Lessons from recent trip to Dubai

Dear reader,
we had our first outing abroad and one learnt enough lessons... the same are penned below to help you plan an exciting trip. Feel free to get in touch in case you are planning to go out too....

LESSONS LEARNT DURING OUR RECENT TRIP TO DUBAI

1.            Passport Validity.            Check Passport validity well before you purchase the tickets. My kids’ passports were not renewed and I had 10 difficult days. This is a lesson for forgetful people like me.

2.            Airline Selection.            Select airline carefully. Spend additional 5k and travel like a king. For our return journey we chose Spice Jet, partly because it was cheaper and partly because it was taking off late from Dubai (2245 hrs), thus giving us full additional day at Dubai. But the experience was bad when we compared it with Emirates… our airlines from Delhi to Dubai. IT DOES MATTER. We booked two months in advance and return tickets per head cost us about 13k.

3.            Money Changer.              Without exploring the exchange rates, we just changed currency at Thomas Cook outlet at Delhi (T3), only to realise later on that we could have gone to others as well as bargained with Thomas Cook for a better rate. We carried a travellers card from ICICI bank as the swiping from debit as well as credit cards attracts additional charge. Indian currency is readily accepted though at a different exhange rate. Meals (nine in all) for four people and local shopping cost us around Rs 50k.

4.            Sim Card.             We purchased Etisalat tourist sim card at Dubai airport which worked out quite costly (Rs 2100 for 60 min of talktime, local as well as international and validity of 7 days). Better would have been activating international roaming on the local sim. Also video calling and voice calling over internet is banned in Dubai. (one can send voice notes as message though). Hotels and malls have free wifi so even if you don’t have data on your phone its ok.

5.            Itinerary.             One planned by the travel agency was good enough (4 days and 5 nights including Dhow Cruise, City Tour, Desert Safari & Burj Khalifa). Transfer costs are high and its better to hire a travel agency if you are a first timer. We spent just above Rs 1 lakh, for four of us for the entire trip excl air tickets and few meals. The cost included all transfers and hotel stay (2 rooms with breakfast). You can spend a little extra and select a better hotel though. We stayed in Bur Dubai where accomadation is reasonable and places like Meena Bazar and Gold Souk are at walking distance. Five days is max that one can spend as a first timer. We did not read/ research about the places and were quite clueless. Little research from open source/ travel blogs etc about the place is recommended. We paid 260 dirhams (Rs 5200) for our lunch at Ferrari World on recommenadtion of the guide, which was almost 4 times the normal cost. Ferrari world can be avoided as also Dhow cruise. {Better are the 2 hour cruises at Goa and theme park Imagica (near Lonavla), in India}. Do not have two events in a day as it does not leave you with any free time. There is a lot to be explored on your own especially the local gift shops.

6.            Meals.       Meals are costly. A lot of Indian food joints are spread all over. A basic research is strongly recommended. A decent non veg meal per person costs around Rs 400. Do not spend more. Buy water from the super market. A 1.5 litre bottle in the super market was 2 Dirham (Rs 40) against the same being sold at 4 Dirham by local shops and 12 Dirham by the hotel. Veg meals are readily available too. One can buy snacks etc from the local grocery shop.

7.            Laundry.              Carry adequate clothes (30 Kg check in baggage allowed on most airlines including Emirates). Carry a washing soap too. Laundry at the hotel is too costly. One can ask for an iron with stand from the housekeeping. Its summer most of the time, therefore carry appropriate clothing.

8.            Miscellenaeous.              Carry good camera with additional memory card as all the places offer perfect background for pictures. Plan the souvenirs that you want to buy. Most of the items are made in China only. Gold buying can be a time consuming and tricky business. If you have local friends who can guide you, then only venture into a major purchase. Limit on buying gold is Rs 1 lakh for ladies and Rs 50k for men. All the malls are excellent but one must visit Dubai Mall (included alongwith trip to Burj Khalifa). Do carry a selfie stick.

9.            Final Word.        Overall experience was excellent and memorable.   It’s value for money. Takeaways are cleanliness, traffic discipline and safety aspects. There were no hiccups as our travel agents had provided local helpline numbers too. Abu Dhabi and Desert Safari involve long travel by road, but the vehicles are comfortable. People do not mix up readily therefore if two or more families plan the trip together, you can add to the fun value. The rating is as under :-

Desert safari, Burj Khalifa – Dubai mall, Grand Mosque (Abu Dhabi), Dubai City Tour, Ferrari World, Dhow Cruise.

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