Dubai 2017 Day 2 – Al Burj Arab and Souk de Jaimeira

K woke up at 5am plus and asked for milk. I woke up to do it for him, having to go downstairs to get water and milk powder, the cons of a double storey suite. He drank and went back to sleep for a little.

We all woke up at about 630am having already slept around 10hrs already, due to the time difference with Singapore. The floor to ceiling window exposed the Arabian sea and the view of towering Khalifa in downtown Dubai was a nice view and with the skies illuminated orange by the rising sun, it was a nice view to wake up to.

K started to get active and headed to the steps. We had to get him ready for breakfast such as changing his diapers and clothes and also brushed his teeth and turning on Minions on VOD did not help get him to stay still. We prepared ourselves too and by the time we left, it was almost 8am.

There were 2 restaurants offering buffet breakfast, one Asian and one international. We checked out the Asian one first but settled on International as K wanted to have cereal. Chose to sit Alfresco and it was a little chilly with the morning sea breeze and mommy went to get K his sweater.

K sat in a comfy high chair to eat while we got ourselves the international choices from the comparatively small buffet table. The quality of food was however very good. Ate for about an hour before we took a walk around to the new extension where the infinity pool was, to take photos. K had fun running up and down the bridge. We then left as mommy felt cold and took a lift to the 27th floor to have a look. As the staff was preparing for brunch, we were denied entry so we went to the 18th floor and asked for the Kids’ club.

At the same level, there was also Talise Spa and a library and several private rooms that I wasn’t sure of their purpose. K stayed in the small Kid’s club for about half an hour, playing the toys and the slide and having fun before we all went back to the room. Made K some milk and he dozed off. We packed and got ready to leave, at the same time mommy and I had some of our complimentary choco cake for our anniversary which we couldn’t finish. In fact there were so much food that even staying in for the whole day we couldn’t finish any, such as the complimentary fruit platter, the sparkling date juice and the coffee from the Nespresso type machine.

Mommy took a final dip in the jacuzzi while I laid in bed with K enjoying the last bits of this room. Our check out was granted extension till 1pm but it was surely not enough.

K woke up slightly after 1230pm. I wasn’t confident that we could check out on time if K had to finish his lunch so I called the butler to see if they had any containers that we could carry the porridge in but was only offered a box as they did not have any. Furthermore I had tried to call multiple times but there weren’t anybody picking up until some time later. We eventually left the room leaving the luggage behind for the bellboy to pick up.

The check out was done at the same level itself with the butler. Gave my credit card and a swipe and 2.8k later, we were done. The bellboy also retrieved the luggage and gave us the luggage stub and we went to the ground level. The fountain was dancing and K was mesmerized by it. Later we went to the staff just outside the entrance to arrange for a buggy to the Jumeirah Souk. It wasn’t long before one came and drove us for about 5 mins before we arrived. We still had to cross a security post and then a small bridge before reaching the souk.

The souk was not particularly old one but a modern one in fact. We walked about in the aircon space but didn’t really stop for anything to see. Then we went into a Jamba juice bar and ordered a wrap and 2 smoothies. I fed K his porridge but he didn’t take much.

After the lunch and brain freeze, we walked to the ELC store nearby to have a look. Things were about the same costs back home. K too was being fussy and didn’t want to move. We reckoned that he was trying to poop but he didn’t say anything. We carried him to the toilet and he cried. Changed his diapers in the toilet but he didn’t poop at all. After washing hands, he began to fuss and cry again until we went out in the open and he stopped.

On our way back to the initial point where we disembarked, saw a mobile stall selling kids tee but we didn’t like the colors. When we returned to the security post, we were asked questions and had to produce the luggage stub to gain entry – the beach and the area there were restricted to residents. Others behind us couldn’t pass and had to turn back.

As we waited for the buggy, I went on to the fine sandy beach and took a photo and a selfie with Al Burj Arab. There were quite a few buggies running around the pathway but only dedicate ones go back to Al Burj Arab. It wasn’t long before the buggy showed up. Then it was the same route back to the hotel entrance.

Once at the entrance we alighted and K and mommy went into the hotel to look at fountain while I went to retrieve the luggage which was with the bellboy who also took care of getting the taxi for us. There was a private unmetered Lexus car that came we boarded it to our next accommodation. I didn’t know the address and thought it was at Dubai mall, indicated on the Airbnb map so the driver brought us there for a fee of 80Aed.

The Airbnb rep called but I couldn’t understand him well so asked him to message me. He gave me the address and as I checked with the info counter and also log onto the free Dubai mall wifi that I found out from google maps that it was in fact outside Dubai mall, at least a 5 mins walk. With 2 luggage and a toddler and a potential sweaty walk, we decided to go back to the taxi queue at G level of Dubai mall to go there.

As it seemed to be a new apartment, the driver wasn’t familiar with that place. After asking around he still didn’t know where it was, even after I showed him on google map. It was until I showed picture view from Airbnb that he realized and got on the road.

It wasn’t the most efficient way to get to the apartment as he got into the highway and made one big loop. However the costs wasn’t high, about 20aed with me guiding him along the way and he had to stopped next to the road illegally while we got off.

The rep met us and helped with the luggage. With the passport, he did a quick record of it before bringing us to the 18th floor. It was a small place and didn’t look very new. The kitchen was open concept with queen size bed next to it. A balcony gave us a clear view of the Al Burj Khalifa and the Dubai mall. It was definitely a great many downgrades compared to the night before.

After leaving us with the introduction of the apartment, we left for the 24hrs Carrefour supermarket which was on the ground floor just steps away. Went to buy bottled water as what the rep advised and other groceries such as bottled milk, chicken drumstick detergent and washing powder, etc.

We returned to the apartment and fortunately someone was coming out from the card access door that we could take a shortcut to the lift. The first thing back at the apartment was to give K a shower and I filled the bathtub with water which was a little yellowish and no wonder the advice to buy bottled water. Mommy in the meantime prepared dinner for K. After K was done, we watched cartoons on TV while mommy took a quick bath. K seemed to look tired, after all he had already been awake since 12 noon so I went off to Dubai mall on my own to get us some dinner, K waving goodbye to me without asking to follow.

It was a short walk to the mall and the night view of downtown was quite nice. There was a trolley in nice traditional design but unsure where was it’s journey. I couldn’t find the entrance and had to walk along the private carpark to get to the atrium where I could see the Khalifa light show and a big crowd waiting for the fountain show to start. I took some photos and also saw the very short fountain show. It was difficult to move after the crowd dispersed.

I walked into the mall trying to find Chinese food. Went for the food court and was amazed to meet a colleague in the largest mall in the world. To prevent walking unnecessarily to the food court, I consulted the interactive electronic board to the food court. The 3rd floor had many stores selling kids stuff and I saw some shoes but couldn’t decide what to buy. Went to the food court first to get Chinese food mixed rice for 31Aed and Italian pasta for 36Aed before going back.

With the free wifi, I was able to whatsapp mommy but she was responding so I walked back to the apartment. Unfortunately I got lost and couldn’t find my way around with all the roads around. Along the way I saw tons of exotic cars from Lambos to Rolls Royce, belonging to disgustingly rich people there. When I finally went back the same route, I was already very tired. Indeed the biggest mall in the world. The mall wasn’t tired streams of people still come in at 9pm. Wonder what was its closing time.

En-route I heard echoes of boom boom bouncing off the tall buildings that sounded like fireworks but I couldn’t see it. It wasn’t at the Al Burj Khalifa. I only realized that it was somewhere near where we were staying. Wanted to snap a photo but it ended just as I got ready.

Walked around the building to the front entrance as I didn’t have the card access and returned to a dark room as K had already slept at 9pm.

We proceeded to have our anniversary packed dinner of mixed rice and pasta in the dark with the Khalifa light show on. Then I went to bath and went to bed, no problem dosing off due to time difference probably. Meanwhile in Singapore it was already Chinese New Year.