I really didn’t have any preconceived ideas on what to expect, and what I can take away, as the title suggests, it is a melting pot of cultures, people and styles. If you were dropped into Dubai and were asked to what country you thought you were in, the answer would probably be India, Indians and Pakistanis make up 45% of the population here.

We landed and headed to our nearby hotel, had a nap as we arrived at 6am, then explored the mall attached to our hotel and had a quick lunch, Philly Cheese Steak, yes very Arabic, then an early night, however not before we had a high tea.

The next day we got the metro to the old part of town which basically felt like a cleaner version of India. We walked through a variety of Souks (markets) perfume oils, gold, spices and exotic fabrics. We then strolled along the Dubai creek and crossed it on an Abra (boat) for a price of $1 Dirham, about $0.30 USD. We chanced upon a fantastic museum that illustrated the development of Dubai over time and the importance of the creek. What I didn’t know was that oil wasn’t discovered here until 1960 and before that Dubai mainly existed for pearl diving.

We got a better understanding of the importance of perfume and how it is made; boiling, condensing and distilling ingredients such as musk, agar wood, rose water and amber. The other museum we visited was the Dubai Museum which is worth a visit and is housed in the oldest building of Dubai, a fort.

We jumped back on the metro and headed for the biggest mall in the world, over 1200 shops, so of course we worked out if you spent two minutes in each shop if would take 40 hours to visit them all. The biggest challenge in these types of places is to leave at the same place that you arrived at, seems simple. We found the indoor ski slope and watched the skiers and then some penguins while having a hot chocolate. No there isn’t a story of us getting lost in the mall, we are urban warriors, but this thing is massive. Home via the metro and another early night.

The next day was the day of the tallest building in the world, 828m, 163 stories, booked our tickets online to avoid queues, but first we visited the beach and strolled for about 7 km along the water front, doesn’t compare to Aussie beaches but ok, and then the highlight of Dubai; Dubai Burj Khalifa Tower, it is hard to truly appreciate how tall it is. We walked around the mall where there was a skating rink and an aquarium and the high end shops there were amazing. We had tickets for the 4:30pm elevators to take us up to the 124 and 125 floors. Despite it being the tallest building by far, due to the ever present the views are limited and not nearly as spectacular as say the view from the Empire State Building or CN Tower.. At the base of the building, where is a massive water fountain with a fountain/light show every 30 mins, so we had dinner outside and watched this. Home time followed and then off to the airport the next day to Cairo where I am writing this.

Keep reading for the next 17 days of exploring through Egypt and Jordan.