Luxury, decadence and concrete glory

In its cosmopolitan benevolence, Akila Kannadasan finds a Dubai that welcomes the world to shop to its heart’s content at the Dubai Summer Surprises festival

September 19, 2014 07:39 pm | Updated 07:39 pm IST - Chennai

SHOP LIKE THERE'S NO TOMORROW In Dubai, there's no dearth for opulence, entertainment and fun

SHOP LIKE THERE'S NO TOMORROW In Dubai, there's no dearth for opulence, entertainment and fun

Glass-fronted sky-scrapers loom over the landscape. Cars zip about like ants on smooth grey roads; patches of green dot the expanse; the desert lies far away, a sandy remainder of what Dubai once was. The view of the city from the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, is telling — it flaunts the city that was born as a fishing village, whose economy was once driven by pearl diving. Summer, at the multinational Emirate that commands a steady stream of visitors from all across the globe for its sprawling shopping malls, luxury hotels, and gold and spice souks, is an experience.

Dubai takes pride in its malls — and each one has its own character. The best time to visit them is during the summer when the Dubai Summer Surprises festival is on. Our mall-hopping expedition in the last week of August shows that it’s then that they have the best deals, and most importantly, a whole lot of entertainment. City Centre Mirdif, Dubai Mall, Ibn Battuta, Dubai Festival City Mall…we do the whole deal.

Song, dance, live performances…it all happens at the City Centre Mirdif. A local band performs to a lively audience one evening as shoppers put everything on pause for a taste of its madness. The first shopping mall in the UAE to receive the Gold Leadership in Energy Award and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for sustainability, City Centre Mirdif is also touted as a ‘family mall’. It’s the mall’s iFly zone that attracts families — the dual indoor skydiving tunnel, open for those aged five and above, is also the first of its kind in the region.

Ibn Battuta hosts an art workshop for kids when we drop in. Organised by Modhesh World, it lets kids paint to their heart’s content on an installation that resembles a living room. The mall’s USP is its architecture. Named after the Islamic scholar and adventurer of the same name, it has six courts structured around Andalusian, Tunisian Egyptian, Persian, Indian and Chinese themes, based on his travels around the world.

The starry ceiling inside the Dubai Mall looks like Hogwarts’ — the mammoth aquarium with thousands of colourful sea life is the chief attraction here. The Burj Khalifa, a manmade splendour that is a testament to hard work, fascinates. On the journey up, the 124th floor of the building is interesting, we learn of Dubai’s journey “from sand to sky” through the video panels along the way and on our way down, get to see photos of the men and women behind the tower.

The observation deck at the top is a whole new world: initially, our knees wobble and the head threatens to go fuzzy. But with a view that stunning, we forget our body, time, and space. An old couple poses shakily for a photo; a middle-aged man looks at the world below as if caught in a trance; a noisy bunch of friends is in raptures the moment they alight from the elevator…the Burj Khalifa is the best way to experience the Dubai of present times.

What’s a visit to Dubai without a stroll through the gold souk? We head into a by-lane at Deira, a commercial centre, when the sun is at its peak. It is quaint, lined with tiny shops selling trinkets. Then, the gold wave hits us out of the blue. The gold souk (market) that consists of rows of gold retail shops on either sides of a narrow road, takes us into another era. Here, gold is sold like vegetables — chains and bangles dangle by the kilo at shop windows; earrings and shockingly chunky neck pieces call out to passers-by in silent voices. But the best thing about Dubai is its cosmopolitan benevolence — we are picked up by a Pakistani driver at the airport, shown around the city by a Lebanese media relations manager, hosted by a Syrian public relations officer, served poories by an Indian sous chef…people from all across the world function in harmony in the city. Here is where they realise their dreams of a prosperous life back in their homeland.

Neenga Tamizha — are you a Tamil?” asks the receptionist at our hotel as we check out on our last day in Dubai. He passionately converses in Tamil about his work routine. “I miss home,” he says, adding that he’s planning a trip to his hometown in South India in December. “But I’ll be back here in 10 days,” he smiles. “I can’t stay away from Dubai for long.”

( The writer was in Dubai at the invitation of The Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment Media Centre.)

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