The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a beautiful country, and Dubai is it’s most well known and populous state. We traveled to the country at the end of February, which was a great time to go as it’s not too hot, but it’s also at the tail end of the high tourist season. We were told the area generally gets about 5 rainy days a year, and we happened to be there for all 10 of them.
You’ve heard the saying “everything is bigger in Texas”? Let me tell you that Texas has nothing on Dubai, where they don’t seem to stop building until they’ve hit a world record.The newly built MG Worlds of Adventure is the world’s largest indoor amusement park , the Burj Khalifa is the world’s tallest building, and Ski Dubai is the biggest (and first) indoor ski resort. The Dubai Mall in and of itself is worth a visit, measuring over 13 million square feet and even featuring the Dubai Aquarium & Underwater zoo (where you can go shark diving!). The scale of their buildings is almost indescribable.
The official language in Dubai is Arabic, but English is the most spoken language. This is because Emirates only make up a small percentage of the UAE population. The rest of the residents of the country are foreigners, there to work for a specific amount of time; English is the common, working language for most of the population. All road signs are in both languages, and everyone is bi-lingual (at least). Public transit is very easy to use, and there are always plenty of taxis around. It doesn’t feel all that foreign because the entire city is very modern and all the signs are in English.
The infrastructure is all new (they only started building the city in the past few decades), and almost everything is indoors. Given that summer temperatures can average 113°F with humidity of 90%, I’m sure you can imagine why the average person wants to stay indoors. The beauty of indoor everything, besides the air conditioning, is the free wifi. It’s everywhere! And it’s SO fast! I don’t have an international phone plan, but I was still able to face-time family and friends from almost all of the locations we visited because the wifi was so readily available (expect in mosques).
Where we stayed:
We went on a cruise around the area for 2 weeks, and had the chance to stay in Dubai for 3 days at the Four Seasons Resort at Jumeirah Beach. Although we crammed a lot into our 3 days, we could have happily spent a full week at this resort alone, not to mention Dubai.
The Dress:
The number one question I get asked is, “what did you have to wear?”. Before packing I did a lot of research and consulted a friend who lived there because I was worried on this point myself. The advice I got was that my legs and shoulders needed to be covered at all times, and I should stay shy away from form fitting and see-through clothing. We were in the UAE for 2 weeks, and I wore long pants or maxi skirts paired with sleeved shirts almost every day. On days when I wore a tank top, I covered my shoulders and arms with a cardigan. I was also told I should carry a scarf with me just in case, but no one ever asked me to cover my head, except for when we visited mosques.
The only clothing mistake I did make happened when visiting our first mosque. For 
entry, they require that women be covered from ankle to wrist (including hair). I wore a maxi skirt, a short sleeved shirt, and a cardigan to fully cover my arms. However, the cardigan was white and was “too sheer”, so I was asked to put on an abaya to continue my visit (they loaned it out free of charge, and had quite a selection of sizes). I learned from my mistake and wore a black not-at-all-sheer cardigan to the next mosque and didn’t have any issues. My husband wore pants or longer shorts (hitting at or right below the knee), and short-sleeved t-shirts every day and didn’t have any issues. For our mosque visits he did wear full length pants. If you’re worried about what to wear, I found this article to be very helpful.
The Food:
Oh my goodness, the food was amazing! Dubai is very diverse, and they really do have every type of food you could hope to find. We even found chain restaurants like The Cheesecake Factory, KFC, and Starbucks in the malls. My favorite restaurant was a Lebanese restaurant called Wafi Gourmet outside of the Dubai Mall. Although it’s a full service restaurant, it does has a street market feel due to the spice shop, pastry counters, and handcrafted goods (like soaps and lotions) for sale near the restaurant entrance.
There are 3 locations, and the one in Dubai overlooks a huge (man-made) lake and the Burj Khalifa. It was a nice day so we ate outside and happened to catch the choreographed fountain show that takes place in the lake (think the Bellagio in Los Vegas, with a more exotic background).
We also had the chance to eat at The Burj Club, which is actually inside of the the Burj Khalifa (in one of it’s lower sections). If you eat there, be sure to sit on the patio so you can get a great view of the building towering over you. It’s a spectacular site! The Burj Club also features rooftop pool, so don’t forget your swimsuit.
Don’t miss:
Dubai as a whole should be on your bucket list. If you do go, don’t miss:
The Dubai Mall interior: One of the biggest malls in the world, and the only mall where you’ll get the chance to go diving with sharks. Plenty of activities to do here other than shop.
The Dubai Mall exterior: Brave the heat and go outside for a (long) walk around the Burj Khalifa Lake so you can take some of the best photos of the nearby Burj Khalifa. Don’t miss out on the amazing food in this area, especially the Wafi Gourmet. Wherever you eat, be sure to sit outside to watch the 2nd largest choreographed fountain show in the world.
The Burj Khalifa: There are restaurants and hotels in the tower, and you can purchase tickets to go to the top for some amazing views. I liked taking selfies in front of the tower better than I liked being at the top, only because of the number of people also trying to get to the top. The line for the elevator can be extremely long (and it wraps around several rooms in a very hidden, Disney-esque style), so give yourself plenty of time for this attraction. The wait was made bearable by the numerous pictures and interesting facts scattered along the walls.
The desert: Although Dubai is lush and green thanks to very good landscaping and maintenance, the UAE is a desert. Just outside of the city limits are beautiful sand dunes stretching as far you as you can see. Beware: if you take a tour including a “sand dune ride”, there’s a very good chance you will experience motion sickness, even if you aren’t normally prone to it. According to our tour guide, the point of these rides is to give you a “thrill”.
