Let’s be honest! It’s very easy to get utterly bewildered and overwhelmed by a city like Dubai. Just about everywhere you look, you find vertiginous glass and steel monoliths outdoing each other. Seemingly piercing through the desert sky in a sort of brazen, architectural one-upmanship. Just as you crane your neck to take it all in, your aural faculty is all but assaulted by the incessant revving of engines belonging to diamanté-speckled sedans and gold-plated SUVs. And speaking of gold, there’s just so much of the blingy metal on display here. From the luxury jewellery boutiques at the high-end malls to the more masses-friendly, Gold Souk that finds itself sprawled out along the meandering alleyways of the old part of the city across the arterial Dubai Creek. In fact, the passion for gold is so pronounced here that there’s even a gold bar vending machine for you to spend your coins if you so desire! But what’s to be done if you have just one solitary weekend day to take it all in? Well, I have the perfect plan for you to make the most of your day in dazzling Dubai, under the blazing sun...
Morning
Speaking of the sun, one of the most effective ways to beat its morning fury (yes, it’s swelteringly hot even then!) is by slipping into the air-conditioned environs of the brand-new Museum of The Future. Located along the main Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai’s Financial District, this rather curious-looking, torus-shaped edifice was opened to the public earlier this year. Reaching 77 metres in height, with seven floors inside and no internal pillars, this museum with its intricate Arabic calligraphy exterior and the serene white interior lobby was built to promote technological development and innovation, especially in the fields of robotics and artificial intelligence. While the entire surface of the building is made of developed glass, the 1,024 facade panels were produced using automated robotic arms. Interestingly, the specific number of panels represents a kilobyte: a basic unit of the digital information storage system of computers as each kilobyte is equal to 1,024 bytes. The museum’s several permanent and temporary exhibits are truly fascinating and sure to keep you curious all morning.
Afternoon
Further along, Sheikh Zayed Road, hop onto a super-efficient and driverless Dubai Metro train and satiate all those built-up hunger pangs at the community-driven, outdoor Ripe Market in the Academy Park. Here, under canopies and tents, you get to shop at kiosks and stalls of up-and-coming artisans, small businesses and entrepreneurs for everything from handicrafts and trinkets to organic food. At the far end of the market is a line-up of food carts and colourful repurposed shipping containers holding forth pop-ups serving cuisine from all over the world like Filipino, Texas-style BBQ, Brazilian acai bowls and of course, the crowd favourite of Indian food. Reminding us that Dubai is home to people from almost every country on Earth!
Post lunch, give yourselves a relaxing two hours to experience the sheer ingenuity and artistic brilliance of Infinity des Lumières. Spread over 2,700 sqm in The Dubai Mall, the venue brings iconic and contemporary art to life through 130 projectors, 58 speakers and an incredible 3,000 HD digital moving images. The immersive experience transports you into a world where you can enjoy living in dynamic art. Exhibitions related to Van Gogh, and Japanese artists such as Hokusai, and a doorway into the cosmos by Thomas Vanz, run simultaneously at different spaces within the digital art gallery and are sure to captivate your senses, making you almost a part of the art.
Evening
As the sun finally begins to give you some respite, make your way to Bur Dubai in Deira for a ramble in the old part of the city that time has spared to a large extent. Thus, leaving areas like the Al Bastakiya quarter preserved like it used to be a century ago. Known also as the Al Fahidi Historical District, this place is a repository of buildings and shops belonging to an era when the UAE was an area of sheikdoms. A rough and raw place where the nomadic Bedouins lived as herders, date farmers and fishermen.
Take this indulgent blast from the past even further by snagging a sunset ride in a traditional wooden dhow boat called an abra around the busy, Venice-like waterways of Dubai Creek also called Al Seef. Discover local artistry, intricate craftsmanship and traditional handiwork alongside modern fashion labels at the many street-side shops here. Make sure to bargain for exotic Middle Eastern spices (yes, that’s not just encouraged but expected here) like sumac, za’atar and baharat at the chaotic, but fun Spice Souk. You may even want to extend your haggling skills at the next-door, open-air Gold Souk as you’re left gob-smacked by visuals of body armour plate-like gold neck pieces, diamond crowns and waist belts. All these proudly jostle for space with the world’s largest gold ring that sits majestically in its specially guarded glass case. Done with all that window and some actual shopping? Then step out and breathe in the salt-laced, muggy night breeze wafting over from across the creek. And don’t forget to treat yourself to a ‘nightcap’ of ice cream. But hang on. Not plain old ice cream, but one made with creamy, yummy camel’s milk. Yes, you’ll soon realise that almost everything is possible in dazzling Dubai!