Trip to Dubai & Abu Dhabi : A Guide for tourists

 

Interesting places

Abu Dhabi

•  Syaikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre (SZGMC)
• Emirates Palace 

Dubai

• -          Burj Al Arab
• -          Atlantis Hotel
• -          Burj Khalifa
• -          Dubai Downtown
• -          Dubai Mall (fountain show)/ Underwater Zoo
• -          Dubai Marina
• -          Dubai Marina Mall
• -          Mall of the Emirates/ ski
• -          Ibn Battuta Mall & gate
• -          Desert Safari
• -          Jemeirah
• -          Souq – Naif, perfume, gold and spice

Facilities & Logistic

Facilities & logistic especially public transportation memang mudah @ Dubai. You can choose any of the transportation available . The fares pun x mahal sangat, but using cab is definitely costly. Banyak facilities yg ada kat sana takde kat Malaysia. For example:

-         -  Jejantas with an elevator

-         -   Underpass (terowong bawah tanah utk pejalan kaki)

-         -  Bust stops equipped with air conditioner

-         -  Map / direction all over the station

-        -   Clear signboard

-        -   Walking elevator dari metro station ke tempat2 lain

-         -  Taxi drivers & bus drivers wear formal attire (siap tie &  topi)

-          - Special coach for women in public transport

-         -  Wet market yang bersih & tak basah. Everything is well-organized, macam kat supermarket

Buying cheaper gifts and souvenirs

Things @ Dubai are mostly expensive, so if you plan to buy souvenirs, it is better to but them at gift shops. But don’t buy them at the malls because it is more expensive.You can get cheaper price at shops area Deira , dekat dengan all the 4 souqs. Just get a metro and turun kat Baniyas Metro Station. You can have a walk and  see many choices of gifts and souvenirs there.If we were to compare the price with @ Malaysia, I would say that only perfume and gold are less expensive. The rest of the goods are so costly. I remember went to a pharmacy  to buy a lip gloss, and it costs me AED15 / each. I also saw the price of a deodorant AED16 but here we can buy it forRM6.

Price of foods

Foods at stall pun sedap and much more cheaper. For example:

- Nasi Arab/ Beryani (chicken)- AED25

- Juice- AED15

- Full chicken + bread + humus+ pickles – AED26

- Shawarma- AED 15

Kalau kat foodcourt in the malls, the price is triple. A cup of ice cream pun AED25.

Population and cost of living

Dubai is crowded by immigrants from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Philipines, Thailand. I interviewed those people whenever I have time. Can you imagine the House rent = AED8000 for a setinggan house. A house at Jemeirah can cost up to AED40 million.

For those yang ke sana kerja dengan minyak (ie Petronas) etc, life is good for them. But for the rest, I pity them. I thought living in KL is already a burden, but that’s how it is in Dubai.

I was told that there is only less than 1mill people of the Arabs. Dubai is made of 85% of immigrants and foreign workers. It is hard to see any Arabs walking around, unless you go to the malls. They have a luxury life with many privileges given by the government.

All in all, other than all those attracting factors of Dubai..I found that it is very interesting to learn and experience the other side of Dubai. And Alhamdulillah I was given the opportunity to explore that.