Exploring Dubai
Don’t you love the rush of being someplace new? Well that was me, I was already quivering with excitement was we waited for our tour guide in _____. The sun was smiling down on us, and it was comfortable. When our tour began and our guide started to lead us through the market I was immediately hit with the smell of spices and perfumes. There were vendors calling out to us, handing us business cards, all looking for our attention. People wanted our attention and were promoting their products with full confidence. Like gurl, I lwky respect that, I can barely manage talking about something in front of my class, imagine doing it for a whole crowd EVERY DAY.
Everywhere you looked there were shops of all kinds. Some with traditional Arabic clothing, shops where you could make your own perfumes, and I even saw some labubus hanging around as little souvenirs. The market we walked in looked as if it was straight from the street of Aladdin- old walls, sticks and straw rooftops for the hallway. I also saw seashells in the walls, remnants from the sea. I couldn’t help but let that 4 year old part of me dream about having an adventure here. I was fully convinced that this place was ancient, it definitely looked super old, but our guide explained that it was only designed like this- to mimic old Dubai to showcase how people used to live. The seashells that I saw were from the sand they gathered from the ocean to create the type of brick they used to build the walls.
NOTE TO SELF: Try not to get too attached to walls and that things are not always what they seem
Throughout the tour we learned tidbits of information like that there are no homeless or jobless people in Dubai. They have a system where you must be working, because everything costs money. If you are fired, you have 30 days to find a new job, if by then you don't have a job and do not have the sufficient funds to live in Dubai, you get sent back to your home country. You know, no pressure.
Throughout our tour we also got to visit a smart police station. It had no actual police officers but you could communicate with the police through computers or a phone. Our guide also explained that there were private rooms in which you could confer with the police privately and it would lock automatically.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Remember the doors lock. It is supposed to do that- so DON’T PANIC. It's not a trap. So if you ever find yourself in this situation you know what to do. I’m just saying this because that's something I would 100% do. Consider this a public warning, your welcome. ✨
Our guide also explained that there are thousands of cameras in dubai and tons of undercover police so the crime rate is low. One thing that also surprised me was the sheer number of cats as well as seagulls. The cats were unusually scrawny and thin, but you could still find them constantly wandering the streets. One cat even came up to our tour group and started brushing against peoples legs. I stayed away because I wasn’t sure if the cat had fleas or not, but I desperately wanted to pet it. Despite its scrawny figure it was still adorable. However, I am convinced it was also a master manipulator. It saw a boy with a water bottle, got all cozy with him, and the boy gave it some water. The cat drank its fill, walked away without even a thank you glance, and disappeared back into the streets. I am convinced they know things. Now the seagulls were another story. I'm used to the sight of them, they are honestly everywhere, but this time at the harbour there were thousands of them. Their caws drowning out the engines of cars. I was half afraid that one of them would attack me. We left our tour early as Sophia’s leg was hurting, and our whole family was tired. At the end-the highlight of our tour for me? We got dubai chocolate! On our uber ride to the hotel, my brain was full, I was happy, and my standard for chocolate was raised. Between everything we experienced throughout this tour this experience was truly amazing and I can’t wait to explore more of Dubai
images from the tour