Yey! I am so excited! Another Friday is approaching!
Wondering why?
FYI for those who live in non-Middle eastern countries, Friday and Saturday are the weekends for people who live in Dubai. During Fridays people go to church, do their laundry, or stay in bed until lunch time. Just like the regular stuff that other people do during their weekends. Other employees only have Friday as their ‘off’ so we try to squeeze in all activities on this day.
Dubai is a very commercialized place and there are so many places that you can visit to enjoy and kill your free time but instead of going out, some people opt to stay home to chill and waste their week ends on TV or the internet. I can give 3 reasons why people do this: One, they are terribly tired and really need rest. Two, it is super hot outside and they don’t want to get scorched outside and the 3rd reason, which I think is the most common one (though no one admits it ) is that they are low on budget.
There is no contention for reasons 1 and 2. If they don’t want to go out then I can’t come out of the computer screen to drag their butts out of bed. But for the ‘low budget reason’ I know some ways for you to enjoy Dubai for 10 Dirhams or less. This figure does not include fare and food but public transportation in Dubai is cheap and you can buy a 6 AED twister from KFC If you get hungry. So all you need to do is top up your Nol card and recharge the batteries of your camera and you are off for a fun, picture-tastic day!
Here is a lift of places you can go to and enjoy where you do not have to spend a lot of your hard-earned AED’s:
1. Jumeirah Beach
A beach person will definitely enjoy this place. You can soak up all the sun that you want for free and enjoy the view of the famous Burj Al Arab at the same time.
2. Dubai Parks
Car entrance in the parks is AED 10 and individual entrance is only for AED 5. You can bring food for family or group gatherings like birthday parties, team buildings or simple get-togethers. You can grill food here too but pork is not allowed. You can get arrested if the authorities catch a whiff of that barbeque.
Here is a list of the parks in Dubai
- Creekside Park, Bur Dubai
- Safa Park, Sheikh Zayed Road
- Jumeirah Beach Park, Jumeirah Beach Road
- Zabeel Park, Sheikh Zayed road
- Al Mamzar Beach Park, Deira
- Mushrif Park, Al Khawanij.
3. Visit the Dubai Mall
Why this particular mall? Because not only can you enjoy window shopping (the favorite past time of people with no money), you can also stare at the humongous aquarium that they have inside the mall. It's one of the biggest aquariums in the world and they have received the Guinness World Record for the world's "Largest Acrylic Panel"
When you get bored staring at sharks and stingrays, you can go outside of the mall and you will be meters away from the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world and if you wait for these timings, you will be wowed by the amazing routines of the dancing fountain. I would recommend that you visit this place at night because the lights make a big contribution to the spectacular performance.
4. The Dubai Museum
It's a museum so of course there would be tons of old and fascinating things to see. Here, you get to know more about the history of Dubai and the Middle East. The best part is they let you enter for only 3 AED.
So that's it! My list of places that are easy on the pockets but great for Facebook wall pictures. Enjoy your week end!
