PENDOWN

Experiential travel stories from India and 31 other countries!

In Dubai, Shop till you drop!

I am in the midst of a series on my Dubai Trip.  Last week, I wrote… There’s something about Dubai! Its Luxurious! If you missed that post, you might want to check it out before reading this one.

Dubai has fascination for heights and it intends to take on the world tourism with his architectural artifacts. Apart from the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building to boast off, it also has several jaw dropping building structures. One of the them opposite to Dubai Marina is my favorite, Cayan Tower. This tower has become world’s tallest high rise building with a twist of 90 degrees.

After the buildings, the next beautiful and happening things are Malls of Dubai. They are absolutely lavish and they lead you to the hilt of extravagance. You may get tired walking from one end to another but the shopper in you will choose not to rest. With no second thought, they can be called a shopper’s paradise. The international and contemporary collections promise rich shopping experience and a true shopaholic will swear by its name. These shopping mansions revolutionize the retail and entertainment experience in Dubai.

Also apart from offering stuffs to shop till you drop, each of these malls houses different attraction. The Dubai Mall which holds the world record of being the largest mall in the world provides the backdrop to the ‘rocket to be launched’ building, the special one Burj Khalifa. Once you are there you get a chance to be awe-stuck by this magnanimous building and definitely the fountain dance is one of the sight not to be missed. If you are fond of aquatic species,  the Dubai Aquarium, largest acrylic aquarium in the world with an underwater zoo in this mall is also worth a visit. However, we gave it a skip.

The second mall that we visited was Mall of Emirates, another one that houses more than hundred retail stores. I walked around for hours, checked out some great stuff as well and lastly we experimented through Ski Dubai, an attraction of this mall. The Artificial snow arena which is the largest one again, deserves an dekho from inside and I would recommend chair lifting here… if skiing is not your cup of tea.

And next we also visted my favorite mall Ibn Battuta. This one is the best that I have ever seen.

Ibn Battuta : Multi cultural theme Mall

This mall is uniquely designed. It celebrates and honors the travels of one its adventurous traveler, Ibn Battuta. He was a famous Arabic explorer who had set out for globe-trotting when he was 20 and thus he became a man of wisdom.  As you enter the mall, thematic environment arrests you and its does not let the eyes rest. Hubby and I thoroughly enjoyed looking around. We noticed the details and appreciated the beautiful art work put in the roofs, lamps, decoration, interiors etc. I am updated that it is the only mall in the world that is inspired and built as an inspiration from an individual’s work.

As you begin to look around you realize that the mall has been broken down into different sections as per food and dining, clothing, entertainment delights etc. But the most appreciable aspect of it is that is has eloquent artifacts divided into six themes based on the countries visited by the explorer Ibn Battuta. They are called courts and they reflect the historical and cultural richness of these places coupled with the experiences of the Arabic traveler. What adds to the real beauty is that these courts are accentuated with architectural motifs onto the walls, the floors and by iconic figures that connect back to history.

The six beautiful courts are

Egypt Court, Tunisia Court, Andalusia Court, Persia Court, India Court, China Court

The mall looks ornamented and has spectacular sights to marvel at. Also it showcases some of the ancient scientific inventions from these geographies, such as devices of celestial navigation, A flying man in Andulasia Court and a Timekeeping device in Persian Court and a scuttled ship in China Court. I loved the blue sky of the Tunisia Court. It didn’t feel like I was in a mall but in a thematic arena. I am sure the Emiratis love this place because the experience of shopping is one of its kinds in historical backdrop.

I have some great pictures from there…. hope they take you around the Mall virtually.

The Dubai Shopping Festival, the famous DFS, is the biggest shopping and entertainment extravaganza in the Middle East and it has already started from January 2… Pack your bags and go shopping..

Happy Blogging!!!

 

8 thoughts on “In Dubai, Shop till you drop!

  1. Dubai is the place to be and hopefully, I should re-locate there this year:) I can’t wait to be in Dubai::)

  2. nice series Manju.. my brother went there last month.. returned with superb pictures, heavy baggage 😉 and was drooling over those malls n places.. looking forward to visit there someday esp to shop till i drop 😛

  3. No wonder Dubai’s promotion logo is ‘Fly Buy Dubai’ 🙂 Seen the place and recollected fond memories, Manjulika:)

  4. I’m impressed, I have to admit. Rarely do I encounter a blog that’s
    equally educative and engaging, and let me tell you, you have hit the nail on the
    head. The problem is something not enough folks are speaking intelligently about.

    I am very happy that I stumbled across this during my hunt
    for something concerning this.

  5. There are recycling container items like plastic soda bottles, empty metal food cans and
    boxes, soda cans, cereal boxes, empty pizza delivery boxes, aluminum food containers and all types of paper products.
    The City and County of Denver has a fee-based composting program.
    In Shijiazhuang the largest city in China’s Hebei province,
    levels of tiny particles called reached 575 parts per million, and the measure
    of larger particles hit 843 parts per million.

  6. Pingback: Last Day in Dubai! – Manjulika Pramod

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.