Dubai – Stopover with Emirates to Australia (United Arab Emirates)

At last it’s time for us to go on holiday again today! On our way to Australia and Indonesia we made a short stopover in Dubai. The city is not entirely new to us. 4 years ago we spent a few days here when we were on our way to the Maldives. But since something is changing quickly in Dubai and is being built everywhere, we have enjoyed a 20-hour stopover before we head on to Perth in Australia.

Arrival & our hotel in Dubai

Our Emirates flight from Frankfurt to Dubai on the A380 departed at 10.20pm. After just under 6 hours we arrived at Dubai International Airport shortly after 6 a.m. Since our luggage was already checked through to Perth, we only had a small carry-on bag for Dubai with us. The entry went very quickly. As a German, you don’t have to take care of a visa in advance, but you can just enter. The metro departs directly from the terminal. Three stops later – Deira City Center – we got off. There are currently only 2 metro lines in Dubai: a red one (from Rashidiya via the airport to Jebell Ali) and a green one (from Etisalat to Creek). So you can’t really get 🙂

Since our onward flight to Perth does not go until 3 o’clock at night, we had decided to buy a cheap hotel so that we could take a shower and lie down again if necessary. From our metro station it was only a few minutes to our hotel Ibis Deira City Center. Thanks to free early check-in we were able to get to our room.

Per
– favourable in the cf. to other hotels; we have paid 56 euros for a double room
– very good location; Deira City Center metro station is just 3 stops from the airport and a 3-minute walk from the hotel
– A free early check-in was already possible at 8 o’clock, which was really great
– a small 24/7 supermarket (zoom) is just around the corner
– directly opposite is a huge shopping mall (Deira City Center) with dozens of shops, a large foodcourt and a large supermarket (Carrefour)
– our room was on the 9th floor, small but clean

Contra
– the rooms are very audible (e.g. children’s screams)
– the breakfast buffet would have cost 55 dirhams (approx. 13 to 14 euros), which is completely overpriced for an ibis
– we checked out already 1 o’clock at night and asked at the reception if you could take us a taxi to the internal. airport could call. The employee said it would cost about 25 dirhams and the security staff would be happy to call us outside. So far so good. However, he wanted to turn on a (private) taxi for 50 dirhams and said that the normal taxis around the time are not to be got. Even after further demand from the lady at the reception, they did not want to help us. That was enough. So we put our stuff on the street and got one. What a bad service from the hotel!

Dubai probably has 350 sunny days a year. But unfortunately we had to catch a completely cloudy day… no clear view and no sun. Since we were still totally tired of the flight, we cut ourselves into bed for 2 hours.

Burj Khalifa & Dubai Mall

Around noon we took the metro on the way to the Burj Khalifa and the huge Dubai Mall, which houses over 1000 shops, an ice skating rink, waterfalls and an aquarium. In front of the mall there is a large artificial lake with great views of the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world at 828 meters. It is especially worthwhile to walk around the building. So you have a great view from the main entrance.

The observation decks “At the Top”

In the meantime, the weather has also gotten a little better, which was ideal, because we had bought tickets for the viewing platform “At the Top” for 125 AED (approx. 30 €) for 3.30 p.m. In just under 60 seconds, the elevator took us to the 125. Floor, which is located at an altitude of over 450 meters. This may sound very high, but it is just over half the total height of the building. Hard to imagine. A staircase leads down to 124. floor from where you can enter the outdoor platform. You really shouldn’t be afraid of heights here, because the view down is already a bit dizzying. After initially bad weather this morning, we still had a very good view. But you can’t expect too much from Dubai… it is just a city in the desert that looks very dry from above.

After a good 1.5 hours we went down again. The way to the exit is decorated with a small exhibition in which the respective construction phases of the building can be seen.

The amazing Dubai Fountains

From 6 pm there is a great spectacle at the Dubai Fountains, which are located right at the foot of the Burj Kalifa. Every 30 minutes, the water fountains move to match the music and are illuminated from below. Really nice to look at. But the idea is not entirely new. The Bellagio Fountains have been in place in Las Vegas since 1998.

What we didn’t know was the nightlighting of the Burj Khalifa. That looked really great!

After three songs (i.e. 1.5 hours at the lake) we made our way to the hotel, where we slept another few hours. At half past two we took a taxi to the airport. Shortly before boarding, we redeemed our Meal Voucher from Emirates. It is free of charge as soon as you have a transit time of more than 4 hours in Dubai.

Starbucks Global Icon City Mug of Dubai

We are collecting the Starbucks Mugs from the cities and islands we visit on our travels. Unfortunately, not every city that has a Starbucks store with an own mug. But if the city has an own mug we like to collect them as a souvenir. We only collect city mugs from the "Global Icon Series", which was released in 2008. You can see our complete collection here: Starbucks - Our collection of Mugs from the Global Icon Series

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Dubai has several Starbucks stores and also its own cup of the Global Icon series 🙂