We kicked off our 12-month long-term travel journey in Dubai.
This was mainly because it allowed us to reduce the total flight time significantly. Because we stayed in a hotel, it had a more holiday-like feel than the following destinations.
This is not a full-blown travel guide for your next visit to Dubai; it is just some impressions I collected while exploring it.
Dubai Mall and Burj Kalifa
After we arrived in the middle of the night, we headed towards the Dubai Mall on the first full day of our vacation.
I’m not a fan of malls, honestly.
The Dubai Mall is indeed impressive as it not only includes shops but also an aquarium, an ice skating area, and modern art – oh, and a full-blown waterfall including these statues:
After spending some time inside, we got into the queue for Burj Kalifa (there is a direct entrance to it inside the mall).
If I have to give you one recommendation, get priority access and thank me later. Otherwise, you will likely wait up to 6 hours before getting up the tower.
Even with priority access and the fast track, it took us almost 1 1/2 hours to get up.
Sadly, it was cloudy on that day, so you won’t get a fantastic view of the ocean, but I think I still managed to get some decent photos:
In the evening, we continued exploring Dubai Park (the area around the mall) and also checked out the Dubai Fountains show – I spare you the video. There are tons of them on YouTube.
Here are a couple of shots from around the area:
Indie Hacking
I know it sounds like a traditional vacation, but I’m trying to make this indie hacker and digital nomad concept work as best as possible.
I’m not stopping shipping new product features or running my business while exploring the world – I’m usually high-energy, so I’m looking forward to getting the best of both worlds!
I have yet to find the best schedule, but I managed to do 2 to 3 hours of work every day and did some extensive coding sessions over the weekend.
NYE
First off, I hope you had a great NYE!
Mine was pretty loud, honestly, but I promised my girlfriend that we would go to a party for NYE, and we did. The fireworks from Dubai Harbor left much to be desired, but the drone show was decent.
Desert Tour
Our next trip was a “desert tour”, including a little quad tour, dune bashing, and sandboarding.
The most impressive part of the tour was standing in the middle of the desert with almost no people around – we couldn’t even see any buildings around (which is hard, given you find tons of skyscrapers everywhere in Dubai):
I also have a short video about me cheating on the sand boarding experience.
Apparently, it’s almost impossible for a newbie to stand up on that thing:
Miracle Garden and Global Village
Okay, now we are getting Dubai’s most crowded and touristic places: Miracle Garden and the Global Village.
We were disappointed about the Miracle Garden – it’s filled with people and shop owners yelling at you to buy their shit.
It’s not even super-impressive and nothing like the photos you will find on various websites and Google – given the price tag ($25/person), I can’t recommend this place at all, but I still managed to get some decent shots:
The Global Village, in comparison, was pretty impressive.
Sure, it was even more crowded, but it’s just a fun place to visit. You get tons of options for food from more than 20 different countries, and there is a lot to explore:
Old Dubai
If you visit Dubai, you will notice a colossal frame when hitting the speedway, which separates Old Dubai from New Dubai.
New Dubai is what you know from the photos on Instagram – huge skyscrapers, malls, fancy restaurants. At the same time, Old Dubai is more traditional and gives you a way better impression of the Arabic flair of traditional Dubai.
You have to be careful around Gold Market and Spice Market as you barely make it through without millions of merchants yelling at you, but nonetheless, it’s something you shouldn’t miss on a trip:
While I’m typing this, we are getting ready to head to the airport and our next destination: Bangkok (Thailand).
Expect some night market impressions, temple photos, and everything else you would expect from the capital of Thailand.
Until then, stay tuned, folks!
Patrick