May is one of the best months to plan a quick getaway, especially if you live in Denmark because of all the public holidays. We used to have three public holidays in May but this year that got cut down to two (RIP Great Prayer Day!). It’s still great for packing in a few city breaks here and there, without using up too much annual leave. And since I have been saying for years I would get out to Dubai, finally it was time to put my money where my mouth is.
Dubai is a lot different to how I left it ten years ago. Well, to be fair, I didn’t really see much of it back then so I will rely on the words of others to back me up on this. Prior to this trip, I had a bit of a negative picture of Dubai in mind but I couldn’t have been more wrong. Yes everything is relatively new, there’s A LOT OF MONEY there and it’s quite glitzy with a lean towards the artificial. But it’s also got a huge diverse international community due to the large expat population, the weather’s amazing and there’s a lot of fun to be had there. In any case, the purpose of this trip was less about hitting every mall and tourist attraction and more about having some quality time catching up with my friend and spending time with her family. An amazing time indeed; I miss my little prince and princess and I’m already plotting my return! Notwithstanding the short trip, I managed to pack in quite a few activities whilst out there including:
BRUNCH | Dubai Brunch is not to be played with. As the self-proclaimed queen of Copenhagen Brunch, I thought I had the brunch game on lock. Dubai showed me what a little fish I was. We went to En Fuego, a Latin American restaurant in the fabulous Atlantis Resort. My friend warned me that it was a party and to get dressed up but I didn’t understand what she meant until we got there. Guys, it’s a PARTY! I’m talking get dressed to the nines and heels and everything. Food is secondary – it was good, but clearly I was one of the few that was there for the food. The music is heavy on the Latin – no surprises! – but the DJ also played lots of popular songs and even some afrobeats which I was grooving to. The DJ and live band are insanely good, they really put on a show – carnival vibes included! – and once the dancing starts (which is as soon as someone brave kicks it off), it’s a wild time. At one point, I even re-enacted the climactic lift scene from Dirty Dancing when the DJ played “Time of My Life”, except I was the Patrick Swayze character and some random British guy decided to be Jennifer Grey and jump on me! Tears!!! I’m not kidding! Aaaaaaaaargh! A wild time, I say!
THE DESERT | I already shared my Dubai desert adventure HERE and I would definitely recommend the experience. A fun filled day/evening packed with desert safari, a falcon show, traditional ceremonies and performances and soooooo much food. Definitely worth it in my opinion.
LOTS OF FOOD | There is sooooo much good food on offer in Dubai, at various price points too so you don’t have to worry about emptying the coffers for a meal. My friends took me to a really cool Egyptian restaurant which for the life of me I can’t recall right now (I will come back and update the post when I remember!). It was a recovery cooldown from all the partying at brunch and the food was delicious as well as reasonably priced. On the higher end, we also went for a lovely lunch at Lowe, a cool Australian spot serving scrumptious dishes in a laid back chic setting.
The one downer for me regarding this trip was the journey to and from Dubai and that’s completely on me. My trip planning skills on this occasion were beyond farcical. I booked the most unnecessarily tedious and illogical travel route to and from Dubai, complete with transfers, even though there were reasonably priced direct flights. There wasn’t even that big of a saving on the route I booked as I later discovered (and any savings I thought I made, I definitely LOST on the return journey!). I got back to Copenhagen exhausted and in the worst of moods after a long, uncomfortable AND EXPENSIVE journey home. A bit of a shame after such a lovely trip but it only took a video from one of my little friends back in Dubai to cheer my spirits and motivate me to get back to plotting. Dubai, you’ve got my attention now and I’m intrigued. I’ll be back, just with direct flights this time!
