Fashionista goes to Dubai
Do you realize how Dubai already sounds like ‘to buy‘?! And that’s exactly what I intended to do, because what you don’t find here, simply doesn’t exist!!! ;o)
We arrived at the airport and were already greeted by Dubai’s sleek- and cleanness ... so much so that one gets the impression that open heart surgery could be performed right there and then on the floor, if needed! We queued for the immigration and were inspected by a young lady wearing the typical black chador so only her face was uncovered – her eyes were the most mystical thing I have ever seen. They were heavily kohled, not brown, not green, not blue, not amber but all of those colours at the same time! Simply magical!!! There is something of this 1001-nights-feeling to these girls clad all in flowing, tip to toe black ... I’m a girl and I’m intrigued, wondering about the woman underneath the outfit -> I can only just about imagine what this must do to MEN ;o)
We checked into our hotel, had a good night’s rest and off we went to the Burjuman Mall ... which was THE mall to be at – well, last time we were here, 3 years ago – which means in fashion terms once upon a time ;o) It is amazing how Dubai changes every time you visit – new buildings, less kitsch, more malls! But I still managed to happily do some ‘damage’ (tax free, that is!), you know me, guys, I’d find something to buy on a deserted island if needed be, ha/ha! And in this mall it was the up to then all elusive Christian Louboutin clutch which I had tried to chase all over Europe w/out any luck – now I can call a black patent one mine and I know that I’ll treasure it for the next decade to come – at least :o) The clasp is made of a miniature pair of pumps with tiny red signature soles – couldn’t be any more adorable, no?!!
The evening was spent looking at diamond rings with stones the size of pigeon eggs!!! I had only seen diamonds THAT big in the windows of Cartier either in Paris or Cannes and was always too intimidated to just waltz into the shop and ask to try them on – this was my chance and I took it! The prices were as high as for a villa in Tuscany! I suggested to Hubby to park the money in form of a ring on my finger, where it looks much better than on a bank statement printout, till we were ready to get said villa. But I was just met by a strict refusal and a look normally reserved for outrageously crazy people – men can be so strange when it comes to the question of what looks better, ha/ha ;o)
The gold souk is an amazing place to check out. The most wonderful and the most hideous jewellery are displayed side by side ;o) Here all that sparkles really is either 24 ct gold or precious stone! You find windows full of countless rows of dowry bangles – one after the other so tightly stocked that there is no space left and the window is practically stuffed to within the last inch of its breathing space with the purest of gold ... If you’re intending to buy any jewellery you should check the days gold price before you come here. Since most shopkeepers are Indian – haggle for price till you see ACTUAL tears – they are the best and most amusing storytellers in the world!!!
To also make Hubby happy, we went on a trip to Fujairah (about 2 hrs drive from Dubai on the Golf of Oman) so he could go diving. Since the only place in the world where I take a swim is the bathtub, I stayed behind in the comfort of the air-conditioned lobby of the 5 star hotel attached to the diving centre, did my emailing, had the coffee that I had the wise foresight to pack & bring with me (at 6 in the morning –> at this point I expect standing ovations ha/ha) since it is Ramadan and nothing is served from sun up to sun down! So while Hubby was counting, studying and admiring fish I had a relaxing time :o)
To make sure I was up to date on the shopping front of Dubai we went to explore the Dubai Mall which is presently apparently THE place to be but to be perfectly honest with you, I found it just really, really big, impersonal and a bit overwhelming. It only houses big designer brands and since at the moment the Euro is quite weak, prices are much higher than in Europe so it doesn’t even make sense to shop till you drop... A pair of Valentino wedges I still had to take home with me – I collect red patent shoes after all ;o) To finish off our little outing, we had some (non-alcoholic) Cocktails at the Armani Cafe, which is very nice and offers a great view of the windows of Armani (naturally), Dior and Dolce & Gabbana, which one eventually learns to ignore (they had their window done up entirely in hot pink sequences – what an eye-sore!!!!!!).
The day after we checked out the Mall of the Emirates and that was a very pleasant & cool experience! You wouldn’t believe it, but they have an artificial ski slope built indoors including ski lift!!! Wouldn’t is sound just so cool to respond to the question of where you have learned to ski so well ‘Oh, well, actually in Dubai’?!! ;o) The shops are a mix of big brands and not quite so big ones, purely useful ones like electronics, books & music and the usual suspects of worldwide chains. But the best of this mall was to meet up with my friend from Facebook face to face for the first time – she’s the loveliest lady you could hope to meet, full of positive energy & spirit (actually she’s the one I wrote one of my first stories about :o))) In real life we got on just as well as on cyber space and she invited us to lunch at her house on the Palm and offered to take us around on our last day. How sweet is that?!! This way we had also had the chance to check out the Jumeirah Palm life – which is simply the best place to live at, ever -> so now I have a new dream to visualize ;o)
Together we went to take a look at the Madinat Mall, which is built in the traditional Arabian style with ‘wind towers’ but the souk like interior is fully air-conditioned ;o) That makes strolling around very pleasant and you feel like you entered a movie set of 1001 ... One finds many shops for furniture (made in India) and home decor, some overpriced souvenirs, jewellery shops, etc.
Basically around the corner is the Jumeirah Madinat Hotel which is simply nothing short of divine. You enter and are greeted by half an army of well dressed, very friendly staff in long, white, embroidered robes, it smells from a mix of roses & sandalwood and the Cafe has the atmosphere of a sheikh’s living room! Simply wonderful!!! I enjoyed my skinny latte while Hubby & my friend tasted date tea. I could have sat and chatted there for the next century to come, but at 5.30 it was unfortunately time for us to head back to our hotel, get packed up and leave for the airport. Having met my lovely friend in person made it just soooo much harder to leave my beloved Dubai than it normally is!!!
