Our World - Bus Shelter in Dubai

This is probably the most advanced and the most comfortable bus-stop I've come across in my lifetime.


It's quite common to see most of the bus shelters for public transportation are air-conditioned enclosures in Dubai and this is the first city in the world to provide such luxurious facilities for passengers.

I think the concept is great considering that the temperatures can get up to more than 50C in the peak season.

It was really nice to cool off while waiting and then hopped into an air conditioned bus for a ride!

The unique shape and design resembles the sail of a ship and it reminds me of the dazzling Burj Al Arab hotel.



Our World

PhotoHunt - near

A surf instructor providing surfing lessons for a group of young surfers near the coastline in Dubai.




And here's a view of two ancient columns standing near the Temple of Memmius in the ruins of Ephesus, Turkey.

PhotoHunt

Wordless Wednesday - Camel Sculptures in Dubai

Wordless Wednesday

PhotoHunt - Dusty

While visiting Dubai last year, we were caught in a sudden sandstorm and the air was not only dusty but extremely dry. It was definitely an unpleasant experience for everyone and it would really be tough for kids with allergies or asthma.



PhotoHunt

Wordless Wednesday - Dubai billboards

Wordless Wednesday

PhotoHunt - Stripes

This week's photohunt theme is stripes.

While in Dubai, I spotted plenty of striped buildings that caught my eye. I like the different styles of stripes that are created for each building.

Wordless Wednesday - Evening at the beach

Wordless Wednesday - Dubai Metro

RT/WW - A glimpse of Dubai (Part 2)

We paid a visit to the Dubai's latest hot luxury shopping mall which claims to be the world’s largest mall. Imagine 1,200 retail stores, an olympic size skating rink, a 220-store gold souk, more than 150 F&B outlets and a very huge aquarium inside it. Unfortunately, we didn't spend much time there though as we have a flight to catch to Istanbul that evening. Anyway, we managed to capture a few shots before leaving the mall.

The complex is incredibly huge in every sense of the word and its upscale interior design is tastefully done in a contemporary way yet still provide a warm, comfortable and inviting feel. It's a classic and I love every single detail. All its spaces are very well- proportioned.


The entrance to the modern gold Souk in the mall. A lovely art depiction of the night sky embedded with glittering stars and encrusted jewels.


Statue of a stallion from the Gold Souk. The souk is designed as a tribute to the city's rich heritage of the gold and jewelery trade, for which Dubai is renowned globally


The intricate designs are found to resembles the ones in Italy


There is another amazing section of the mall which offers a great selection of coffee shops and retail kiosks overlooking the Waterfall, giving a soothing and cosy mood to meet. Several palm trees are also set up to replicate the atmosphere of a desert oasis.



The Waterfall runs through the entire four levels of the mall and is adorned with lovely art sculptures of human divers, how cool!



The iconic Burj Khalifa outside the Dubai Mall standing in its glory. The tower was renamed Burj Khalifa (formerly Burj Dubai) and now stands as the world's tallest building. I didn't manage to get up there as we were informed that the observation decks located at the 124th floor was closed due to some technical problems.

First Commenter - Mei Teng

WW - A glimpse of Dubai (Part 1)

I'm back. My vacation was fantastic and this was by far the best trip I've ever had. We took thousands of shots and saw everything according to our itinerary, it was limitless oohs and aahs. Everything was smooth except for the sandstorms in Dubai which happens to be our first destination. Ouch, not nice!

It was a pleasant beginning of the day when we first arrived in Dubai. We took a bus ride to the city and our first stop brings us to Burj Al-Arab.


The Burj is a fine masterpiece of contemporary architecture designed by top architects to resemble the graceful sails of an Arabian ship. It is known as the only 7 star luxury hotel in the world and rightfully so!


We had fun strolling around the clean, uncrowded beach and came across a group of surfers conducting lessons near the coastline.


This is another fascinating beach hotel with a 5 star rating near Burj Al- Arab, picture taken from another angle. If you have the money, it would be incredible to be able to stay in these exclusive hotels and it is definitely a taste for the rich. I might have to give an arm and a leg or win some big lottery to afford to stay in these hotels for just one night.

As we were exploring the city, all hell broke loose when we experienced sandstorms which brings dusty, polluted air to the environment.

The gray, cloudless sky was covered with tons of dust and sand and the winds were pretty strong


These storms struck the city reducing visibility in some areas.


We found a few spots overlooking the city with colourful blooms and they are blooming everywhere in Dubai.


A large banner of prominent leaders was put up in the street

As can be seen from the pictures, it's definitely unpleasant especially for anyone who's allergic to dust. The fine particles even managed its way through my sun glasses to my eyes. I was going stir crazy and I kept sneezing for hours but despite the storms, nothing could dampen our spirits. We just had to be outdoors to take pictures.

First Commenter - Liza