In case you missed it I posted about my first two days in Dubai here.
Due to bad weather and a full day safari I had to jam most of my activities into Saturday so I knew that I would running around all day. I’m in a few travel groups on Facebook and I found out that a fellow group member was going in town at the same time so we got to hang out that day.
I started my day with a quick workout and then grabbed breakfast at Starbucks before joining Daniela on a trip to a neighboring city, Sharjah. I don’t know if we took the scenic route out of Dubai, but the sights were gorgeous. So many contemporary skyscrapers and traditional government and religious buildings. We drove around the historic (and dry) city, stopping at a few souks (traditional and more modern ones that remind me of the Harwin area in Houston) and even saw the most beautiful Islamic mosque.
After that 3 hour tour we ventured over to the Dubai Mall for a quick bite and had originally planned on going to see the flamingos at the aquarium, but we didn’t have enough time before our scheduled Burj Khalifa tour. We ended up popping into Texas Roadhouse for margaritas and rolls (you’ll get it if you’ve been there) and snapping pictures outside before our tour of the tallest building in the world.
Daniela and I actually booked two different tours (mistake on my part) so she was able to go up to the highest level and I went to the observation deck on level 124. We took our sweet time on this tour, taking in all of beautiful views of the city. So much greenery and water for as far as the eye could see. We scheduled our tour around the sunset and watching the sun set behind the clouds was awe-inspiring.
We left the mall shortly after it was dark and made our way over to Atlantis at the Palm to visit the aquarium. We’d both purchased Big Bus Tickets before we got to Dubai and our tickets included quite a few attractions, museums and tours. I highly recommend getting a two-day pass if you plan on visiting Dubai, at the very least you’ll have transportation around the large city and a few surrounding cities and great commentary too!
Dubai is a city that doesn’t sleep so I wasn’t shocked when I found out that the aquarium was open until 11PM. Daniela and I figured we’d only need an hour or so for the exhibit so we went over to Coldstone for a snack and I got to relive some of my high school years watching the workers in there having fun. They were doing tricks and flips and thoroughly entertaining the customers. Those guys were awesome! After we finished our ice cream we made our way back over to the aquarium and spent about an hour in there looking at all of the exhibits and chatting with the workers. We would’ve spent more time in there just lying on the pillows and watching the fish swim in their schools. It was so relaxing! Daniela and I parted ways after that, utterly beat and I made my way back to my hotel to call it a night.
Make sure you stop by tomorrow to hear about my adventures on Sunday on another tour and the Desert Safari!! Feel free to comment below or tweet me if you have any specific questions about my trip or excursions.