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What do you all like about Dubai apart from the beach?

Stuffing Bears at the Bear Factory.






I mean seriously there is a heap of things to do. At the beach you can swim, kite surf, snorkel, build a sand castle have a bbq/picnic, go on a quad bike, jet ski.
You can learn Arabic, go for a ride on an abra, get lost in your car driving, go to a different Emirate, go to a waterpark, have a spa treatment, go to a Wadi, go dune bashing, go karting, sky dive, play snooker, go sand boarding, sailing, shooting,roller blade at the park, go for a picnic/bbq at the park, try a shawarma, go to Al Reef and have the best cheese bread eva,go paintballing, take a helicopteror plane tour,join a motor cross/motorcycle club, go diving,play golf, go fishing, take a dhow charter, go on that duck thing down the creek and on land, take that Big Bus tour, take a camel ride(anything else is an offence ), go to Magic Planet, visit the malls and go shopping, visit an Oud shop and check it out, go ice skating, go to Ski Dubai,visit a museum, go to Children's city, visit the Bastakiya, go clubbing and pubbing, go to an art gallery, watch cable and read Dubai Forums.

So GAB - not much to do in Dubai then.

Hello Gab do you really like living in Dubai?

Hi Shafique what do you like doing in Dubai and do you love it a lot there?

Norma - I am ten days away from arriving in Dubai with the family.. so can't answer your question. I am however looking forward to trying most of the stuff on GAB's list above..

Cheers,
Shafique

Yeah- it is better than some other places from several points. You have great weather some parts of the year and you can enjoy an outdoor lifestyle. It is a safe and relatively clean place to live. You can enjoy a relaxed or I guess toffy/upmarket lifestyle-there is an abundance of choice here- choices on where and how you shop for groceries (there are markets, cheaper supermarkets and mor expensive ones), you have a huge number of choices of where you shop for clothing, electrical etc-there are malls and there are places like Karama and Dragonmart,you have a choice on where you eat and what kind of food you like to enjoy (you can go food court, small local restaurant, fast food, hotel, five star etc), you could join a club and sit by a pool on your day off or you can go to the beach a drive etc-just wandering in different parts of Dubai can be a feast for your eyes.
I like it.

wow GAB, I am moving out there in 10 days and your post has really whet my appetite which is an achievement in itself because I woke up this morning feeling quite nervous and now I feel excited!
How long have you been out there?

Hi- not long just about 8 months. The summer is bad but it goes and it is a matter of reorganising what you do during that time-some people leave for the summer especially when they have kids however there are things you can do here-of course going to the pictures is one thing-air-con is always full blast at the pics and there are places like Wafi City where kids can roller blade and play arcade games etc (for adults, I could spend a few hours eating in Wafi Gourmet (formerly Goodies) - the best homemade natural flavour icecreams ever!!).
The best thing to do when you get here is to buy the magazines What's On and Time Out and also buy the Dubai Explorer-they also have a fantastic Off Road Explorer (both by Explorer publishing). These publications will give you an insight into where and what to do. Also the magazines will tell you the best deals for going out ie Happy Hour, Ladies nights, good restaurant deals like free flow alcohol plus buffet etc. The Connector (sometimes free, sometimes DH10) is good for info as well- it has a fitness calendar in the back with schedules for everything from yoga, pilates,tae bo,aqua aerobics to salsa.
Seriously if you can't make a life in Dubai you shouldn't be an expat!!

lol you should work for Dubai Tourism, good post and suggestions.

Driving here should be listed as an activity or a sport- I saw a motorbike go down Sheikh Zayed Road on one wheel the other night-beat the quad bike I saw a week before speeding along! "Driving in Dubai" would be an excellent documentary. What you see here skews your idea of normal.

yeah, I have got to say the thing I am least looking forward to when I arrive is the driving - especially after all the stories on here - not that I am a bad driver or anything (she's says hurriedly!!!)

Drive here for a while and you'll learn to tailgate, use your warning lights incessantly and for no reason, never use your indicator , beep your horn just for the joy of it or when any light turns green, cut across three lanes while on a roundabout to make that vitally important turn and finally you'll learn to grasp your fingertips into a little bunch and shove your arm out the window doing so, to mean "get stuffed I'm going to cut you off" (there is a rumour that it means "give me a little space/time" yeah right!!) Driving is a sheer joy!!

GAB wrote:Drive here for a while and you'll learn to tailgate, use your warning lights incessantly and for no reason, never use your indicator , beep your horn just for the joy of it or when any light turns green, cut across three lanes while on a roundabout to make that vitally important turn and finally you'll learn to grasp your fingertips into a little bunch and shove your arm out the window doing so, to mean "get stuffed I'm going to cut you off" (there is a rumour that it means "give me a little space/time" yeah right!!) Driving is a sheer joy!!

Not much different than driving in Montreal or New York... Definatly more civil than driving in Beirut

now I am really scared about driving I guess I will be getting alot of cabs! In the meantime before I come out I will practice the fist clenching routine and use/non use of signals. Don't think it will go down too well in Wimbledon, but will let you know

No, don't catch cabs-go for the car. When I first arrived I thought, cabs are cheap no probs, but because I was catching 4 to 6 cabs a day I ended up with some of the same drivers which was a worry because I knew I was in for a hell ride before we took off. Then there was the no seat belt issue for my kids-always the seat belts were jammed under the seat and there was no way of getting them out. Then of course the drivers like to give you their numbers so you can call them, but it started to get weird when quite a few wanted my number and the crunch came when a taxi driver asked me to change the gears going down SZR. Time to drive. It isn't bad-it is necessary!!

GAB wrote:No, don't catch cabs-go for the car. When I first arrived I thought, cabs are cheap no probs, but because I was catching 4 to 6 cabs a day I ended up with some of the same drivers which was a worry because I knew I was in for a hell ride before we took off. Then there was the no seat belt issue for my kids-always the seat belts were jammed under the seat and there was no way of getting them out. Then of course the drivers like to give you their numbers so you can call them, but it started to get weird when quite a few wanted my number and the crunch came when a taxi driver asked me to change the gears going down SZR. Time to drive. It isn't bad-it is necessary!!

I first laughed when I read you had to change gears - but then realised I wouldn't have found it funny if it happened to me
I never knowingly break the highway code, but I am really worried that I will get into trouble if I make an honest mistake. Mad I know.

I like walks at the Creek by night. Dubai is then a big sea of lights. I love it.

I also love some special shopping centers, especially Mercato

Walking through the souks in the evening, e.g. the marvellous gold souk.

Knowing many interestng people in Dubai.

The long white open beach.

And I love to see camels. They are mystic animals.

I like the desert.

The Dubai Museum is very interesting. And with children the Wild Wadi Park is attracting me.

great topic and responses guys
thanks!

GAB wrote:Stuffing Bears at the Bear Factory.






I mean seriously there is a heap of things to do. At the beach you can swim, kite surf, snorkel, build a sand castle have a bbq/picnic, go on a quad bike, jet ski.
You can learn Arabic, go for a ride on an abra, get lost in your car driving, go to a different Emirate, go to a waterpark, have a spa treatment, go to a Wadi, go dune bashing, go karting, sky dive, play snooker, go sand boarding, sailing, shooting,roller blade at the park, go for a picnic/bbq at the park, try a shawarma, go to Al Reef and have the best cheese bread eva,go paintballing, take a helicopteror plane tour,join a motor cross/motorcycle club, go diving,play golf, go fishing, take a dhow charter, go on that duck thing down the creek and on land, take that Big Bus tour, take a camel ride(anything else is an offence ), go to Magic Planet, visit the malls and go shopping, visit an Oud shop and check it out, go ice skating, go to Ski Dubai,visit a museum, go to Children's city, visit the Bastakiya, go clubbing and pubbing, go to an art gallery, watch cable and read Dubai Forums.

Bring it on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GAB is u think driving in Dubai is a Sport then driving in Cairo is a kickboxing match and I'm sure Arnie would would back me up on this since he had seen it with his own eyes

Wafaey wrote:GAB is u think driving in Dubai is a Sport then driving in Cairo is a kickboxing match and I'm sure Arnie would would back me up on this since he had seen it with his own eyes

Driving in Dubai is Death Race 2006!

However Waf, I have to agree that driving in Cairo does have it beat! I remember driving over the bridge to Zamalek on a 4 lane highway, where there were no marked lanes, 6 files of traffic all weaving in and out of each other, buses, taxis, private cars and donkey carts all vying for space...as fast as they could! Madness!

Definition of an cripple in Cairo? A taxi driver with a broken horn!!!



Knight

I always remember walking towards the Museum from the Hilton, we stopped to cross at a junction controlled by a traffic cop.

The cars were all over the shop, and every time the cop had his back turned, the queue of cars would move forward till their bumpers were almost touching his legs whilst giving him "the horn".

Geeezzzz the cop was seriously risking his life.

arniegang wrote:I always remember walking towards the Museum from the Hilton, we stopped to cross at a junction controlled by a traffic cop.

The cars were all over the shop, and every time the cop had his back turned, the queue of cars would move forward till their bumpers were almost touching his legs whilst giving him "the horn".

Geeezzzz the cop was seriously risking his life.

All that aside, Cairo has a special feel. The souk, the Nile corniche in the evening, the gardens at the Museum, Giza plateau, Saqqara, the Oberoi Mena House hotel...its just getting to and from them that is life threatening!

I once drove through Naples! Now there is another post!

Dubai is nowhere near as bad as some places, at least some of the roads are good.



Knight

Naples


I still remember the taxi ride from the airport to the train station. Short of time and i made the mistake to ask the driver to be as quick as he could.

I still have nightmares about doing 80 in a small cobbled street ,after passing the No Entry sign in a one way steet the wrong way

arniegang wrote:Naples


I still remember the taxi ride from the airport to the train station. Short of time and i made the mistake to ask the driver to be as quick as he could.

I still have nightmares about doing 80 in a small cobbled street ,after passing the No Entry sign in a one way steet the wrong way

Where was that ?
It sounds alot like Cairo though

Naples is in Italy Waf as in the Bay of Naples as in Mount Vesuvios as in Pompei.

You speak of Naples (tame), or Cairo, or maybe you could speak of Athens or Casablanca or Tehran...

But trust me these places are tame compared to Beirut...

I got confused it seems that Egyptians and Italians are cousins

Athens is another nightmare for driving