Traveling: Dubai & Abu Dhabi

Sunday, 19 May 2024

Dubai & Abu Dhabi 2024 - Part 1

Flying To Dubai

Saturday - May 4th 2024

It was finally time for another vacation. This time we traveled to Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. Our journey started at Salzburg airport from where our FlyDubai flight departed in the afternoon. So we still had plenty of time until we had to be at the airport. After lunch a taxi took us to the nearby airport and once we dropped off the luggage, we got a drink at the roof top bar from where we could overlook the runway. Finally it was time for boarding and soon we were on our way to Dubai. Mid flight we got something to eat and of course we also had to get a beer. Six hours later we landed in Dubai and after we collected our luggage and headed through immigration, we bought some snacks before picking up our rental car from Avis. When we finally arrived at our hotel it was already past midnight, but check in was quick and easy and soon we could fall into our beds.

Salzburg Airport

Drinks

Salzburg Airport

Departing Salzburg

Plane Meal

Drinks

Flying to Dubai

Flying into Dubai

Our Room

Saturday, 18 May 2024

Dubai & Abu Dhabi 2024 - Part 2

Dubai Mall And Burj Khalifa

Sunday - May 5th 2024

Since we arrived in the middle of the night, we didn't get to see a lot of Dubai or of our hotel. In Dubai we stayed at the Crowne Plaza Dubai Marina. Our room was very nice and we had a lovely view too, but unfortunately not at the Marina itself. So when we woke up everything was brand new for us. We started our day with breakfast on the terrace, because the weather was so nice and the air condition inside the restaurant was just too cold. Breakfast was amazing with a large selection of western and oriental food. For 10:00am we had a reservation for At The Top of Burj Khalifa and so right after breakfast we got our rental car and drove to Dubai Mall in Downtown Dubai. We had purchased our tickets with a designeted time slot beforehand online and so we were able to skip the line. Soon we were on the observation deck from where we had a nice view over Dubai. However, we were not that impressed with Burj Khalifa, because we had already better views from smaller towers. Once we bought some souvenirs, we took a coffee break at Starbucks.

View from our Room

Our Hotel

Breakfast

Burj Khalifa

View from Burj Khalifa

Starbucks

Afterwards we strolled around the man made lake in front of Dubai Mall. The area was really impressing, but since it was really warm we headed inside again and checked out the mall. Around noon we got hungry and stopped at Neat Burgers at the food court overlooking the ice rink. Claudia got a vegan burger while I ordered a plant based wrap. The food was delicious and soon we continued our walk through that huge mall. Of course we checked out the shops as well, but to be honest, most of the shops are in Europe as well and so there was no desire for shopping.

Downtown Dubai

Burj Khalifa

Downtown Dubai

Burj Khalifa

Dubai Mall

Lunch

Dubai Mall

Despite the heat we wanted to see more of the downtown area and so we braced ourselves for the high temperatures and went outside. First we watched the fountain show, which was okay, but I'm sure it will be much better in the evening when the fountains are illuminated. Then we continued our stroll along the lake always with Burj Khalifa in sight. We enjoyed the area a lot, but it was just too warm and so we got a coffee at Starbucks before driving back to our hotel. There we jumped into the pool and relaxed.

Fountain Show

Downtown Dubai

Dubai Opera

Downtown Dubai

In the evening we headed out again and drove to Global Village. Global Village is a huge themepark for food and shopping from around the world. Once we were inside we were impressed how big the park was. The pavilions are themed after countries and continents and offer food and shopping experiences from those regions. Our first stop was an Asian food booth, where we shared fried noodles with vegetables. Later we got Indian dosa, which we also shared, and the last dish we tried were Emirati doughnut balls with Nutella, but they were rather disappointing. We really enjoyed Global Village and were happy to get to experience it, because it closes for summer, but we were lucky and Global village extended its run for one more week. Back at the hotel we enjoyed an ice cold beer at the hotel terrace while overlooking the Dubai Marina.