TBK Remembers- Dubai

  One of the photos of Dubai in the fog on the wall at Adagio where I stayed

When I was looking for some old pictures for another Blog I found these pictures of Dubai. I decided to write my second TBK Remembers blog about this amazing city. I first visited Dubai in 2010 when I was working in Bahrain and realised that my friend Pav was living and working there. She gave me a room in her apartment and that became my base whenever I visited until she left for Canada in 2018. Her apartment was between JBR beach and Dubai Marina and I had excellent views from my room there. It was opposite JBR tram station which connected with the metro and it was so easy to get around the city. I also had three other friends who I first met in Bahrain, where they worked before, who worked in Dubai. Thang from Mizoram in India, Jeyboy and Joshua. Another friend, Erickson, worked in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi at different times, so I stayed with him in both places ( AD is only 1 hr by car down Sheikh Zaid Road from Dubai.)

        The amazing view from my bedroom at Adagio- I was on the 24th Floor

There is always something going on in Dubai- in the winter they have Global Village and the Miracle Gardens ( Dubai Miracle Gardens). In my last year there it was Dubai Expo. There are lots of Museums (the latest being the Museum of the Future which I saw being built but which opened after I left) , Natural History exhibits like Green Planet ( Green Planet) , and lovely beaches. The shopping malls are amongst the best in the world with an Indoor Ski slope at Mall of the Emirates, Ice skating, cinemas and more. The hotels and restaurants are amazing and we filmed several editions of TBK eats at The Sofitel Obelisk, Indego by Vineet ( Indego by Vineet), and Rhodes Twenty 10. At one point Thang was working on the 52^nd floor of the  Marriott Dubai Harbour Hotel & Suites and I took Joshua there for lunch on Christmas day in 2021

                                 My Roast Turkey with all the Trimmings

Like Bahrain Dubai has grown dramatically from being on the edge of the dessert over the last 30 years by reclaiming land and building Islands like Palm Jumeirah. It is in the shape of a Palm tree with a road and monorail down the middle and the Atlantis hotel at the end (where you can swim with the Dolphins) . Opposite JBR they built Bluewater with restaurants and hotels and the tallest big wheel in the world (Ain Dubai) . 

              JBR and the huge crane at Bluewater ready to erect Ain Dubai

Each year they had a shopping festival and one year we saw a Drone show. There were live bands performing (MK and I saw the Boxtones Duo one Christmas ( The Boxtones Duo and Ain Dubai) . There is another set of Islands called “ The World” currently being developed and you can see these from a helicopter tour of the city or by parachuting down above the Palm with Sky Dive Dubai. It will not surprise my regular readers that I have not participated in any of these activities, being scared of heights, much to Jeyboy’s annoyance when we went to Ain Dubai but the wheel was closed due to high winds!

                             Burj Khalifa- they also have a water show every night

Every new year the tallest building in the world , Burj Khalifa , appears on everyone’s TV screens as the lights and fireworks are set off to welcome in the new year. Out at sea the world’s only seven star hotel, Burj Arab , has seen a plane land and a tennis match on its helipad. Dubai is certainly very good at promoting itself and I would urge you to visit once in your life if you can.

                            Pav on my first visit to Dubai in 2010

I have included in this Blog some of my favourite photos from my many visits there to give you an idea of what its like. There are also many other blogs and vlogs about my many visits to Dubai so if you want to find out more, just search on my blog and vlog channels.

                  Chef Pav at my farewell dinner for her in 2018 

I hope you have enjoyed this quick walk down memory lane and thanks to al my friends in Dubai for looking after me so well when I was staying there. If you would like me to write a TBK Remembers blog about anywhere else I have been please let me know