Christmas in Dubai – Marina

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Hey guys! 

So here’s the last post from Dubai! Five days were gone just like that and we had to go back to reality, where it was freezing. 

Since we did about 10 miles of walking the previous day in Abu Dhabi, we were still exhausted and spent Tuesday morning at the hotel pool. After lunch we started heading to the airport with our little suitcases even though our flight was at 9pm. We did that because we wanted to stop by the Dubai Marina, which was on the way to the airport. It’s a port with esplanades on each side of the bay and tons of restaurants, from which was a great view of the skyscrapers. We couldn’t leave without having dinner of course, so we sat down in one these restaurants and then finally headed to the airport. 

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And what about my impressions about Dubai? 

Well, I didn’t expect much, since I don’t really like the Muslims and Arabs in general. But I was really surprised how nice the Arabs were most of the times. With an exception of cab drivers, they’re not trying to rob you, whenever you’re standing on a street holding a map and looking lost, someone immediately comes to you and helps with the directions and also it’s a very quiet nation, so they don’t bother you by loud talking, like some other nations. Also, I was really surprised by how many local Asians and how little white people were in Dubai. As two almost-blonde girls we were in the spotlight all the times. 

Also, I thought that many Czechs would have the same idea and would go to Dubai for Christmas, but the truth is that we met only two groups of Czechs. One at Burj Khalifa and the other one in Abu Dhabi. Well, meeting the second group was unforgettable. We were getting off the bus, by which we just came from Dubai, and we were passing a group of three girls. I was glad to see some white people, so I smiled and suddenly one of the girls said in Czech: “hey, you’re Eliska, right?” I couldn’t believe that I was hearing Czech language and also that the girl knew me name. I found out that she knew my Instagram and she worked in Dubai and went to Abu Dhabi with her family. I still can’t believe it! The probability that I would meet some Czechs in Abu Dhabi is like 5%. The probability that she would talk to me when she hears that I speak Czech too, is about 1%. The probability that she also knows my Instagram is about 0,000001% then. I just don’t understand how these things happen hahaha:) Anyways, sending kisses to Claudia to Dubai! <3 🙂 

And now to your questions! You often ask me how much the flight tickets were. Since it was all last minute, the cheapest ones I could find were from Katowice in Poland for about $200. But there is a lot of cheap tickets straight from Prague from $150, it’s just about being lucky. For example I saw some super-cheap ones for about $130 from Prague with the departure in January, so if you don’t really care about the exact date, it’s better to wait for some special offer. 

Dubai is generally quite expensive, in terms of either hotels, and food. The only thing that is really cheap is the public transport and cabs. For example, a return bus trip from Dubai to Abu Dhabi (about 100 miles) was about $5. One subway ride costs about $1 and a taxi ride across half the town is about $4. On the other hand, a meal in a restaurant is not less than $15 and since almost all the hotels in Dubai are 5-star, one night would cost about $120 – $200. 

Concerning the length of stay, I think five days are absolutely perfect. Of course, we did not see everything, but we saw what we wanted 🙂

Well, so that’s about everything I had to say about my trip to the Emirates. I’m not planning any other trips in the next few weeks, but I’m sure I’ll figure something out pretty soon, haha 🙂 You know me, I decide on going on Tuesday and I’m flying on Wednesday! No, seriously, my exams period is here, so I’ll be taking it easy on the blog too. But I should be done with school by the end of January, so I’ll make it up. 

Have a great rest of Thursday, guys & fingers crossed for those who need it at the exams! 
E.

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