How to spend the best weekend in Dubai

Weekends in Dubai comprise of Friday and Saturday, and not Saturday and Sunday as it is for the rest of the world. Dubai is an Islamic nation, and Friday is the Islamic holy day. So when you’re planning your weekend in Dubai, be sure to include Friday into your weekend plans. Weekends are spectacular in Dubai. Every attraction is super-lit, and the whole city brims with excitement. Become a part of Weekend Dubai in the coming weekend and enjoy some Dubai weekend activities.

Cool It In Ski Dubai!

Visiting Dubai when it’s boiling outside? Don’t worry – of all the things to do in Dubai this weekend, this one is the coolest. Spend the day in the Middle East’s first indoor ski resort – go crazy throwing snow balls at each other, and go snowboarding and tobogganing with pals. It’s real snow, and it’s icy cold, and it never gets warmer in here. You can get warm clothes, activity equipment and shoes inside. Ride up a quad-chairlift and enjoy the fabulous view from the chairlift stop. Enjoy a cup of hot coffee in the coffee shop next to the slopes and watch other skiers.

Ski Dubai

 Go Mall Hopping With A Difference

Dubai’s shopping malls are all about providing a different shopping experience.

• The Khan Murjan Souk: It’s a subterranean market that reflects Egyptian, Moroccan, Syrian and Turkish architecture, selling everything spices to mosaics to woven carpets.
• The Souk Madinat: The shops here are connected to each other via a waterway; so when you want to shop at a different store, you hop into a boat!
• Mall of the Emirates: Apart from being one of the largest and most beautiful malls in Dubai, the Mall of Emirates has an indoor ski slope. So when you get tired of shopping, plunge into the real snow here and have some fun.

 

Live Out Your Fav Movies At Motiongate Dubai

Motiongate Dubai is part of the Dubai Parks and Resorts franchise. Motiongate Dubai has several zones full of interactive games, rides, 4D theatre shows, and roller coasters and much more for kids and adults. It’s all based on top classic hits from the following studios: Columbia Pictures, DreamWorks, Lionsgate, and Studio Central. Smurfs Village is an added attraction – an entire village of fairytale smurf-sized houses occupied by a colony of real blue smurfs.

Motion gate Dubai

 

Have A Blast Surfing In Al Ain

The best way to beat the heat in Dubai in the summer is to get into the water. Surfing at Al Ain? But Al Ain doesn’t have a coast! Of course it doesn’t – we’re talking about the gargantuan surfing pool at Wadi Adventure Park. You can also grab a raft from the equipment guys and go white water rafting in the surf pool. If you’re tired of water fun for a bit, climb the enormous climbing frame and prove you’ve been working out.

 

Dive Deep At Martini Rock and make the most out of your Weekend in Dubai

Martini Rock is located just off the east coast of Dubai. If you’re into sea diving and you love marine life, this is the place for you to check out this weekend. For AED 400, you can grab some diving gear and launch yourself into the blissful blue waters of the Persian Gulf. Stay entertained below with some cool cuttlefish, lionfish, scorpion fish, broomtail wrasse, rays and turtles for silent company.

Diving at Martini Rock

 

Relax At A Fabulous Spa

If relaxation is what you’re after this weekend, how about a day spent at a world-class spa? Give yourself up to a healing body wrap followed by a luxurious massage. Enjoy the traditional hammam treatments at the Ottoman-inspired, extremely opulent Talise Spa in Jumeirah Zabeel Saray. You’ll feel that heaven has come to earth to make you welcome. JW Marriott Marquis’ Saray Spa is another excellent spa for health treatments. Overall, Dubai’s classy spas offer peaceful sanctuary to busy, overworked people.

 

Grab Some Vitamin D In Style

Tired of adventurous activities all day and you want a bit of relaxation and peace? Head to one of Dubai’s famous white-sand beaches. Take your pick - Kite Beach, Jumeirah Beach Residence or Jumeirah Open Beach. There are a number of other beaches that you can check out. It all depends on what you want. Dubai’s beaches are clean, beautifully maintained and all set up for tourists. Jumeirah Beach Residence has several excellent eateries, coffee shops, cabanas and lounge facilities – enough to keep you happy for the entire weekend.

Jumeirah Open Beach

 

Hit The City’s Exclusive Nightspots!

You’ve got the days squared away, and you’re wondering what to do at night. Worry not. The weekend kicks off on Friday afternoon at Roberto Cavalli’s Cavalli Club at the Fairmont Hotel, Sheikh Zayed Road. Enjoy the fabulous Italian a-la-carte menu, cocktails and drinks, all with Roberto Cavalli’s own stamp on them. Then there’s People by Crystal, another club where people gather for Friday brunch. This club offers unlimited food and drink deals on Fridays, so go with a large group to get the most of your money. For brunch options on Friday, The Westin and Atlantis The Palm are famous for their food and crowd.

Roberto Cavalli’s Cavalli Club

 

Conclusion

Spending a weekend in Dubai is flying on a jet through the clouds. Your weekend is over so soon, that you wonder if you really passed all that time in the city. If you’ve never seen the city fully, we strongly recommend a hop-on-hop-off bus tour. It’s the best way to get to see all the attractions. Weekends are best for this activity.

About the Author

A postgraduate in Mass Communications, Neha loves everything about life. Traveling is extremely close to her heart and writing came to her naturally.
An avid trekker & explorer, who often takes off some time from her busy life for mountaineering, she loves meeting new people & gets attached to their culture very easily. Her ambition is to explore as many places as she can in her life. She strongly believes in Gandhian principle – “simple living high thinking”.

5 places near Delhi to satisfy your Snow – lust

Shimla

Shimla also known as ‘The Summer Capital of British India’ is the capital and largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It is a district which is bounded by Mandi and Kullu in the north, Kinnaur in the east, the state of Uttarakhand in the south-east.It is unarguably one of the most popular hill stations, buzzing with Indian vacationers all year long.

Traffic is banned from the central part of town, so walking is pleasant – even when huffing and puffing uphill. The long, winding main street, the Mall, runs east and west just below the spine of the hill. South of it, the maze-like alleys of the bustling bazaar cascade steeply down to traffic-infested Cart Rd.

From mid-July to mid-September, Shimla is frequently wreathed in cloud, and in the winters it gets engulfed in a white blanket of snow. It is also home to a number of buildings that are styled in the Tudorbethan and neo-Gothic architectures dating from the colonial era which attract a lot of tourists all through the year.

#Snowflakes #Shimla #Snowfall

A photo posted by ⏺A S H I S H K' BHARDWAJ⏺ (@imashishkbhardwaj) on Jan 7, 2017 at 2:56am PST

McLeodganj

Tips for travelers to cope up with the banning of INR 500 and 1000 notes in India

As everyone might already be aware that wef today ie 9th Nov 2016,  INR 500 and INR 1000 notes are not a legal tender anymore and render zero value.This is a masterstroke by PM Modi to curb the menace of black money in India.

So the big question is what to with the INR 500 and INR 1000 notes currently in possession.

8 things to do in Rishikesh, India - The Yoga Capital of the World

Rishikesh is a city, municipal council and a tehsil in Dehradun district of the Indian state, Uttarakhand. Located in the foothills of the Himalayas in northern India. Rishikesh is surrounded by three districts: Tehri Garhwal, Pauri Garhwal and Haridwar. It is approximately 25 km north of the city Haridwar and 43 km southeast of the state capital Dehradun. It is known as the pilgrimage town and regarded as one of the holiest places to Hindus. Hindu sages and saints have visited Rishikesh since ancient times to meditate in search of higher knowledge.

Rishikesh also known as the ‘Yoga capital of the World’ and the ‘Gateway to the Garhwal Himalayas’ has it all, from Temples to Adventure sports.

Here is my list of 8 things to do in Rishikesh.

A weekend budget trip to the Queen of Hillstations (Mahabaleshwar)

Mahabaleshwar is a hill station in India's forested Western Ghats range, south of Mumbai, India. It features several elevated viewing points, such as Arthur’s Seat. West of here is centuries-old Pratapgad Fort, perched atop a mountain spur. East, Lingmala Waterfall tumbles off a sheer cliff. Colorful boats dot Venna Lake, while 5 rivers meet at Panch Ganga Temple to the north.

It is a very popular hill station as it is very close to both Mumbai and Pune and is hardly a 2-2.5 hours ride from Pune and around 3-4 from Mumbai. Panchgani is the sister town of Mahabaleshwar and on a lower altitude. The best time for a quick visit will no doubt be during the monsoons as the views will be spectacular and the cool breeze hitting your face is way too refreshing.

The thing about Mahabaleshwar is that it can be done in a day as well or by staying for a night or two and then heading back. Apart from the various viewpoints, the main attraction is the MaproGarden, it has it all, from a good restaurant selling good big pizzas, sandwiches, and milkshakes; to selling counters and tasting booths, it even has a chocolate factory.

Eco Tourism - The need of the hour in India

In the past few years, the travel and tourism industry has been on an exponential rise in India and abroad, primarily because of the vast knowledge sharing happening via social media like Facebook, Twitter. A lot of other factors like better transport connectivity, a rise in luxury budget hotels have also supported the growth of the travel and tourism industry.

A lot of Startups have come up and are offering various perks and discounts to the customer in the form of promotional e cash, flight miles, voucher coupons if the customer books through their website. This all provides a win-win situation for both the company and the customer, and the customer slowly gets bitten by the travel bug.

Once the customer comes out of his shell and starts travelling, he starts exploring the unexplored beauty of different places, becomes an extrovert and starts socializing with the localities and fellow travelers. This unleashes a wide range of possibilities to travel and explore without creating a hole in the pocket.

4 books by Indian Authors inspiring Adventure and Wanderlust

Being a bibliophile and a travel aficionado, I started searching frantically on Amazon for some quick reads by Indian Authors and I was more than delighted to go across the options. After going through all the options available on Amazon, I shortlisted these four titles. All these four titles are based on different themes and carry a unique message.

The best part, all these titles are under INR 200, so go ahead and experience these well written journeys as they are sure going to inspire the traveler hidden within you.

These books are perfect for fellow Wravelers – Wanderers and Travelers inspired by Wanderlust.

1.  When The Road Beckons – Ravi Manoram (INR 145)
2.  Born Again on the Mountain : A Story of Losing Everything and Finding It Back – Arunima Sinha (INR 176)
3.  Bucket List of a Traveloholic – Sarika Pandit (INR 163)
4.   Worth Every Gasp : A Lone Woman’s Journey in the Himalayas – Anamika Mukherjee (INR 81)

              

A scenic High Altitude Trek to the Moon Rock (Chandrashila)

"Once a year, go somewhere you've never been before." - Dalai Lama

But as luck would have it, Deoriatal Chandrashila Trek is my 5th such outing (somewhere I've never been before) since Jan 2016 starting from Nainital in Jan, Corbett in March, Mussorie and Rishikesh in April.

Initially it was my brothers wish that we both to go on a trek in the vacations, but ultimately the whole family ended up going for the trek.It was indeed a pleasant change and a different sort of vacation together considering that last time we had gone on a long family vacation was to Andamans long back in 2010.

As this was going to be our first trek we did a lot of research on different websites regarding the different treks in Himanchal and Uttarakhand and ultimately decided on Deoriatal Chandrashila Trek considering that its a easy - moderate trek, considered ideal and best suited for first timers and also a bird watchers paradise.

Now that we had decided the location, we researched further as to which hiking company to choose from.We narrowed it down to Trek the Himalayas and India Hikes and ultimately chose India Hikes, and I must say, it was indeed a good decision.

A Lunch to cherish at Momo's - Mussorie

The entry to Heaven

Happened to visit Mussorie on the 2nd Saturday weekend in April, 2016 and as usual ended up exploring all the good places to eat in Mussorie. Unlike Nainital there are a lot of good restaurants and coffee bars in Mussorie, with the Tibetan and Thai cuisine most common and popular in the area.
Ended up in this place by pure coincidence as had planned to go to some place else.But am glad that we turned up here.

The place is very dimly lit and as soon as we enter, we get the whole tibetan look with Dalai Lama Quotes hung up on the wall along with the Prayer flags and all.

With a seating capacity of around 20-30, this place is definitely one of the best places to have Tibetan food in Mussorie.


Tried the Chicken Hot and Sour Soup, Veg Manchow Soup and the Pad Thai Noodles.

While the soups were delicious, the noodles were a bit under-cooked and dry.It could have been much better as I have had much better Pad Thai in Delhi.

Rates were pretty decent considering the location of the restaurant on Mall Road which is flocked by Tourists all day long.

Chicken Hot and Sour Soup

Pad Thai Noodles