My First International Journey - Day 1

Dubai Airport (egg-shaped structure)

We had landed in Dubai around 3 PM local time and had been escorted throughout the airport by a representative of the Marhaba services (I must say this is the fastest and best service to finish immigration and get out of the airport). A chauffeur driven vehicle was waiting for us when we had stepped out of the airport. From the airport, we headed to our Hotel - Atlantis, The Palm. The hotel is situated on the Crescent of the palm i.e. on the Crescent road on The Palm, Jumeirah, Dubai. The first 5-star experience for me. The journey to the hotel was another great sight-seeing opportunity and a lot of photo-snapping through the windows of the car.  

There is the Atlantis!
 BTW, a mono-rail link on the left that goes straight to Atlantis.

An Under-see Road tunnel en-route tunnel

Once we reached the hotel, and what a view it was! A huge hotel with a giant opening in the middle of the structure, which was aerodynamic and added safety to the hotel. 

A brief welcome by the staff and we were in the hotel. As we entered, a giant Chihuly structure which had about 3000 hand-blown glass pieces and standing about 4-5 storeys tall and had great colour combinations.It was 4 PM local time when we had just checked in to the hotel. The room was on the 10th floor with a view of the Arabian Gulf. The view from the balcony was a spectacle of a kind - clear blue sea till the horizon with nothing in between. 

















The evening city tour was scheduled to depart in a few moments and we had to quickly get back to the lobby. Making our way through the massive hallways of the hotel is a tedious task but thanks to the personnel around and the signboards, it was a lot easier. Once back in the lobby it was time to head to the bus.

From the hotel, we were first taken to Dubai Marina, the home of 200+ sky-scrapers. The most stunning architectural marvel - The infinity tower, with twists and turns, was first of its kind. It is amazing to find such building existing tall and strong and I just stared at the building for some time just enjoying each bit of the wonderful structure.

The Burj-al-Arab

After some time there and too much photo-snapping, we continued on our journey through the city and next stop was the Jumeirah beach. The beach was shared by two world famous hotels  - The Burj-Al-Arab and The Jumeirah Beach Hotel. The beach had very fine sand and it was quite cool even under the blazing sun, and that was a notable thing! A few tourists along the beach and at a distance from the beach, the uncompleted World Islands, a nice time spent at the beach.

The Jumeirah Beach hotel.

An interesting thing is that the Burj-al-Arab is shaped like a sail whereas the Jumeirah beach hotel is shaped like a Boat - both beautifully constructed and makes you keep looking at it and just indulge in the beauty of it.

The journey moves on to the palace of the Al-Maktoum family, the Ruling family of Dubai Emirate. The plush green lawns equipped with drip irrigation, the colourful flowers and too many peacocks on the road. The peacocks are given special status as they are the Royal favourites. We stopped there for some time to click some pictures of the peacocks and the surroundings and later off to another place.

The sun was setting and the lights in the DownTown and the lights gave the city a glow that even the sun couldn't even provide. What a view through the city everywhere a shine different from another. 

Next Destination: Mall Of The Emirates.

The mall of the Emirates, one of the biggest malls in Dubai and the only mall in the world to have a Skii Zone in it. A 400m Skii zone in one end of the corner which gives visitors an experience of the snowy mountains amid the desert. When we had been there, a Chinese music group was playing in the mall. They gathered a huge crowd around them as the music was soothing to the ears of the listeners.

From the Mall, it was time to head back to the pavilion i.e. the hotel. A yummy dinner at The Kaleidoscope restaurant and back to the room.( Was busy eating, didn't spend time clicking pics.). In the room, it was a surprise with the TV welcoming me as I entered and with that, it was Stumps, Day1. 

After a fun-filled evening, a great dinner and time to hit the bed as the next day was going to be another day full of activities.

That ends DAY 1... 

Read Day 2.