hiya bucks in Bourne End, Flackwell Heath, Marlow, Wycombe, Wooburn March 2014 | Page 22

Reader Review - from Dubai

- Keep Camels and Eat Dates

Dubai is
growing as a
very desirable
holiday hotspot;
lavish, extreme,
luxurious, glamorous
and certainly stylish! The
city is expanding at a huge
rate of knots and, before long, I’m
sure all of its own dreams will come true. Whilst
I was there Dubai was awarded Expo 2020 and
the forward thinking plans for this event are truly
amazing and beyond most of our imaginations.
The city is constantly expanding with many new
developments already in the early stages. Falcon
City is in development with plans to bring all the
world’s wonders into one place, with replicas
such as the Pyramids, Eiffel Tower, Coliseum and
many other modern day wonders on show.
I flew into Dubai late November with Emirates
Airlines. Being an in-demand destination Emirates
fly a fleet of Airbus A380 planes on a regular
schedule and have favourable flight arrival times
into DXB. The flights both ways were fantastic,
very comfortable with very little flight noise,
hundreds of movies on demand and lots of
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interactive media available.
The Dubai Experience starts as soon as you
land. A magnificent airport with very friendly and
helpful staff there ready and waiting for when
you’re not sure where you are going or where
your luggage will arrive. Even Immigration were
inviting and happy to welcome you to their
amazing country and city!
From humble roots making money from the
pearl diving and dates, which are consumed
throughout the world, to the discovery of the
oil rich ground in the 1960’s, Dubai has not
wasted it’s new found wealth. A tourist and
business mecca has been built up with the
view that one day the oil will run out leaving
Dubai still able to continue with the lavish
lifestyle.
There is an endless supply of 5* hotels
and even one that’s been labelled 7* - The
Burj-al-arab. A reservation is required to visit
the Burj-al-arab and I was lucky enough to
have cocktails in the Sky view bar. The cocktail
menu was more of a book than a menu and
although it’s a minimum spend bar, and a
little on the pricey side, it’s certainly a fantastic
experience and worth doing. It isn’t every day
you get to drink cocktails in the only 7* hotel in
the world with stunning views over the city and
out to sea.
There are many restaurants boasting unrivalled
customer service and many cuisines to choose
from, such as traditional Arabic cuisine or a
Belgium Mussel Bar. One evening I ate in the
Rivington Grill, situated in the Souk Al Bahar
complex, with a delightful ambience and
stunning views of the Burj Kalifa and the Burj
fountains. I was never really sure what to look
at; the incredible sight of the World’s tallest
building at 828 metres, all lit up and sparkling in
various colours, or the amazing dancing fountain
which performs every half hour to one of over
100 different sound tracks and routines, or the
delightful food I was being served. Another great
experience!
Following on from being amazed by the Burj
Kalifa I took up the opportunity of booking and
visiting the observation deck on the 124th floor
(much cheaper to pre-book). It is currently the
highest observation deck in the world at 452
metres. Very high! The lift itself is made into an
experience travelling at 10 metres per second
and arriving on the 124th floor in less than a

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