Questionnaire - Travels...

Time for a quiz again, this time it is all about travelling...

1. Dreamdestination?

I have too many of them... Something I really would like to do one day though is going on a real Safari in Kenya or Tanzania...

2. Most romantic place visited?

Hm... Really don´t know, but Lissabon has to be ranked high on the top 5 list...

If you´re there with your amour, you must visit Sintra, sooo romantic...

3. Best place for shopping?

New york, New york and New york... Don´t miss the weekend sale on Macy´s...

4. Most beautiful beach?

Probably the small beach on Koh Khai Nok in the archipelago of Phuket... Too bad it is usually crowded with people...

5. Favourite Swedish place?
Stockholm is a beauty, but my answer will be Karlskrona... Especially the small island called Tjurkö... Though Arild in Skåne is a runner-up...

6. Best country so far?

I think almost impossible to answer, they all have their charm...

7. Any place you don´t want to visit?

Not that I can think of at the moment actually, though some places are more tempting than others...

8. Citylife or sunbathing?

A combination is the best, but if I have to choose I go for the citylife...

9. Place abroad visited most times?

Hm... After some counting I think it is Casablanca, Morocco... 10 times...

10. Place you want to go back to?

Almost every place I have visited... But Morocco, Paris and Thailand are some of the favourites...

11. Continent (exept the one that you are living in) where you´ve spent most time?

Africa...

12. Best European city?

I think my choice will be... PARIS...

13. Most surprising place you´ve been to and why?

Dubai was not at all what I had been expecting, yet very nice!

14. Worst place visited?

Hm... Difficult question... Could it be some of the suburbs in S:t Petersburg??

15. Where did you enjoy the food the most?

I think my answer will be either Prague (lovely restaurants and good prices... or Morocco, there is nothing like homecooked Moroccan food...)

16. Nicest people?

Thaipeople are very very nice and welcoming...

17. Most arrogant people?

German? Russian? or maybe Swedish...?

18. Next destination?

That will be Paris...

19. Most recently booked travel?

Dubai for the second time...

20. How many times are you planning to go abroad next year?

Who knows... If I know myself well enough it will be at least 10...

Over and out!

/ Bella

Shop-o-mania like nowhere else!

So here comes the next post about the Dubai-trip...
And it is about one of the major activities in the city, can you guess what??
Shopping of course!

Ramadan-packages from Carrefour...


Lovely bedouin-tent inside Bur Juman mall...


Al Jaber gallery, shop for souvernirs here!


Inside Wafi mall...

Aladdin-lamps at Al-Jaber gallery, Deira City Center...

Promotions at electronic-store Plug-Ins...

This is the best book-store ever!

Galeries Lafayette selling abayas!

Real arabic perfumes... I found some favourites here...

Of course there is a Sephoa in Dubai-mall...

Inside Paris Gallery, luxiorious perfumestore...

A wonderful store for furniture, and the prices are a dream!

Dubai is not only the place where you can go bargaining for kilos of gold, or luxurios designerclothes, no this is a place where you can find shopping-treasures even if you don´t have the same amout of money as Mr. Trump och Sheikh Mohammed himself at your bankaccount.

Dubai is the city where you can go shopping in the huge and spacious malls, or if you prefer, why not go out to one of the crowded markets to haggle and bargain with the Indian immigrants and maybe get a good bargain to take home... That is, if you are stubborn enough to bargain and bargain, over and over again just to have some more dirhams off the price...

The malls are neverending, both when it comes to space and number...

Focus on seeing the ones that you think you will like the most, there is no chance too see all of them, or even the half of them. When you get inside the big malls, get yourself a map, it will help you to not get lost... Usually the malls are not only big, but also very fancy, but don´t be shy to pay a visit to the stores, even if your creditcard could not cover to buy even one of the cheapest things inside!

When you are finished in the airconditioned malls (if you ever will be), find a taxi to leave your things at the hotel and have a power-nap before heading out to one of the markets to find dozens and dozens of nice copies of the designerbrands that you have just seen in the malls...

And, once again, don´t forget to haggle the price!

So before finishing this off, here are some quick tips from a true shopoholic like me:

1. Be sure to bring enough money, better to bring too much than not having enough...

2. Don´t bring your husband/boyfriend (if he is not as into shopping as you are)...

3. Be sure to plan your time, when getting inside a big mall, get a map and try to figure how you will get to see the pieces and bits that you want the most...

4. Get some fuel every now and then, all of the malls have lovely food-courts, and you will find things that you will love no matter what your taste is like. And don´t forget to drink lots of water!

5. Don´t fall for the first offer you see, remember where the shop is located and that you can always come back if you don´t find a better bargain!

This is it for now... Take care and hope to see you soon!

/Bella

There aint no place like this...

Continuing Dubai-theme, I will share some pics from the lovely desert of Dubai with you...

One of my dreams are to one day spend some more time in the desert and sleep under the stars.

This time, which was my first visit to the desert ever, was just a couple of hours and to be honest a little bit too touristic, by me and my sweet mamma had a great time anyway:)

We were picked up by our driver with the 4WD Jeep about 16.00 in the afternoon and then headed out, through the heavy traffic of Dubai, to the outskirts, and then finally came closer and closer to the sanddunes of the real desert...

To start of with, there was quite a lot of sandbashing (really a little bit too much, but I suppose they think most tourists love that...) Anyway, it was ok, though we thought at least of of the cars in the Jeep-caravan would turn over, noone did, the drivers must have been very used to driving in deep loose sand...

After 2 quick stops, for sandboarding and visiting a small camelfarm (with opportunities for photographing) we reached our desertcamp. Instead of joining the touristic camelriding and other activities we went for a short walk and found a place of our own where we sat down and just enjoyed the silence and peace of the desert while watching the sunset...

After about an hour the dinner-buffet (arabic style) was ready, and to my surprise it was so good! Before heading back to the bustling city I had some henna painted on my hand, and although it could not compare to the henna I use to make in Morocco, it was very nice:)

So here are some pics, enjoy!

Me laying down in the sanddunes...


Mamma in the sunset...


Camels (or actually dromedars) on the farm...


The dinnertables at the camp...


Aint it lovely..?

Desert-girl...

The boss of the camp...

Over and out!

When we are talking about hotels and resorts...

As one of my most fatithful readers just commented, can a hotel really have 7 stars, or is it just a way for them to promote themselves? Burj Al Arab claims to be the only 7-starhotel in the world.

Actually, according to what I have heard a hotel can just have 5 stars, and as I wrote back to Linda, that I think Burj Al Arab is officially also classified as a 5-starhotel...

And while we are on this topic, hotels and resorts, I think there are more beautiful places to stay in, that also woule be better worth the money spent, than Burj Al Arab...

~ Al Maha resort ~

~The Palace Old town ~

~ The One and Only Royal Mirage ~

or...

~Atlantis on the Palm ~

So which one would it be??

Best of Dubai, pictures say more than words...

Here comes a small collage of my pictures from the lovely city of Dubai..
As a picture can say more than 1000 words, my comments to this post will be short, let your imagination free!

Let´s go UAE!


Aireal view over Dubai, all the high buildings down there are the scyscrapers of Sheikh al Sayeed Road...


Dubai-creek traffic by night... An abra-station in Bur Dubai. The abras are the small boats crossing the creek for 1 dh each way, also possible to rent for about 50 dh/ hour to go up and down the Khor... Definately something I will do next time Inchallah.


And here is the Khor/Dubai creek at daytime. Here you can see the abras are working 24/7...


Jumeirah mosque - according to many Emiratis and tourists the most beautiful mosque in Dubai. Also the only mosque that is open to tourists and non-muslims in order to increase the understanding of Islam. About twice a week there is a course in this mosque called "Open doors - Open minds" a program conducted by the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding (SMCCU).


Once again an abra-station in Bur Dubai...

A glimpse into the Old Souk in Bur Dubai. If you ask me, not really a traditional arabic souk, but still seem to be very popular as it is highly recommended in all guide-books.

Panorama of Dubai highest buliding and Boulevard at Emirates tower, one of Dubai´s smallest but yet most exclusive malls.

As the biggest fan of the Arabian nights, I just had to take a photo of these lovely Aladdin-lamps in Al-Jaber Gallery, probably the best place to look for nice souvernirs and small presents in Dubai... This particular shop is located in Deira City Center, an old, but yet most popular malls in Dubai, really a nice place for shopping and dining.

Gold, gold and gold... Dubai is the city of GOLD!

All this gold should be for me as my gift for my future-wedding I think... hihi...

Prayer-time in a mosque in Bur Dubais Bastakiya-quartier...

Probably the most famous landmark of Dubai - The only 7-star hotel in the world, Burj Al Arab.

View over Dubai khor...

Panorama over Sheikh al Sayeed Road, a very long road considered to be Dubai´s businessdistrict #1!

Panorama from the airplane over the artificial-made islands called "The World".

Still under contruction. If you have good eyes you can see the Jumeriah palm close to the shore-line.

So, what do you think? Dubai is tempting you for a visit??

/ Mlle. Al Flilaoulila

Give me a Sheikh please... Ooops, sorry I mean a shake... :)

One of the first refections from Dubai... No matter how strange you might find it (or not?)...

Men in dishdasha... Hm... That´s really something:P I don´t know why or in which way I find it so damn attractive, but what I know is that if my man was an Emirati, there would be no discussion: He would have to wear the traditional dishdasha...

So what is a dishdasha??

This is the official definition by webster´s:
Main Entry: dish·dasha
Pronunciation: \ˌdish-ˈdä-shə\
Function: noun
Etymology: Arabic dishdāsha
Date: 1938
: a long usually white robe traditionally worn by men in the Middle East

In Dubai and the UAE most Emirati men tend to wear a dishdasha, usually white and long, combined with a keffiyeh (a headscarf or a square of cloth) either in white or in Palestinian patterns. The keffiyeh is usually folded in half, into a triangle, and the fold is worn across the forehead. Often, the keffiyeh is held in place by a black rope circlet, called an agal.

And yes, this is really so attractive... And yes again... You are allowed to think I am strange... Or maybe you even agree with me??

Even if you don´t agree with me, I am sure you will not be able to tell this little dishdasha-wearing man is not absolutely gorgeous?

Over and out... /Bella.