photographing women
by call_me_rhia
Taking phots of people - and women in particular - is not allowed/recommended unless you aks for permission. Women will rarely give permission hence... you are stuck.
If you feel like you'd like to snap a photo or two, the best thing is to ask a woman traveling with you to pose for a photo, and then zoom in on some passing-by vailed women.
The photo you can see here is taken by my friend xaver - the woman you don't see in the photo is me... I stroke many poses for him, and ended up on only one photo.
Privilege Discount Card
by najamrulz
If you book holidays package with Emirates holidays then you would get a complimentary kit by Arabian Adventures on your arrival at Dubai. It also includes privilege discount card. Card holders can get attactive discounts at many leading shopping malls.
Along with discount card comes a huge detailed map of Dubai which is a must for every tourist. This map gives exact details of each and every corner of Dubai along with road names.
If card holders return this discount card to Arabian Adventure people on their trip back to home country then they can also win grand prizes through regular lucky draws. I have used this discount card and got good discounts at main shopping malls.
Walking-exercise & shopping: 6 malls in one!
by JessH about IBN BATTUTA MALL
One of our more recent additions to Dubai's fleet of shopping malls; I must admit that Ibn Battuta is quite spectacular... sheerly by its size!
Strolling through the corridors and the courtyards of the 6 different countries (India, China, Persia, Egypt, Tunesia & Andalusia) it took us approx. 2 1/2 hours and we still hadn't seen everything! It is named after a famous Persian explorer: Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Battuta was the only medieval traveller who is known to have visited the lands of every Muslim ruler in his lifetime. He also travelled to Ceylon (present Sri Lanka), China, Byzantium & Southern Russia.
At first I thought: what can be so different about this one? Shopping mall after shopping mall in Dubai basically offers the same stores, same things & same food outlets. But Ibn Battuta actually has a "Health Food Court" besides McDonald's, KFC, etc. which promotes healthy Asian dishes, vegetarian food, salads, fresh fruit cocktails and so on to the many overweight local Arab children.
Obesity is becoming a problem in the UAE and Ibn Battuta surely offers a great health-food and exercise plan, turning every shopping trip into a walk-a-thon! :-)
There's also a large Fun World for kids and the architecture of the various courts really is beautiful.
For Dubai residents, our choices of what to do with our free time & weekends are drastically reduced as soon as summer comes around (June-September), so there's really nothing else you can do to escape the heat than to walk around the various shopping malls, meet friends, go to the cinema, eat - drink - and be merry & cool in the airconditioning! Ibn Battuta has managed to bring in some shops that have opened their doors for the first time in the UAE, e.g. Sasch, Lego Technik, Geant Hypermarket, etc.
TIP for Tourists: The Mall has a "viewing baloon" which rises on a wire and gives you a great view of the surrounding cityscape. (see my photo)
Opening Hours: 7 Days a week, 10:00am - midnight
NOTE: This is a nice mall, with lots to see and do - but if you don't have much time during your visit to see all major malls, I'd honestly "skip" Ibn Battuta and visit the Mall of the Emirates instead... Somehow it's nicer, easier to navigate & the restaurants are better.
UPDATE: Since January 2008 a smoking ban has come into effect in Dubai's shopping malls. The various courts offer specialities from the respective countries, but if you want to buy souveniers, I still recommend the shopping area of Karama where the same items are more than 60% cheaper!
The Big Bus
by littlebush
Just a note that Emirates are a brilliant airline. If you have time at the airport, use the swimming pool/sauna/jacuzzi to freshen up, its only $5.
We used the tacky, as touristy as hell, BIG BUS tour company, which was actually a very good way of getting around and seeing the sights if youre there for only for a few days. its a 24hour ticket so you can use for 2 days, and it goes to all the important sights. it costs 220dh and has commentary which can give you useful facts.
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The mouth-watering bites..
Dubai Mall
Decent Dress in the UAE (from GulfNews.com)
Burj al Arab
