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Driving through the water in Wadi Asimah

Wadi Asimah is near the east coast of UAE, near Masafi. We decided to go Wadi bashing as we had done a lot of dune bashing and we had heard a lot about the greenery in Wadi Asimah.

This area was pretty green

The wrangler got over the big boulders in the stream quite easily. Although I managed to scrape the bottom of the Jeep once, the 3 mm skid plate absorbed the impact. The Jeep continued as if nothing happened.

That’s a drive I will certainly do again Winter, the water in the pools was very refreshing.

Shama and Soham enjoying the water

This trip is best done with a GPS and the offroad explorer book for UAE.

At this time you may be wondering which activities would be the most accessible to the hotel where you would be staying in without too much commuting. For me the choice is simple.

There is no shortage of budget hotels in Bur Dubai, but the hotel I would recommend is the ‘Regent Palace’ located across Burjuman shopping mall in Bur Dubai.

Click here for more details on the Regent Palace hotel. Other hotels in Dubai.

This hotel is very strategically placed and puts all the following activities within walking distance of the hotel:

Shopping in Dubai

For the guys – there is no place better for computers and electronics shopping than Al Ain Plaza and Al Khaleej Centre which are located around 10 minutes away from the hotel.

For the girls – Just across these two plazas, is the famous Meena Bazaar which has all types of clothing and jewelry shops to keep the ladies occupied throughout their stay.

If you are not comfortable with street shopping, there is one of the oldest and best shopping mall – ‘The Burjuman Centre’ which has all the leading retail brands with ample parking, just across the Regent Hotel.

You can cross the creek into Deira in about 15 minutes by boarding the ‘traditional mini-dhows’ called ‘Abras’ in local slang. These ferry you across the creek for less than a dollar.

Sight-seeing in Dubai

The area behind Meena Bazaar houses the “The Fahidi Fort, which now houses the Dubai Museum, and is the oldest fort dating to 1799. This area is very popular with western tourists as it offers good opportunities to buy souvenirs. clothing and jewelry.

The Dubai Creek (Bur Dubai side) is within walking distance of the hotel and offers activities such as 2 hour Dinner cruises and Al Fresco dining at the water front.

Desert Safaris and wadi-bashing activities are albeit an hour’s drive from the hotel but they pick you up from the hotel making these fun activities much accessible and recommended. Contact the travel desk of the hotel for more details.

Just across the Dubai Creek is the ‘Historic Bastakiya’. The old Bastakiya district with its narrow lanes and tall wind-towers gives a tantalizing glimpse of old Dubai. Immediately to the east of Al Fahidi Fort is the largest concentration of traditional courtyard houses with wind towers. In the past, the city was famous for a mass of wind towers that lined the Creek on either side. These wind towers were not just decorative. They were the only means of cooling houses in the days before mains electricity.

Bastakiya is a bustling market and cultural center of Dubai. The original, old city of Dubai is just one per cent of the modern city we see today. The district is filled with traditional courtyard houses and classic wind towers, which offer a charming glimpse of how Dubai once looked. Bastakiya is a district you will not want to miss, especially if you are interested in learning what Dubai is all about.

Wining and Dining in Dubai

For more details about the culinary delights of Dubai, read my blog post called ‘Food in Dubai’

Getting around in Dubai and other activities

Taxis in Dubai are relatively cheap depending on which part of the world you come from, but these were the only mode of transport until recently when the Dubai Metro was launched. The Dubai Metro now connects you with ‘New Dubai’ with the main station being below the junction of Burjuman and the Regent Palace. Although I haven’t travelled by the Metro yet, I know that it is largely based on the London tube, but runs above ground like a sky-train.

The Metro puts most of ‘New Dubai’ and other fun activities within reach of the guests of the hotel. You can see the ‘Emirates towers’ and ‘Burj Khalifa’ (the tallest building in the world) on the way to the ‘Mall of the Emirates’ (another fantastic shopping destination).

The Mall of the Emirates houses the world’s largest indoor ski-slope making Dubai the only place in the world where you can do both Desert Safaris and skiing in the same place on the same day.

The beaches of Dubai are some of the best in the world and you must checkout the famous Jumeirah beach if you have time.

Another iconic landmark you must visit is the ‘Burj Al Arab’ which is the ‘hotel in the shape of a sail’ in western parlance. Next to the Burj al Arab is the best designed mall in UAE called the ‘Souq Madinat Jumeirah’ which has an ethnic Arab theme to all of its shopping and Dining outlets. The Madinat Jumeirah also has the best pubs and artificial water-fronts, money can put within your reach.

Night life in Dubai

The Regent Palace has a happening disco right in its premises and I can write hundreds of pages on the night-life and clubbing scene in Dubai but I leave that to your imagination and the world famous ‘Google Baba’. Google it.

As you can see, you need at least two weeks to cover all these activities in detail, so choose wisely if you are here just for a couple of days.

The best way to experience Dubai is through your stomach. In my 12 years of stay in Dubai, I have come across food of almost all nationalities in Dubai. Dubai is a melting pot of literally hundreds of nationalities and hence hundreds of cuisines as well. Depending on your budget, likes and dislikes you can get the best of Cheap eats and/or fine dining in Dubai without compromising on quality.

Cheap eats and Fine dining:

At the top end is five-star cuisine of the highest order. British chefs Gary Rhodes and Gordon Ramsay have culinary outposts in the Grosvenor House Hotel and the Hilton Dubai Creek, respectively, both offering Michelin star–courting cuisine. They are joined at the top of the tree by the excellent Chinese restaurant Noble House in the Raffles Hotel. In any one of these gilt-edged places you’ll sample sensational fare in a high-end setting surrounded by Emiratis and those who have benefited most from Dubai’s economic boom, all paying about AED 500 ($140) per person for the privilege.

On the other end of the social spectrum lies Al Dhiyafah Road, Dubai’s cheap-eats street. Here restaurants catering to the city’s less affluent residents spill out onto the sidewalk so you can people-watch while feasting on food from Lebanon, Iran and the Indian subcontinent. On the northern end of the street lies Sidra, with zesty salads and a gut-busting mixed grill that gives you a taste of the Levant. On the other end of Al Dhiyafah Road, Pars Iranian Kitchen dishes out succulent lamb and fresh seafood straight from its outdoor grill. Opposite Pars (although you’ll have to navigate six lanes of highway traffic to get there) is Pakistani spice-peddler Ravi Restaurant, one of the city’s best regarded, if least presentable, curry houses.

Due to licensing laws, restaurants outside hotels can’t serve alcohol, but if you’re paying less than $25 for a meal for two it’s hard to quibble.

My Recommendation for Food in Dubai

When you are in Dubai, eat as the arabs eat, i.e. the amazing Arabic food. Checkout anyone of these arabic restaurants in the order they are listed:

1. Best of all is the ‘Aroos Damascus’ in Deira Dubai, at the end of Muraggabat Street, across Marks and Spencer. They have mostly Syrian cuisine.
2. ‘Al Mallah restaurant’ on Al Diyafah street – Lebanese cuisine.
3. ‘Automatic Bakery’ on the old Jumeirah road, just before Safa Park on your right – Lebanese cuisine.

None of the ‘cheap eats’ restaurants serve alcohol, but you will only find the best local flavors in non-alcoholic restaurants in UAE.

Food by cuisine in Dubai

African

American

Arabic

Asian

Australian

Bar

Barbecue

British

Café

Caribbean

Chinese

Coffee Shop

Continental

Cuban

Deli

European

Filipino

Fish

French

Fusion

German

Greek

Indian

International

Iranian

Irish

Italian

Japanese

Keralan

Korean

Lebanese

Mediterranean

Mexican

Middle Eastern

Modern European

Mongolian

Moroccan

Oriental

Pakistani

Persian

Pizza

Polynesian

Portuguese

Russian

Seafood

Spanish

Steakhouse

Sushi

Tearoom

Tex-Mex

Thai

Turkish

Vegetarian

Vietnamese

Fossil Rock also known as Jebel Maleihah or Camel Rock is an inspiring monolith that is embedded with fossils.  Some of the fossils are said to be over 80 million years old. Address:  It is located about an hour out of Dubai off the Hatta road.

Last weekend, me and my brothers made a trip to Fossil Rock, Dubai in my Jeep Wrangler, Sahara. We started from the Al-Hibab roundabout in Aweer and then I followed the satnav points from the Off-road explorer which is an amazing guide to off-roading in Dubai. The site is about 37 Kms offroad from the start and quite easy going till we reach the end.

Here there are some steep inclines and drops enough to unsettle most SUVs or newbie drivers like me. We took turns driving and stopped before each major dune to see what was on the other side on foot.

“The last time I tried dune bashing with some pros from my office, I went over a dune too fast, only to find nothing below me on the other side. The Jeep tanked straight down and landed on the front bumper. I must say I got off pretty cheaply with just a small dent and some sprained neck muscles.”

All-in-all we managed to negotiate the most extreme of dunes because we took the time to check them before driving over them and just as well, since some of them had really steep falls on the other side. The Wrangler handled all of them quite easily, and then I got a message in my dash – ‘Hot Oil’ which according to the manual meant my transmission oil had heated up too much. I don’t know if this normal with JK Wrangler, but the message disappeared after we took a 10 minute break.

I must say my Wrangler Sahara 2009 version, even in stock condition is a phenomenal off-road vehicle. If you manage to get this vehicle stuck in the sand, you have obviously done something very very wrong. There were times when I thought the Jeep would not get down some of the steeper inclines without damage, but the Wrangler managed to pleasantly surprise me each time.

We had started at 10 am and finished the trip at 2.30pm at home, so not too bad for a outing on the weekend. No damage, no injuries, some great photos and nice weather. All is well !!!

Visit my Facebook photo album here to see all the photos.

Fujairah is well known for its boulder-strewn wadis, which provide incomparable views — showing off emerald-green date orchards nestled between the towering Hajar peaks, which contain some of the oldest rocks in Arabia.

At Wadi Wurayah in my Wrangler.

The turn-off to wadis and waterfalls is situated on the Dibba to Khorfakkan roadway that joins ‘Wadi World’.

Ham is the largest and longest valley that springs from the Masafi area and goes on for 30km. Some others are: Zakt in Dhidna, having an 8km course off the coast; Wadi Wurayah, a scenic spot that is the biggest tourist attraction in the north and has stunning cascades, including the Al Wurayah waterfall; and Wadi Tuwwain, which is 45km from the city and is accessible only by four-wheel-drive vehicles.

If these are not enough, you can also see Wadi Saham, Mai and Bashing and the spectacular Siji Wadi, which stretches to Al Zaid and Umm Al Quwain from the Al Hail area.

Rock crawling

Recently, we went to Wadi Wurayah to explore the famous waterfalls. Although the waterfalls are not something to write home about, the view is a change from the daily hustle and bustle in Dubai. My Jeep Wrangler traversed the rocky terrain without any trouble until I jammed the gear stick in 4wd mode by using excessive force.

Me being a newbie at offroading, this was excusable and we got it fixed on the way. All-in-all it was a fun trip and something I aim to repeat again this month with friends.

Visit this link to see more photos – Click here.

In the aftermath of Haiti’s earthquake, countless nations, organizations, and individuals around the world have donated millions of dollars toward humanitarian efforts.

With the recommendation of President Obama, President Clinton and President Bush have banded together to create the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund. AT&T users have sent money through mobile texts. Google has posted a new site to consolidate the various outlets through which the public can donate money. It has been several days since the earthquake, and still “Haiti” is a trending topic on Twitter.

I found it especially remarkable that all the major television stations including ABC, NBC, Fox, and MTV (to name a few) aired the two-hour “Hope For Haiti Now: A Global Benefit For Earthquake Relief” telethon last night from three cities: New York, Los Angeles, and London. More than 40 of America’s most prominent artists and celebrities donated their time for the telethon and their music can be downloaded oniTunes to raise money for relief as well.

Do your bit to help, read on how you can help if you live in the UAE

Earthquake victims rush to the back of a World Food Programme truck as workers distribute high-protein bars near Petionville, Haiti, on Sunday.

Humanitarian organisations in the UAE are accepting donations to the people of Haiti. Here is how you can contribute.

Red Crescent Society

They are accepting money, new clothes and blankets, food with life span of at least six months.

Abu Dhabi (02 641 9100):
Drop off points: Marina Mall, Carrefour on Airport Road

Dubai (04 261 4800):
Drop off points: Deira City Centre, Wafi, Union Cooperative Societies
Or call Mohammad at 050 4254433 for them to pick up your donations.

Médecins Sans Frontières

(Doctors without borders)

They are accepting money donations. You can drop off your donations at:

Dubai (04 345 8177):
Drop off points: Dune Centre, Al Diyafah Road
Open hours: 9am – 5:30pm

If you are outside the UAE -

Doctors Without Borders can accept online donations in the following countries:

Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, UK

If you are located in any of the above countries, please click on the country to make your donation on your local Doctors Without Borders website.

Or, return to the United States donation page to complete your donation.

Unicef

They are accepting money and bank transfers

Cash drop off points:

Dubai (04 368 0702):
Doha Street, International Humanitarian City, Building 4.

Abu Dhabi (02 447 5060):
Karama Street, Woman’s Union.

Bank transfers:
Standard Chartered Bank account 02421466801

Any amount you donate helps.

Even if your donation helps one person in Haiti, it is worth it.

Please act now !!!

Thanks and God bless !!!