Tag: <span>barbeque chicken</span>

Date: 6th April, 2010

After visiting Sheikh Zayed mosque, it’s not that I was done with Abu Dhabi or anything. I was going to come back to be with family, spend some time around the creek and visit the Yas Marina circuit.

But today, I was off to Dubai! Mostly to meet friends and to see the ‘heights of insanity’ Dubai’s reached in the past few years. I was going to visit all the famous buildings (because let’s face it, what else is there to see in Dubai?) and I was also looking forward to the David Guetta concert!

So yeah, a lot planned — and I was excited!

Post lunch, my uncle dropped me at the Abu Dhabi bus station from where I boarded the bus to Dubai (Dhs 15 = Rs. 180/US$4/€3)

The bus was, well…

Bus ride Abu dhabi to Dubai — ... very nice!

Those monitors display the pristine condition UAE’s roads are in… if that’s your thing. No other in-bus entertainment, unlike Thailand.

The journey was expected to take around 1 and 1/2 hours.

Sheikh Zayed bridge construction Abu Dhabi — The long overdue Sheikh Zayed bridge in construction

As I was leaving the city, I got glimpses of what to expect to see at Yas Island.

Al Raha mall The HQ Yas Island Abu Dhabi — The landmark office building simply called 'The HQ'

Yas Island apartments Abu Dhabi to Dubai — Apartments facing the Yas Marina circuit

Yas Island Ferrari world — The insanely massive Ferrari World in the distance

The bus was hardly full and though you are assigned a specific seat with your ticket, I took advantage of the empty seats behind me and rested comfortably.

An hour later, we were in Dubai, on Sheikh Zayed road, just about to enter the city.

Then it began…

… aaaand that was Dubai Marina.

Building after building after building. Five years ago, this was all sand. They carved out the land to their desire, a lot of dredging and sand dumping later, they went from this…

Dubai Marina early construction — (images from Google)

… to this…

Dubai Marina from helicopter — (image from Google)

… and the work still isn’t done.

There are still more buildings yet to be completed.

In the Middle East, Dubai was always a land of opportunities. From the many expatriates who made their riches here to those who have now even made it their home. Despite the recession, there are still hundreds of job seekers from all parts of the globe here in Dubai in search of work.

In fact, I sat next to a fellow Indian (from Tamil Nadu), who was returning from a job interview from Abu Dhabi.

Past the Dubai Marina, lies Dubai Internet City.

Dubai internet city companies — Some of the IT majors at Dubai Internet City

But hard as they may try, remnants of the current economic reality are all over Dubai.

Want office space? Dubai has plenty to offer.

As we drove up Sheikh Zayed road, to my right was the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa.

Dubai bus ride Burj Khalifa — I didn't get a great view -- but you can't help but stare at it

Half-an-hour later, I was at Bur Dubai bus stand where my friend Azhad was waiting for my arrival. He got me a Nol Card, the smart card Dubai’s RTA (Roads & Transportation Authority) introduced to be used in the newly launched metro service and Dubai’s public buses. Your Nol Card costs Dhs 20 (Rs. 240/$5/€4) — of which Dhs 6 is deducted as the cost of the card — and the balance is your usable credit. The credit can be “topped up” at various stations and select stores all across Dubai.

We walked around a bit, chatted about old times and made our way to a bus stop. We had to make it across the creek to Deira, where Azhad stayed (& where I would be staying too).

After freshening up, Azhad didn’t waste any time in showing me around.

Dubai Deira fish roundabout — Azhad lives around here... y'know, in case you want to stalk him

Deira Syrian shawarma Azhad — Azhad stops for a snack at a Syrian joint

Dubai Union Station metro evening — Union Station, the metro stop in Deira...

Dubai Al Ghurair City Centre traffic — ... if you want to go to Al Ghurair City Centre

Dubai Deira road traffic — The Burj Khalifa in the distance

Azhad took me to the creek.

Dubai municipality office building — Dubai Municipality office building

Dubai creek cafe prayer hall — You can stop by here for evening prayers

After an hour or so of walking, Azhad said we were now going across the creek to Bur Dubai on an abra.

Basically, small passenger boats that ferry people across the creek. The cost: Dh 1 (Rs. 12)

The ride takes less than 2 minutes, but taking a ride on the creek is pretty much a ‘must do’ for any visitor to Dubai.

Once on the other side, it was more walking to see what the souk had to offer.

Traders from India (mostly Sindhis, Gujaratis and Keralites) have been in Bur Dubai for years. So much so, the souk is also called Meena Bazaar by the local Indian community.

Given the Indian population in the area, it was no surprise to know the Hindu temple was also located here. Though, you’ll need some help in find it the first time.

Dubai hindu temple — You have to take a left from a small alley lane to enter the temple

Dubai hindu temple narrow hallway — And it only gets narrower once inside

Inside you’ll find stores selling all your religious and devotional ‘merchandise’.

Once out, it was straight to the Dubai Museum.

Dubai museum Bur Dubai Regal — The first thing you see as you enter Dubai museum

Dubai museum old traditional room — An old traditional room. You're not allowed to sit on the bed.

Dubai museum old traditional room Azhad — So Azhad sat on it

Dubai museum old coir mats — Ponchos* worn by Arabs in the old days (*not really)

Dubai museum Dubai 1822 — Dubai in 1822, way before they discovered tall buildings

Dubai museum birds — Giant man-eating birds* of yore (*not really)

Dubai museum through the years — Downstairs was a hall with a Dubai 'through the years' demo room

Dubai museum carpenters shop — That's a holographic video playing in the background

Dubai museum food shop — Selling items decades past their expiry date

Dubai museum study Azhad — Azhad listens in, locals ignore him

Dubai museum stone hologram — This was a really cool hologram

Dubai museum under water — This section was to showcase marine history in Dubai -- thus the guy's legs sticking out of the ceiling

And with that, we made our way out of the museum.

Dubai Museum isn’t as big as say, Bahrain museum, but it’s still recommendable considering the entry fee is just Dhs 3 (Rs. 36/$0.80/€0.60).

We then roamed around Bur Dubai some more…

Bur Dubai abundant trading strange — Left: Grand Aboundant must be well-stocked; Right: ..............

… went through the souk again…

… and then back to the creek.

We just kept walking along the bend.

Dubai Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum's old house — Passed by Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum's old residence

Al Siraaj the Guiding Light hall panorama — Dropped by Obaid bin Thani's house which houses the exhibition Al Siraaj

Al Siraaj the Guiding Light lamps — Al Siraaj - The Guiding Light seeks to educate the public on the Qur'an's take on science, creation of the universe, etc.

After that, it was one last glance at the creek…

Dubai creek Bank of Baroda — Seeing the Bank of Baroda sign, one can't help but assume this part of Dubai feels like a 'mini-Mumbai'

… before heading back.

By now my legs were aching and so, we decided to take a cab back to Deira.

For dinner, it was back to a Syrian restaurant in Deira.

Deira roast chicken dinner — The challenge: Finish an entire chicken* between the 2 of us

I was really knackered by the time we got back to the room. Legs were aching and I just felt like sleeping. I saw quite a bit today and I was all the more excited about where I was going tomorrow — the tallest building in the world and the biggest mall in the region!

*P.S: Me & Azhad did our best… but we couldn’t finish the entire chicken.

Next posts in this series:

UAE 2010: Dubai Mall (Aquarium, Underwater Zoo & Gold Souk) – Part 1

UAE 2010: Burj Khalifa, At the Top (and Wafi Mall) – Part 2

UAE 2010: Mall of Emirates and Times Square Center

UAE 2010: Driving around Dubai (Souk Madinat Jumeirah, The Atlantis & The Palm Islands) – Part 1

UAE 2010: Dubai Marina, Jumeirah, The Walk and David Guetta concert – Part 2

UAE 2010: Showing my parents the sights of Dubai; inside Ibn Battuta Mall

UAE 2010: From the desert sands of Abu Dhabi to the corniche

UAE 2010: Yas Island, Abu Dhabi – Ferrari World and Yas Marina Circuit

Previous posts in this series:

UAE 2010: Heading back to the Gulf after 7 years

UAE 2010: Driving from Abu Dhabi to Dubai (& back)

UAE 2010: Sheikh Zayed Mosque, Abu Dhabi

Date: Dec 18th, 2009

I woke up at around 8am, headed out for breakfast and went back to JungCeylon at around 10am. I went back to the camera store I had picked up my Slik F630 tripod and asked them if they had the part which had fallen off the night before. They checked their store room and they didn’t have it. To get a new part, they would have had to order it and it would cost me 300 baht (!) just for that screw!

I pleaded with the salesman I dealt with yesterday if he could give me the part from the unit they had display. I know it was a long shot and not right of me to ask for it but I was desperate. After half-an-hour or so of pleading, he actually gave me the part from the display unit and I handed him the 300 baht. I was really grateful to him — but I just hope he didn’t get into any trouble because of it.

As it was already past 11am, I dashed back to my room, collected my bags, checked out of my hotel and walked towards Beach Road where I boarded a local bus heading to Phuket bus terminal. I had already wasted precious day time and wanted to be in Ao Nang before sunset.

Taking the Patong bus to Phuket bus terminal — The ride took around 30mins; cost 35 baht (Rs. 50) (Camera: Nokia E72)

I bought a ticket to Krabi which is where one needs to disembark first before heading to Ao Nang. The ticket cost 115 baht (Rs. 160) for a regular A/C bus. The journey would take two and half hours but I was hoping to get there at least by 4:30pm.

The bus set off at around 1:30pm and slooowly made its way out of Phuket town (which really is worlds apart from the Patong area).

I stared out the window throughout the bus ride and clicked quite a bit en route to Phang Nga.

I knew Phang Nga was near the Andaman Sea but even though we never could see the sea proper, the hilly landscape was equally picturesque.

By around 4pm, we arrived at Phang Nga town.

Phang Nga was on my on tour itinerary as well — mostly for the James Bond Island (you can read about it here) but I was starting to get worried about if I would be able to see it all in the time I now had in Ao Nang.

Phuket to Ao Nang bus journey — Krabi is predominantly Muslim populated

I got down at Krabi bus terminal and was approached by a travel agent who asked me the usual barrage of questions: “where you go?,” “you have room?,” “you need tour?” etc. Since I really wasn’t in the mood, I caved in, got a room booked and bought a boat tour to Koh Phi Phi from the agent. He then led me to the pick up taxi which was heading to Ao Nang.

As I sat inside and waited for the driver, I felt glum. I kept thinking about all the places I had planned on seeing and what I wanted to do in Krabi: Phang Nga bay, Wat Tham Suea (Tiger Cave Temple, where you have to climb up 1,200 steps and they say you get one heck of a view of the Andaman sea on one side and the hills on the other), Phi Phi islands, rock-climbing in Railay, kayaking to Pranang Cave Beach…

And now I had just one full day in Krabi province — and there was no way I could do it all.

Finally arriving at Ao Nang

It took nearly half-an-hour for the taxi driver to leave the Krabi bus terminal as they normally wait for a few more passengers to fill up the taxi before it sets off. It then sloooowly made it’s way through Krabi town to pick up some more passengers before finally shifting gears and speeding up. I would definitely not recommend taking a pick up taxi like this.

It was past 7pm when I finally reached Ao Nang (its supposed to just take 30 minutes). My hotel was Ao Nang Grand Inn, opposite the McDonalds at Ao Nang and a 5min walk from the beach. The room I got was supposed to be an A/C room but the A/C wasn’t working. I got a make-shift fan instead and the two beds were apart from each other. I had asked the agent for a single room but for 600 baht (Rs. 830), this wasn’t a bad deal. The agent at the bus terminal told me this was the cheapest room available but as you’ll read in the next post — it wasn’t 🙂

Anyway, I was only going to be in the room for a few hours. I had to check out early in the morning itself (12 noon is the standard check out time) because the Phi Phi islands boat ride was going to be a full day tour.

Ao Nang at night — The road Ao Nang Grand Inn is located

After freshening up, I walked down to the beach side road and checked out whatever Ao Nang had to offer.

Ao Nang beach lantern — This guy was struggling to get his lantern up in the air

Ao Nang beach at night — Which these small girls found very amusing!

Ao Nang night stores — Plenty of shops and a variety of food options along beach road

Thai Barbeque chicken — Dinner: Thai barbeque chicken — I was hooked on this!

Ao Nang is a quaint little town, and a lot less noisy compared to Phuket. I would suggest Ao Nang over Phuket to any honeymooner or anyone looking for a quieter, less crowded town to base yourself to see the tourist sights South Thailand is famous for. In fact, they are closer from Ao Nang.

Just because it’s small, doesn’t mean you’ll have a tough time with shopping and other services. Ao Nang has enough ATMs, foreign exchange centers, fast food chains and other essential services tourists need. There are enough bars to service the crowd seeking them and a few night clubs. But if you did your research, you’ll know Ao Nang isn’t a place famous for a night life, compared to say, the likes of Phuket or Pattaya.

Other posts in this series:

Getting ready for my trip

The day I left for Thailand

Day 1 – Suvarnabhumi, Pantip Plaza, Fotofile & MBK

Day 2 – Bridge over the River Kwai and Tiger Temple (Wat Pa Luangta Bua) in Kanchanaburi

Taking the bus to Chiang Mai from Bangkok

Day 3 – Maesa elephant camp, ‘long-neck’ tribe village near Chiang Mai

Day 3 (Part 2) – Chiang Mai Night Market

Day 4 – Doi Suthep, Chiang Mai… and back in town

Day 5 – Leaving Chiang Mai for Phuket

Day 5 (Part 2) – One night in Phuket

Day 7 – Touring Koh Phi Phi (Maya Bay, Monkey Island & Bamboo Island)