United Arab Emirates / June 3, 2017

Close your eyes and imagine: a beautiful desert with floating pollen sand, imagine wonderful high skyscrapers looking down on you, imagine their reflection into the water in pleasantly warm night... imagine... or maybe not. Stop imagining, by far the best solution would be to experience it at all. Some of people consider it as the city without a soul, some - as breathtaking, but in both cases seems to be extremely safe. And how do I, find the city? How do I, perceive my staying there for that brief moment?

From the very first moment, Dubai greeted me saying: "You have nothing to be afraid, nothing threatens to you here, this is the city of the Big Brother" -  said Jose - the man, who I accidentally met on the plane and who just wanted to help me to find myself at the huge airport. As always, with a huge reserve but with a smile, I significantly replied, that it would be very difficult for him to kidnap me (if you know what I mean ;) ). I was slightly confused but incredibly excited about the first trip to the city from my dreams. I was getting by: meter by the meter of the airport, straight to the retrieve baggage point.

Travel from the airport to the hotel was extremely pleasant. My friend Ashraf took me from the airport and first of all, he showed me the most interesting places in Dubai by night. My very first impression of Dubai was very positive. However, illumination of tall palm trees by tiny lights provoked me to ask questions such as "what if it snows here? Are those lamps resistant to the frost?" Of course, I didn't expect the frost here, but such "untypical" questions were natural - especially as for me. ;)

The next station - Atana Hotel (about the hotel you can find out more in another post dedicated to the Atana hotel). Before I went to bed, fate had brought me to the beautiful port. It was quiet and charming place called Dubai Marina with different types of boats and beautiful yachts. Smiling people, even though it was late, was trying to encouraged us to stop at the roadside restaurant. A peaceful walk and a moment of rest with a cup of tea and chat was very nice end of the day.

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This and every other day was dedicated to discovering both: the popular and the stunning places as well as dedicated to contemplation on the local culture. Even though, I am familiar with the Arabic culture, nowhere I had seen so many men dressed in dishdasha (called also kandoora) as women dressed in abaya. I, the same like anyone else, who in everyday life is not in their surroundings, secretly watched their costumes, the way like they move, how do they do the shopping, their relations between men and women, but especially I looked in their eyes. I am one of those people who believes that the eyes are the window to the soul.

But from the matter of time (it's been a few months since I experienced it all) I am strongly confirming that Dubai is one of those places which you "must see". Dubai is worth seeing. But let's starts from the beginning again.

The first day was interesting, because I had no clue how to move here. Luck of any map bothered me in planning the trip - so I decided to buy one. It turned out that it is completely unnecessary, because the basic map you can get on the metro station or in tram. The biggest surprise of the day was a man who, without my asking for help, came over to explain what's going on with NOL card and how to check and prepaid that card. It was very surprising and so nice that after that I wanted to help others - just like that.

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After walking a million kilometers searching for the nearby beach, it turned out that without taxi was impossible to get there. After taking a taxi and saying where our destination is, the driver looked significantly in the mirror. After 500 meters I understood why. It found out, that no matter how far you were going to, if the counter started from 1 or 1.5 AED and finished at 3.5 AED, the cost of 500 meters trip would be 7 AED. Yes exactly. Regardless of the length of your journey, the minimum price per trip is 7 AED.

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The JBR beach was one of those places, which I have been missing very much. Safe, peaceful place, with no intrusive people seeking their fortune with female tourists. I probably should say that more likely here is for female tourists to seek for their happiness in Dubai, not the opposite. Wonderfully warm water and the place itself made the stay enjoyable. Besides, complacency that I found; there was another thing which made me to like JBR - the people.  They made me not to be afraid leaving my bags with my phone or wallet unattended to go for swimming (although, my habit didn't allow me to trust everyone around me).

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The evening trip to the dancing fountains. Dancing Fountains at the Burj Khalifa was one of those places that were breathtaking. Wonderful synchronization of music, lights and water, was one of the most beautiful things that I had ever seen. I could have spent there every evening. This is one of those places, which is forbidden to miss visiting in Dubai. The Downtown is absolutely the heart of the city.

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Apart from the fountains, it is important also to see the Dubai Mall. Huge shopping center, where traditional culture is combining with modern design and fashion. There is the Fashion Avenue, where we can find the most well-known brands such as Dior, Chanel, Gucii, Tiffany, etc. There is also a beautiful café-island Aramni Café, which is perfectly (in the middle) located.

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Except from the trade part of the Dubai Mall, we can also find there other interesting places such as the giant aquarium or a ski slope and an icerink (especially for winter sports fans). About the Dubai Mall I could have speak a lot, because there are many interesting things to see, that is why for planning to stay in Dubai Mall, I strongly recommend to reserve two days for touring. Time passes quickly, so what a pleasure would be to see the heart of Dubai, so quick?

Continue: http://aurelya.affene.com/2016/11/dubai-2/