So on the 17th of June we flew to Istanbul from London Stansted on a 3 hour flight, transferred over and took another flight to Dubai lasting over 4 hours, and kicked off our travelling with a short but sweet visit to the UAE. When we arrived it was 3am Dubai time and 33 degrees. Crazy!

 

We checked in to the Marco Polo Hotel in Deira, a lovely place to stay for mid-budget (£33/night Inc. Tax) so quite cheap between two people, and the rooms are gorgeous with AC (crucial) and a small swimming pool (almost crucial) on the ground floor. We figured we'd treat ourselves before the real backpacking begins.

 Marco Polo Hotel - Dubai

 

Since we were only staying 3 days, and didn't have insane amounts of money to blow living the high life recommended in most of the travel guides, we relaxed and visited a few of the famous sites. With temperatures up to 40 degrees in the day, it was hard to do much outside and we ended up thirsty/hungry fairly quickly, especially in the full-on dress code (knees and shoulders covered).

We started by heading for some cheap and easy food at the Dubai Mall to kill two bird with one stone, though we definitely couldn't afford to buy much there and didn't want to waste our precious pennies. The mall is HUGE!!! We got lost a few times, not surprising as it's the world's largest with over 1200 shops and a gigantic glass aquarium in the middle of it all.

Aquarium in Dubai Mall

 

After that, we went outside to have a lil peek at the Burj Khalifa (over 2500ft), only the world's tallest building, no biggy. It was actually not as tall as I thought, but we took photos with it and appreciated the view from the steps there. We didn't really have spare cash to fork out, so we sat people watching until we couldn't bear the heat any longer. Unfortunately we left just before one of the fountain shows had begun, which are evry half an hour, very unlucky. 

 Niall with the Burj Khalifa
Around the Burj area and roasting in the dress code

 

After this, we caught a cab home (they only cost a couple of quid here) and got a good night sleep. The next day we went for a walk along the marina since we'd heard there were a couple of things to do there. We popped into a highly recommended little cafe/buffet restaurant called 'Apple' only to find the price of the all-you-can-eat had gone up from around 20 dh (according to the guide book) to 68 dh, which was a little over our budget, and yes we are really pinching pennies here. It did look lovely, especially the Lebanese style buffet, but after we'd taken a few photos of the view and sat for a while, we left for more cheaper and more exciting things. The apple shisha here was recommended too. Apparently, it's a nice experience to smoke and chill out here.

 Apple Restaurant on the Marina
 

We then walked along the marina to the boat stations, where several wooden hand-made boats carry passengers across to the other side, and caught one to the Dubai Museum. The best part was that the trip costs 1 dh, around 17p! And you get a couple of pretty views. The museum was quite interesting, with the history of Dubai and lots of relics from way back when, but we were mostly grateful for somewhere to get out of the heat. Learning AND surviving. Win win. It only costs 3 dh to get in. Win win win?

 Getting a boat across the Marina
Dubai Museum

 

After catching another boat back to the Deira side of the marina, we managed to find the Gold Souks, thanks to the help of a nice girl from Singapore who had been on the hunt. We had a little look around but with no intention to buy, which wasn't good news for the hundreds of touts persuading us to go inside. Just keep looking forward and nod politely, they're not as pushy as other countries in the slightest. The Spice Souks were similar, but we took advantage of one man who asked us inside his little shop, and tried some of his spices and chocolate. It was quite nice! He was confused as to why I kept wandering off though, and asked Niall where his "wife or sister?" was.

 Gold Souks in the modern day
Street vendor in the Spice Souks

 

By then, we were pretty tired, and decided to hail down a taxi to get back to the hotel for a quick swim and a read. Best part of travelling is having a reason to read as many books as you want, and actually enjoying some decent travel books based on the places we're going! We spent our last night having dinner in the hotel, boring I know, but there was a nice Indian restaurant where they cooked food Kerala style, and we wanted to see what it was like. The staff were lovely, if not a bit too worried about whether we enjoyed the meal, after recommending a couple of things off the menu. The food was delicious and the bill came to under 100 dh (£17) altogether, including side dishes and drinks. Not so bad compared to London and all!

As much as we've enjoyed a few nights in Dubai, we're more excited to move on to Sri Lanka for the next 3 weeks for the real backpacking, or in my case (literally) wheeling about. Although we didn't go all out here, there were tonnes of lovely restaurants and fascinating attractions to visit if you have some cash to splash, this is just the basics.
 

Where we stayed: The Marco Polo Hotel ~ £33/dr/night

 

What we did: The Dubai Mall, The Burj Khalifa, The Marina, The Gold/Spice Souks, The Dubai Museum

 

Daily budget: Food ~ £7, Sights ~ £5, Transport ~ £3      

 

Top tips: Dress code is strict, so you'll need to cover your knees and shoulders ladies. Take light clothes and stay in the shade.