Friday, February 20, 2009

Dubai


This is probably not the average place that most travelers want to go to. However, tourists are becoming more and more satisfied after visiting here. Dubai is in the United Arab Emirates and is right off the cost of the Persian Gulf. It is right between Saudi Arabia and Oman, if that helps at all. The weather here could very accurately be described as hot. Most people visit during the winter, where the temperatures are in the 70s and 80s. During the summer, it is not uncommon for the temperature to sore to the 120s (but it is a dry heat).

Once you make it to the city, there are going to be some highlights that you need to make sure to see. The most popular thing to do is something called Arabian Adventures. This is a tour of the city and surrounding area by ATV and off road vehicles. The tour will take you into the desert to have a little fun. The best part is the sand dune bashing, as they call it. Which is exactly how it sounds, driving wherever you want and running into the dunes to watch the sand fly. It is compared to an intense roller coaster for all of the adventurous type.

Then, if you are ready to indulge yourself, you can stay at the Burj Al Arab. It is the world’s only seven-star hotel! To begin, the hotel is built on an artificial island, connected to the mainland only by an exquisite bridge. Then once you go into the hotel you will notice the enormous atrium, it is the tallest and listed at an astounding 590ft!! The hotel is the second tallest in the world, yet only has 202 rooms; with rooms ranging from 1800 sq ft to a ridiculous 8396 sq ft. The cheapest room is slightly over $1,000 a night with the Royal Suite at about $28,000. The suite includes a marble spiral staircase with gold leaf covered railings. The hotel also has some restaurants. The most extravagant of these is on one of the top floors. The head chef was named best chef in the world in 2006.

Did you ever think you could go skiing or snowboarding in the dessert? I didn’t, but you can! Ski Dubai is an INDOOR skiing facility. The slopes obviously aren’t quite like Colorado, but it is a great contrast to the endless dessert around. People that having been skiing for years are saying this place was great. If you need a break from the sand, this is the place to be in Dubai.

1 comment:

  1. I m glad you chose to write on Dubia. I had an intrship in Indianapolis at A2SO4, an architecture firm that helped with the designs of the hotel. I myself did not partake in the planing, but was proud of being at the firm that did. My mother owns and runs a small cothing store and she is thinking of buying a spot on the mall strip that was just built.

    It is a great city, and I would love to go there some day. The one problem is that it is really expensive,and there is a lot of pirating in those waters. Good post, very imformative

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