Dubai aquarium was inside Dubai mall and we were here again to explore the places which we had missed earlier. After a delicious lunch we entered the aquarium area. We had already booked Explorers package costing 120 AED each which includes Aquarium Tunnel, Underwater Zoo, Submersible Simulator, Big Screen Theatre and Glass Bottom Boat ride. The kids were really amazed to see wide variety of marine creatures here. Everybody loved glass bottom boat ride which consists of a glass base through which we can spot various species of colorful fishes. A guide was also there to explain about these species. Nobody knows how time flew by and now the clock was showing 19:30 hrs. We were completely exhausted today so we called a taxi and returned to our hotel.
Day-4
It was a new day & we were completely energized and filled with zeal. Today we had planned to visit Creek Park where many activities were waiting to be explored by us. The park was close to Deira City Metro station and from there, taxi service was about 10 AED. But we preferred to go by taxi directly which costs us around 70 AED. I heard that cable car ride is one the most noted attractions in Dubai Creek Park but unfortunately it was under maintenance. One of our main attraction here was Dolphin show which we had pre-booked online and taken the VIP front seating. The dolphin & seal shows are from Monday to Saturday at 11:00 hrs. for 45 min (AED-120/80 for VIP seating, Rest 100/50 AED) and further at 15:00/18:00 hrs. for 1 hr. (AED-140/100 VIP, Rest 120/70 AED) which includes illusion show as well. The seating area was houseful and the show was spectacular.
Watching these dolphins performing various activities such as dancing, playing, painting, singing and executing incredible acrobatics was a real treat for our eyes. After the show we went to Children’s City which was inside the creek park. There were different sections which constitutes natural sciences, human body, nature, space, electricity, computer, communication and Planetarium. The kids enjoyed this place and asked a lot of questions there. Apart from this there were many activities such as bird show, mirror maze, toy train, bicycle hire, helicopter simulator ride, Camel riding, etc. we ignored due to time constraint. This place also offered a picturesque view of the creek, surrounding buildings and boats. We spent almost 6 hrs. there and returned to our hotel to prepare for our next attraction, Marina Dinner Cruise.
We found that Dhow Cruise/Dinner Cruise was an exciting way of exploring the charms of Dubai city. Marina was comparatively newer and superior in terms of views as compared to Dubai Creek that’s why we had booked our cruise in this area. Our booking was done with Alexandria Cruises which costs us around 850 AED. The sailing time was 02 hrs. (20:30 to 22:30 hrs.) and boarding commenced before an hour. The charges would vary from 180 to 230 AED/person and cruising in Creek area was relatively cheaper than Marina. After boarding, we took our table at the top open deck so that we can enjoy excellent views of the surrounding. In February, it was quite chilly during the night and we were on the open deck so we requested some blankets for the kids. The staff was really supportive and they were catering to every needs. Owing to some traffic the cruise started at 20:40 hrs. and then we were ready to move into a dreamy world.
After welcome drink, live performance was started and listening to my favorite song “Lost on you” while cruising was just like that could not be transformed into words. I had a feeling that a small blissful town was calmly floating over the mystified currents. The glowing reflection of skyscrapers was just amazing and gave me a sensation that there was an enigmatic world embedded inside the sea. After some time, there was a lavish international buffet dinner which everyone had enjoyed. The sailing concluded at 22:30 hrs. and we were speeding towards our hotel thinking about the memorable experience we had just now.
Day-5
Today, we had dedicated full day for Abu Dhabi to cover Ferrari World and Grand Mosque. Abu Dhabi was 92 km from our hotel and the taxi cost to Ferrari world was around 200 AED. We reached there half an hour before the opening time which was from 11:00 hrs. It was just like striding into a different world as we move right from the entrance till the inner section. The tickets were classified into three classes – Bronze, Silver & Gold and the cost of each was 275, 360 and 525 AED respectively. We booked Silver class and got a coupon worth 20 AED and 03 fast passes (Gold has 30 AED coupon, unlimited fast passes & priority seating though). These fast passes can be used to bypass the long queues for some popular rides but as per my opinion if anyone is coming on weekdays then Bronze tickets would be enough. We did popular family rides ‘Viaggio in Italia’, ‘Speed of Magic’, ‘Driving with the Champion’ etc. in the beginning itself and booked our slot for ‘Go-Karting’. There were miniature Ferrari vehicles for kids which they had enjoyed the most. Everything was totally indoors except the roller coasters. Here we can easily move back and forth so following any single direction for covering everything is not mandatory. Other than rides and attractions, there was a dedicated spot called as ‘Galleria Ferrari’ where numerous Ferrari cars were exhibited for racing enthusiasts.
We had an opportunity to experience ‘Scuderia Challenge advanced simulators’ and ‘Ferrari Driving experience’ with additional charge which we didn’t taken however rest all the rides and attractions were included in the admission ticket. Many restaurants were available inside providing wide variety of cuisines, though they were a bit expensive. Seven hours passed swiftly and I didn’t notice that my watch was now showing 17:30 hrs. “Ah! We never imagined that it will take this much time, still the roller coasters were left” I told Prashant. He replied, “Ok we’ll leave the idea for Grand Mosque and just complete the rides”. It looks convincing to me and we moved straightaway toward the roller coasters. One of them named ‘Formula Rossa’ was awarded the fastest roller coaster in the world with the steepest 360 degree loop which causes severe adrenaline rush. I will strongly recommend this ride for the strong ones only as others may develop a high blood pressure. Our next ride ‘The Flying aces’ was also not for fainted hearts. Other roller coasters like ‘Vortex’ and ‘Mission Ferrari’ were fun to ride. At 19:30 hrs. some segments started closing down, now we were also very tired so exchanged our free coupons with Ferrari embossed gift items and rushed towards the taxi stand.
Day -6
It was around 11:30 hrs., a speedy snowball hit my shoulder and scattered into infinite pieces. I turned back and saw that my son was ready with another snowball in his hand. I managed to run somehow through the snow but could not dodge these snowballs. Then, I started fighting back and a game was started. The surrounding temperature was around -1 deg. C and our faces were red in such a freezing environment. Yes that’s true, we were not in Switzerland or Kashmir but this seems like it was always snowing in Dubai. Welcome to Ski Dubai, the world’s largest indoor snow park having astounding 3,000 square meters of snow where we can admire the cold and snowy weather. To avoid long queues advance booking and early arrival is a must. Although there were separate tickets for each activity but we had taken full package for AED 500 which includes unlimited snow rides (sledging, zorb ball, bobsleigh, ski lift etc.), 40 min Peng friend (Penguin) encounter, 02 hrs. slope (Skiing) session and a lunch at nearby restaurant. It may be noted that for normal package locker & hand gloves were not included and required to be purchased separately but that was included in our package. Our fun started with the ski practice called as discovery lessons. We never did skiing before but now I can say that my first experience was in the middle of desert, sounds ironic though.
Our instructor was excellent and the introductory lessons were fun to take. For novice like us it was a bit scary to ski through the highest peaks and steep gradients which was around 400m long so we did not went too far. After finishing the lessons, we warmed up ourselves with complimentary hot chocolate drink. Now it’s the time for penguin encounter which kids had really enjoyed. It’s nice to see the penguins performing various activities and allowing us to take pictures with them. No camera was allowed inside and the photos which was clicked with penguins to be purchased separately. After complimentary lunch we went inside the main snow park. Kids loved different activities there especially going down in the rubber rings, giant ball ride and throwing snowballs on each other.
Then we took chair lift ride and relished the bird’s eye view of entire snow park. It was 16:30 hrs. and now time has come to say good bye to Dubai as our flight was scheduled this evening.
On the way to our hotel we visited Souk Medinat Jumeirah which offered a pleasing view of the waterways, Arabian architecture and the iconic Burj Al Arab. There were many traditional middle eastern style shopping stalls offering home accessories, souvenirs, luxury fashion and jewelries. Several multi cuisine restaurants were also there providing ample opportunities to taste the global flavor. Anyone can spend full day here.
We checked out from the hotel and after necessary procedures boarded our flight. At 23:30 hrs. our flight took a giant leap towards the sky leaving this marvelous city behind. These 6 days…. flew like 6 minutes….. and relinquished us with those precious moments for another 6 eras.
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