It doesn’t sound like a lot of time, but this wasn’t our first visit to Dubai. We had been there in 2006 and already done some of the touristy things like the dune-bashing and desert dinner in the desert so this time I know I wanted to eat some of my favourite Middle Eastern dishes, see a belly dance show for locals (not tourists) and shop!
Al Tannour in the Crowne Plaza Hotel has a delicious Lebanese fixed menu and an excellent show featuring a belly dancer and 2 singers. We were the only tourists there and the locals in attendance were definitely in a party mood! Everyone was up dancing by the end of the evening, including us!
Of course we had to pay a visit to the famous Gold Souk in Deira. You can get there on the Metro. I didn’t buy anything but I did have a gold ring repaired at a bargain price.
Then we had some yummy Persian food at Sadaf which was walking distance from our hotel.
The Dubai Museum in the fort has been vastly improved since I was there last and has some wonderful dioramas of Arabic lifestyles and traditions.
Near the museum/fort is Al Fahidi Street which has some really cool ladies clothing shops.
There are also some souvenir type shops near the creek. I might have bought one of these lamps if I didn’t have to lug it around Africa! This same area also has some money changers who stock African currencies. I got some Ethiopian Birr, but struck out on Uganda Shillings and Zambian Kwacha. The other thing I stocked up on was Doxycycline for malaria prevention.
The shopping continued at DXB airport in the transit area as we waited for our red-eye flight to Nairobi on KQ.