Received my offer letter! But first...let me take a vacay!!

On February 1st 9pm, I traveled halfway across the world! After receiving my offer letter and start date for work ((yayyyy!)), my parents decided to surprise me with a vacation to Dubai! The flight was 14 hours non-stop and there is a 9 hour time difference. We arrived 9pm February 2nd, so you basically lose a day between the 14 hour flight and the 9 hour time difference departing off the eastern coast. We stayed in Novotel Suites at Mall of Emirates which made it easier to get from place to place because of the tour bus stop that was right at the mall ((walking distance from our hotel)). I'd like to tell you all the "go to" places and sightseeing you MUST do while in Dubai:

Day 1 & 2: City sightseeing Tour!
To maximize your time effectively, on your first real day, because technically your first is spent on the plane, be sure to buy a 48-hour tour ticket through the City Sightseeing Dubai Tour on the big red Double-decker bus. They operate from 9:00am-8:00pm, seven days a week and give you full access to visit staple sites, free cruises, souks for shopping and the beach! The price of an adult pass for 48 hours is AED 295 (240/3.57=$82.63 U.S) and the 24 hour adult pass is AED 240 (240/3.57=$67.22). In Dubai, the conversion of $1.00 U.S = AED 3.57-67, the currency differs in about .10 depending on which part of the city you're in. This bus departs from the Mall of Emirates and ends at Dubai mall. There are two different route lines you can take, one is RED and one is BLUE. I recommend you do the RED route line first because it takes you across the marina and has multiple stops that will take more time if you want to hop off and go on: FREE Dhow, FREE walking tours, FREE water bus, and shopping at the Souks. The BLUE route line is more sightseeing but you can visit: Burj Al Arab (Staple-the Seashell hotel), Jumeirah Beach, Wild Wadi water park and Atlantis of the Palm. Below I have specified each route so you can decide which you'd like to take but again, I strongly suggest taking the 48-hour tour, because it allows you two full days to do both tours. Each bus departs every 30 minutes:

RED LINE ROUTE:
1. Al Ghubaiba                           
2. Gold Souk                               
3. Spice Souk                              
4. Riviera Hotel
5. Dubai Creek
6. Sheraton Dubai Creek Hotel
7. Deira City Center
8. Burjuman
9.Sheikh Zayed Road
10.  Dubai Mall (transfer to blue route option)
11. DIFC
12. World Trade Center
13. Al Seef
14. Bastakia
15. Dubai Museum
16. Old Souk

BLUE LINE ROUTE:
10. Dubai Mall (transfer to red route option)
17. Union House
18. Jumeirah Mosque
19. Mercato
20. Jumeirah Beach Park
21.Umm Suqeim Public Beach
22. Burj Al Arab
23. Souk Madinat Jumeirah
24. Atlantis the Palm
25. Mall of Emirates

 Day 3: Shopping!
Visit Mall of Emirates (both malls are open 10:00am-12:00am)
This mall has about 3 levels and thousands of stores and many restaurants from all around the world. We had brunch at two french restaurants in this mall that were DELSIH! These malls in Dubai are HUGE. One moment you're passing Hollister and the next few steps you may see Hublot. The malls split according to price range, for instance, Hollister would not be found next to Hublot. It also includes an indoor Ski park called Ski Dubai which is filled with snow, penguin shows and big, beautiful ski slopes ((Yess this mall is pretty awesome!!)). That was ONE of the hilites of my trip and a MUST see! There is also Cosmic bowling and a large games/arcade located at Magic Planet which is on level 2 near Ski Dubai! Don't be surprised to hear the call of prayer while shopping. It is apart of the culture in Dubai and sounds according to specified prayer times throughout the day.

Day 4: More Shopping!!
Shopping, shopping and more shopping! Visit Dubai Mall which is also huge containing a wide array of stores and restaurants from all over the world, just as the other mall does, but unlike Mall Emirates this mall includes activities and attractions such as: the Underwater Zoo, the Dubai Aquarium, Dubai Fountain and the Burj Khalifa (tallest building in the world), located behind the mall. We received FREE tickets to both with our 48-hour Sightseeing tour. There is also an Olympic size ice-skating rink, Reel Cinema movie theatre and sooo much more! Both malls are connected to the transit lines in which you can take a straight shot to either because traffic gets heavy after 3pm=expensive taxis (which avg around AED 80).

Day 5: Hump Day
On Wednesday, we did Dinner in the Desert which costs about AED 300. We chose the company Rayna. It was such an amazing experience that included: dune buggying, 2 stops in the desert for pictures, camel tour ($$) or free camel rides (one time around a rink), free sand boarding, free henna tattooing, free desert BBQ, free apple flavor shisha and shopping ($$). The view of the desert is breathtaking!! I was told the best times to visit Dubai is September-March because the weather is pleasant and cool opposed to 125 degree weather that comes in the summer.

Feel free to comment if you have any additional questions!!