Marina & Palm Jumeirah

Dubai Marina

I had set the alarm for 0640 so I could go explore before it got too hot.  Yes, it’s November but the temperatures are still on the warm side in the sun.  I felt groggy upon waking even though I wake at 0400 in Beirut.

After the hotel buffet breakfast, I took the metro then bus to get to Dubai Marina.  I opted for that combo instead of the purely metro route, hoping to get a better look around on the surface rather than see nothing underground.

With a bit of traffic, I think the metro would have been a little faster.  I got to the marina around 0950 and had a look around the waterfront area and then inside a small shopping building.

Dubai Marina.

Palm Jumeirah

At around 1030, I found the tram stop that could take me to Palm Gateway where I would change to a monorail to Palm Jumeirah.  The connection from the tram to the monorail was far from seamless with a long walk through a carpark building.

Getting to Palm Jumeirah after 1100, I wandered around the mall and then sat down at the food court for a sushi lunch.

The plan here was to go up to the viewing deck to see The Palm Jumeirah, an artificial island shaped like a palm tree.

I joined the queue on the rooftop of the mall, fortunately in a shaded area at midday.  The queue was relatively fast-moving and within 20 mins I was in the first “attraction” to help us pass the time.  This comprised of an LED tunnel which showed a moving underwater scene on all sides except the floor.

Then we were ushered into a room where a video presentation was made on the floor.  Next was a room where we could read about the history of the project.

At about 1300, I finally went in the lift which took me from Level 2 up to 52.  I was happy I fed myself before joining the queue.

On the deck, I looked out at the high-rises nearby, the homes on the nearer fronds and then the Atlantis on the breakwater at the far end.

I circum-ambulated the deck in a clockwise fashion.  Looking towards Dubai, the Burj Khalifa was hardly visible.

I had thought of going to either the lower or the upper observatory after this, but I don’t think that will be necessary.  I would only get a view of the concrete jungle and not as far as The Palm Jumeirah.  Yes, it would still be nice if it had been free and there was no queueing involved.

About 15 mins after getting up here, I joined the queue for the lift back down.  It took about 25 mins for my turn.  Getting back down to the rooftop of the mall, I noticed that the price of factory-made ice cream was horrendous here, e.g. AED20 (NZD10) for an icy Calippo and AED28-35 (NZD14-18) for a Magnum.  In contrast, a mango kulfi in Deira is only AED2 (NZD1).

I grabbed a second lunch before getting back on the monorail to the Atlantis hotel.  There wasn’t that much I could look at on the ground floor and I left after 20 mins at around 1500.

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Rest of the day

It was a long 20 min hike to the monorail but fortunately I could remain in the shade of the tall buildings.  Uber and taxis are no longer cheap in Dubai.

It was crazy busy, packed like sardines, on the metro.  I got back to my hotel around 1700.  I rested briefly before heading out at 1800 for a biryani in a simple eatery.

I finished the day seeing Deira by night and having a haircut and shave at a Bangladeshi barber.