"Unplanned trips are always the best ones!" whoever said, surely said it right.
Part1: DREAMY DUBAI
I was dreaming of going to Dubai from last 2 yrs, but everything happened in just a span of two weeks.
Yes, so this was our one of the most unexpected - unplanned trip. Everything went on so quick, as far booking our flight, passport renewal, hotel booking, preparing iternary, visas and very little shopping :( in just two weeks time!! Phew..
The COVID 19 Outbreak had barely begun when we left for Dubai. Finally it was on 1st March that we left our home for the Mumbai International Airport. We had an early morning flight, but we decided to reach the airport and spend the nite there itself, so that we can get a long stretched sleep, rather sleeping for 2 hrs at home, waking up and then reaching airport with no sleep till we board our flight. Honestly it was one of the worst decision we made to reach early and catch up sleep at the airport because we actually couldn't get good sleep. Well as soon as we entered the T2 terminal, we saw few people wearing masks, then few more, and then many more....!! All the immigration officers at each counter had their face covered with masks on their mouth. Didn't knew that Corona had affected so much already. But yes, after all people from various countries transit and airport is the place where many people come and go outside the country. So its understandable that people were already getting into their own safety mode wearing their respective masks.
It was time for our flight and we soon excitedly boarded. Finally it was time to catch some good sleep. Out 1st stop was Abu Dhabi and our arrival at Abu Dhabi was superb. We were secretly being tested by a fellow at a desk with his laptop attached with a heat machine on top. Honestly we were not scared at all. Well everything went so smooth and we were out of Abu Dhabi Airport, reached our hotel in a huge Mercedes-Benz cab. :-)
Day 1:
As soon as we reached our Hotel in Yas Island which we had pre booked, the staff didn't let us in and we were told that our stay has been upgraded to a opposite 5 star hotel at Yas Island itself. Soon we were escorted to our hotel room with all our baggages. To our suprise it was a very kids friendly hotel with an amazing pool and a great play area.
It was a mind blowing stay at Rotana, with scumptous breakfast daily, fantastic services and very comfortable and homely stay overall.
So our stay at Abu Dhabi was only for Ferrari World and Warner Brother's.
We planned to visit Ferrari World first.
Thankfully staying at Yas Island Rotana was advantageous for us because attractions like Yas Waterworld, Yas Marina Circuit, Yas Mall, Yas Beach and Ferrari World are very near. The commute was not a problem since Yas Island has a shuttle service that brings guests back and forth from the attractions and to their respective hotels within Yas Island.
By the way Rotana is the partner hotel of Ferrari World. At Ferrari World, Formula Rossa is the world's fastest roller coaster, experiencing the adrenaline rush of an acceleration from 0 to 240 km/h in 5 seconds. There were many other such rides which were equally challenging. This park also showcased spectacular collections of unique ferrari models. My son was already getting crazy on day 1 seeing his favourite cars all live, all together. One of our advantages was that the park was so empty and we didn't had to wait in queue for any ride. Infact we ended up doing each ride more than twice. I was proud of myself as I tried Formula Rossa twice. We certainly had an amazing and memorable experience at Ferrari World. Something I ticked off from my bucket list.
It was a tiring day and we hit our bed as soon as we reached back to our hotel.
Day 2 :
We started the day with some pool time, lovely breakfast and then headed for Corniche Waterfront - one of the most beautiful place we came across. Corniche, Abu Dhabi (upgraded version of our Marine Drive in Mumbai) was marvelous and unique in its own way. One can walk for hours and never get tired of the scenes and beautifulness of the surroundings. It was noon and hot though, but it seemed we were the only ones there. Later we hired a cab for the Grand Mosque. As soon as we entered, we were given a pass individually and I was given an Abaya (traditional long floor length dress covering top to bottom) to wear. We reached here at around 5, spent 1 hr walking through the mosque. It looked spectacular against the beautiful sunset views. Suddenly my son started wondering as to how long would have it been taken to built this, and I asked him to ask a fellow man at the counter, so he explained my son that it took 11 long yrs to build this amazing structure which is the 3rd largest mosque in the world. Totally stunned by the views of beautiful huge chandeliers, studded pillars, domes, engraved walls and lovely carpets. We stayed on for a little longer time here, to get a view of the mosque during the night with all its lightings, and trust me it was a sight of life time. The classic and magnificent Sheikh Zayed Mosque was truly majestic in appearance.
Finally we took a cab back for our hotel.
Day 3:
We were so eagerly looking forward for this day. Finally we got ourselves ready and headed sharp at 11am for the Warner Bros.World, which is the largest indoor theme park in the world. I call it as a paradise because it bought us so much loved characters of the Flinstones, Tweety, Tom & Jerry, Bugs Bunny, Scooby and many more on this list. On the other hand, we experienced the world of superheros - the Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, Wonder Women, Flash all together at one huge place. My son & my husband went crazy throught the day seeing their favourite super heros all live. He did love it and we were thrilled too, as it took us down a memory lane.
Overall it is a fantastic park and absolutely stunning. The rides are great and the feel inside the park is absolutely perfect. It was extremely empty. We could sit on each ride, some mutiple times! There were various shows and virtual reality stuff which we thoroughly enjoyed.
We had to reach Dubai by nite. Ended up being at this park till the closing, rushed back to our hotel, booked a cab and zip zap zoom we reached Dubai in 1.5 hrs. Not to forget, our driver was an young African Girl, who was too sweet and courteous, gave us a great smooth ride till Dubai. All drained and super tired, we checked in our Hotel at Bur Dubai and dozed immediately.
Day 4:
Our 1st day at Dubai started quite early, today is the day we actually joined our gang. Yes, our cousins joined in today and now it's going to be hell lot of fun with these bunch of people (3 couples and 2 kids). Till the time we met them, we took a tour of our apartment, and it gave such nice homely feel, with all the kitchen ware and washing machine, microwave, refrigerator, cuttleries and much more.
Finally we met everyone at the pool side on the rooftop, everyone was equally excited to see each other, kids couldn't resist themselves diving into the pool, we had our lunch and moved forward for Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo by 1.00 pm.
From today onwards, our iternary was booked with one of the leading tour operators in Dubai.
Our pick up arrived at the hotel and we headed towards Dubai Mall. The Aquarium is located inside the Dubai mall. We explored the marine world, where we saw various fishes, sharks, whales, and many other marine creatures. Located on level 2 was the underwater zoo, where one can explore different species of aquatic animals like the otters, African crocodiles, piranha, crabs, giant spiders, seahorses, lionfish and many more. Here the main attraction is to see King Croc - one of the biggest crocodile. Luckily we got a chance to touch a baby shark who was just 4 month old. It was an experience in itself. Well we ended our visit to the aquarium by clicking our 1st group selfie outside the aquarium. Honestly I wasn't much satisfied with the aquarium here if I compare the ones with Bangkok and Bali.
No visit to Dubai is complete without visiting the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa. Our time slot was booked at 6.30pm to visit the Grand Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world.
Everyone seemed excited for this especially kids, when their long wait dream was about to come true.
When we stepped out of the elevator and got onto the observation deck at level 124, we had a 360-degree views of the entire city, surrounding desert, and ocean. Later we wallked around the deck and took in the views from the At the Top.
At night, the view takes on a different meaning as you look out from the world's tallest skyscraper and see the vibrant cityscape. There are no time restraints whilst visiting At The Top, So we took our own sweet time, relaxed and enjoyed every bit of it.
We totally immersed ourselves into the breathtaking views standing "At the Top". Everyone got engaged in clicking pictures, selfies, group selfies etc.
This truly incredible experience cannot be explained in words, but instead must be felt personally. Further we got down from the viewing area. And we went to see an Amazing Fountain Show rite below Burj Khalifa. It was probably one of the most spectacular musical fountain show I have ever seen. Kids were a bit tired, but anyway it was relaxing while we sat and saw the fountains dancing on the tunes of music, it was too breezy and overall was a fun filled experience in itself. Finally we were done for the day, our pick up arrived right outside Dubai Mall, and we headed back for our hotel. When leaving the mall, we saw a few sports cars - the top price category in front of it. And my son never missed a moment clicking a picture of himself with one of such cars even if he was dead tired. 😌
Day 5 :
So today was a special day, as we had a date with dolphins. Yes, we headed in morning for the Dolphinarium. Our booking was for 11.00am slot for the dolphin show. All kids were super excited, even adults too. Dubai Dolphinarium was basically fully air-conditioned indoor dolphinarium providing habitat to dolphins and seals. We took our respective seats inside the auditorium. It was fun and we enjoyed the dynamic pool performances by dolphins. It was a treat to watch them twist, juggle, jump and perform feats which was an truly lively special experience. There were seals too who performed quite well. It was the 1st time we saw such a kind of show. My son enjoyed it thoroughly. Entire show was so fascinating that it kept our eyes glued to the stage. Very well choreographed and well coordinated show of paternship between human and dolphins / seals. Later we took a long walk inside the park towards the beach which was connected. Crystal Clear water and soft sand gave us a picturesque atmosphere. Kids dived into the sand and started collecting shells for themselves. We had a great photo session here. It was calm and we were the only ones on the beach and the waterfront area was too scenic. Though it was sunny but never did we feel the sun scrotching even once. Our ride was was waiting for us and we headed back to our hotel. We had very little time for lunch and changeover for our next thrilling experience - Ride to Dessert Safari.
I was really excited and was looking forward to the desert safari, because I had never been to the desert before. Our ride arrived outside our hotel sharp at 3.00 pm. There were two 4 ×4 Land Cruiser's between 11 of us.
Our driver was too funny. And he kept us entertained throughout our ride. He understood Gujrati, Hindi, English and even Kutchi. Because he was a Sindhi. Finally we reached the desserts and our ride started. We had a thrilling dune bashing activity which lasted for 20 mins. After reaching our campsite, we were welcomed with kawa (a drink similar to black coffee) and dates. We went and booked our tables and came again outside for camel riding. Honestly the camels look so tired and you’ll feel guilty for riding it. Though, you wouldn’t miss the chance because it’s on your to do list and kids were excited for the ride.
Behind the camp, there were a few higher dunes and we installed ourselves on the top of one to admire the sunset over the stretched out desert. My son enjoyed to the core, rolling over on the sand dunes and having his own time.
We walked back to the camp and sat down on a slightly elevated platform with a table and benches dressed with beautiful table cloths. From our seat, we had an excellent view of the stage.
That was a good thing as there where several cultural performances: belly dancing, the traditional Tanura dance, and a fire show! Darkness fell swiftly after the sunset and the temperature noticeably dropped. Not that it was cold, but I was happy I brought a sweatshirt along.
When the performances were finished and our tummies were full it was time to leave. But not before looking up to the sky and admire the stars. I can only imagine what the sky must look like a little further into the desert where it’s pitch black except for the shiny stars…
Altogether it was a wonderful day: it was my 1st dolphin show, 1st time in the desert, the 1st time I went dune bashing, the 1st time I saw a spectacular love belly dance performance and 1st time I had a very upsetting camel ride. An awesome adventurous day, we headed back into our Land cruiser to reach our hotel.
It wasn't a tiring day though, we decided to get ourselves fresh and gather in one apartment and have some chit chat and over night snacking. Kids played their games, and our talks were never ending. Few wickets starting falling down on bed and few were still too lively. Finally we called it a night, and our chit chat was to be continued next day over the breakfast table.
Day 6:
We woke up late, as we did not have any plan for the 1st half. Finished our breakfast and kids headed to the pool with daddies. I decided to do sauna instead. Our plan for the day seemed quite hectic as there was lot of walking needed. First we went to Butterfly Park at 2.00 pm.
As soon as we entered the park, the 1st room portrayed various art made with dead butterflies. I continued to the garden, and I was greeted by an attendant, who explained me that there were 3 main rooms to the garden and asked me to please mind the signs. I was surprised that it was all indoors. There were large varietiy of butterflies and they were all very well fed. Anywhere you walked, you could see butterflies of different shape, size, and color than the previous one.
In the second room, there was a small enclosure room bound by netting, with benches for people to rest and observe the butterflies. And if we are lucky, we can have a butterfly land on us. But this was not the case. Here people were trying to chase the butterflies and get them slowly on one's finger, even we tried it and yes, we could do it. There were times, butterfly sat on my dress, sometimes on hat, and many times on face. Basically we cannot sense a feeling of them touching our skin. We loved our time with these colourful butterflies. Sometimes we became statue as soon as any butterfly landed on us, for a quick picture to be clicked. This click wasn't to be missed at all.
Soon we were done with all the 3 rooms, we quickly moved out of this park and headed to the Miracle Garden which is just 5 mins walk away.
There are many flower displays that bloom into the shapes of hearts, stars, pyramids, animals, cartoons, fairies, floral castles, heart passages and even the World Record largest plane - Emirates Airbus A380 covered entirely in flowers. It was a bit hot when we started, but gradually it became quite pleasant. There was lot of walking inside as this park is very huge. We somehow managed to finish this garden in time and took a long rest on a bench at the exit gate, waiting for our other fellow teammates.
Our next stop was Global Village. It is basically a blend of culture, art and cuisine from all over the globe at one single place. In short this place allows you to experience different parts of the world in just a few hours. You get to enjoy street food from all around the world.
The whole park is one huge shopping and entertainment zone. The area is huge and there is always something happening somewhere. We spent hours wandering through different country areas (our favorites were Africa, China, and India), enjoying street shows, concerts, and local food and desserts. Each pavilion represents a country with a majestic entrance shaped as an iconic landmark from it, perfect for great selfies! You can literally shop the world in a few hours!
Once the sun sets, Global Village was illuminated with millions of colors and neon lights.
There was no doubt, we were terribly tired and hungry. We landed up at the Indian Pavillion and hogged on to much awaited Indian Mumbai Chats and other food items.
Done for the day and as were were leaving for the parking area, we were bidded adieu with huge fireworks at the Global Village which lasted for 5-10 mins. It was a sight not to be missed. Kids all drained, one was picked on daddy's shoulders, one was dragged somehow till the car, and other one was diverted somehow and was made to participate in a race till the car. 😉
Everyone had a small nap till our journey to the hotel. Finally we hit our bed, looked forward for one more exciting day.
Day 7:
Much awaited Legoland it is for today. We missed visiting this during our Singapore - Malaysia trip due to some reasons. So finally the wait was over. We started at our regular time, had breakfast and made our move. My son was looking forward for this excitement as he wore his lego pants specially for today.
As soon as we arrived inside Legoland we were walking through the area, and suddenly we were greeted by an attendant who took us around the Lego Factory tour, explained us how legos are manufactured, designed, coloured and packed. Next area is MINILAND, a miniature buildings area built out of lego pieces. We were glad to find constructions from lego pieces including: Top 10 World Highest Buildings, Dubai Skyline, Dubai Airport, Egypt, Petra City, Desert City, India, Abu Dhabi, Dubai Creek, Dubai Waterfront, Burj Khalifa, Burj Al Arab.
This park is divided into 4 sections, we somehow managed to cover all. We got queues and rush today, maybe because of weekend. Our 7-year-old was the perfect size and age for this park.
My son also got a driving license- he did so well with driving his Lego car. We were gearing up with trying to explore the park with the map in our hand, trying to finish it as soon as possible because we had to cover Motiongate as well which is in the same premises. Though we decided to skip the Legoland Water Park and Bollywood Park which is also a part of Dubai Parks and Resorts which was anyways not in our plan for the day.
Legoland, definitely is a great place to let the kids imagination run wild and let them participate in some fun. We had rats running in our stomach, and legs already were taking a toll, took a short snack and juice break, rushed and ran towards Motion gate as we were falling short of time.
Motiongate Dubai is basically Dubai’s largest Hollywood-inspired theme park.. As soon as we entered, we grabbed a map. Motiongate Dubai is part of Dubai Parks and Resorts, and bought together three major motion picture studios: DreamWorks Animation, Sony Pictures Studios, Columbia and Lions Gate. Being a Saturday, there were many visitors and we had to wait in queue for most of the rides, specially roller coasters.
All in all Motiongate Theme Park Dubai was a family-friendly fun and entertaining amusement park suited for all ages. Spending our day at Motiongate made us create memories of a life-time
Here I have a confession to make. I am in my mid-thirties but I still love going to theme parks! I don't believe that these places are made just for the kids. These were also built for us adults to get back in touch with our inner child from time to time! I feel lucky to enjoy each and every moment with my 7yr old monster. We were inside the park till its closing time. Our pick up arrived, and we could not stop discussing our experiences and the struggles we faced at the theme park within our group. Kids chattered their experiences with each other during our journey till Hotel.
Day 8: Today was suppose to be a slightly relaxed day. Today's iternary had less walking. We started our day with a scumptous breakfast and then headed for half day Dubai City Tour. We were accompanied by a tour guide. Today's tour included the following :
- Dubai museum - Al - Fahidi Fort.
- Jumeriah Beach
- Burj Al Arab
- View of Palm Atlantis via Monorail Ride.
Out of the above, The best was Jumeirah Beach, because the view of the Burj Al Arab from Jumeirah Beach was mind-blowing. We spent a good time at the beach with kids running around, clicking group pictures, some funny clicks and much more.
We had our lunch back at hotel. (home made rotis and ready to eat paneer makhani). Post this we had a mini gola party. It was a surprise party by my son for his junior cousins. Very little time to relax and then we were headed for Marina Beach and Marina Cruise. I was a little extra excited as this was to be my 1st ever Cruise experience. We quickly changed and left for Marina.
Dubai Marina is more of an uptown area of Dubai. We opted for the Marina Cruise rather than the Dhow Cruise which mainly runs in the Dubai Creek.
We had planned to reach early at the Marina and explore the area. Walking around in this uptown area was an experience of its own. This was the most luxurious man made canal city in Dubai.
Finally it was time for our cruise. It lasted for 1.5 hrs along with the dinner, plus a variety of entertainment on board like live music, tanura dance etc. As soon as we boarded, we were greeted with Arabic coffee and dates. We took our respective seats on the upper deck and we were offered some soft drinks as per our choice.
We enjoyed the view of the sky scrapers rising high on both sides of the marina. The five star hotels and the Dubai Marina residences were shining fabulously in the night. Right in the center of the sky was the shining moon. Along the footpath we could see people relaxing on the benches or taking a walk. It was pleasant and a little windy. Trust me, the view of the sky scrapers on both sides of the marina just were amazing!
The dinner was on and we all were enjoying the glimpse of the beautiful architectures of the buildings around us. The to and fro journey provided different views of the marina. It was as if the buildings were touching the moon. This was truly an incredible experience. Our wonderful marina dhow cruise came to an end and we reached back to the pier. As we came out of the pier, our vehicle was ready to transfer us back to the hotel. It is around 10.45 pm when we reached the hotel but at the end of the day I know that the money is extremely well spent and the cruise is worth every dhiram😉. This Cruise experience surely made our trip truly unforgettable.
With some really well spent moments, we reached the hotel back mid-night for a sound sleep.
Day 9: Our trip was about to end, but our today's plan was going to start late afternoon. But guess what, our day started much much earlier than that as we left for the not to be missed place in Dubai post our breakfast. Who doesn’t love shopping—especially when you are in the “little India” of Dubai, Meena Bazar it was. This is basically a local market located in Bur Dubai, and is famous for all kinds of gold jewellery, textiles, watches, perfumes and spices. Must say this is the best place a to buy souvenirs for our big (really big) families, and live up to the reputation of bringing back things from Dubai!
It was tiring and sunny, as we were walking through the streets of Meena Bazar. Today our lunch was at a great Indian Restaurant which was located very much at the streets of Meena Bazaar. Our thirst for Indian food, specially street food was quenched here. In this entire trip, we had skipped our lunch maximum times because of our tight schedule, but today everyone thoroughly enjoyed the Indian lunch at this restaurant. Mouthwatering, puri bhaji, cheese grill sandwich, biryani, tawa pulao, some Delhi chaats is what we hogged for our lunch. Now it was time to move back to our hotel, as our plan B for the day was waiting for us. As soon as we reached our hotel, we tried to rest for sometime and on the other hand, started packing our stuff little by little.
Finally our pick up arrived and we headed for the magnificent Dubai Frame. It was too breezy and pleasant as soon as we reached below the Frame. It was around 4.30 pm. The frame was jaw dropping. One will not resist clicking a picture, trying to fit oneself between the frame. It's tough get a perfect click here. We used our wide angle lens to capture this beauty. We entered inside, and honestly speaking, when moving further, it gave us a feeling that we have entered a time machine. The Frame takes you on an adventure of three time-periods in the UAE – the past, the present and the future. Primarily, at the start we get to experience of Dubai’s past history. Later, when we got up at the Sky Deck level, we get to experience Dubai’s present from all sides. The view is quite nice and so is the transparent glass floor, which is not dangerous to walk on, even though some people will get nervous to walk on it. Through this we can see the ground below. The glass bottom switches ON/OFF as people step on it. And finally when we get to the mezzanine level, we get to see the future of Dubai. Its basically a virtual experience that totally left as mesmerised by portraying Dubai evolution for the next 50 yrs.
Honestly, I liked Dubai Frame more than Burj Khalifa, why because its something different and best part is when in elevator, we could enjoy nice view as the elevator goes up & down. (which wasn't the case at Burj Khalifa).
We were out of this area, it was dark and Dubai Frame was looking great with its lightning effects.
Our next halt was at the Dinosaur Park. The Dinosaur Park was incredible – there are huge, life size, growling, moving dinos. My son had real fun time, spotting his favourite dinos. It's a small park with more than 100 animated dinosaur models.
Now our next stop was Dubai Glow Garden. This area is basically to be visited at night, obviously because its all about lights. Its just a bunch of neon lights with some artistry and creativity, it was a truly magical experience for small children and adults too. Again there was a lot of walking here, definitely one needs a stroller for kids.
Lastly, we visited the Magic Park, which was also situated inside the Glow Garden area. It's a 3D image park. They have made artifacts in such a way that which will give 3D effect to our images. Personally, it was not upto the mark, as it lacked proper instructions at most of the stalls.
This concluded our parks for the trip, and we were all eagerly awaiting for our Limousine Ride, which followed soon after this. We were dropped at our hotel and again picked up soon by our ride for the night - extra long stretched Black Limo. (37 feet). As this was our last night at Dubai, we had a gala time with our ride in Limo. The driver helped us connect our phone to the music system of the car, and soon our car became a Party Limosuine. Kids danced on their favourite tracks. It was the most elegant, luxurious and sophisticated vehicle. We had a 1 hour ride with royal ambience and will cherish this memory forever and ever. The chauffeur dropped us back at the hotel, and we bid adieu to our ride. This was the last night here in Dubai and we made the most of it. The party still continued at our cousins apartment, as we all gathered and cherished our memories, struggles, fun, laughter, thrills of our entire trip till now.
Day 10: On the last day, we didn’t do much as the last 4 days were a lot of continuous activity for us. We quickly got ready to catch a cab to the most famous Gold Souk. On entering the Souk - the first thing I noticed was a full body suit in GOLD!
Can't even imagine someone in this bodysuit. 😉
The Gold Souk is a must must visit place - even if you don't have anything to purchase - just go there to see the charm of Gold. It is basically like a fish market but all they sell is Gold and lots of gold.
Then after the fun walks in the souq, we hopped onto an Abra, a traditional Arab style boat, which lets you cross the Dubai Creek for a merely sum of 1 dirham. The fun though, is priceless.
We reached Meena Bazaar and ended up doing some last minute shopping. As we were booked for evening flight, we didn't have enough time to do some serious shopping, but it was worth to shop Date-Almond chocolates, famous Ajwah Dates, perfumes etc. I feel, my trip to Dubai would have been incomplete, hadn't I had visited the most famous Gold Souk.
It was time to go, we hurriedly packed our stuff and took parcel of our lunch to leave for the Airport.
As soon as we reached the airport, we gave away our luggage for check-in, so that we can relax and peacefully have our lunch. We sat together and had a scumptous lunch at the dining area of the airport. Further we took metro to our terminal. As we had wasted lot of time already, we directly went for boarding. Unexpectedly few seats of the last portion of the plane were empty (corona virus effect 😉), we took our original seats, and in sometime, we all moved behind for some masti, fun, laughter and much more. We played cards and had a hell lot of best and last time together. In sometime, we were given a form to be filled which needed to be submitted during immigration at Mumbai airport. The health declaration form consisted basic details like travel history, passport number, personal details, contact details, any symptoms, medical history etc. Here comes ones honesty while attempting this question:
Are you suffering from any of the following?
- Fever (Yes / No)
- Cough (Yes / No)
- Respiratory problems (Yes / No)
Obviously we had to tick No for all three, as we had none of the above symptoms.
It was a task somehow as we had to fill two copies of the same. So I had 6 in all to fill.
We had a safe landing, and as expected it was time to undergo ourselves from screening for the COVID 19. After doing a lot of timepass even at the airport, clicking pictures and making fun, we were the last ones I guess to reach the spot. Few set of medical college students and doctors had settled on a table to check everyone before one goes for immigration. They were doing universal thermal screening by using heat sensors and can spot people with high temperature levels.
We were lucky enough to pass through this test.
Finally we reached back to our pavilion, with lot of good times and fun-filled memories, but on the other hand we seriously didn't knew what was comming for us.
Before I move on to part 2 of my story, I would like to give few tips if you plan to visit this trip :
1. Dubai is ridiculously safe. You will almost never lose your valuables.
2. Dubai has to be seen to be believed. Explore it completely, and you will never regret it. Plan it as per your budget, and it will never leave you UNIMPRESSED.
3.Everything here is massive, beautiful and beautifully planned. Do carry your best cameras and don’t miss any opportunity to Click.
4. The variety and beauty of ornaments that offer in Gold Souq are simply mind-boggling. Do your homework on the Indian gold prices very well. There is not much difference in prices of 22k and 24k gold. Bargaining is the key to getting a good deal. Don’t stress and politely walk away if you do not like the price. That’s ok.
5. Cost cutting options: Buy food and water at Supermarkets like Carrefour. They have the best deals on all the stuff.
6. The Dubai Mall fountain show is every 30 mins, different each time with Arabic, Chinese and Indian music. Do watch all three shows. Don’t miss the free aquarium view in Dubai Mall.
7. Try water taxi. They are called Aabra Taxis. Take the water taxi from Gold Souk to Meena Bazar. The views are fantastic and entirely paisa vasool. Their Funda is call 1-1-1. (1 dhiram for 1 person for 1 way).
8. Shamelessly admire cars and click pictures. Luxury & sports cars are extremely common.
9. You’re likely to reach your Fitbit step goal daily, as there is lots and lots of walking everywhere.
10. Buying the sim card in Dubai is expensive and data is even more expensive. We missed it but recommend people to buy the sim from the airport itself where we saw few counters where the sim could be bought for free by the visitors. While data pack is still an issue, most places in Dubai has free WiFi that turns out to be the savior.
Goodbye Dubai...Till next time!!
Part 2: LONELY MUMBAI
Back to our routine, looking forward to school, office, work, busy schedule and whole lot of unpacking. Little did I knew that what was comming our way. But as usual it was very normal with me, two days passed by and suddenly we hear the very 1st Corona virus positive case in Mumbai.
Undoubtedly it had created a lot of havoc in the city. And it was all over the news.
School groups, family groups, general groups, all started flooding with only 1 msg - the novel COVID-19 had reached Mumbai. Parents started panicking, family members got scared, and news channel was adding extra fuel to the fire.
It was 7pm in the evening and I got a call from my sons class teacher, mentioning to not send him to school for 2 weeks as we had a travel history to Dubai. The school also mentioned to provide a certificate stating our reports being negative for Covid-19. I knew and understood that its impossible to get oneself tested unless one has any symptoms. We didn't have any. Fair enough, I was already ready to face this. Strangely by night, I got several personal messages from mothers asking about mine and my sons health. The news that we travelled to Dubai spreaded like wildfire in just a span of 1-2 hours. In the start, I took it positively, but gradually it turned out to be a total mental torture. On the other hands, being a mother, I understand how parents get overprotective for their kids... It was a real bad night. I didn't understand how would I explain to my son that he is not allowed to attend school for 2 more weeks. I knew it was a challenge in itself.
A pandemic had been declared!! But somewhere deep inside my heart, I had a feeling that we shall safely come out of this too, because throughout our trip, we took every precaution we could. We washed our hands every now and then, santized ourselves after every surface we touched, and avoided contact.
Next day morning, we decided to visit Kasturba Hospital to get ourselves checked. We were accompanied by my father in law who is a general physician. As soon as we reached, we were given a token and we were made to sit number wise. There were around 15 people in all. Finally our turn came, and we three were allowed to go inside together because we were a family and had same travel history. Primafacy, they took our details and made a digitally printed ATM type card for each one of us. Then we had to go and meet the doctor who was fully covered in their surgical body suit. I could only see her eyes and listen to her voice. We were asked to sit on a chair and they politely asked us our travel history and if we had any symptoms like cough, cold, breathing issues. She noted down everything on a paper and asked us to Self Quarentine ourselves for 2 weeks. I insisted on getting ourselves tested, but they strongly recommended a "No" . They told us we do not test anyone unless one has any of the above symptoms. They also told us that we are all good asked us to go home!!
PHEW... I felt 50% relieved here after a lot of mental torture I faced last night.
So while we were returning home, I called the school and informed them the same and that I won't be sending my son until further notice. Later I called my boss and informed him that I am self isolating myself for few days.
So this is my day 1 of "self isolating". Never did I knew that I would be so lucky to get an extended vacation. 😉
The first few days after we retuned were scary as many Corona +ve cases had a travel history of Dubai.
After couple of days, finally on 19th March 2020, Modiji, Prime minister of India announced the Janta to maintain a curfew on 22nd March 2020.
Finally, on 20th March 2020, Mr. Udhhav Thackeray, Chief minister of Maharashtra had called for a complete lockdown in the city. The entire Mumbai was shaken. Surely there were more worst news comming our way. We were not safe anymore. But its rightly said that hard times come to purify us... Not hurt us.
Strangely family members, friends, whom we don't talk to often, started asking us about our health. I was glad and I was feeling nice in a way, but on the other hand, honestly I was not liking it. It seemed like we were being victimised.
It was evening of 21st March, and groups flooded with msgs regarding one more case suspected in our vincinity with travel history of Dubai. No, it wasn't us!!
While we were enjoying in Dubai, Corona was fast spreading its wings. Infact as per the news there were many cases in Dubai already, we came across so many local residents staying in Dubai, and one thing for sure was that I never experienced panic situation there. Whereas in Mumbai, there was lot of panic right now and I feel its lot more contagious than the virus.
Somehow I am super glad of spending my days with my family . Maybe that's what I missed doing since I resumed work. Everyday, I definitely end up doing lot more non academic learning than ever before, lot more snuggles, lot more cooking and snacking, lots of games and most important lot of sleep.
Many people criticised us for taking this trip, few told us this was not the right time to go, few were upfront on the thought that we shouldn't have gone, few people were happy we took this trip (of course because of my tight schedule I badly needed a break). But I luckily feel so glad that I took this trip. And we came back just in time and that other peoples negativity was totally not worth worrying about at the moment.
This quarantine is really testing me, on how everyone is invested in me, may it be friendships or relationships.
Nevertheless, I feel Obliged to have got the opportunity to pen down my Quarentine Story.
So our day starts with a glass of warm water and ends with a good vibe thought that we are in this together.#covidtimes#.
My very 1st target was to achieve on catching up with all the movies I had missed watching. One fine day I watched this movie called Contagian(by now everyone has watched I am sure), I wonder if this is really what is happening to us, I could never imagine that a bat could change the world.
Indian's death toll of Corona Virus has crossed 100 this week and so many increasing cases have been reported. I heard on the news that this sudden increase in the toll is linked to Tablighi Jammat meet that took place in Delhi around 13th - 15th March 2020. So I m still wondering if this is really the bats or this is some kind of conspiracy???
22nd March - 5.00 pm A feeling of Gratitude:
At 5.00 pm today when I was ringing the bells in balcony, I could see small children clapping, ringing bells, adults banging on plates, blowing of conchs and the whole environment was that of gratitude to all those who are fighting Corona for us. An amazing overwhelming experience of solitarity. What a sight👏👏👏
Gratitude once again to all those who are untiringly serving humanity.
On 23rd March 2020 while I was surfing through the news channel, it was suddenly declared that section 144 was imposed on Maharashtra. Total Lock down, trains shut, interstate buses, everything was about to shut down.
As it was already getting scarier all the more, on 24th March 2020 : Prime minister, Modiji is addressed the nation and as expected, looking at the increasing number of COVID 19 cases, he has announced a "Complete lock down for India for next 21 days."
But the great news was that tonite we completed our "14 days of self Quarentine period." We were suggested and adviced that the typical incubation period is about five days and around 99% of the people who get infected and develop symptoms do so within 14 days. We felt confident about not being carriers of the virus. This surely called for a small celebration and out of excitement and happiness, me and my son decided to bake.
This doesn't mean life was going to be carefree and easy anymore. Life had come to a standstill. 21 days lockdown is no joke. I wonder we can still survive on our savings, but what about people who live on daily wages??
One lockdown lesson here I learnt is, that the cost of living is never expensive, it is the cost of lifestyle that is expensive.
26th March 2020- It was 12 noon, BMC officials gave us a surprise visit at our place. This was basically to enquire on us and routine questions were again asked regarding our health, whether we have any symptoms and our travel history. It was again a feeling of gratitude towards them. As mentioned in the news paper few days back, that the BMC will keep a strict check on people who have travelled abroad, I was stunned to see their dedication towards work. The perfect timing they maintained while visiting us. It was exactly on the 15th day that they visited. Hats off to management of Mumbai Municipal Corporation.
This 21 days lockdown didn't make me feel strange or different to me, as I was already on an isolation much before this lockdown. I feel I am used to it by now. There is so much to do, there is so much I missed doing, and now when I am getting all the time in the world, I feel its worth it!!
Well this Quarentine bought the chef in me! I am cooking new dishes, baking, relishing every bite of food and eating 5 times a day. 😁 Making art, playing new games, dancing on our favourite tracks, fighting, reading, writing, telling stories has become a part of my lifestyle now.
It more than 20 days of Self Quarentine and I realised that this virus has travelled more than I did. 😁
31st March 2020: Today when everything is locked down my company has still paid me full salary even when I couldn't work for many days. And I again feel so lucky about myself. But unfortunately it isn't the case for many people who earn on daily wages. Today I have sent across my maids salary through someone. And I feel Proud about this. Do you??
Most Indians are religiously following social distancing. Because of this novel corona virus and its outcomes, its glad to see everyone:
* queuing up to purchase goods patiently
* washing hands regulary
* practising self care
* building immunity
* being kind
*. keeping the environment clean
* Realising the importance of savings.
*. Volunteering ones time towards the needy while taking precautions to keep oneself safe.
I wish everyone's tries and follows the same post this Outbreak too.
When humans take a break, nature thrives!
It a nice breezy evening, I am taking a walk on terrace of my building , and I see pitch clear sky, few eagles gliding in the sky, parrots nosing around and a family of pigeons go back home from work. No one had asked them to follow the protocol of social distancing. There is nothing called islotion in their world. There is no concern of COVID 19 either. Lucky them!!
5th April 2020 - Sunday 9.00pm.9 mins...
I haven't seen such fan following when it comes to leadership. Modiji did it again!!
For 9 minutes, the soft glow of diyas, the cheerful sound of the crowd reminded me of one of those Diwali celebrations. India stood in solidarity and showed confidence to fight against the noble Corona Virus.
Telecasting Ramanayan and Mahabharat was the best decision ever. I had missed watching them in my childhood. Thanks to this Quarentine, that I am able to watch them now. And strangely my son is following the same.
We are on day 23 of Self Quarentine. Bringing in Maggi and pastas in our pyjamas. 😊 Many more days to go still as this lockdown has been extended already till 3rd May 2020.
Lockdown is an opportunity to do what you always wanted to do. So here I am unlocking myself....It was a roller coaster ride for me. Past few months, managing work, home, kid, family and very little time for myself. Sometime no time for myself!! Social life had already taken a toll with me. But there is a different enjoyment in this kind of busy life too!!
When it comes to unlocking myself, my Life pre - Quarentine vs present is as follows :
1. Early morning wake ups to - now waking up late.
2. Driving to work to - now my son driving me crazy.
3. Talking to my employees to - now having a chat with my family.
4. More official Calls to- now more personal calls.
5. Never used video conferencing to - daily using Video Conferencing.
6. Lunch with my batch mates to - lunch with my Family.
7. Giving tasks to employees to - now completing my tasks.
8. Missing my son to - now missing my maids.
9. Completing office work to - somehow finish household chores.
10. Face to face official meetings to- now online meetings.
11. Sleeping tired to bed to - no proper sleep schedules.
There is this panic, and it feels like our lives have been reprogrammed. And that's how unpredictable life can be. So I have to savour every moment now... Let's practice self care, work on ourselves, love ourselves and sprinkle kindness around, heal so that we do not bleed on people who didn't cut us, spread more love and be there for each other during this tough times.
Last thing, once we are over this.. What do we do of China now? Any suggestions??? Please dont miss to mention below in the comments section.
If given a chance to me, I would sit on a dragon and Dacraysss on entire China! (Game of Thrones fans would surely get this) & for others, you can follow GOT in this lockdown😉
Hope we all get out of this safe very soon. Till then take care and stay home!!
Much Love,
Khyati
