After a nights stay at Abu Dhabi we got to the Grosvenor Hotel on the Dubai Marina – Our home for the next few days, Our suite on the 13 th floor overlooked the Marina and provided us great photo ops besides exploring the Marina each day of our visit. The Marina is an artificial canal with the Promenade running along both sides of the canal. And that is the uniqueness of Dubai. Every structure or feature is man made in what was once a barren desert. Studded with shops and restaurants the Marina is also an upmarket residential area. The entire promenade is a rather long walk and is best done at night when the temperatures are lower.Or you could take a water taxi across four stations – Marina terraces, Marina walk, Marina Mall and Marina promenade -Check out cruises to Dubai or even a dinner cruise .

I normally spend a lot of time planning a tour itinerary backed by a lot of research but this time on suggestions of my children we decided to take each day as it came – The objective was to spend time with the family and enjoy our company rather than sightseeing. Not withstanding we did pack in quite a lot of Dubai and we also did miss out on many .

The first stop was the Dubai Mall. While shopping was not very high up on our priorities my grandson was keen on visiting the attractions in the mall. Dubai Mall boasts of very impressive statistics – revenue, size, shops, attractions, location, brands etc but the one that caught my attention was this headline in the Dubai government website.

The Mall is very much like any other in the world except for the size and the additional attractions- like the fun fair, skating rink and so on. Every major international brand is represented here and you could spend days browsing through the some 12000 odd shops and would invariably end up picking something from the numerous shops or restaurants. But be prepared to walk. We spent a lot of time at time at the Aquarium and Underwater zoo. A paid tour takes you through three geographic sections – The rocky shore, rain forests and the Living ocean displaying the aquatic life of the region. Once again I couldn’t help but wonder in awe how such a structure could be created and managed in an area that was once nothing but a desert ! And that was the recurring theme through my entire stay in Dubai – Best in class man made structures created from the nothingness of a sparsely inhabited desert.

Alongside the Mall past the fountains is the Souk al Bahar, a modern day market which also houses a multi cuisine food court – Time out market – Not much of a Souk unless you are looking for some traditional wear, clothing and perfumes. On our way out we spent some time watching the dancing fountains which host a magnificent sound and light spectacle after dark. We skipped the adjoining Burj Khalifa as our feet were giving way and the steep 500 AED entry fee each further reinforced our decision to head back home. I enjoyed the authentic Baklava and Turkish coffee and Malati swears that the popcorn at Garrett’s was the best ever. The Dubai Dino (Diplodocus) fascinated my grandson and he greatly valued the stuffed toy he won at the fun fair. “Enough of Malls in Dubai” we said as we got into a taxi back to our hotel on the Marina.It was not to be as did visit two more – The Marina Mall and the Mall of the Emirates over the next few days ! Each one for a different reason.

To Be Continued in my next post – Dubai Frame and Museum of the Future —–