Day 5, 17th May 2016
This was the best day of my tour. At about 9.30am we headed for Abu Dhabi. On the way we visited Lulu's Hypermarket.
Dubai is connected with Abu Dhabi via Sheikh Zayed Road which stretches for about 80 kms. This road doesn't have a signal and one can easily drive with speeds ranging from 100-120 km/hr. Within about an hour we reached Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi is richest source of oil in the world.
First of all, we visited Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. This was a really gigantic and magnificient mosque. There are a few restrictions on the attire of tourists entering the mosque.
Next, we headed for the “Ferrari World”! This is the king of all Theme Parks. No park can beat this one. This is a huge one, completely indoor with breath-taking cars and thrilling rides. While buying ticket at the counter, ask for Ferrari Merchandise Voucher worth 10 Dirhams. You can use it inside for buying Ferrari merchandise. The Ferrari bag-packs are really awesome and are worth trying once.
Once I entered into it, I was left with awe. It is such a gigantic one. I wondered these people are so advanced with structural engineering.
There are lots of rides in it and we were lucky we got guidance on which were the best rides among all. We had only 4 hours for it. The ticket which they give will have a validity of two days.
The Karting is one of best and most sought after here. Each session is of 15 minutes and accomodates only 10 persons per session. Only for Karting, one has to register there with Facebook Id, and then they will give you a session slot. First thing I did was to register and get the Karting ticket. Withing 2-3 hours, all the tickets were sold out, and only those who had the tickets were allowed to 'experience the thrill' ! Yes, it was really a thrilling experience. Ferrari is known for its speed and I could feel it. Man! It was just awesome! The drifts were the best part of it.
Next ride was Tyres Twist. This ride was just to get started. There were lots of rides and only few of them were of interest to me. I like speed. I like power. I like thrill.
There is a ride simulator which gives an experience of how it feels to be inside the fastest car Ferrari has made. They will make you sit in a hall with seats like those in a car, with seat belts. There will be a huge screen. They will first show you a background story and then the camera moves inside the car. As the camera is inside the Ferrari, the seats will lift themselves up and you will find yourself facing right in the middle of the screen. As the Ferrari speeds up, one will feel the same as inside the car. There will be lots of obstacles shown on the screen and as the Ferrari takes sharp turns, you will experience the same... the seats tilting sharply from left to right and again left... when there are brakes, it will tilt in front to create the effect.. there will also be a splash of water when it goes through a small puddling. There will be two sessions, one with the normal car and another with the F1 Racing Formula car. I got a real feel of Ferrari after this!
Next was the most awaited one, the most dangerous of all, and the most memorable part my journey... the Flying Aces Roller Coaster! This is not a child's play, mind you. Do not even try this if you are afraid of sitting in the rides. The speed of this roller coaster goes about 230 km/hr. They have made this ride such that the roller coaster ride isn't visible from inside the park. If you want to sit in it, you have to walk through a dark passage. Actually they have made this ride to depict the evolution of speed over the years. The passage through which you have to walk showcases the ancient aircrafts and other machines which have evolved over the years. The passage end being the entry to the roller coaster. You have to leave all your belongings in a free locker provided there. I suggest leaving nothing with you, even your spectacles.
As you will sit on the coaster, I was fastened with a hood so tight that I wasn't able to move. When I asked for loosening it a bit, none of them responded. Once the roller started, it climbed so high, and then it was just free fall. Oh my god, I am still feeling the thrill in my hands as I am writing this! The coaster took such sharp turns, was so upside down, was so speedy. I could just hold my breath! Oh man! My first ride in the roller coaster and I couldn't believe I survived it! Those 3 minutes were the most thrilling of my life. I hadn't experienced such a thing before. But I was so happy after that. Adrenaline rush! It felt like an achievement to me. You know like conquering your fears. “Darr ke aage jeet hai”... There is victory beyond fear. It was a really memorable experience for me. After it finished the ride, they told me “Now you understand why we fastened it so tight, ha?”... lol.. I told “Yes, really. Thanks a lot for that!”.
The Ferrari World has lots of eateries inside. Food is not allowed inside. They allow only 200 ml water bottles to be taken inside. Il Podio is an Indian restaurant there. For me, French Fries is the best thing to eat. I bought an Indian Black Tea with Milk for 10 dhs and French Fries for 15 dhs. The quantity and quality was worth the money.
The best thing we did was to have as moderate breakfast as possible and have a time gap of at least 3-4 hours before sitting the rides. I could hardly imagine what would happen if I had sat in the roller coaster with a full stomach.
Ferrari World has a ride which takes you through the various processes in a Ferrari factory. Do you know about a program called “Mega Factories” on National Geographic Channel? They had an episode on Ferrari as well. I got a real feel of that program after this ride. I must say this not a ride as such, but they will make you sit in a Ferrari Cabin and will take you through the various aspects involved the process from engine molding to shaping the chasis to painting the car.
There are also other rides worth trying. But I will refrain from mentioning it here.
At about 5.30 pm, we started for Dubai via the same Sheikh Zayed Road. Due to heavy traffic, it took us about 2 hours to reach Dubai. On the way, I got to see some marvellous cars.
We had our dinner at Veg World Restaurant at Meena Bazaar. This was a Gujarati Restaurant and people there will greet you with “Kem Cho”. You will see lots of shops around this restaurant for jewelry, perfumes, souvenirs, etc. Some of the products have a really reasonable price. They have a great collection of perfumes. As duty is levied on perfumes in India, one will get to buy perfumes at a cheaper rate in Dubai. I got a Ferrari Perfume there at half the price in India.
This was the best day of my tour. At about 9.30am we headed for Abu Dhabi. On the way we visited Lulu's Hypermarket.
Dubai is connected with Abu Dhabi via Sheikh Zayed Road which stretches for about 80 kms. This road doesn't have a signal and one can easily drive with speeds ranging from 100-120 km/hr. Within about an hour we reached Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi is richest source of oil in the world.
First of all, we visited Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. This was a really gigantic and magnificient mosque. There are a few restrictions on the attire of tourists entering the mosque.
Next, we headed for the “Ferrari World”! This is the king of all Theme Parks. No park can beat this one. This is a huge one, completely indoor with breath-taking cars and thrilling rides. While buying ticket at the counter, ask for Ferrari Merchandise Voucher worth 10 Dirhams. You can use it inside for buying Ferrari merchandise. The Ferrari bag-packs are really awesome and are worth trying once.
Once I entered into it, I was left with awe. It is such a gigantic one. I wondered these people are so advanced with structural engineering.
There are lots of rides in it and we were lucky we got guidance on which were the best rides among all. We had only 4 hours for it. The ticket which they give will have a validity of two days.
The Karting is one of best and most sought after here. Each session is of 15 minutes and accomodates only 10 persons per session. Only for Karting, one has to register there with Facebook Id, and then they will give you a session slot. First thing I did was to register and get the Karting ticket. Withing 2-3 hours, all the tickets were sold out, and only those who had the tickets were allowed to 'experience the thrill' ! Yes, it was really a thrilling experience. Ferrari is known for its speed and I could feel it. Man! It was just awesome! The drifts were the best part of it.
Next ride was Tyres Twist. This ride was just to get started. There were lots of rides and only few of them were of interest to me. I like speed. I like power. I like thrill.
There is a ride simulator which gives an experience of how it feels to be inside the fastest car Ferrari has made. They will make you sit in a hall with seats like those in a car, with seat belts. There will be a huge screen. They will first show you a background story and then the camera moves inside the car. As the camera is inside the Ferrari, the seats will lift themselves up and you will find yourself facing right in the middle of the screen. As the Ferrari speeds up, one will feel the same as inside the car. There will be lots of obstacles shown on the screen and as the Ferrari takes sharp turns, you will experience the same... the seats tilting sharply from left to right and again left... when there are brakes, it will tilt in front to create the effect.. there will also be a splash of water when it goes through a small puddling. There will be two sessions, one with the normal car and another with the F1 Racing Formula car. I got a real feel of Ferrari after this!
Next was the most awaited one, the most dangerous of all, and the most memorable part my journey... the Flying Aces Roller Coaster! This is not a child's play, mind you. Do not even try this if you are afraid of sitting in the rides. The speed of this roller coaster goes about 230 km/hr. They have made this ride such that the roller coaster ride isn't visible from inside the park. If you want to sit in it, you have to walk through a dark passage. Actually they have made this ride to depict the evolution of speed over the years. The passage through which you have to walk showcases the ancient aircrafts and other machines which have evolved over the years. The passage end being the entry to the roller coaster. You have to leave all your belongings in a free locker provided there. I suggest leaving nothing with you, even your spectacles.
As you will sit on the coaster, I was fastened with a hood so tight that I wasn't able to move. When I asked for loosening it a bit, none of them responded. Once the roller started, it climbed so high, and then it was just free fall. Oh my god, I am still feeling the thrill in my hands as I am writing this! The coaster took such sharp turns, was so upside down, was so speedy. I could just hold my breath! Oh man! My first ride in the roller coaster and I couldn't believe I survived it! Those 3 minutes were the most thrilling of my life. I hadn't experienced such a thing before. But I was so happy after that. Adrenaline rush! It felt like an achievement to me. You know like conquering your fears. “Darr ke aage jeet hai”... There is victory beyond fear. It was a really memorable experience for me. After it finished the ride, they told me “Now you understand why we fastened it so tight, ha?”... lol.. I told “Yes, really. Thanks a lot for that!”.
The Ferrari World has lots of eateries inside. Food is not allowed inside. They allow only 200 ml water bottles to be taken inside. Il Podio is an Indian restaurant there. For me, French Fries is the best thing to eat. I bought an Indian Black Tea with Milk for 10 dhs and French Fries for 15 dhs. The quantity and quality was worth the money.
The best thing we did was to have as moderate breakfast as possible and have a time gap of at least 3-4 hours before sitting the rides. I could hardly imagine what would happen if I had sat in the roller coaster with a full stomach.
Ferrari World has a ride which takes you through the various processes in a Ferrari factory. Do you know about a program called “Mega Factories” on National Geographic Channel? They had an episode on Ferrari as well. I got a real feel of that program after this ride. I must say this not a ride as such, but they will make you sit in a Ferrari Cabin and will take you through the various aspects involved the process from engine molding to shaping the chasis to painting the car.
There are also other rides worth trying. But I will refrain from mentioning it here.
At about 5.30 pm, we started for Dubai via the same Sheikh Zayed Road. Due to heavy traffic, it took us about 2 hours to reach Dubai. On the way, I got to see some marvellous cars.
We had our dinner at Veg World Restaurant at Meena Bazaar. This was a Gujarati Restaurant and people there will greet you with “Kem Cho”. You will see lots of shops around this restaurant for jewelry, perfumes, souvenirs, etc. Some of the products have a really reasonable price. They have a great collection of perfumes. As duty is levied on perfumes in India, one will get to buy perfumes at a cheaper rate in Dubai. I got a Ferrari Perfume there at half the price in India.
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
Ferrari World
Ferrari World
Karting at Ferrari World
Ferrari World
Flight Simulator, Ferrari World
Ferrari World
Il Podio is a cafe serving Indian dishes at Ferrari World
Karting, Ferrari World
Karting Academy, Ferrari World
Day 6, 18th May 2016
The day of departure. It was a wonderful journey these 5 days. I had a Qatar Airways flight Dubai-Doha-Ahmedabad. The Dubai Airport (DXB) is a gigantic one. The check-in counters are divided into 6 Areas with each area having about 10-15 counters. After getting the boarding pass, we had to go the Departure Area via a train. Yes. You read it correctly. A train with about 5-7 coaches at the airport, which transfers passengers to and from the Departure/Arrival area. It covers the length of about 1.5 km. The departure area has about 32 gates along with several shops. They have made something similar of a mall inside the Departure area. There are duty free shops, jewelery shops, liquor, chocolate shops, etc. You could do your complete Dubai shopping here.
You might have heard that buying Gold from Dubai would save you some pennies. They only charge for the gold. There is no making charge. I have included a price list below for you to compare. These are the prices for the duty free jewelery shop inside the departure area. It is the only jewelery shop inside the airport.
Out there in Dubai, there is a place called “The Gold Souk”. 'Souk' means 'land'/'market'. There are two of the kinds: one in Old Dubai (Deira) and one in New Dubai. It is better to buy gold in form of jewelery than coins or biscuits. You can wear the jewelery it won't be noticed by customs at the airport. Even one gold coin per passport is allowed as duty-free. But I have heard that duty is levied on gold biscuits.
The Dubai-Doha flights are known as Shuttles. There are Dubai-Doha flights almost every hour or so. The duration of flight is about 1 hour 10 minutes. So as soon as we took off, we were served snacks. And just after we completed our snacks, the aircraft started its descent.
Doha is the capital of Qatar. Doha is 1 hour behind Dubai. So we started in Dubai at 7.30pm and landed in Doha at 7.40 pm local! (which according to Dubai would be 8.40pm.)
The air hostesses for Qatar airways are really pretty. The Doha-Ahmedabad flight duration was for about 2 hours 30 minutes. They serve decent enough meals. Our flight provided free alcohol. I am not sure if other International Flights also provide free of cost. So if you drink, you can ask for it.
At Ahmedabad airport, I didn't need to do any Immigration process except for just a passport check and a stamp of arrival.
All in all it was a memorable journey.
Dubai is worth visiting at least once in a life time.
Gold Prices at Duty Free Shop at Dubai Airport
Gold Prices at Duty Free Shop at Dubai Airport
Deadpool!
On our return flight Qatar Airways from Doha to Ahmedabad. Our seat was near the Emergency Seat, at which there was a seat for an Air Hostess. Her name was Samantha. My mom became a good friend of her during the flight. She was from Thailand and had visited only Kolkata. My mom invited her to visit Ahmedabad some day.
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