This is actually a continuation of a travelogue in which we had first stopped at Bylakuppe. Post-lunch, we then drove to Coorg district and straight to our homestay at the foot of Thadiyandamol, the highest peak in Coorg. This place took some finding but once we eventually did, Ramesh struggled a bit to get his car in. It had rained earlier that day, so the soil was moist and muddy, making the car’s wheels to spin as Ramesh tried to get some grip.
The number of attempts Ramesh took (Photograph by Ramesh)This was in 2008, I don't know if the condition of this path is the same even to this dayThe car eventually got inThe homestay we were staying at was called Palace EstateOur room was in that portion of the house with the yellow wallThe views were nice
Yes, 2005 🙂 I’m going all the way back in my travel archives! This was the first time I went to Goa, one of the most popular (and much hyped) tourist spots in India. It was group of two cars, all of whom were my friends and co-workers at the time.
Today was going to be one heck of an ‘out-&-about’ day. My friend Jassim was free to drive me around and show me the parts of Dubai (as of the above date) the metro service hasn’t covered yet. After all the sight-seeing, we were then going to close out the night with one of the biggest events of this trip — catching David Guetta’s performance in Dubai!
But first, the day.
The morning started out slow and I was mostly indoors. As for lunch, Azhad decided to treat me to a local experience. So we headed to Al Rigga road in Deira.
The Russians must love shrimpThe Chinese presence in Dubai is exponential
The restaurant was Bait Al Mandi, a popular Yemeni joint.
What’s unique about this place? Well, they serve Al Mandi — essentially meat on top of flavoured rice. You might be thinking biriyani. but you’ll get a better picture once you see the photos.
We sat upstairs, where you had individuals cabins in which you sit down on the floor.
That's meSlippers outsideFood inside
The meal consists of a lentil soup (which was lovely), an entire cup of curd, and the main dish itself — be it mutton or chicken. And yes, that is an entire half chicken you see above.
Thumbs up on the food alright
Just that… it was too much! We couldn’t finish all the meat. And the amazing thing is, all this costs less than Dhs 50 (Rs. 600/$13/€11). You can’t ask for a more filling meal in Dubai.
Once we were (partly) done with our heavy lunch, our friend Jassim arrived to pick us up. He had a plan in mind (since he’s done these ‘tours’ for visiting family) and we began our drive.
Before all the buildings, this was once Dubai's most iconic landmark
Dubai Festival City in the distance
We made a quick stop at the Al Badia Golf Club — an impressive, built completely from the ground up, golf course.
We moved on shortly after.
Never tired of Dubai's skyline
(Took these photos from inside the car)
The Dubai International Financial Centre
This is the oldest building on Sheikh Zayed Road
We then made a brief stop at the gas station to stock up on junk food.
Ahhh Vimto, how I missed you. (Now available in 'Light')
The souk is the shopping mall attached to the Madinat Jumeirah resort, an impressive resort offering from the Jumeirah Group — the owners of the iconic Burj Al Arab.
Yes, this yet another mall and I thought I was done with malls because once you’ve seen the biggest and the best, it takes a lot to interest you in another. But Jassim assured me this was a mall that was quite different from the others.
Madinat Jumeirah in Arabic translates to ‘City of Jumeirah’ and is resort complex designed keeping in mind old Arab architecture. It houses two hotels, several restaurants and a few hundred stores.
From the elevators...... to the mall,... the place tries to invoke an 'old Arabia' atmosphere
We just did a roam-around of the mall.
(That's our friend Jassim)
Madinat Jumeirah is a very popular wedding venue tooThere are traditional abras to take guests for rides around the water way
The obligatory 'You know i'm in Dubai because you can see the Burj Al Arab in the background' photo
Of all the malls I’ve been to in Dubai, the Souk Madinat Jumeirah really stands out as one of the best. It really is a great place to visit, be it for a date or a casual hangout. Plenty of restaurant options and you really can’t beat the setting.
With that, we were done.
Up next was another landmark of Dubai — and one that is best seen from the sky.
But since we couldn’t afford a helicopter ride, we had to see The Palm Jumeirah islands from the ground.
We drove past a lot of (what looked liked to me) empty apartments. To the left of the above photo was the proposed Trump Tower, now on hold.
We were heading towards to tip of The Palm Islands to see the famed Atlantis resort.
And then you go under water
Parking was a bit of a problem so I couldn't spend too much time outside the car
Very much a major tourist attraction in Dubai
There’s a lot more to Atlantis The Palm than it’s exterior — but to enter the hotel, unless you are guest, you have to pay an entrance fee. I wasn’t too bothered because we had still more on ‘Jassim’s planned drive tour’ of Dubai’s hotspots.
