Dubai Proves to be a Desert Dream

View of Dubai from Hop On Hop Off Bus | © 2022 Miss Ari Photography

Since I was a child, my mother and I have made it a practice to travel during the summer. We’ve seen most of America and ventured to several other countries. The Pandemic definitely threw a wrench in our traditions, however, after two summers of playing it safe at home in Dallas – we took to the friendly skies in late July.

Back in late April, we spun our figurative globe and set our sights on Dubai.  

My colleagues found it difficult to believe that I booked our trip for just under $1,100 each, but I indeed was able to secure roundtrip airfare and a six-night stay in Dubai for a remarkable total of about $2,200. I definitely recommend booking a “package” on Expedia on a Tuesday or Wednesday evening. You’ll be surprised at the deals you can find. 

Of course, most of the world takes the Pandemic far more seriously than America, so before we could travel to Dubai – we had to provide proof that we were either fully vaccinated (or provide a negative Covid-19 test 48 hours before our departure). Both my mother and I are fully vaccinated, so providing such documentation was the absolute least of our concerns.

We traveled from Dallas directly to Paris, France via Delta Airlines (operated by Air France). That flight was just under nine hours and on the other end was about a five-hour layover in the Paris Airport. The wait wasn’t too bad, considering the Paris Airport is fully equipped with several PlayStation 5 console stations and a Starbucks that offers selections I’ve never seen in the states.

Our second leg was just under seven hours, before we safely landed at the Dubai International Airport at around 11 p.m. local time. Talk about a fancy airport. Not only do the floors look like they’re polished every five minutes, but they have a Gucci, a Louis Vuitton, Yves Saint Laurent and so on.

Adventure surely awaited.

I’ve booked many vacations in my life, but I made the absolute best hotel selection when I booked our stay at the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai.

Talk about the Chick-Fil-A of hotels – this amazing property is the tallest five-star hotel in the world. About a week before we left Dallas, a hotel manager reached out to me to ask how he could make our stay more memorable. I mentioned to him that I’m both a journalist and a photographer. He reassured me that we would have a stellar view and limitless amenities. From the moment our airport shuttle arrived at this hotel – we were greeted with the utmost enthusiasm and professionalism. Every single individual decorated in JW Marriott attire treated us as if they were personally tasked to make our stay memorable.

Our room on the 40th floor of Tower B (both towers are 70 floors high) was complete with two ever-so-comfortable beds, a large floor-to-ceiling window overlooking beautiful Dubai, a bathroom that rivals the size of a New York apartment – complete with a large bathtub and a shower large enough to fit at least a few Shaquille O’Neals.

Nighttime view of JW Marriott Marquis Dubai | © 2022 Miss Ari Photography

Despite the availability of more than one dozen restaurants, art galleries, a spa, an enormous swimming pool, a gym larger than most commercial gyms I’ve frequented and the largest buffet breakfast each morning – we did have to leave the hotel to embark on the many attractions Dubai has to offer.

Over the years, we’ve kind of made it a practice to spend our first day on a Hop-On-Hop-Off bus tour to scope out attractions from up top. Fortunately, such a bus tour was one of the first options to pop up on the Viator app. As expected, the bus provided us great views and the guided narration assisted us in planning the rest of our trip. Atop the bus, I was able to capture many of the great photographs my friends and family back home requested.

This is probably a great point to remind my readers that Dubai in the summer is indeed hot. And I’m speaking as a native Texan – Dubai in the summer is hotter. The aviator sunglasses I packed in my carryon luggage remained in my carryon luggage throughout 90 percent of the trip, because, well – the moment I put them on outside – they fogged up. I repeat, Dubai in the summertime is very hot.

We were able to escape the heat by venturing to the Dubai Mall. In whatever city and state you’re in right now – I want you to imagine the three largest malls in your community. Add them all together and you may come close to conceptualizing the size of the Dubai Mall. It is massive. Reviews will suggest you need at least three visits to cover half of the mall – that is not an exaggeration. There are the typical and affordable American fixtures like Aldo and H&M. And then there is Dior and Gucci. In the middle of many stores original to Dubai is a massive aquarium and underwater zoo. Sure, you can pay to enter – or you can observe the sharks swimming around in the foyer.

That evening, mom and I embarked on a luxury dinner canal cruise. We got all dressed up, had a driver pick us up at the hotel and enjoyed live music, an Arabic buffet and amazing nighttime views of Dubai.

Over the course of the next five days, we would enjoy a visit to Atlantis and its adjoined aquarium and beach. We visited the Museum of the Future, learning about some bold and quite uncomfortable predictions about our world if we don’t combat the growing issues surrounding mental health. We booked a desert safari package, which included the exciting dune bashing, a camel ride, two cultural performances and a large Arabic dinner feast. We visited various mosques and admired the Burj Khalifa from both near and afar.

Museum of the Future | © 2022 Miss Ari Photography

As far as food, we always make special effort not to eat at restaurants that exist in America. We like to eat what the locals eat. There were several Arabic and Indian dishes that made our souls smile. Even when we indulged in fried foods, we had little guilt. The food in Dubai is not overly salted and we didn’t detect any grease on a single item of food. The Dubai version of Door Dash is called Talabat. Yes, I downloaded the app as we checked into the hotel. Yes, we ordered comfort foods (wings, chicken sandwiches) a few nights, but again – no guilt involved. In full transparency, the food there never left us feeling stuffed or gluttonous.

Learning about the culture in Dubai was such a joy. To hear that securing a business loan comes without the burden of interest made my heart smile. GOLD and attaining such gold are big deals in the land. At one point, the powers that be offered gold to citizens and their children to lose weight, as a means of avoiding the issue of obesity.

Like many Americans who travel to Dubai, we did our research about customs and restrictions. Perhaps the culture is a bit more relaxed now that Dubai attracts many tourists, but we didn’t have to cover our heads unless we entered a mosque. We were also free to wear both sleeveless tops and shorts, despite warnings online to not do such. Profanity in public is an emphatic NO in Dubai. Not once did we find anyone arguing or hurling vulgarities for others to hear.

There seems to be this belief that Dubai is incredibly expensive. That is simply not the case. We took countless taxi cabs during our vacation – some rides were 10 minutes; others were more than 30 minutes. I believe the first meter read 48 United Arab Emirates Dirham (AED). That converts to $13 American dollars. We never spent more than $20 on a cab ride.  The same is true for both attractions and food. Our desert safari, which I’ll remind you included a pickup from our hotel (and return ride), dune bashing, a camel ride and a dinner was 146.92 AED per person. That is only $40 per person. We paid for our meals together and never spent more than $60 total.  

Throughout our trip, I kept telling my mom “I haven’t seen one dog” and “I don’t see any diesel trucks.” Apparently, many dog breeds are not allowed in Dubai and diesel trucks are kept away from the busier city area. Both were incredibly refreshing for me, a woman with a dog phobia and someone who should probably be gifted a front-end alignment by the City of Dallas.

A lot of people don’t understand exactly where Dubai lies.

Dubai, in all its glory is a city in a country called the United Arab Emirates. It is a transcontinental region, which lies in both Asia and Africa.

Many of the very friendly citizens and natives of Dubai assumed that my mother and I were African. Even some of the African tourists we met also thought we were African. When we shared that we were American, I couldn’t tell if they wanted to know more or if they felt sorry for us. Throughout our stay – we had the pleasure of meeting two Black women from New York, a family from Houston and various families from Australia, Pakistan and London.

Overall Dubai feels very safe. As Black travelers and as women – we never felt we were in danger while walking, taking a taxi or shopping. In every single place we frequented – we were greeted and treated with the utmost respect.

Without any hesitation – I recommend Dubai for singles, solo women travelers, families and groups. There was not a dull moment, and we definitely didn’t break the bank!

“Mother and Me” - Traveling with my favorite!