28 Jan 2025
We landed in Dubai from Calcutta, India on 24th December and our journey continued till last hour of 29th December, 2024. We covered old Dubai half day sight seeing, visiting Dubai Mall, Dubai safari park, Global village, Dolphin & Seel Show, eating an Emirati lunch in Old Dubai in one of the oldest restaurants, visiting the Dubai wholesale Fish Market, Perfume soak (they make excellent perfumes & it is a MUST visit), Dubai Desert Safari and also did skydiving in Palm with Skydive.Dubai.
We booked our tickets/VISA/Travel Insurance from India but our entire Dubai itinerary was perfectly curated by a lady named Ms. Kalpana Dube of Penguine Travels, based in Dubai. They were courteous, swift & accommodated all our change requests at short notices too. We take this opportunity to sincerely thank Ms. Kalpana Dube & Penguin Travels. They have also serviced our request to visit Abu Dhabi in just 1 day's notice!! Whoa.
The Marina Dhow cruise was the only place where we were disappointed. A request to everyone to obtain the 1st floor or top deck of this cruise service. Food is mostly Indian and very ordinary everywhere.
Another warning for visiting Burz Khalifa. There are three options. Regular (125th floor), Premium (145th floor) and VIP (157th floor). Please book at least premium ticket to avoid the rush for 125th floor. December last week is peak holiday period and people had to wait 4-5 hours on an average to visit the top whoever has bought the 125th floor tickets.
We (me and my wife) did the skydiving at the age of 56. We are moderately healthy and don't have fear of height/vertigo. Please please go for it. It is a life time experience. All the divers guides are excellent & very helpful.
Visiting the Dolphin & Seel Show is a MUST for all adult & kids. Simply avoid Dubai aquarium, very disappointing. Visiting Dubai safari park is also a MUST to experience all free animals including African Lions, Royal Bengal Tigers at hand shaking distance from inside the bus. You need to first, get into the queue for the bus ride at Explorer Village. The African village & the Asian villages are okay type. But, the entire facility is outstanding!! So green made by MAN
For Desert Safari, just express the needs & the type of safari you are looking for to Ms. Kalpana Dube and she will do it for you. There are innumerous camps for visiting the desert, but you need to be careful in choosing the right one. There are numerous ads in much less price, but there are possibilities of paying additional for dinner, getting a seat far off etc.