Dubai is located in the country United Arab Emirates. It’s quite a modern city. The term “locals” doesn’t necessary single-out a particular group since it’s a very international city.
I stopped by Dubai when I was coming from Hong Kong with some serious jet-lag. I didn’t fall asleep at dinner tho, so Wilson 1, jet-lag 0.
How I Got There
As usual whenever I travel, I either take a United flight or search for the cheapest flight on kayak.com. I wrote an article about how I stick to flying on United as much as possible to cash out big with my miles.
For this trip, I flew to Dubai from Hong Kong on Emirates. Don’t tell my friends United.
Here are my top 3 favorite things I did for Dubai:
1. Burj Khalifa
Does a bear sh*t in the woods? Duh I went here. I took the Dubai RTA (Dubai Metro) from the airport to the Burj Kahlifa. It was only 20 minutes and costed me 5 UAE.
Btw, if you didn’t already know, it’s the tallest building in the world (as of 2020).
Burj Khalifa
I took incredible pictures from the top. It was surreal how tiny large buildings seemed to me.
Selfie - Burj Khalifa
And did you really make it to the top of the Burj Kahlifa if you didn’t take a selfie on Snapchat? Obviously not.
2. Dubai Mall
From the Burj Khalifa, I hopped over right next door and visited the Dubai Mall. It’s also one of the largest malls in the world.
Ok story time. I remember drinking from my water bottle on the subway from the airport on the way to the Burj and was completely ignorant of the fact that it was Ramadan during this time when I visited Dubai. I think I got free pass though, I guess, because I was obviously a tourist.
Dubai Mall
The Dubai Mall made it clear that you are free to eat and drink in the food court section, but not anywhere else within the mall – striking a good balance between retaining important religious values and making the city tourist-friendly year-round.
Dubai Mall - Food Court
3. The Palm
I met up with one of my best friends’s parents in Dubai. Andrew Chetcuti grew up in Dubai, so his parents took me around the city for a bit.
So can I give a big Wilson Wei shoutout to Cliff & Natalie? They took me to (with Google Maps links): The Pointe, and I had the best sushi that I’ve ever had in my life at Nobu.
As I correctly warned myself prior to arriving – be ready to spend a Yelp’s-$$$$ worth of money in this area.
If I Had More Time, I Would Have…
Burj Al Arab has the fancy, building, and it basically screams “rich people only”. The pictures look amazing.
I spent a lot of time in the city, but I obviously didn’t spend much time in the desert. I would have loved to do a Red Dunes tour.
Abu Dhabi is also another city in UAE I would love to visit one day.
Closing Remarks
In a nutshell: Modern city. Opportunities for immigrants. Big, luxurious buildings everywhere. Expensive and safe.
It wasn’t just an excuse to fly Emirates for the first time – I genuinely wanted to stop by this country. As I mentioned above, I only stopped by Dubai, so that was simply wasn’t enough. I’d be more than eager to swing by and visit the other places in UAE when I’m back in the region again.
