Dubai off the beaten track - day 4

No wind - no Kiting

Day four and I am excited to go to the beach to surf. But when i got there at 12 it's obvious there won't be any surfing: zero wind! So I hang out talking to Charlene, waiting to see if the wind will pick up. It didn't! Lucky for me I have chosen another sport dependent on weather - another chance to practice patience! Besides there is always the ocean to swim in...

After two hours and no wind I head out to meet Andreas for a late lunch at JBR Walk and then check out the beach next to it.

 On the way I passed this marina and found
these adds for MAX, a SWEDISH burger joint!

JBR Walk Beach

Fridays are Dubai's Sundays so the locals are off so we found the beach full of people swimming, sun bathing and playing games. You can also take a camel ride if you like.This is a posing beach and a lot of people come here to look and to be looked at. But I prefer the not so crowded Kite Beach with free showers and toilets, less tourists and more action! But the view is nice and the backdrop of skyscrapers reminds me of the casino New York in Las Vegas for some reason.

Barasti Beach Club

We stayed to see the sunset, and went home to nap, shower and then head back towards Jumeirah for a night out at Barasti Beach Club (http://www.barastibeach.com/). After a dinner at a Yemenite restaurant - a new but not-so-much-to-talk-about-experience - we arrived at the club. Entrance is free and the crowd seemed to enjoy the six-or-so bars, dancing in the sand and behaving like in Rhodes. We order two club sodas in the bar and the bartender replies "seriously, is that all?" He found it so strange he just waves my money away and takes the next order. So if you like cheap Ibiza, loud and drunk British kids and dancing in the sand: Barasti is the place to be!

At two we are too bored to be bothered anymore and take a taxi home. On the way we stop at one of the abundant 24-hour mini markets to buy breakfast.

Dubai off the beaten track - day 3

Dubai Museum

Started out the day visiting the Dubai Museum (3 AED en trance), which gives a brief history and insight into how people used to live in the city and the dessert. Its best trait is that it isn't overloaded but just the right size to keep me interested - but compared to other national museums it's a fart in the universe.

Afterwards I tried to find the Bastakia Quarter, and maybe I found it, but it's hard to tell given that I wasn't fully aware of what I was looking for. I was however the only westerner in small alleys crowded by silk and cloth shops, so I must have found something.

I had lunch at Joyrs Indian/Chinese diner. Apparently Indians have a taste for Chinese food so the combination is predominant. A vegetable byriani, lentil soup and juice (34 AED) was really good and more than I could eat. I guess the Indians love their rice as well.

On the way to the metro I found loads of cheaper shops, mainly watches, sunglasses and electronics, and got screwed by a nice guy who sold me a card reader for 75 AED, unwilling to bargain, only when I got home I found a price tag saying 45.

Two metro incidents to learn from

1. I got on a carriage, noticing how many women there was. Not totally uncomfortable with the situation I didn't think more about that, until the next station when the police told me to get out of the women and children carriage.

2. Getting off the metro I could not find my ticket needed to get OUT of the station (I must have dropped it picking out my phone). I contacted the staff who said: "very serious, I got to fetch my manager". The manager tells me that it is very serious and that he has got to give me a fine of 200 , I'm thinking euro and get a bit anxious. I told him what happened, and said that I'm just a stupid tourist that don't know how to cheat. I got off with a slap on the wrist and a new ticket to use through the doors, "but next time you will not find someone as nice as me".

All metro stations look the same

Kite Surfing - first lesson

A little late I arrive at the beach and meet my instructor Charming Charlene (authors memory trick). Time to learn kiting, wohah! We started with the small kite, training to get it up, turning it and keeping it in zenith. Kiting is fairly easy at this stage, only three strings to pull: left, right and center. Still the kite crashes a couple of times and Charlene has to remind me to be easy on the wrists, stop pulling in time and to let go if it pulls to hard instead of trying to pull back.

After a while we go on to the full size kite and it is actually easier than the small kite since it's more stable. Well, I crash that one too a couple of times but Charlene seems quite impressed by my progress (my interpretation) and says after two hours of practicing that we will go in the water tomorrow.

Last Muay Thai practice in Dubai - sparring

My last (this time) session at the Champion Club at JLT is sparring. After a tough warm up, we geared up. A strange thing is that most of the other guys didn't wear a mouthpiece. In my first round I hurt my shin, an old injury reopened from contact with my opponents knee. So the rest of the two hours I was confined to using only my left leg when kicking.

The guys were very kind and said that I was a good fighter and it was fun sparring again after two weeks of travelling. I hope to come back soon and maybe get even with some of them, or if they ever come to Sweden they have a standing invitation to my club back home.

Dubai Marina

For dinner me and Andreas went to The Marina for some Chinese food. The Marina is among the fancier and more touristic areas in Dubai and several luxury hotels are located here and towards JBR Walk (Jumeira Beach Road) and the beach. The marina itself lies surrounded by skyscrapers and is probably - like most other things in Dubai - man made. The dinner is excellent but more expensive here than I have gotten accustomed to (120 AED for two).

After dinner we walked to JBR Walk, and even though it's only a short distance I recommend a taxi, because without Andreas I wouldn't have been able to navigate between the skyscrapers. Easiest way to find a taxi is to walk through the Yacht Club and exit towards the street.

JBR Walk

JBR Walk is where the rich come to show off, especially at night. Driving on the one way street is slower than walking, restaurants are priced double compared to the Marina and Italian ice cream the same as in central Rome. But if you fancy watching extreme and expensive cars, this is the time and place!



Advice: don't take a taxi here and don't make the taxi drivers drop you off here at night! It's not fair to either part.

Dubai off the beaten track - day 2

Mall of the Emirates and Ski Dubai

The day begun at Mall of the Emirates checking out the indoor ski slope. For 200 AED you can ski for two hours including ski rental and clothes. Of course there are activities for those who don't ski and of course they have a ski shop just outside for those wanting to get away from the 30 degree heat outside, but still I couldn't help feeling that it was all too strange. All the expensive stores didn't help either - never been my cup - and seeing the H&M sign I realized it's time to go... to the beach!

Kite Beach

After being to the Kite Beach I realized I just have to learn kite surfing! Only three days to go in Dubai, but I should manage! By the way, Kite Beach is a really nice place even for those who don't surf. Nice sand, shallow waters and public toilets and showers, all for free. But with no kiting teachers in sight - I am told that they usually turn up in the afternoon - I took a taxi to Al Karama for lunch and to buy some t-shirts and underwear.  

Al Karama and Karachi Darbar 

I started off having lunch at the Indian restaurant Karachi Darbar at the end of the Karama shopping street. The restaurant came recommended by my friend amd seemed popular among the locals. I can only agree, 16 AED of fine tasting food and I could hardly get out of my chair.

If you like some cheap shopping Al Karama is the place to be. Authenticity not guaranteed, but bargaining is. Most of the stores sell items such as bags, watches clothes, etc, and what they don't have in the stores the more inventive salesmen (I saw only men) fetch from other stores.

When I got what I came for I took the metro back to the Noor Islamic Bank station and a taxi to the beach - it's located straight towards the ocean from the station, as you might need to inform the driver, not the most popular taxi destination. One of the kite surfing schools have a container on the beach - Extreme Watersports Dubai (http://www.dubaikitesurfschool.com/) - and the guy there gave me a business card and told me: "Boss, 8 plus two hours to learn, 300 Dirham per hour, call me tonight". It sounded bit expensive to me but he sticks to his price, so what to do?

So I went for another swim, took some more photos and dreamed of when I can surf on the waves like a pro! After a while it was time to go training Thai boxing. I was lucky that I left in time, because finding a taxi here is not easy, and I couldn't even find one on the big street Jumeirah rd, so 40 minutes later I was back at Noor station with sore feet.

Damascus Restaurant

Another popular diner among the locals is Aroos Damascus close to Salah Al Din metro station. Dubaians eat late so it was no problem that we showed up at eleven and the restaurant is still packed. It was nice and cool outside, only 25 C, and we enjoyed the Arabic food. It strikes me that even though alcohol is forbidden in all restaurants except for the better hotels, people still seem to enjoy going out to eat... very unswedish of them. Dinner was 75 AED for two, and stuffed we tried to use the metro but it closes between 11 pm and midnight depending on station, so we had to take a taxi back.