Welcome to my first ever travel blog post!! I consider myself very lucky and am so grateful to have travelled to a few different countries in Europe. However, I wanted to explore more of the world, so at the end of 2015, I decided to dedicate more time to things that make me happy. I took the plunge, started researching and collecting material for this website which is my joy and satisfaction and boosted my travels.
My travel bucket list is like everyone else's; never ending. As I said, I've been wanting to travel outside of Europe for a while and I finally had the opportunity and time to do it. Visiting Asia was first on my list. I researched different countries and decided on visiting the UAE (Middle East) and India.
In the UAE, I was eager to visit Dubai and in India, I went on visiting the golden triangle; Delhi, Agra and Jaipur and for some more adventure I also added Varanasi. I'll talk about my experience of India in another blog post.
It was exciting but also nerve wrecking taking my first long-haul flight but it couldn't have gone any better. From touch down in Dubai, I instantly felt as if I was at home and that's saying a lot as I'm never that comfortable in a new city. I started exploring this amazing and luxurious city. I was there mid-December and everywhere was all very prettily decorated for Christmas. This holiday has to be one of my favourite ones of the year, and being in this amazing place that was honestly one of the nicest decorated cities I have ever seen.
The city itself has lots to offer and I would very happily move there. It's got all the things that make me happy. It has the modern high buildings, the beautiful Arabian vibes on buildings and massive shopping malls. There's also a desert and the most important thing for me, the beautiful beaches. I will definitely be going back and explore some more over the next years.
Apart from all these beautiful places, in Dubai there's something very similar to what I grew up with. The souks, which are marvellously maintained. In my opinion, these are what give Dubai its sense of groundedness to its cultural roots. During my four day trip to Dubai, I tried to visit as many souks as I could possibly fit.
The first souk I visited was the Souk Madinat. It is an indoor souk full of distinctive things such as lamps, coffee pots, carpets, clothes and jewellery.
At this souk, I bought an Arabian coffee pot, which is still widely used nowadays, especially in Bedouin camps in the desert. When going on a desert safari tour, the coffee pot had a prominent setup as coffee is the first thing you are offered when attending a meal at any Arabian house.
In fact, I was told that if the owner of the house offers you half a cup of coffee, then you know that your presence is welcome but if the cup is full, then you shouldn't hang around.
Another interesting fact I learnt is that Emirati have a date after having a coffee instead of adding sugar so as to keep the actual taste.
Visiting Deira, the older part of the city, I realised that unlike the rest of the city, which screams modern and luxury, there is much more authentic and somewhat historical. I loved going around the narrow streets of the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding. The reason behind this centre is to serve as a bridge between the different nationalities living and working in the United Arab Emirates. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to go inside any of the buildings in this magnificent area as I went at quite a late time and they were already shut for the day.
There are also a few souks around the old town of Deira, the major ones being the textile souk, the spices souk and the gold souk. After getting over the trauma of being stopped literally every 10 steps, and been put on at least 10 scarves before making it to the end of the souk, I managed to have a look in a few shops at the textile souk.
I admit I found it hard to have a look at the things I really like. The shop owner kept pulling out things for me to see. However, I’m happy that I stuck in one of the shops and had a look as I managed to find two beautiful cashmere scarves which I will definitely be using a lot back in the UK.
A small part of the textile souk is dedicated to fragrances and things used for aromatherapy and meditation. From this section of the souk, I found some great products that I'll be enjoying back home when I'm feeling stressed. I bought some incense and myrrh, incense sticks and an incense stick holder to accompany the sticks.
Finishing off at the textile and fragrance souks, I was eager to take a boat and cross to the other side of the river. Disembarking at the Old Souk marine station, I could already smell a mixture of spices. A few more steps and I was in this amazing souk full of colourful stalls. It was impressive seeing all the different spices, smelling all the amazing smells and seeing the vast number of colours.
I've managed to buy some good quality saffron and some cinnamon sticks. I will definitely be booking another trip to Dubai to have more time to explore other spices.
From all the souks I've visited, this had to be by far my favourite one (for obvious reasons).
As soon as you leave the spices souk, you find yourself on a few sparkling streets full of gold shops. The gold souk is another traditional market in Dubai. On these few streets, there are over 300 retailers, most of whom are traders. These shops are all full of the best gold you could find in this city.
The gold souk is also located in the commercial business district of Deira and about 5 minutes walk from the Old Souk marine station.
This short trip to Dubai has been amazing. I loved getting to know more about the culture and tasting the variety of food you can find here. Let me know if you would like to see a post on all the different foods I've tasted during my trip.
It has also made me miss the sun, which is lacking in the UK. I will definitely be returning soon and explore other aspects of the magnificent city. Maybe even experience Ramadan in Dubai.
Leave comments down below if you've been to Dubai and any suggestions for my next trip. Also, don't forget to follow me on social media and share this post with your friends who are maybe thinking of visiting this fascinating city.
