What to do in Dubai?

Compared to Abu Dhabi, Dubai is a very busy city. Imagine KL, then compared it with Alor Setar. That's not to say both places or rather, all four places do not have their own appeal and charms. For me, I would actually prefer Dubai if I'm going to come here for holidays. Abu Dhabi reminds me of a city where all the people are there because of the Oil and Gas industry. I would also recommend going only at the end of the year as it is more cooling. Believe me, I've been there during July-August and the weather is just soooo HOT. Imagine 40degrees, but with no cool air. The sun is practically frying my poor skin.

Anyway, back to the topic: What to do in Dubai? Obviously if you have a lot of money prepared, this city has everything you will want to do. Fancy a ski in hot Dubai? No problem. They have a mall equipped with snow and you can ski on the man-made slopes. Fancy some Michelin-starred dining? No biggie. Just go to any of the big hotels and you can find one. Sand surfing? Just a few kilometers out of the city. Beaches are available nearby some of the attraction; more on that later. Basically, imaginations are the limits or so it seemed in this bustling city.

New comers should probably go to some of the more popular attractions like

1) Burj Khalifa
Its featured in anything to do with Dubai so if you are here, just drop by to take a photo. A "been there, done that" momento. Haha. Seriously though, it IS the tallest building in the world and it IS pretty amazing how Dubai went from an Arabic to one of the largest hub for finance in 50 years. This tower is testament to that. I would recommend taking a slow walk around the souks and the malls around the area. Then dinner at any restaurants of your choice facing the water fountain. In the evening, the water show is just AMAZING! and what better place to secure a comfortable spot then to have dinner directly facing it?

Note: Water fountain has water shows daily from 6pm to 10pm or 11pm depending whether it's the weekend or not. Weekend means Friday and Saturday as opposed to the usual Saturday and Sunday.

2) Burj al-Arab
This is the second must-do thing when you are in Dubai. This building is like an icon of Dubai. There is a beach along the way to Burj al-Arab so maybe some family time on the beach and photos in that area? This is actually a hotel but I only took photos from afar and spent some time on the beach taking photos so I can't exactly share how it is from the inside.

3) Global Village
Depending on when you are in Dubai, this is a must-go if you happened to be in town. This is usually available from the months of November through December I think when the weather cools of a bit.
You'll see stalls selling all sorts of goodies segregated by countries. Malaysian stalls are quite dissapointing as apparently only Made-in-China sorta stuff are sold that does NOT reflect the goods from Malaysia.
On a brighter note, some stuff are cheap here. During my trip, FLITFLOP are just a fraction of their prices in Malaysia. So are the local honey which are really really nyum (free samples all the way baby!). Hahaha. If you are into "jubah" and the likes, I heard my friend say it is cheaper here too!

...to be continued...if ever :P