biggest advantage in Singapore where I had the luxury of plentiful restaurants to choose from to satiate my vegetarian hunger. Singapore was a home away from home in every spirit of the letter of the word - Maybe the location of my hotel was such that - Still from whatever I had heard from my friends there, Singapore has no paucity for veg food throughout their country.
I had the slight apprehension that the menu would be only non-veg and that I had to go on an empty tummy to sleep. Luckily, they had vegetarian options, however only handful, it was like a blessing from the Angels in the sky and I sunk my teeth into whatever that was available. The situation was not as bad as it was in Hong Kong where either the veg food was extremely expensive or it had some kind of fish or prawns in it or they had no veg item at all - at least in the vicinity where my hotel was. That was the moment I felt being a veg was a curse on occasions if you don't eat anything apart from fruits and vegetables. I had to request the order taker and make him understand that I did not want any fish or prawns or squids in the soupy noodles but just plain noodles. Till date, I have no idea whether what I told him repeatedly for more than half an hour helped me to get a pure veg meal but it certainly created a lasting effect that whenever there is a normal buffet that I ask it's veg or non-veg when the placards aren't placed. In fact, I was left with no other option but to sustain myself on chips, coke, chocolate and water during my entire stay at Hong Kong. This is one biggest advantage in Singapore where I had the luxury of plentiful restaurants to choose from to satiate my vegetarian hunger. Singapore was a home away from home in every spirit of the letter of the word - Maybe the location of my hotel was such that - Still from whatever I had heard from my friends there, Singapore has no paucity for veg food throughout their country.
Coming back to Dubai now, the following morning was spent in a day tour which included Dubai's incredible achievements in the museum, beach-whose-name-I-forgot, photo stops at important landmarks like the Palace and a final drop at one of the I-forgot-name places where Indian restaurants were aplenty in Bur Dubai. Not wanting to waste money unnecessarily on a hired cab, I took an abra - Dubai's wooden boat - and travelled across the Dubai Creek from where it was walking distance to my hotel. If the morning was good, the evening was even better as we had a leisurely relaxed, pleasantly calm, peaceful atmosphere to go hand in hand with the soothing winds and enchanting music played in the Dhow Cruise and its delicious sit down buffet. After what seemed like more than an hour, the Cruise cruised to dock leaving me with a good, restful sleep and munchy dreams.
The next day was something which I was awaiting with eager anticipation like our Board exam results. We had to traverse through Abu Dhabi to reach the Yes Mall where Formula Rossa - the world's fastest roller coaster - was sleeping silently until awakened abruptly from her slumber. It was unbelievable. The initial thrust to get the momentum, the wild rush of wind through you when the ride is in progress, the free fall of all the potential energy converted to kinetic energy at that mind-blowing speed - It was a dream come true. You are also given specially designed eyewear to protect your eyes from the flying insects during the whooshing course of the exhilarating spin. However, the calculated scientist in me wanted to test the waters as to why the boards said 'Don't keep your arms open' by defying it and instantly I understood why the boards read the danger sign. The pressure applied on my hands by the speed of the coaster was such that it was next to impossible to even raise the hands. It was like you try to stand up but an invisible force forcefully knocks you on the head and makes you sit down! The rest of the mall had real F1 Ferrari cars and its engines, Ferrari on-road cars like Enzo and some rides that were good but not as cracking as Formula Rossa. The driver cum guide made his pitstop at the hotel again after a very long and tiring day where we covered Abu Dhabi with its palaces, one white mosque, picture stops at hotels and Yes Mall.
And the big day, pun intended, arrived. A stunning view was awaiting from the 124th floor of the Burj Khalifa with their one of a kind Augmented Reality Telescope where you can compare yesteryear's Dubai with the present one. More to the gorgeous views and telescope was the holographic projections of how the towering engineering marvel was constructed along with the timelines that is surely make your head spin like a top. Also, they claimed that their elevator will make its trip to the 124th floor in one minute and the claim was actually true when I captured the duration of the descent and saw it for myself.
The rest of the day was to spend the day at the Dubai Mall. It was so big that I felt like walking endlessly on escalators, stairs and floors. Having just glimpsed one section of the mall and the famous Dubai Rink without actually involving in the sport, it was high time for me to bid adieu to the never-ending house of all the world-famous brands under one roof so that I could get sufficient time to immerse myself in Miracle Garden - the world's largest flower garden.
From many shapes, sizes, colors, architectures and designs, all the flowers were exquisitely and intricately arranged that it was an extremely beautiful delight to feast upon the multifarious hues and contrasts in the vast mass of concrete and sand that occupied the majority of the place. After a thoroughly mesmerizing outing with the flowers, the sun was slowly dying down and I was told by the guide, who dropped me @ Burj Khalifa, that Global Village is another place which shouldn't be missed out.
Hiring a cab on my own again and making a good half an hour journey distance by wading through the traffic, the Global Village presented itself with a dazzling display of lights, rides, foods, stalls. acrobats, and country themes that is sure to wanting to leave you for more when this extravaganza keeps carrying into the night. Bidding a relatively early tearful farewell, there was one more thing which was on the to-do list before I left Dubai the next day - to catch up with a movie. I heard from the receptionist in the hotel that the Mall of Emirates is yet another place that shouldn't be missed out. So, I decided to watch a movie in the Mall of Emirates by hiring another can from the Global Village.
Sipping into the whacking great Haagen Dazs Vanilla Shake with a tub of Caramel Popcorn to keep me company, Concussion was not that great a film but the ambience provided by the theatre was freaking fantastic that it wanted me to watch Alvin and Chipmunks in 4D. Unfortunately, as I converted the ticket price to rupees, it was staggering that I decided to hit the bed after hiring another taxi.
Hiring a cab on my own again and making a good half an hour journey distance by wading through the traffic, the Global Village presented itself with a dazzling display of lights, rides, foods, stalls. acrobats, and country themes that is sure to wanting to leave you for more when this extravaganza keeps carrying into the night. Bidding a relatively early tearful farewell, there was one more thing which was on the to-do list before I left Dubai the next day - to catch up with a movie. I heard from the receptionist in the hotel that the Mall of Emirates is yet another place that shouldn't be missed out. So, I decided to watch a movie in the Mall of Emirates by hiring another can from the Global Village.
Sipping into the whacking great Haagen Dazs Vanilla Shake with a tub of Caramel Popcorn to keep me company, Concussion was not that great a film but the ambience provided by the theatre was freaking fantastic that it wanted me to watch Alvin and Chipmunks in 4D. Unfortunately, as I converted the ticket price to rupees, it was staggering that I decided to hit the bed after hiring another taxi.
After a dead tired day and having slept well, I woke up on the last day to do a neat packing for the return journey back home. Still left with time for the departure, I proceeded towards the Jumeriah Beach by the train as I had the hard experience from the previous night that the cabs were not that cheap when converted into rupees. Lazing in the beach for some time, it was a mad rush towards the hotel by the return train as the time was fast approaching to say goodbye to Dubai and its wonderful memories though there were other escapades which was missed out in this trip which I will definitely give a try if I get an opportunity to visit once more permitting time and money:
a) Sky Diving
b) Recently opened Bollywood Theme Park
c) Go around the complete Dubai Mall including their Aquarium and Rink
d) See the entire city under lights from atop the 148th observatory deck
e) Any other place of worthy attraction that comes up in future in this fascinating place for tourists
To conclude, Dubai is a MUST visit place for everyone at least once to see for themselves how a nothing place has radically transformed itself into a buzz of activity with a wealth of Black Gold and an oasis of labour at their disposal thus providing safety, security and growth to everyone.
X---Concluded---X
PS:
If you don't want to believe me how beautiful Dubai is, kindly watch Jacobinte Swargarajyam... :)
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