[aneezan]

A plan to visit the UAE was on the cards for many years. While I have been to Dubai a couple of times before, my family hadn't. A lot of friends and very close relatives in the country meant the interest to visit kept increasing after every occasional phone call with them. So, the plan materialised this year.

Rather than a visit to sight-see, we took this is a trip to visit and spend time with friends, family and do some shopping as well. Along the way, visit some of the common sights in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

August 2023: booked tickets on the low cost Pegasus airlines from Brussels Charleroi to Abu Dhabhi, via Istanbul. For all 4 of us, came to about 1,650 Euros, which when compared to Etihad/Emirates was at-least 800 to 900 Euros less.

Feb 2024: We are at Brussels Charleroi Airport, waiting for our journey to start to Abu Dhabi, via Istanbul. We started in our Rapid from home around 5.30 AM and reached the airport parking at 8.30AM. The Charleroi Airport is about 30 minutes away from Brussels International Airport and serves low cost airlines. It is a very small airport, and looked more like a train terminal than an airport. We in-fact walked to the plane from the gate.







As expected, the Pegasus flight experience was non-frilled. Our tickets came with a meal package (which was the same chicken sandwich on all 4 flights). Anything else was paid. Luckily, we took enough water bottles to quench our thirst through the journey. What was very good was the seat comfort. Being 6 foot+, I have always faced difficulty in long flight journeys, but the leg room more than par, when compared with some mainstream airliners.

3.5 hours later, we were at Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport. It is the hub for Pegasus. All around, there were hundreds of Pegasus flights.



After a change-over in Istanbul, we took another Pegasus to Abu Dhabi, which took approximately 4.5 hours. We landed at Abu Dhabi early in the morning at around 3.00 AM and my cousin and family were waiting for us at the airport. Straight to their home to rest. We woke up late in the morning.

The view from their 2 bedroom apartment is "nice" to say the least. A view of the famous Al Bahr towers aka "pineapple buildings". The "umbrella" or "pineapple" shaped structures automatically open and close depending on the intensity of sunlight.




After lunch, our first visit was Al Hudayriat Island island. A man made beach with lots of entertainment and food options. We lazed a while at the beach, but it soon started raining. Options for jet-skiing, and other water sports as well.


My cousin's Dodge Durango, our companion for the first 3 days in Abu Dhabhi. This is the 3.6L V6, and produces about 290HP and 350 NM of torque. More than that, very comfortable and easily accommodated all 8 of us (including 2 small kids).




UAE is the land of Toyotas and Nissans. I guess about 75% of the vehicles are from these brands.
On the road, around Abu Dhabi




The evening was spent shopping at Yas Mall, on the Yas island. None of us had planned or were interested in visiting Ferrarri world, which is nearby.

The evening/night, we visited the Al Gurm Corniche, which runs parallel to the Mangrove Forests. A nice stretch of walk/cycle way along the Sheik Zayed Bin Sultan Street. This also has some parks, kids play areas, viewing spots etc. A good area to spend the evening with family and friends.



After lunch the next day, we went to Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque, the largest mosque in the UAE. Constructed mainly with white marble. The blue lighting gave it an even more surreal feel.






Though the mosque itself was worth the visit, the entry, procedures and restrictions made it tiring. Entry is free of cost, hence its crowded most of the time. There were queue ups at multiple points and the actual walk to the mosque in the basement is quite lengthy. There are battery operated buggies for people who couldn't make the long walk.

The highlight was the open courtyard, which felt tempting to walk into, but its cordoned off.(Heard it was open to access earlier).




That same evening, after dinner, we took a taxi to Dubai to another of my cousin's place. Actually, her house was right at the broder between Sharjah and Dubai and was a nightmare to drive through. The traffic is very heavy in Dubai and even more in Sharjah.
But the view next day morning from their balcony was amazing:-


Next day (Wednesday), we decided to take the metro to visit some of the sights in Dubai. The Metro day ticket cost about 4Euros per person, which felt cheap, when compared to the rates in Europe. First stop was at Dubai Frame. We tried to get tickets to go up, but the queue was very long. Gave up in the end, but walked around the Frame.



Post a nice Afghan lunch, we went to Dubai Mall/Burj Khalifa. We spent the evening in the mall and did some more shopping. We were so tired from all the walking that we just sat near the promenade/fountains and spent the evening there. Retired at my cousin's place for the night.



Thursday was spent visiting a lot of friends and family scattered across Sharjah and Dubai. Most of the morning and afternoon was spent at their homes and if time allowed, shopping.
In the evening, we went to the Museum of the Future, situated in the Dubai Business Bay.
Couldn't take a lot of pics at the museum. Travelling with a teen kid who isn't keen on the "sights" isn't really fun. Not sure how if this is the case with others. But we found ourselves done with the museum very quickly and off to my friend's place for the next couple of days.





The drive along the Business Bay gave a perspective of how Dubai looks at night, with all the glittering sky scrapers. The drive itself was amazing.




We had booked a Desert Safari for Friday afternoon. We booked a basic package for 8, which included dance shows, dinner and snacks, some dune bashing and a few other activities. We arrived at the pickup point at around 3 and were boarded into a coach which took us to a location just outside of Sharjah. A lot of cars/buses meant this was a common area for such desert safaris.

The coach which took us to the safari point.


One of the tour guides showed us our Land Cruiser for dune bashing. First time sitting inside a Land Cruiser and the space available was immediately noticeable. The seats were very comfortable and well cushioned. We started soon, with the driver turning the max volume on the music player to some Arabic song, which we weren't in position to like or not like because we had to hold on to the handles. As we bounced along, compared to the car in front of us, which seemed to almost topple over, our driver was a bit tame. We were having fun for some few minutes, but the laughter on the faces of our younger kids on the last seats at the back soon changed to tears. The bouncy ride was too much for them to handle. We asked the driver to slow down, which he did. After about 10 minutes, we were at the meet up point.



Post the ride, there was a short camel ride, which we didn't enjoy that much. For one, it was too short. But more than that, it seemed that the camels weren't too keen on carrying us (or anyone else). Then, they were repeatedly whipped (which maybe is the way to train and manage them), which kind-of put us off.



We were then asked to take the make-shift seating arrangements where some shows followed: three shows (including 2 dances and a fire-show). Then dinner/snack was served, which was very average. All in all though, it wasn't the worth the hype.

[aneezan]

The next day was spent visiting a few other friends and relatives in Dubai (we have too many), along with more shopping. After another sumptuous lunch, we made our journey back to Abu Dhabhi from Dubai.

Our return flight was at 03.00 AM on Sunday. Said the final goodbyes to our friends and boarded the flight back to Brussels.


Some food pics in the UAE. One of the highlights of the trip:-



This was primarily a visit to see our friends and extended family in the UAE and it very well served the purpose.