Dubai has never been a destination on my bucket list, it’s a city I’ve only ever transferred flights in but for my Mother’s 50th she wanted to go and stay in Dubai before we headed to Mauritius. A quick trip to Dubai

Though it was something that I wasn’t necessarily interested in, my Mother really wanted to go, and as it was for a very special birthday, I wanted to make her wish come true. When I found out that Dubai was where she wanted to go, I decided to ask some friends who had been there before for some advice, especially with regard to moving around the city. The first thing they told me was that I may have to get a Chauffeur driver in Dubai for my mother. I didn’t really know how to prepare and I (stupidly) hadn’t done any research but then asking my friends did help quite a bit.

The next thing they told me to think about was travel insurance. Through traveling before, I knew the importance of this and decided to contact a company similar to one sure insurance to find the best and cheapest policies on the market. I did this before I thought about anything else, as it would be pointless traveling if we weren’t covered. From there, the rest of the steps were easy. Booking flights, finding accommodation, and getting our outfits packed was all we had left, and that didn’t take us long at all.

Dubai, here we come!

The picturesque city of Dubai did indeed pull us towards it and there we were! Arriving at our destination was not what was difficult as we had a variety of suggestions to consider! From friends advising to go big and search online ‘how much does a private jet cost to buy‘ to relatives asking us to fly business class – we had a host of options! After we did sort out the travelling part – the one thing that we needed to look at was accommodation!

We stayed at the Hyatt Creek Heights and then Jumeriah Mandinat. A friend of mine suggested that we find luxury apartments for rent in Dubai, so that we could save some money while exploring the city.

I must preface this post by saying I have never dealt with heat like the heat in Dubai and this is coming from an African. I also wore factor 50 everywhere as I do even in England but that wasn’t enough to keep the sun from increasing the melanin… I had to find a NARs store by day 3 and picked up a foundation 2 shades darker than my usual because I was a whole new me.

Food :

The Cheesecake Factory is a place I have always wanted to go to simply because growing up in England and in Zim it was often name checked in sitcoms and it didn’t disappoint I had an phenomenal Linguine Alfredo and Key Lime Cheesecake aand the portions are 3x what your doctor would recommend. I also ran into Jermain Defoe not exactly Alist ha.

We also went Shake Shack too because I’m basic.

You must do lunch at Pai Thai. I have never been a fan of Thai food but my friend Gemma essentially demanded that I go and well she was right it was the best Thai food I have ever had and so far one of my favourite meals of 2018. The flavours, the spices, the scents – in short it was a deluge of taste a party for my mouth. Getting to Pai Thai is an adventure- only in Dubai do you need to get a boat from your room to a restaurant.

The TOM KHA PHAK (V) (GF) Tangy Vegetable Broth, Coconut, Mushroom Galangal Ginger

and

SOM TAM JE (V) (N) (S) Green Papaya Salad, Tomato, Rose Apple Cashew Nuts, Tamarind Dressing were highlights.

The spring rolls were also delicious and for the first time I ate rice crackers while not under duress.

I will go back to Dubai if only for Pai Thai.

Things to do:

-See The Dancing Fountain! It really is pretty cool and it was lovely seeing my mother looking at it and being so entranced by it – travelling with my mother was a real treat she looks at everything with childlike wonder and excitement and there’s nothing like seeing your Mumma smiling!

–The Desert. Did you really go to Dubai if you didn’t end up in the desert? The answer is no and so I went, I actually went at 5pm vs going earlier on in the day and had dinner in the dunes. It was a pleasant enough experience but not one I’m desperate to repeat very soon. I say this all the time but it’s true I am the only African that can’t abide heat.

–The Souks. My Mother and I also headed to the Gold souk and the Spice souk. Both were surprisingly expensive but I did buy some flowering Jasmine tea and saffron

souk bae.

swimming at sunset.

So that was Dubai. In my opinion all shine no substance, no culture and alot like Vegas.

I do wish I’d made it to the Sheik Zayed Mosque but as it was Ramadan it didn’t feel respectful for this Christian girl to wonder around a place of worship, I’m sure that would have made my trip though. Also lunch at Pai Thai goes down as one of my favourite ever meals and honestly I’ll go back to Dubai again at some point to eat there.

A quick trip to Dubai

NRC x