• Digital Nomad Resources
  • Train Travel
  • Urban Rail Transit
  • Where To Stay

Nomadic Notes

Travel blog and weekly travel newsletter

  • Blog
  • Travel Newsletter

A day in Dubai – Making the most of an Emirates stopover

September 18, 2018 By James Clark 8 Comments

Skyline

My last visit to Dubai was in 2007, just before the Global Financial Crisis. There was so much construction going on that I knew I would have to return to check on its progress. I finally returned 11 years later, at what feels like the peak of another financial bubble, and like last time there was construction everywhere.

I was here on a stopover, so rather than flying through I planned a full day to have a look around. I arrived in Dubai via Sharjah, which is the neighbouring emirate. Dubai and Sharjah have grown so big that they now merge into each other. Unfortunately like my last trip, I came during the summer. After sweating it out in Sharjah I realised I wasn’t going to get much sightseeing done in Dubai.

Since my last visit the Dubai Metro has opened, which is a game-changer for getting around. There are two lines now, with more lines planned. The red line travels from the airport and parallel to the coast. My hotel was next to a metro stop, so I planned my day around what I could see along the metro.

Driverless Train

The trains are driverless and the stations are gloriously air conditioned. The carriages have a separate female section, and also a Gold Class section at the front if you want to go first class.

Gold Class Cabin

The biggest change that has happened since I was last here has been the completion of the Burj Khalifa, so that was the most obvious way to start my day. The tower is next to the Dubai Mall which has its own metro stop. The metro is about 10 minutes walk from the mall, and it’s connected by an air conditioned walkway.

Walkway to Dubai Mall

I don’t usually go up towers unless they are super-tall or iconic. I went up the Petronas Twin Towers recently, and I will go up the Landmark81 in Saigon soon. I had considered going up, but visibility wasn’t the best on the day I was there. I only needed to go outside briefly to get the obligatory Burj selfie, then I was back inside.

James at Burj Khalifa

The brief foray outside reminded me to not even consider going out for a walk (lesson learned in Sharjah), so my day was reduced to mall hopping on the metro. I felt bad that I was going to be hanging out at malls all day, then I found that the Dubai Mall has a Kinokuniya book store.

Kinokuniya

My next stop was the Mall of the Emirates to see that other outlandish Dubai project that is Ski Dubai.

Indoor ski

Eventually my body demanded a real coffee, so I had to stray beyond the malls. I looked on Google Maps for some cafes nearby. One showed up called The Sum Of Us, and I knew without even looking that it would be an Australian-style hipster cafe (The Sum of Us is an Australian play/film). It was everything I hoped it would be.

The sum of us

Straying beyond the air conditioned confines of the malls I was reminded how unwalkable Dubai can be. It feels like the city was planned by a prince who has never had to walk a day of his life in a city. Big cities should be walkable. I’ve walked the length of Manhattan, and I’ve walked all day across London and Tokyo many times. There are too many big highways that make walking around hard. I’ll take a Barcelona Superblock over a city scarred with superhighways any day.

Big roads

Having said that there are walkable areas of Dubai. Once the worst of the midday heat was over I spent the late afternoon wandering around Deira. This is one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Dubai, and it’s built at a more human scale. You can walk around here, and there is enough street-level activity to make it interesting.

Butcher alley

I stayed at a budget hotel in Deira, and I think it is the best area to stay in Dubai.

In Deira you feel like you are in a trading hub where Asia and Africa meet.

Asia and Africa

I like that there are hotels named after Kinshasa.

Kinshasa Hotel

And the gold souk has resisted total modernisation, with its walkways still being outside (though heavily shaded).

City of Gold

One of the most interesting aspects about Dubai is that it’s full of migrants from around the world. I went to another cafe and was served by a guy from Bhutan. Apart from once at a travel trade show, I’ve never met anyone from Bhutan. He said there were about 300 Bhutanese in Dubai.

And like my experience in Sharjah, I also met a lot of Filipinos here. In fact most of the human interaction I had in Dubai was with Filipinos, so I may as well have been in Davao. In solidarity for the workers of the Philippines, I went to a Filipino restaurant for dinner. It made me realise that I’m long overdue for a Philippines revisit.

Filipino Indian food

Most of the labour workforce in Dubai is from South Asia, so there are plenty of cheap Indian restaurants. No need to start your day at a hotel buffet when you can have an Indian breakfast and tea for a couple of dollars.

Indian breakfast

Despite Dubai being such a pedestrian-hostile environment, I find it a fascinating city. If they keep expanding the metro, and go ahead with the plan to plant one million trees by 2020, hopefully it will become more pedestrian friendly.

Dubai is also interesting for the architectural mega projects. At the Dubai Mall there was a model of the Dubai Creek Tower, which is expected to be over one kilometre high. So far the foundations have been prepared but work remains on hold.

Dubai Creek Tower model

So that was my one-day stopover in Dubai, 2018 edition. No doubt I’ll be back on the way to somewhere else, but next time I’ll not visit during the summer.

Skyline

Filed Under: Travel Blog Tagged With: dubai, stopover, uae

Comments

  1. aster says

    September 18, 2018 at 1:17 pm

    It’s nice to read in your posts of your interactions with Filipinos, maybe a reminder of your long overdue Philippines revisit…

    Reply
    • James Clark says

      September 21, 2018 at 9:38 am

      I’ll be back for sure!

      Reply
  2. Ryan Biddulph says

    September 22, 2018 at 8:12 am

    This region of the world fascinates me James. I visited Doha in Qatar last year and enjoyed it immensely. Something about an almost exclusive man-made focus making for a special place. After 1 month I had my fill but in the same regard, neat to see the limits of technology in many ways. Fun post buddy.

    Reply
  3. Anjana says

    September 24, 2018 at 6:46 am

    Great post, Really enjoyed. Actually I am planning to visit dubai this year. Thanks a lot for sharing this post.

    Reply
  4. Juan Ovalle says

    September 24, 2018 at 9:05 pm

    Their love for supercars might be the reason for their never-ending highways!

    Reply
  5. C. Randen says

    September 26, 2018 at 2:14 am

    I love Dubai! You can go to just about any destination and find natural beauty, but Dubai is the world leader on man made marvels!

    Reply
  6. Anne Hernandez says

    October 25, 2018 at 2:37 am

    I love reading your blog All Day in Dubai. And glad that you
    met some Filipinos. Time for you to revisit Philippines.
    Let me know it happens. I want to meet with you and talk
    more of our country.
    0929 835 8288

    Reply
  7. Halal Traveler says

    February 28, 2019 at 10:26 am

    I visited Dubai in 2016, and it seems that in a couple of years Dubai got some new landmarks.
    Agreed with you that visiting Dubai in summer is not a good idea though.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Weekly Travel Newsletter

Sign up for the weekly travel newsletter for the latest posts, and a roundup of best travel reads from around the web.
Subscribe For Free Here [No spam, unsubscribe anytime.]

About Nomadic Notes

James Clark from Nomadic Notes

Hi, I’m James Clark, and I've been travelling the world since 2003 while running a location independent travel business. Nomadic Notes is a travel blog featuring travel guides and notes from my travels.

More about me and Nomadic Notes.

Follow Nomadic Notes

Recent Posts

  • Don Muang Airport Train: Getting the train from DMK to Central Bangkok
  • Bangkok to Pattaya by train
  • Notes on Udon Thani
  • Where to stay in Singapore: The best areas and notable hotels (2023)
  • Ornamental street signs of Thailand
  • Where to stay in Georgetown, Penang – The best area to stay and the pick of the hotels (2023)
  • Notes on Nakhon Phanom: Down by the river, and hanging out at Uncle Ho’s House
  • Where to stay in Da Nang – the best areas and most notable hotels (2023)
  • Where to stay in Hanoi: The best areas for first-time visitors
  • Where to stay in Dubai: The best areas and most iconic hotels

European Rail Travel

Eurail Pass Travel Guide

Europe Rail News – The new newsletter for train travel in Europe

Southeast Asia Rail Travel

Southeast Asia current and proposed railways

A complete guide to train travel in Southeast Asia

Featured Posts

Top 200 Travel Books
How to find cheap flights
Best new banks for travellers, expats, and nomads

About Nomadic Notes

About
Advertise
Contact
Contribute
Press/Media Mentions
Where I've Been

Search Nomadic Notes

Travel Notes

Travel Notes

Travel Resources

Long-term Travel
Travel Blog Directory
Travel Gear
Travel Insurance
Travel Sites

Where To Stay In…

Bangkok
Chiang Mai
Da Nang
Ho Chi Minh City
Hong Kong
Jakarta
Kuala Lumpur
Macau
Penang
Singapore

Travel Newsletter

Sign up for the weekly travel newsletter for the latest posts and a roundup of best travel reads from around the web.

Copyright © 2023 Nomadic Notes · Site Map | Privacy · Log in