Abundance Filled First Day in Dubai

Dubai‘s summer heat greeted us the minute we stepped outside.

Dubai Gold Souk

The first stop was the Gold Souk. After wandering off for some time while trying to avoid offers to check out fake bags (I didn’t have the heart to tell them that I could score higher-quality fakes from Jakarta), I saw lovely beaded gold necklaces.

Then Amma was like, “yeah, no, get a husband first!“.

Apparently, those were Mangalsutra, the equivalent of a wedding ring in the North Indian culture. Something only to be put on the bride by their husband to be. We also have it in South Indian culture, called Thali, but it’s usually made of yellow rope thingy, completely different from these, and I like this version better.

I also got an Abaya. Now I need an occasion to wear it.

Breakfast at the hotel was nice, but it has been westernized. I had Muesli and orange juice, so I looked forward to lunchtime for my first authentic Middle Eastern meal. Finding a restaurant here was surprisingly hard. We had to walk a few blocks from the spice souk when we finally spotted a cafeteria. This walk reminded me of my office lunch break time in Singapore, walking under the scorching sun to go to the marketplace every day.

I hate hot weather. It has not necessarily worn me down so much physically; I don’t sweat easily and am already too tanned to be burned, but I have noticed repeatedly that heat pisses me off. It pissed me off in Singapore. It pissed me off in Dubai. For some people, it’s hunger. For some people, it’s the morning before their coffee kicks in. For me is the summer heat. I wouldn’t be happy about living in Dubai.

We had fish biryani and curried pasta. Curried pasta was a confusing dish. It looked like pasta but tasted close to Kuttu Prata. I also had a green and yellow-coloured drink called Burj Khalifa.

Dubai Spice Souk

After lunch, we roamed around the nearby Spice Souk. It got hotter. Hello, 51 degrees! I tried to get inside every store possible to cool off. The owner approached and asked me to take his picture. Random! But I clicked my camera towards him. “One more!“, he insisted. I obliged and told him. “I will put you on the internet“. He seemed delighted about it. He then passed his business card and asked me to email his pictures. And I did.

I enjoy this kind of encounter. Random people in short minutes in a new place. It reminded me of other interesting people I had met while travelling before.

Gold Vending Machine

One of my Dubai goals was to buy gold from the vending machine, however teeny tiny it might be. Unfortunately, unlike the news and promotion around it, these vending machines were hard to find, and when we finally found one, it was not working. Such a disappointment.

Souk Souvenir Shopping

In the evening, we went to another Souk, the tourist trap type of Souk, but I didn’t mind. It was air-conditioned.

The moms went wild on souvenir shopping while I dropped some Dirham on a camel charm from Pandora, it might not be a tiny gold from the vending machine, but at least it’s still something Dubai. I also got Turkey’s evil eye bracelets for my cousins back home.

Iranian sweets seem to be famous in Dubai. It didn’t tempt me a bit, so I didn’t buy it. Have you ever tasted it before? Is it nice? Am I going to regret not trying it?

Middle Eastern Dinner

Dinner was at a restaurant somewhere close to Palm Jumeriah. Despite not being a fan of Middle Eastern cuisine, I was blown away by the food. It was the juiciest Lamb Kofta I have ever eaten. I can’t stop singing its praise while scooping one more khaboos-wrapped meat into my mouth. Safe to say, it must have been an ugly sight to witness.

Dubai Karak Chai

After dinner, we stopped at Cha Cha Chai, a well-loved local chain tea shop. After trying a delicious sample of it earlier, I had Karak chai, my first cup. Karak chai is the local version of masala tea, black tea brewed with various spices and herbs, which I had been asked not to miss when I told the internet I was going to Dubai. And it was delicious, not too sweet, yet flavorful. A perfect “dessert” after a heavy meal. A perfect way to end a day. And that’s the end of my abundance-filled first day in Dubai.

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