Map In My Pocket

Tag: Staycation

24 Hours in Dubai

Dubai is my second home. Having briefly lived there in 2014, I have gone back to this glamorous city thrice since. So, when I had to pick my favourite city to spend 24 hours in, I didn’t really need to think twice!

The only choice was on how to go about it. It happens ever so often, that you are in an exciting new city thanks to a half day meeting or an 8 hour layover but you have just that many hours to explore. What do you do then? “Check in” at the most popular tourist landmarks first or would you rather hit the ground running but take your time walking around, soaking in the feel of the city?

So, here is what I have decided to do. A vegetarian not too crazy about cooking, there have been months – while living away from home – when I have survived and thrived on coffee and muffins. Taking a cue from that, I have mapped out a Coffee & Cake Crawl to spend 24 Hours in My Favourite City, in a way that I do not miss out on doing either the typical touristy stuff or going back to those little known haunts that you only discover if you have lived there.

Kick Start with a Local Breakfast @ La Brioche, Mirdif City Centre, 8AM

Though located out of the way in Mirdif and not in the happening Downtown Dubai, La Brioche is one of my favourite places for Breakfast in the city. Known for their ability in using and bringing to life a traditional Arabic recipe in the modern French nouvelle cuisine, their Zaatar Croissant is delectable. Zaatar is the Arabic equivalent to the Italian Oregano, but made way more interesting using Middle Eastern herbs and it totally livens up any croissant! I absolutely love to start with a hot cup of cappuccino or chocolate and finish up with dessert after digging into the croissant, for their food is definitely delicious and I don’t mind the big breakfast for once.

Stop 1: Miracle & Butterfly Gardens, 9:30AM

Yes, then Desserts

Ferrero Rocher and Mixed Berry Ice cream @Butterfly Garden

In The Neighbourhood

Burj Khalifa is old news. You say Dubai, and the first thing you remember is all those images of your friends with stunning backdrops flooding your social media news feed. That is Miracle Garden for you, created for showcasing extravagant floral structures. A garden that isn’t just a home to thousands of flowers but is more. Take a stroll through the adjoining Butterfly Garden, touted to be the world’s first Butterfly Museum and you will be surprised at how pleasurable a walk can be with butterflies of all colours and shapes fluttering around you with the chirping of tiny little birds in the background.

Stop 2: Jumeirah, 12:30 PM

Yes, then Desserts + Lunch

Red Pepper Pizza Cracker Slices & Butterfly Pea Flower Blue Ice Tea @Life’n One

In The Neighbourhood

Jumeirah means ‘Beautiful’ in Arabic and this neighbourhood is truly so. Quiet, with low rise villas and buildings built in the regional style, a rarity in the fast paced skyscraper crazy Dubai, it is peppered with some unique upmarket cafes. Go mild on the caffeine for a quick change and grab lunch at Lifen’ One, a vegan cafe and wellness centre that serves must-try raw organic food. Even for someone like me who is forever binging on fast food, this style of healthy food in a setting like that made for a quiet an interesting dining experience. Also in the neighbourhood is the Mercato Mall, built in the distinctive architectural style of the Renaissance this relatively old and forgotten community mall is yet another unique experience. Every medieval Italian town during the Renaissance was built around a ‘Mercato’, Italian for market and window shopping along the cobbled streets and piazzas of this mall only adds to the quaint quotient of this stop on the map.

Stop 3: Dubai Mall, 3PM

Yes, then Desserts

Red Velvet Cheesecake @Bloomingdales

In The Neighbourhood + Dinner

Dubai has now achieved iconic status in terms of the scale of its constructions and any projects that it undertakes, be it even the fact that it is all set to beat its own record of the World’s Tallest Building. So, how can you not shop in the World’s Largest Mall and rest your legs as you have dinner under the starlight sky with a backdrop of the World’s Largest Choreographed Fountain?!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3SNM6CiJH4&w=798&h=598]

Stop 4: The Walk, JBR 10PM

Yes, then Desserts

Chocolate Mousse @La Pain Quotidien

Read: I Heart Honey Bears: Le Pain Quotidien

In The Neighbourhood

Pause. Watch the world go by. Stroll on the waterfront promenade. Sit down to coffee and cake at any of the al fresco cafes by The Beach.

Call it a night with a Global Coffee @ Starbucks, Dubai Marina, 12AM

Read: But, first Coffee.

Coffee & Cake Crawl Map, Dubai

Mirdif to Stop1, Butterfly & Miracle Garden: 30 Minutes
Stop1 to Stop2, Jumeirah: 30 Minutes
Stop2 to Stop3, Dubai Mall: 20 Minutes
Stop3 to Stop4, The Walk JBR: 45 Minutes
to Dubai Marina: 10 Minutes

December 7, 2016
Have I found the perfect partner for my Road Trips?

150 Kilometers, 20 Cars & 60 Bloggers.

The weekend gone by has been one like no other.

I was at the Preview Drive of Tata Motors‘ upcoming 4 wheel drive HEXA. Pitched as a ‘lifestyle’ vehicle, the Tata Hexa is surely one hell of a ride. Well try as I might, I fail in finding words that can be as apt but sombre!

Starting off with an exclusive product presentation, everything from the cupcakes to the route we were to take the next day was designed to deliver the perfect #HexaExperience.

& given that Tata Motors has a brilliant car to back that promise of an experience, the journey was super fun!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rx4m514NefQ&w=798&h=598]

So, come step into the Tata Hexa.

and we will set off into the sunrise for a ..

..Road Trip.

The Tata Hexa doesn’t just look powerful, it actually is. We reached Ananthgiri Hills, a good 75kms away, in an hour inspite of the photo breaks we took. So that we had more than enough time for the change over to the Automatic variant and hob nob with fellow bloggers over coffee while we waited for our cars to get all squeaky clean again!

& still be back in time for the Offroad Experience, which in truth was nothing less than a real time roller coaster ride. Hand on heart Tata Motors won me over with this one.

What I love about the Tata Hexa

? Off road capabilities like no other.

I can go on and on with this one. The car has been programmed to electronically stabilise itself during tricky manoeuvres on terrains of all kind. The car can also intelligently sense from the pressure applied on the brakes and the throttle release if the driver panics and automatically refills the brake lines electronically to keep vehicle stability while optimising braking distance. For this demonstration, sitting in the car experiencing first handaggressive braking at fast speeds, all that was noticeable to me was the sound of the engine revving and the dust flying! So bye bye nose dives and skids. But, the feature I loved the most was the Hill Descent Control, push a button and leave it to the car to take you downhill. No clutch, brake, accelerator. Period.

? View from the driver’s seat!

Dont blame me if I like looking down on everything else on the road. 19 inch alloy wheels + seat height.

? 10 JBL speakers with a Harman system.

Besides, Kala Chasma on full volume and not one villager stared at us at the railway crossing where we were stuck for a good 25 minutes! & yes, you would rather listen to your favourite music in your car now.

? Dynamic Mode in the Manual.

Adrenaline Pumped, they call the car and I couldn’t phrase it any better. Choose this mode when you want maximum power and acceleration. Yay, Road trip.

? Navi Maps App.

Now you don’t need mobile network or data connectivity to navigate on your next road trip as an explorer.

? Straight line shift in the Automatic.

Shifting gears and modes has never been smoother. Upshift when you crave an adrenaline rush and leave it to the Hexa to downshift for you when needed, all in a quick and smooth one flick.

& What I don’t

..because, I am still me and cannot just like everything.

? The bucket seats in the second row of the Automatic. I prefer the bench seats in the Manual.

? Would love a one touch return to the map, instead of having to ‘navigate’ through all the available apps to get back.

Here is wishing Tata Motors all the success it truly deserves on the Hexa, when it launches later this year.

Credits:

The Video of the Tata Hexa making a splash was shot by fellow blogger Giridhar Chandrasekar of Phonelicious.

This #HexaExperience was made possible thanks to Indiblogger.

Read Next: Road Tripping through Karimnagar

October 27, 2016
on a slow boat to Arabia

Dubbed ‘The Arabian Resort of Dubai’, Madinat Jumeirah is a luxury resort that is an experience, complete in itself.

This wide-spread resort has over 3kms of waterways and a boat ride in the traditional Arabain Dhow along these is a pleasant way to spend a quiet evening. More so, towards the last few months of the year when Dubai is relatively cooler.

Quite self sufficient in itself, this resort boasts of housing over 40 restaurants, traditional summer houses, grand ballrooms and even an entertainment centre of its own! All set alongside a private beach, with a view of the Burj Al Arab.

I did miss going on to beach for that now famous shot of the Burj Al Arab, but the experience was lovely nonetheless.

& for a dose of some local retail therapy, the ‘Souk’ here is the answer. A ‘Souk’ is the traditional bazaar of the Middle East and The Souk Madinat Jumeirah is a pretty faithful recreation of it, with its winding streets and wooden archways.

You can get your name written in sand of myriad colours. and, watch the artist at work, bringing to shape your vision!

This is also where, I finally met The Elephant Parade. :D

I had read about them a couple of years ago in an in-flight magazine of an Asian airline, but couldn’t really remember the name, except for their beautiful hand painted elephants and the cause that they stood for. When I did finally see the elephants, I almost went – ‘Hey, I know you’ !!

Read Next: Walking on Reflections

December 26, 2015