Dubai - greatness is impressive!
We were in Dubai for the first time. Rested from 8 to 15 December 2013. Tour operator - "Natalie Tours".
For a long time I really wanted to visit this fabulous city and now it was the right time to travel. There was a serious approach to choosing a hotel: a week on the Internet to study reviews, ratings, and location of hotels. I chose according to the criterion of price-quality-location ratio. The choice fell on the Citymax Al Barsha 3 * hotel. And I was not mistaken (well, more on that later). Having bought a ticket at the Megapolyus NN travel agency, 3 weeks before departure, a “little panic” began, because only after the purchase did I bother to read reviews about the Natalie Tours tour operator - every third with comments. I turned this question to the travel agency where I bought the ticket. I was assured there that everything would be fine and there was no point in worrying about negative reviews on the Internet about the tour operator Natalie Tours. I believed.
Maybe I was just lucky, or maybe what they write on the Internet negatively about Natalie Tours simply does not exist. In general, everything was ok!
We took off from the airport of Nizhny Novgorod - Strigino. By a rare chance, I got the 10th row on the plane (those who don’t know - the seats don’t recline there, because there is an emergency exit behind them). With my height of 196 cm, this is not very “comme il faut” with a 5-hour flight on an A 321 plane. Although the girl, when checking in for the flight, “politely joked about my height” with a smile-smirk. Only then did I understand what Strigino Airport was. Well, okay, let's be patient - after all, Dubai is ahead. We flew with Ural Airlines, as usual with a flight delay, but a small one - only 1.5 hours (this is the norm for Ural Airlines). Upon arrival at Dubai airport, I immediately felt the GREATEST feeling of the United Arab Emirates. The airport is huge. All interior decoration from modern materials.
From the place of disembarkation from the plane to the place of passage of passport control is more than 1 km. BUT ...The airport has "horizontal" escalators (like in the subway, but in a straight line). If you don’t want to travel on foot, then please “by transport”. Great! Passport control - a queue (the retina of each foreigner is entered into the database). And the host of the tour operator "Natalie Tours" - "Alpha tours" waited for us (the total delay on arrival was 2.5 hours). Very nice! Transfer to the hotel - 30 minutes through the empty morning city.
Hotel Citymax Al Barsha 3 * is located in the geographical middle of the city of Dubai. Nearby, across the road, is: the Mall of Emirates center - where there are many shops and cafes, Ski Dubai (like Russian mega, only 5-6 times more). The metro is a 10-minute walk from the hotel. The hotel was built quite recently. There are non-smoking rooms. On the main sites of the "Internet" photos correspond to reality.
Early in the morning we were met perfectly, immediately placed in a room on the 7th floor. The deposit was not taken at the reception. The room is standard and has everything you need. Two bottles of water, tea set, safe, refrigerator - free of charge. The plumbing is fresh. The air conditioner was not noisy. The only "but! » - Internet Wi-Fi in the rooms is paid, (free wired only), and free Wi-Fi is only in the hotel lobby on the 1st floor. We did not come across Russian-speaking hotel staff - everyone speaks English. I had to resort to the help of a translator on the tablet. The hotel "Burj Al Arab" (Sail) was visible from the room and there was no direct sunlight through the windows - that's cool! ! ! You can ask the maid for an iron and ironing board - free of charge. Meals - breakfast. Breakfast from 6-30 to 10-30 is a decent interval. A variety of dishes - if not to find fault, then everything is "okay".
Pastries - fresh, sausages, potatoes, pasta, all kinds of salads, juices of 2-3 types, tea, coffee and many unfamiliar dishes that were not even suitable for (it was enough "familiar dishes"). The free shuttle service (minibuses) of the hotel runs daily on the sea according to the schedule. You just need to sign up the day before. The journey takes 10-15 minutes. Carried to the city free beach, near the "Sail". On the roof of the hotel there is a small outdoor pool with sun loungers (I swam - I liked it). And the view from the roof of the hotel is just a miracle (I took a lot of photos). Every day they left a tip of 4-7 dirhams. Linen was changed every other day. There are no balconies, but this is not critical. There are two bars on the first floor. There was no music or noise at night. In the hotel lobby there is a Russian-speaking "aunt" with the sale of excursions (full range). At the reception there is a map of the city of Dubai - they give it for free. In general, the choice of the hotel did not miss.
Advantages: geographical location, "price-quality" ratio, "freshness" of the room stock. The disadvantage (it can’t even be called a disadvantage) is that Wi-Fi internet in the rooms is paid - you have to run to the reception to get a “freebie”.
Meeting with the guide.
At the appointed time, we went down to the hotel lobby, where a guide from the Alpha tours company, Yulia, was already waiting. She briefly told us about the country, local customs and rules. She answered our questions. Suggested tours. Since the individual "review" was reserved from us, we took only the "Indian Ocean" from her (70 dollars per person). Walked on the first day on foot to the sea - only 3.5 km there and the same back! During the walk, we visited the "Dubai Venice", held a photo session near the hotels "Burj Al Arab" and "Jumeirah". They don’t let you get close to the Burj Al Arab hotel - they have their own territory. An evening beach with a sunset near Parus and Jumera is super! Back to the hotel on foot - 1.5 hour.
The first dinner is at the giant Mall of Emirates. There are many different fast food cafes (Mcclonalds - average check per person 20 AED, pizzeria - average check per person 25 AED, Thai cuisine, SubWay, etc. ). There you can also buy ordinary products in the huge Carrefour store. Prices: bottle. water 0.6 l - 0.9 AED, Pepsi can - 1.05 AED, bread - 2.95 AED, yogurt - 3.33 AED, grilled chicken - 11.75 AED, Ferrero Rocher sweets (glass box) - 35 AED, local shawarma - 6 AED, etc. Prices for products are the same as in Russia, maybe even a little cheaper. In the same huge Carrefour store you can buy souvenirs (so as not to waste time searching).
Sightseeing tour.
A sightseeing (individual) tour was booked in advance via the Internet. Timur (guide) arrived at the hotel at the appointed time in his car - a new Toyota Prado. The tour route was planned individually (because we have already visited several places on our own). During the tour, we learned a lot about the country, historical and modern Dubai.
We visited almost all Dubai Wonders (modern Dubai Marina, Palm Jumeirah with Atlantis Hotel, Gold Market, historical Dubai, Sheikh Zayed Road, modern business Dubai), took a lot of pictures. At the end of the tour, Timur drove us to the Burj Khalifa tower, because tickets for the observation deck of the tower were bought in advance (by the way, he advised in advance and gave a link to the tower’s website, where you can buy tickets in advance almost 3 times cheaper - also Timur). I really liked the review. The Burj Khalifa tower (828 meters) is a unique building. From its height, you can see the whole of Dubai and even the neighboring emirates. The observation deck is located on the 124th floor (162 in total). The beauty is unreal! ! ! . It needs to be seen. Tickets for the observation deck, for two weeks, purchased for the "golden time" - 16-30. For one rise you can see: the daytime city, the sunset and the nighttime Dubai. At the bottom of the tower is another attraction - singing fountains.
Opening hours from 18-00 to 23-00 every 30 minutes. The spectacle is amazing! ! ! After listening to one song, seeing all the splendor, they stayed for one more, and another, and then a day later they returned again. You can endlessly talk about fountains and write words of admiration and splendor - a real modern "WONDER OF THE WORLD". Dinner on a boat with a tour of the water channels of Dubai Marina impressed with the evening colors of the city. We saw a colorful night city and a palm island from the sea - very beautiful. One day we visited the local electronics market on our own - Nasser Square. We got on the subway. The metro in Dubai in the "new city" is above ground, in the historical part of the city it is underground. To pay for the fare, we bought plastic cards - "silver" for 20 AED (14 AED on the card account). The cost of the trip is determined at the exit - the rest of the money on your card is written on the turnstile. The metro is ultra-modern, and the trains are without driver-operators.
As for the rumors about the division of male-female carriages, this has not been seen. When you drive on the overground, you enjoy the beautiful modern city buildings. On Nasser Square Street, everything is completely different - as if you are not in Dubai, but in an ancient natural oriental market. “barkers” in Russian invite to shops - “buy a fur coat” or “buy a phone”, etc. - even a little creepy. The cost of electronics is a little cheaper than in a new city, and even more so than in Russia. But you need to watch so that they don’t sell a bu (restored device by local craftsmen).
Morning of another day. Indian Ocean. At 8-00, to the hotel, behind us is a Toyota minibus. We thought that we would go on it, but after 30 minutes we were brought to the collection point, where a double-decker bus with a guide was waiting. Leaving the city limits, the desert immediately began. The view is fabulous: camels roam freely in the desert. Between the highway and the desert - a wire fence - amazing.
But the guide said that the sheikh spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on this fence to keep desert animals from cars. The roads in the city, and in all the Emirates, are just a FAIRY TALE (drivers will understand me). Being in a vehicle, you will not immediately understand: we are driving or standing. It took 3-3.5 hours to get to the Indian Ocean with stops at the eastern fruit market, the Pakistani silk carpet market and a photo stop on a mountain canyon - beauty. Having passed through 4 emirates - we are on the ocean! The ocean is the ocean: the water is much cleaner, warmer (26-27 degrees) and more pleasant than the sea in the Persian Gulf. We were on the beach, which belongs to the Sandy beach 3 * hotel - a very beautiful place. The Rocky Mountains smoothly turn into a coastal strip with the purest sand and beautiful palm trees on the shores of the azure coast of the Indian Ocean. The weather turned out "at 100" - the sun and calm. At 80 meters from the coast there is a small rocky island with a diameter of about 100 meters.
At low tide, you can walk to it. Near this island there are a lot of beautiful corals, beautiful colorful fish (blue, red, yellow, green - all colors of the rainbow), sea urchins (sometimes even turtles and coral sharks come across, but we did not see them). Lovers of flora and fauna will have something to do, but do not forget about sea urchins - there are a lot of them, and their thorns sting very painfully. Fins and a mask with a snorkel can be rented for 30 minutes - 50 AED. It’s a pity that the fins didn’t fit me in size - I need 46. I took an underwater camera - about 200 photos. + underwater video! We stayed on the beach for about 4-4.5 hours with lunch (buffet). On the way back, many tourists took pictures of camels walking through the desert through the glass on the bus. We were at the hotel in the evening around 19-00. I liked the tour very much - I recommend it.
While visiting the beach, the weather was just pampering: only one day there was a strong wind on the beach - the waves reached a height of 2-2.5 m.
The rest of the "beach days" were almost completely calm with a light sea breeze. We left the hotel at 10:00 am and arrived at 3:30 pm. There is free Wi-Fi throughout the beach. Every 50-70 meters there are small changing booths, a solar antenna on the roof - Wi-Fi free! Russian tourists on the beach are 75-80% - there are enough “our brothers” everywhere.
On the penultimate day of our vacation, we learned about a wonderful place - Miracle Garden. You can get there by taxi - from our hotel it's only 20 AED. I recommend taking a taxi - state-owned (the difference is checkers on the roof and a different color of the car), because these cars have a taxi meter installed and the likelihood of fraud is minimized. Miracle Garden is a miracle flower garden! The park can enter the Guinness Book of Records thanks to a wall of flowers 800 m long and 3 m high, the world's largest flower clock and a pyramid of flowers 10 m high.
What kind of flower structures are not there: two- and three-story flower houses, flower cars, pyramids and clocks made of bright flowers, the emblem of the UAE made of flowers, various flower galleries. The "brightness and beauty" of this place cannot be expressed in words, it must be seen - another "Dubai WONDER OF THE WORLD"! ! ! Opening hours from 9 am to 9 pm on weekdays and from 10 am to 00 pm on weekends and holidays. The cost is 20 AED with no time limit.
Departure. A day before departure, as the guide Yulia promised us, a letter arrived with the exact time of departure of the transver from the hotel. The room was handed over without any problems, just giving the keys to the reception. We arrived at the airport 3 hours before departure, but the departure was postponed with a change in the departure time on the tickets (so as not to feed the tourists once again). A delay of 3 hours is normal, because this is Ural Airlines. In the queue for registration, the “Russian spirit” was felt - rudeness, rudeness.
I can’t understand one thing, is there not enough seats on the plane or will it (the plane) fly away without us - why do we need to create a crush in the queue, etc. , the spectacle is only one “Not comme il faut” for the whole vacation. The flight was without problems, and the landing was shaking a lot, I thought that “the tail of the plane would fall off. ” Impressions from the trip on 5+ out of 5 possible. I recommend at least once to visit this fabulous place - the city of DUBAI and the United Arab Emirates. Thanks to everyone who organized our vacation!
