Yong in Dubai : Tourist Stops & Scenic Spots

yong, this posting is dedicated to our awesome time together in dubai. it’s also for haiqal and haqeem, to jumpstart their memory of the fun educational times here! warning : this posting will sound like a tourist guidebook. fine with that? proceed.

 

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burj khalifa. world’s tallest building. overlooking the world’s highest shooting musical water fountain. beside the world’s biggest mall. within it, the world’s biggest indoor aquarium.

aunty gim asked her nephews to just stand in front of the burj khalifa for a good few minutes – just try to soak it all in, and be fully aware that they’re at the presence of man’s extraordinary capacity – to build something so amazing like the burj khalifa.

oh well, our malaysia’s petronas twin towers are still the tallest TWIN buildings in the world!

 

haven’t taken a picture in front of the burj khalifa for SO LONG. took the chance to grab a shot.

 

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meydan grandstand and racecourse : able to accommodate 60,000 spectators in its 1 mile long grandstand. the wavy blue light is one distinct feature of the ‘meydan grandstand and racecourse’. you can even see the majestic burj khalifa in the distance; towering over others.

mr. khairul the expert at good-photo-spots stopped at some bushes, and hey – with a backdrop of meydan grandstand. *click!*

 

 

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burj al-arab, one of the most expensive hotels in the world. its unique shape is like an arab dhow; built on a man-made island. a night could cost you $10k to $15k – and that’s just the *cheap* rooms! haha. there are personal butlers, a private reception desk on every floor, and a chauffeured rolls royce for guests use. woah. you can only access the hotel with reservations, or invitations. tak bole selamba je nak masuk lobby amik gamba.

so usually tourists would go take pictures in front of the burj al arab near the wild wadi (that’s as far as anyone can go close to the hotel!) OR, at this spot that we went to – also a popular photo-taking spot – by the jumeirah beach.

 

at night, the lights on the burj al-arab changes color. once, on chinese new year, the lights even depicted a dragon! here we got this precious chance to take a picture with the full moon in the background. gorgeous!

 

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dubai historical bastakiya, my favorite place in dubai, simply because of its classic architecture of old dubai with traditional arabic courtyard and carved wooden doors. amazing that a place as quaint as this exists amidst modern skyscrapers and rapid development of dubai.

constructed in 1690s, it’s one of the oldest residential areas in dubai with houses separated by a labyrinth of narrow, winding lanes. my boys, nephews and niece had fun running around, and along the lanes – hoping not to get lost!

the most distinct feature is the architectural design of barajeels (also known also as wind towers). that’s the one on top of every emirati homes. hot wind comes in from the top, and cools off as it reaches below. natural air conditioning!

 

 

click here for a wonderful article about the dubai bastakiya in the huffington post; which also tells of the ‘legend’ of how england’s prince charles had a hand in preserving the bastakiya!

 

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hard rock café, dubai, the biggest hard rock café outside of the states. after 12 years operating in sheikh zayed road near dubai marina, it was closed in 2009, only to open again at a new, bigger venue in 2011. in fact, we celebrated khaleef’s birthday on its opening day on 18th nov (his bday was 15th nov).

click here to read about khaleef’s awesome 6th birthday makan-makan at hard rock café on its opening day.

yong just wanted to check out some stuff at the store. yong was a collector of hard rock café shot glasses from her days studying in the states. banyak collection dia! we didn’t even dine there coz it’s impossible to get a seat so fast on a weekend! takpe lah yong – it’s all just burgers and fries. dtg dubai makan nasi mandi ok!

 

 

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the global village, also my favorite place in dubai because you can see and experience the whole of the middle east in one HUGE venue – egyptian cotton or an african goat carpet, or soft nepal shawl; indian silk or rm700 hand-woven palestinian abaya – you can get it all at the global village. turkish ice-cream, indian briyani or indonesian bakso. hungarian pastry or mexican churros. iranian nuts or yemeni honey – you can taste it all here. amazing, amazing experience!

some may say that it’s always the SAME thing displayed at global village, but I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of it all – even after 5-6 years here. the colors, the taste and smells, the unique items and beauty of the cultural performances!

yong agreed – global village is indeed, a special place full of diversity!

click here to read about my trip to global village with my two younger sisters, syida and azi when they were here in 2009.

 

one of the best things to get at the global village is my favorite emirati food LUQAIMAT! that hot crispy dough balls scooped fresh from the wok; served with sweet date syrup on top. absolutely heavenly. my nephews and niece loved the taste of luqaimat too!

 

since it’s a local EMIRATI food, you’d think they’re easy to get macam goreng pisang makcik tepi jalan but nope – it’s quite rare. and for me, I know I can only get it here at the global village; and at the expensive emirati restaurant al-fanar in dubai festival city (click here for my review of al-fanar)

 

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metro dubai – yeap, I even took a ride on the metro with just yong and her kiddos nuna and adam; while mr, khairul took care of the rest of the kiddos back home. it was just us because we were heading to one of the busiest places in dubai – the naif souq – the abaya and shawl heaven.

borong! it was a very tiring (lots of walking!) but very enjoyable experience with my older sis! the kiddos? sleeping all the way on the train.

I have to mention that on the way to, and back, there were always chivalrous men standing to give up his seat for us and the kids. however, one time when we’re going out of the train, SO MANY inconsiderate people pushing their way in – except only one guy who kept shouting, “hey kids! kids! there are kids!” and he spread out his hands to give way to us. may Allah bless you for your good deed, kind stranger!

..and as always, dubai contains all the superlatives – so the dubai metro is also the world's longest fully automated metro network spanning at 75 kilometres. there you go!

fyi, to reach naif souq by metro you need to follow the RED line to UNION station, CHANGE to GREEN line, and stop at BANIYAS SQUARE station. spot the minaret of a mosque, and walk towards it. you’re soon there at naif souq.

check out my first time on the dubai metro here, written in malay.

 

 

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the atlantis on palm jumeirah, is the first hotel ever built on this world’s biggest man-made island; the palm jumeirah – shaped like, well a palm tree. 100k fireworks were used during its grand opening, lasting 15 minutes. there is definite plans to have an even grander fireworks display this coming new year’s eve, to break the world record.

this is also where our prime minister would stay on his visit here.

the kids were a little cranky here, probably thinking, “it’s JUST a hotel! why are we taking so many pictures here?” haha.

 

 

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these are priceless moment for us sisters, and for the cousins. thanks to mr. khairul for making all these trips and stops possible. our designated driver and awesome tourist guide! mwah!

Hungry for Hungarian Mini Donuts @ Global Village

this delicious dessert is khaleef’s favorite. we go to dubai global village each year to get yemeni honey, to buy colorful abaya from the egypt pavilion, to gawk at unique stuff in african pavilion; and to find these hungarian mini donuts!

(dubai global village is held annually in dubai, open ONLY during winter from november to february. click here for my experience on our first trip there.)

 

they’re called mini donuts, but the texture is different than the dough-made donuts – it’s more like cakoi. served hot with syrup of your choice – chocolate, strawberry, caramel or honey. yum!

 

it’s just a small stall in the middle of the huge landspace that is the dubai global village – but it has this gems – freshly fried/baked! ‘kurtos kalacs’ is basically ‘hungarian pastry’

 

this is the machine they were fried in. cute donuts efficiently expelled from the hot oil! see, it’s more like cakoi than donuts!

 

khaleef waiting patiently with dancing tummy haha

 

chocolate syrup, please!

 

..and it’s ready! enjoy! hot, crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, with bittersweet chocolate syrup all over!

 

Dubai Global Village : Our 4th Year Here!

for non-dubaians – dubai global village is the long-awaited annual cultural event in dubai. it opens only during winter, this year from 1st november till 3rd march.

 

 

it’s basically this HUGE area with a lot of items sold from all over the world (especially from asian, africa and middle east countries) cuisine from all around and also cultural shows. there’s also a fun-fair with kiddy merry-go-round to death-defying rides!

turkish delight from turkey, colorful silk from india, glorious honey from yemen and leather goods from pakistan – these are just the tip of the iceberg. you want magnets from egypt, tribal mask from uganda or silk pashmina from nepal – you can get it here.

everytime we come here, it just feels like visiting a huge museum of the world, rather than a shopping spot! our favorite country pavillion had to be ‘africa’ for its unique display of items sold, their exotic furnitures and utensils, as well as home decor. really love it.

 

 

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this is our fourth year to the dubai global village (can’t say fourth TIME because sometimes within a season, we went like 2-3 times by ourselves, or bringing guests from malaysia – like last year we went twice with abah, and then with mr. khairul’s sister teh).

so since we’ve been here many, many times before, we know what to look for, what we want to buy, where to get it and which country pavillion is a must-go must-see. dubai global village covers a HUGE land area, and if you’re JUST walking and looking around, it may take a while. focus on things you’re really looking for, and the trip will be smooth-sailing, and you’ll go back satisfied that you got what you came for – rather than getting tired tak tentu pasal.

we went to dubai global village to do 5 things :

1. to look for abaya at egypt pavillion, at the same time get the honey-coated cashew nuts
2. to buy yemeni honey at yemen pavillion
3. to buy turkish delight at turkey pavillion
4. to eat leqaimat (arab dessert) at the beduoin stall at the entrance
5. to let the boys play/get a kiddy ride at the fun-fair

 

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kazim LOVES the ‘leqaimat’!

 

our first stop is at the many beduoin stalls across the dubai global village. here the beduoin ladies sit cross-legged in the comfort of their ‘tent’, armed with hot wok full of oil, ready to fry up some delicious arab dessert called ‘leqaimat’. another stall has a hot pan to make some sort of savoury bread that looks like capati cooked with egg and fish sauce.

 

 

i’ve already written about ‘leqaimat’ when we went for lunch at the beautiful emirati restaurant al-fanar.

this yummylicious dessert is called 'leqaimat' – crispy fried dough ball coated in sweet date syrup – sedap sangat! my boys loved it! served hot and fresh with a generous pour of the sweet date syrup, and a sprinkle of sesame seed.

click here to read the rest of my review.

 

behind me is the beduoin stall selling all these delicious arab snacks, including our favorite – the ‘leqaimat’. the beduoin ladies were fully covered, wearing the ‘batoola’ – the arab mask. i wrote a little about batoola here.

 

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after we bought most of the things we needed – we made a stop at the fun-fair area. khaleef really rambang mata, and we let him choose which ride he wants to try.

we need to buy tokens at the booth, and with the token we pay for the rides. one token is aed5 which is very expensive – because most rides cost 5 tokens – that’s aed25 already! but for just two cheaper rides (kiddy rides are the cheapest – just 2 or 3 tokens) and the joy in khaleef and kahfi, we close one eye lah! haha. sekali sekala!

we went on the merry-go-round, and khaleef and kahfi went on the little centipede rollercoaster.

 

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before leaving, a pit stop at turkey pavillion to get the turkish delight. pistachio, chocolate, coconut covered strawberry flavored ones – the works!

 

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some people might get bored with dubai global village – like, what’s new? it’s the same thing year in year out – but to us, it’s an annual visit to cultured of the middle east especially, and for a few hours, we felt like tourists to their countries.

i think that’s pretty cool. *wink*

(check out my other postings on ‘dubai global village’ from 2008 till now)

Batoola : Traditional Arab Mask

ever seen anyone wearing their tudung with this kind of mask?

no, she’s not wearing a solar-powered face covering. and no, she’s not on her way to a mardi gras ball. and no, definitely not wearing that to stop her from nagging to her husband!

this is actually a traditional arab mask, called the ‘batoola’, or ‘batulla’ – normally worn by *bedouin women.

the bedouin (from the arabic badawī (بدوي), pl. badw) are a part of the predominantly desert-dwelling arab ethnic group…the term is now often applied in many ways either to arabs in general or to desert dwellers or nomads.

~ wikipedia

 

 

the first time i saw a makcik arab wearing it, i was quite taken aback. it was fascinating because i've never seen one. even in books, or pictures or documentaries on tv – never! it's said that this is a dying cultural practice, and still uphold by those traditional bedouin people.

 

the lady at the back wearing ‘batoola’ with her black tudung

 

i was remembered of this ‘batoola’ when we went to dubai global village few weeks back.

the dubai global village itself covers an extensive ground, but in a few corners you will see wooden tents. there are cooking stations in there – complete with hot frying pan, and the works. these are actually home-like stalls for beduoin women to sell freshly-prepared food for sale.

they will have all the ingredients in there. they will prepare the raw materials there. they will mix and stir and roll and knead dough – they will prepare the dishes from scratch, for tourists to see.

kuih yang macam cakoi ade. tapi cicah dengan madu. macam capati pun ada. roti telur macam kat mamak pun ada, tapi lain sikit. macam-macam makanan tradisi masyarakat beduin.

 

 

now, if you notice, the lady with the black tudung sitting at the back wore gold-color cardboard-like 'mask' to cover her face. this is the traditional veil called 'batoola', worn mostly by makcik-makcik and opah-opah arab, especially in the village.

fascinating!

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i read a few wonderment about this ‘batoola’ over the net. many questions the actual purpose for the ‘batoola’ – is it JUST to cover the aurah? if so why is it gold colored, and shaped like so? why couldn’t they simply use a black cloth?

is it to display or enhance beauty? is it to protect these women's modesty or is it a symbol of status? some say that, because the voice of a woman is her aurah, so traditional arab women wear the ‘batoola’ to ‘cover’ their voice? really?

if you ask me – it’s just their tradition, the tradition of the beduoin women. and they wear it as part of their hijab (tudung). just like victorian ladies wear corset as part of their dresses, and men wear the skirt-like sampin as part of their baju melayu or the unnecessary ‘tie’ around their neck when they wear suits!

nobody questions those!

 

the many gold-colored batoola (image : google)

 

what is it made of? contrary to what you may think, it’s not made of shiny metal – it’s made of soft cardboard, and sometimes just cloth.

 

source : here

 

well, we all learned something today! eh, pernah nampak pelancong arab di malaysia pakai ni tak jalan-jalan kat klcc?

Dubai Global Village With Abah

every winter, i will always look forward to this ‘festive’ event – the dubai global village, opens only in november to february yearly, 4pm to 12 midnight daily.

some malaysians living in dubai once told me that it’s a boring place; same old stuff year in year out – but i thoroughly enjoyed it. been here for 3 years, and countless times, and still found excitement every time i go.

what is it?

imagine all the countries you could visit in the world, and seeing the unique things that those countries may offer – their culture, the souvenirs that you might buy from those countries, the food that you might taste – that’s ‘dubai global village’.

click here to read about my first visit to the dubai global village.

 

abah & umi at the entrance

 

there are a few entrance gates into dubai gobal village, so if you decided to break from your group, make sure you know which gate you’re meeting up after. remember, dubai global village is a HUGE place!

there are so many pavilions – this is what they call the huge square buildings with country’s name on them. and in each pavilion there are more than 20 stalls selling items from their respective countries.

not only that, there is a funfair section with a roller-coaster, a ferris wheel and other fun rides. there are a few rows of ‘restaurants’ and ‘cafes’ – including kfc, pizza hut and many small stalls selling traditional dishes or tidbits from different countries. there are more than one big stage for the cultural shows. there’s a man-made river that flows along the pavilions.

click the map below for a bigger version.

 

 

GET A WRIST BAND!

tickets are 10dhs per person. make sure you get a wrist band for your kids where you can write his/your name, with a contact number in case the unimaginable happen.

 

 

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OUR FAVORITE PAVILION

since there are SO MANY pavilions, and we’re walking with abah and umi yang tak larat nak jalan jauh-jauh lama-lama, so we pick and choose – and brought them to our favorite and must-go pavilions.

YEMEN : for their honey

TURKEY : for the kacang-kacang

AFRICA : i love looking at the stuff they’re selling!

and of course, MALAYSIA : just to see what *we* are selling, and whether it’s MALAYSIAN enough!

 

 

 

yes, we went to MALAYSIA pavillion, unfortunately my friend fida didn’t open a stall that day; she usually opens a stall every weekend selling her delicious home-cooked dishes like nasi tomato, noodle dishes and her kuih-kuih melayu. keciwa~

the closest thing to ‘malaysia’ was this stall selling kicap tamin, kuah rojak and kaya in a tin. oh, and another stall selling fresh sugarcane drink for 10dhs a glass!

 

 

YEMEN PAVILION : HONEY!

yemen pavillion, a must-go for the honey! we went to the same stall, because there are SO MANY stalls in there that sells honey. better go to the ones we know will give good price and the same friendly service!

we bought 2 small containers, and umi bought one. click here to read about our love-at-first-taste with honey yemen at the dubai global village.

 

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TURKEY PAVILION : ICE-CREAM!

the first thing you see when you enter TURKEY pavilion, is this little ice-cream stall with the tag, ‘real turkish ice-cream’. there were only three flavors – vanilla, hazelnut, and pistachio. i took pistachio and khaleef wanted vanilla.

 

 

 

my pistachio ice-cream was absolutely yummy. chunks of pistachio enveloped in that cool creamy indulgence – heavenly!

 

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LOCAL DESSERT BY BEDUOIN LADIES

we came early (when it’s still bright) and wanted to return home in time for dinner. so we didn’t get to catch any cultural shows which usually start at night.

what we did get was a local dessert sold by (i think) beduoin ladies. they sat on the floor cross-legged in a tent, equipped with hot boiling oil in huge wok to fry their dishes. this one that we went to was just beside the INDIA pavilion.

 

 

this one that we bought actually tasted like our cakoi, only they’re round in shape while our malaysian cakoi is shaped long. also, we eat cakoi with durian gravy or kaya, but this dessert was served with a sweet, sticky liquid that looks like honey, but tasted quite different. i don’t know what it is, but it’s sweet!

memang totally delicious eaten warm and fresh from the wok, soft on the inside and crispy on the outside – tambah-tambah cuaca tengah sejuk!

 

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at the time of writing, abah and umi had already gone back to malaysia, and we’re currently harbouring a *fugitive* from cairo! haha. mr. khairul’s younger sister is here in dubai spending her winter holiday. will definitely bring her to dubai global village as well.

28th february is the last day to visit dubai global village so hurry on!