I got back from Dubai last night and since I averaged around 5 hours sleep a night I was really exhausted when I got back. Here are s
The Flight
We took the Sri Lanken airlines to Dubai for two reasons, the first was because it was an early flight (before the 2 hour delay) and the second because I was told the Sri Lanken airlines is owned by Emirates they are the same. Well they aren’t. I think all the old Emirates planes get handed down to the Sri Laken airlines. The two planes were old and setup very similarly to the Kuwait Airways ones meaning no entertainment jukebox of the Emirates with over 300 things to watch. If you want to drink water on the plane its not bottled but out of a jug, even Jazeera Airways gives passengers bottled water and for free.
The Hotel
We stayed at the Sapphire Hotel which was located very close to Dubai Media City where the Young Lions Competition was being held and it was also close to the Mall of the Emirates. The hotel felt more like a furnished apartment because I had a small kitchen, large fridge and even a washing machine. The staff weren’t good communicators and they all felt untrained. They have Internet access in all the rooms via Wifi and it costs 15 Dhms per hour. Problem was that even with my very sensitive MacBook I was only able to get a decent signal from inside the closet located near the rooms main entrance. Finally, no cab driver had heard of the hotel so every time we took a cab we had to give the driver directions.
Lina’s Cafe
Had the Turkey Fillet with cheese sandwich on Wednesday for lunch. It was so good we actually went back Thursday to have the exact same thing for lunch again.
The Butcher
Wednesday night we had dinner at The Butcher in the Mall of the Emirates. I had the steak fillet which was above average but nothing special. The restaurants name is cooler then the food.
Chicago
Virgin Megastore in Dubai don’t sell the Arabic book Chicago, which was the book that supposedly shutdown Virgin in Kuwait. Borders on the other hand which was located a few stores away did sell the book. I should have gotten a bunch and sold them here in Kuwait on the black market.
Cabs
We took a lot of cabs in Dubai since it was our only mean of getting around. Cab drivers were mostly friendly and easy to converse with except for one driver who turned out had been in Dubai for just a month and reminded us a lot of Borat. One tip, if you are leaving Mall of the Emirates at 10pm and notice there is a long long long line of people waiting for a cab in a very orderly fashion… don’t wait with them. Just walk 20 meters to the main road and grab a passing cab from there, it will save you at least 30 minutes of waiting. Seriously the line was as long as those at six flags or Disney. I should really have taken a picture! Vallet parking at the mall is 50 Dhms (KD4).
Aï Zone
Found a really cool pair of Prada sneakers at Aï Zone, there was no price tag on them so I figured if I have to ask then I probably can’t afford them.
Passport Covers
One quick question. At the Dubai airport they had a large stand selling passport covers. Now my question is this, can I use a passport cover of a different country on my passport? For example can I buy the Russian passport cover and then use it to cover my Canadian passport?
20 replies on “My Dubai Trip 05/07”
those passport covers are so cooooooooool.
Hope you had a good time.
what’s in that book that was so wrong they had to shutdown Virgin?
Valet parking: don’t leave your car in the mall’s, instead leave it at the hotel’s valet. You either end up paying 30 dirhams, or even not paying anything sometimes 🙂
Passport covers: once we used the european union covers. they stopped us at one of their airports, and made us remove them and never use them again. 😀
Ai zone
it is the best shop in the Mall Of Emirates
its better than Vila Moda
yeah whats the book about? ran a basic search on google. didnt come up with any thing … on it.
Cars, Ai Zone and Aishti are the Lebanese equivalent to Villa Moda.
Chicago I understood is about this Egyptian guy who moves to the US and its about his experiences..
Sri Lankan Airlines…fly traditional!
People in some cultures prefer cold water from a jug to that of bottled water that was bottled who knows when! 😛
Be glad you didnt ask for the traditional meal. It is served on a huge banana leaf, and you dont get utensils with your meals. Gotta use your hands! When you are done with the meal, they bring over a bowl, and pour water over your hands to wash them.
Im kidding of course. Sri Lanka is a beautiful place, with friendly people.
I WANT THAT BOOK!
Mark: i have been told by a friend of mine who works in the customs at the airport “Departure Section” that they will remove and examine any kind of passport covers … so there is no way to bypass them with a passport protection cover 🙂
i guess u had rotten luck wid ur flight..i travel a lot with srilankan airlines and most are pretty good..
sheekajo
nice!! I don’t wait in the cab lines either, but damn those passport covers could come in useful!!! hehehe.. but I wonder what would happen if you try to use it to get away with shit!
lol if its not advisable to use i wonder what on earth they are doing selling it at an airport..
or is it ok if you have the same country’s cover?
i haven’t noticed those covers in my frequent visits to Dubai, gotta check them out next time!
and yes, the Russian passport cover is sooo coool !!
“hint: Wafi Mall!!)”
SriLankan is not owned by EK. EK has a 48% share interest and management rights. Their aircraft are not handed down from Emirates. On the contrary, their A332 are newer than some of EK’s. I agree with that fact that their cabin could do with an upgrade: its very similar to tha cabin in most of EK’s fleet that haven’t been upgraded.
yea rv’s right..juz talked to one of my friends who works there..nd he says the same thing…
Hey man , i was in Kuwait a couple of weeks ago , it was a 4 a business trip , u know it was funny to see the things and the places u mention on your blog for real and live !! , my best experience was eating lunch at an Argentenian steak rest . i forgot its name , but it was excellent …anyhow can you tell me more about the chicago book and why is it banned ??!!
Chicago is a novel by alaa alaswani, the same one who wrote yacoubian building, and I read both, Chicago is about Egyptian students in Chicago, and it has some sex in it, well a lot of sex in it, in a matter of fact all the characters are having very detailed sex by the author, or longing to have very detailed sex
Lebanese living in kuwait with canadian citizenship and a russian pass. cover.. Nice! Even god can’t ID you dude 😛
hi,
these passport covers look like as original passports.