Garuda Indonesia Colours Magazine February 2019 | Page 109

Travel | Dubai
1 The crowds of tourists at Dubai Mall
in the evening. Great views of skyscraper
buildings, skies and fountains are some
of the attractions that draw tourists
flock to the mall.
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2 A ride across The Creek in an ancient
Abra is Dubai’s best bargain.
3 Camel rides take place along the
city’s endless beachfront.
4 Surf’s up! Try sandboarding on a
desert safari.
tears of joy in 24 hours than during
an entire Olympic Games (the venue is
open around the clock). Panoramic scenes
below are witnessed using the electronic
viewfinders. These high-tech binoculars
not only focus on The Creek, The Palm,
The World and other unique landmarks,
but they also look back in time, as digital
images depicting the view from decades
ago travel across the screen. Hungry for
something more intimate? A lesser-known
alternative to At The Top is At.Mosphere,
a refined restaurant – the highest in the
world, on the tower’s 122 nd floor open
for crêpes suzette breakfasts and menu
dégustation dinners from 7am to 2am.
Dubai is all about capturing once-in-a-
lifetime moments. Rooftop pools, sunset
sheeshas and endless beaches are so
photogenic that Instagram is the city’s
principal social media sharing platform.
In 2018, town planners went one step
further. In Zabeel Park, a green space the
size of 45 football pitches, they installed the
Dubai Frame. Like a 50-storey smartphone
screen, it highlights the futurist city to the
north and its age-old environs to the south.
A newly installed elevator lets guests rise
150m up to the top, where a glass-bottomed
walkway stretches between the two
upright columns, to snap such scenes
for themselves.
The contrast between timeless and
modern is also a feature of Dubai’s newest
neighbourhood. Based in one of the city’s
more historic areas, Al Seef appears as
Arabian as djellabas and dates. Traditional
stone houses even feature wind catchers:
rudimentary air-conditioning contraptions
that funnel the breeze into shaded
courtyards. Yet this Creekside suburb
was built from scratch in the past two
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Locals claim that Arabia’s eerie dawn captures the desert
at its most romantic. Indeed, it’s the only time that Dubai
and its sandy surrounds sit still.
years. Hidden in porticoes and piazzas
are alluring shopfronts and eateries:
a gelataria, a branch of contemporary
Emirati restaurant Al-Fanar, upscale
abaya stores, handmade jewellery
emporiums and waterside cafés. around the group. As Dubai’s oases border
Arabia’s Empty Quarter, light pollution
is minimal, allowing the heavens to light
up like a celestial dreamscape. Shooting
stars zip through the night until dunes
grow ochre in the morning light.
However, if you truly want to understand
the attraction of this part of the world,
ask an Emirati – and you will no doubt
hear about their love affair with the
desert. On Arabian weekends, which
start on Fridays, locals drive into the
sands following camel trails trodden
in centuries past. Romantic nomads
can follow the same tracks on a 4x4 safari
tour. As the late afternoon cools, one
can try sand surfing, camel riding or belly
dancing. Sunset brings traditional oud
music under oasis palms and barbecues
that splinter stardust into the darkening
sky. At this point telescopes are handed Locals claim that Arabia’s eerie dawn
captures the desert at its most romantic.
Indeed, it’s the only time that Dubai and its
sandy surrounds sit still. This makes a final
flight into the skies – on a sunrise hot-air
balloon ride – the most captivating
conclusion to any trip, especially as the
breakfast choice includes smoked salmon,
caviar and eggs Benedict. In the lower
atmosphere, the city’s past and future
combine: green oases with sun-dazzled
skyscrapers; camel trains with skytrains;
empty desert with urban areas dense
with every nationality on earth.
Dubai’s allure is in it all.