Muscat in Oman: Mix of charm and classic taste; a weekend escape destination in the middle east

After exploring some very modern cities in UAE and Qatar, we wanted also to explore a more traditional city in the Middle East and when searching for destinations we found Muscat to be an excellent alternative due to distance from Dubai (500KM) and the history they have. Muscat is famous for its ancient and modern structures, such as Portuguese forts from 16th century and the modern Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque; one additional important highlight that we found was their incredible fresh seafood (Omani Lobster was awesome!!!)

Taking advantage of a long weekend and to celebrate our wedding anniversary we flew flydubai into Muscat for a 4d/3n stay, this amount of time allowed us for a couple of day tours and also some time to relax at the pool and beach of a great hotel where we found a great deal. I can tell you that our itinerary was enough time to get a good taste of Muscat and explore the highlights the city has to offer.

When doing research for the stay, I found that there is a hotel in Muscat that was originally built as an Omani Royal Palace to host the Gulf Cooperation Council in 1985 and to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the late Sultan Qaboos accession to power. For more than 10 years the palace has been operated by the Ritz Carlton under the name Al Bustan Palace a Ritz Carlton Hotel and while they have modernized and upgraded parts of the property, their mission is to maintain the Omani essence and protect the heritage of the hotel.

The stay at the hotel was perfect, not only the property is beautiful but the employees and quality of food is top notch. Before arriving at Muscat, I shared that we were celebrating our anniversary and the hotel had some nice details to make our stay more memorable. If you come to celebrate a special occasion in Muscat, this hotel is a great choice to stay in, here are some photos that try to capture the beauty of the location. One thing you need to try is the Omani Lobster, what a great dish they prepared us in their chinese restaurant called China Mood.

Muscat is an old city, that traces back to the 1st century AD as a important trading port between the east and west it was ruled by indigenous tribes and also the Persians, Portuguese and Ottoman empire. Reading about Muscat, one interesting piece of information was that it was a military power with influence extending as far as East Africa and Zanzibar. It was on the 1970´s that Muscat started rapid infrastructure development with the accession of Qaboos bin Said as Sultan leading to rapid economic growth; his reign was almost for 50 years making it the longest serving leader in the Middle East at the time of death.

If you fly into the city, you will arrive in Muscat International Airport a small airport when compared to Dubai International but one of the nicest airports I have seen with very elegant details across the terminal. The immigration process was a bit slow when compared to other airports in the zone but after that moving around the city is very efficient with their taxi system, another interesting fact about Oman is that taxi drivers must be Omani locals making the trip more like a cultural experience.

One thing you will see in Muscat is that there are no really tall buildings, and they are similar white to beige color. It is said that the previous Sultan wanted Oman to maintain the natural beauty of the country and not change it with tall skyscrapers like Dubai, also maintaining similar colors of the buildings to be consistent to the eyes. You can truly enjoy Muscat natural views and how the city blends perfectly through the landscape, it is something rarely seen in other cities and great to experience.

If there is a concert in the Opera house, a must do…

During the tour we got to see some great places and sights, there are other attractions a bit farther that you should explore like Wadi Shab & Bimmah sinkhole that we did not go but should be done if you have time. Here a list of some of the must do that we experienced:

Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque: Beautiful Mosque, with local people there to talk and learn about Muslim religion
Mutrah Souq: Fairly traditional Souq in front of the sea, can walk and have fun negotiating prices for souvenirs
Royal Opera House: Impressive building inside and out, if there is a show is a must do
Al Alam Palace: Very nice structure, with views to the sea and some forts
National Museum of Oman: Opportunity to learn more about the country and their history

Visiting the market and talking with locals is always fun…

Muscat charm and simple enchantment makes it a very nice city to explore in the Middle East and if you want a more traditional experience is a place to go. Thanks for reading the post, please share to your friends and sign in to receive our updates; also follow us on Instagram, and Facebook search for #BORICUASLIVINGABROAD. Until next time….

Dubai winter, you will love the time outside!!!

If Dubai summer is a tough time of the year to be outside in the desert heat with temperatures above 40 Celcius (100+F) every day, the winter seasons is completely the opposite with “cold” weather from 16 to 26 Celsius and do I need to add sunny with no rain. Is the time of the year where you only plan to do things outside enjoying the great places Dubai has to offer like going to the beach, seating outside in a restaurant for a drink/meal, watch a nice sunset or ride a bike across the city exploring it.

Beach during winter months is a great option, water is cold for my taste but just enjoying the sun is more than enough.

We have been living in Dubai Marina for the past 2 years and as empty nesters it offers a great environment if you don’t mind being in a tourist area; being so close to the beach, restaurants and bars makes it an enviable place to live. From Marina you have easy access to the metro, tram, water taxi, scooters, and bikes, there is no excuse to enjoy yourself outside and have a good time.

A couple weeks back we decided for a different outing and enjoy the benefit of having a Careem bike station in front of the building, for $20AED ($5.50 USD) you get to rent a e-bike for the day with unrestricted trips of 45 minutes. The service is very easy to use, you just need a mobile to download the app, register and be ready to enjoy the service, the only thing is that every 45 minutes you need to stop a a station lock the bike and then unlock it again to start new 45 min.

Dubai is a flat city, riding an e- bike is easy, plus the infrastructure help to get you along good distances. Our plan was to bike 40km, from marina to Dubai mall and do some sightseeing along the way, finishing in the mall for some shopping and a good late lunch. The route would be mostly across the beach shore making it more enjoyable, passing through some of the most iconic places in Dubai like the Burj Al Arab, Kite Beach, and the Burj Khalifa.

As you can see from the photos, it is a great way to explore the city and exercise a bit (bike e-system makes it easy). Now that winter has arrived, we will enjoy the next 3 to 4 months outside before is time back again to go inside the buildings and turn on the AC to manage the intense heat of the desert.

If you come to Dubai during these months, take advantage of the great weather and explore all the beauties of this great city. Thanks for reading the post, please share to your friends and sign in to receive our updates; also follow us on Instagram, and Facebook search for #BORICUASLIVINGABROAD. Until next time….

12 hours in Qatar to experience the 2022 FIFA World Cup…

I wanted to start my first post of 2023, sharing my experience on the biggest sporting event last year the 2022 FIFA World Cup that was played in Qatar with participation of 32 national teams and millions of spectators going to Qatar for the first time to catch one of the matches. Personally I always wanted to attend an Olympic and a World Cup so being in the region during this time was a great opportunity to try and catch a game and feel the energy of the world most played gamed game in the biggest stage the World cup. On a separate note the event was also huge in Dubai and in our office, here some pics for the fun at work, including the biggest Pringles execution (picture included)

World Cup fever was also Pringles fever!!! Team did an awesome job in all the markets and building the spirit in the office

From a competition perspective, the full event is one of the most interesting World Cup I have seen. With good moments in the different stages: Saudi win vs. Argentina in group play, South Korea last minute goal versus Portugal to punch the ticket to round of 16, Morocco run to semifinals, and the Argentina victory in penalties over France to win the cup. This world cup deliver tons of emotion and great stories that will make it memorable for many years.

Fan Zones in Dubai were awesome with huge screens and lots of food, drinks, and activities

There was a lot of talk on how well organized was the event and if this small country would be able to host, Qatar a nation of approximately 3 million people, biggest producer of liquified natural gas is the smallest country to ever hold the event. The size of the country and the distance from the different stadiums made it a very singular World Cup where you could watch multiple live games on the same day (very difficult in other editions), also the size of the country provided multiple challenges like transportation, and lodging. With this challenges places like Dubai took advantage and prepared to be an alternate location to Qatar making it easy for people to make a day trip and participate in the event.

Qatar could be small in size but the infrastructure is huge… Doha Airport best in the world, the metro trains seats are business seats in any airline

When I move to Dubai, for sure going to the world cup was on the scope. I was part of the FIFA lottery for tickets but did not win one of those coveted email saying your are a fortunate fan to buy tickets, also did not had luck on the secondary market, it was shaping to be tragic that being so close could not attend the event. Then a miracle happen, or a good friend happen… I was contacted by a friend coming to the region and stopping in Qatar to see a couple of games and also stop in other places like Dubai to explore the region, we started chatting and he connected me to a person with tickets… Eureka first part was checked – tickets to see Mexico vs Saudi last game of group play… what a great opportunity. Just want to send a big thanks to my friend Juan for this (Pic below with him, wives, and friends), is was great not only going to the World Cup but also meeting him in Dubai for a drink.

Now that we had tickets to the game, next will be buying air tickets to Doha. Close to the start of the event, both flydubai and Qatar airways setup shuttle flights (Up to 24 hours in Qatar) from Dubai World Central, second airport that serves Dubai. With more than 30 flights a day it was a great way to participate and not have the hassle of check in in a hotel and all the additional expenses. We decided to buy tickets in Qatar Airways, leaving 4PM and returning 4AM on November 30 to watch the Mexico vs Saudi game at 10PM in the Lusail stadium.

Gameday arrived and the adventure began, it was crazy see only Doha flights in the airport monitors (All the roads lead to the World Cup). The 1hr flight was on time and with great energy from all the fans there, mostly people from Argentina and Mexico on the flight, everyone talking about the scenarios and how they think their teams are going to the next round. During the months event Doha would receive in excess of 25,000 people daily, imagine the planning to get all the people efficiently in and out of the country. Once we arrived to the airport, migration was a breeze 15-20 minutes tops, live entertainment was outside the terminal so the energy was impressive.

Dubai World Central Airport was an extension of the FIFA World Cup…

We had enough time to land in the stadium and see the surrounding areas, it was great that the game would be in Lusail Stadium where the facility and the city were built for the event. After exciting the airport we decided to use their metro to move and what a great decision it was, not only the ease and the cost (free) but it was also the adrenaline of seeing people from the different countries cheering for their teams. Saudi fans were fantastic not only in numbers but also the positive energy they brought to the stadium, it was fun how fans form different teams cheer loudly but respectfully with each other. We had Mexico shirts and they were very respectful and friendly, it was a bit party!!!! One of the highlight in the metro was meeting “Pulpito” a Colombian fan that did not lose the opportunity to go and see the world cup, even tough Colombia was not there.

Getting to the stadium was easy and entertaining, El Pulpito in the photo…

After arriving in the Lusail stadium, it was an easy walk to the stadium and the surroundings. We decided to have something to eat before the game so main street was the place, thousand of people in the streets cheering and chanting in favor of their teams. There were many restaurants and shops, so after deciding a restaurant we order some food to eat at a bench in the street, here one of the crazy things this guys build in Qatar: the benches had AC, also in the streets there was cold air flowing from the bottom to keep people fresh… Crazy insane. First time I have seen this, I had already read that the stadiums had full air conditioning in the seats but in the street. It was memorable.

Lusail was a very impressive venue, 100% world cup… also we found AC coming out of the street!!! Fans were great

Entering the stadium was easy and the ticket was digital, no issue there. Lusail stadium was the place where the final happened. What a great place to held the final, is a 80,000 plus spectator stadium but there are many entrances around the stadium so people get in and out very easy. Once inside many employees supporting to get to your seats, for us was in the Mexican side in the back of one of the goal. People ready for the game, and after the singing of the anthems we got game and what a game it was. Mexico needed to score goals to had a chance and get into the roud of 16, after a 0-0 at the half, we were part of one of the most exciting 2nd half I have seen. Mexico push and got a couple of goals, and they continue pushing until the end, they were very close but at the end was a bitter end 2-1 victory. What a game, after so much intensity it was like running a marathon.

Meet some great people from Saudi… The stadium impressive from the outside

Getting back from the game to the airport was also very easy, taking the metro again we went directly and since the boarding pass where given at the initial check in it was an easy check in to the terminal. In the terminal you got to see fans coming back from their games and sharing stories, football was not finished.

Stadium experience and the game were grrrrreat!!!

For us the experience was excellent, all the elements of the experience where spectacular: Flight on time and great migration process in both Dubai and Doha, transportation to and from the game in the metro was clean and efficient, Lusail city experience pre and post game with great food and entertainment, unique game experience with great fans from both Mexico and Saudi Arabia. The time and money was well worth it, I am thankful for the opportunity to live this experience and to any fan of football would encourage to go and be in a world cup. I for sure will try to be in FIFA World Cup 2026 in MEX/USA/CAN

It was not the result we wanted in the game but the experience was better than planned. Thanks for reading the post, and I hope you have the opportunity to live an experience as cool as the FIFA World Cup. Please share the link, sign in to receive our new posts; also follow us on Instagram, or Facebook look for #BORICUASLIVINGABROAD. Until next time….

Let’s finish the list on 10 things you could do in Dubai, while coming to Qatar World Cup – Part 2

Will take the opportunity to finish the list of things you could do here in Dubai, making the most of your time in the Middle East for the world cup in Qatar. Many of the big Airlines have announce the use of Al Maktoum International (DWC) airport to serve as a bridge between the 2 countries during the soccer event. Dubai is just 1 hour flight from Doha so definitely doing a couple of days here can be a great addition to what will be the biggest sport event of the year.

6) Explore the Dubai Mall and see the city atop the Burj Khalifa

In Dubai breaking records is a common thing, is not strange to find the second biggest shopping mall and tallest building in the world next to each other. They are both located in downtown Dubai, thousand of people go there daily to shop, dine and entertain. It is crazy to see hundred of people walking in bunches from the metro station to the Dubai Mall entrance, just the walk is 1 mile long.

Impressive view of the Burj from the outside

Once you are inside the mall, there is plenty to do… Some of the attractions are full hockey court, 22 movie cinema, Fountain show (Las Vegas Style), 150 million old Dino Fossil, VR Park, 1,000+ stores, more than 100 restaurants (Fine dinning, Casual dinning, Fast Food, Cafes). You need to plan ahead just to not get lost!!!

Dino is here to salute you… 150 million years old

From the Dubai Mall you can directly to the Burj Khalifa entrance where you can take an elevator and go up to different floors and admire Dubai from the altitude. In the lobby you will find interesting information on the development of the building and all the great technology it has. It is an impressive building from the inside but for me is more spectacular admiring it from different places of Dubai, you can see the building from many miles in the distance

Night View of the Burj Khalifa, being part of the Fountain show

7) Visit Dubai Marina and have a good time in one of the many restaurants

30 minutes by car from the Dubai airport you will find Dubai Marina an artificial canal city that opened in 2003 and now makes home for more than 50K people. Getting to Marina is very easy, you could take the metro and get down in the Dubai Marina Metro station, from there you can walk to many places or take the tram that will make it more accessible to move toward the outer parts of marina.

You can find great places to eat and have fun, during day or night… check for daily brunches and happy hours to benefit of good specials in food and drinks. There are places with great views of the Marina and JBR, some of the places I like are Pier 7 (7 restaurants under one roof), Bliss Lounge (great view to the Dubai Eye), Chalco’s Cantina at Marina Gate (Great Mexican food and Corona Beer, you will find me here during the World Cup). Very close from here is Dubai Harbor one of the places that will have FIFA fan zones to enjoy the games.

8) Jump into a Water Taxi and admire Dubai Skyline from the sea

In Dubai you will see a huge number of exotic car on the streets, you can even rent a Ferrari for 60 minutes and take it out for a spin; there is also many public transportation alternatives and one of them is a water Taxi service where you can move to key locations around Dubai. It is a great way to see a little bit of the city from the see with great skyline views of Dubai.

Enjoy a different view of the Dubai Skyline

Some of the locations you can go and start a trip are: Dubai Marina, Dubai Creek, Al Ghubaiba (Old Dubai). Depending the distance you will pay between $6USD to $20USD, taking the longest route will bring you some great views of different landscapes of the city. For sure is a great activity for all people, and you can combine it with other transportation methods to cover all the city.

This one takes you from one end to another end of the Dubai Marina

9) Visit Expo 2020 site and watch a game in this FIFA fan zone

In October 2021 with a delay of 1 year the Dubai World Expo 2020 opened, for this even that run until March 2022 Dubai created a city from zero a place where more than 180 countries got together to share the best they have to offer from innovations, culinary arts, folklore, business opportunities. It was an event that brought more than 20 million visitors in 6 months, and now the Dubai Expo site is being prepared to become a center for entrepreneurs to develop ideas and foster innovations that will impact the world.

In October they are reopening some of the country pavilions and activities that where part of the Expo, and during the world cup the central plaza will be converted into a FIFA fan zone where you can go and enjoy football with for sure thousand of people of different nationalities. It will be clearly a place to go during the world cup and after it, since it is reopening as Expo City Dubai.

Good Parks at expo, you will find some big screens

10) Make a short trip to other Emirates, they are all very close

If you want to explore beyond Dubai there are other great Emirates and activities to do a couple of hours from downtown. Here are a couple of ideas if you want to adventure: Go to Abu Dhabi just a 40 minute drive and do a day tour to see this Emirate and enjoy Ferrari World, WB Park or try some car racing in the Yas Marina Circuit. I will be doing a full post on Abu Dhabi so I can share detailed information on the richest Emirate of the UAE. The second idea is go and do the longest Zipline in the world at Jebel Jais in the Ras Al-Khaimah Emirate is around 2 hour drive, you will not be disappointed with this adventure.

There are many other things to do in Dubai but this 10 that I just shared are definitely must do if you have the time, the World Cup in Qatar is near and Dubai will be a great destination to enjoy the event. Thanks for reading the post, please share it and sign in to receive our updates; also follow us on Instagram, or Facebook look for #BORICUASLIVINGABROAD. Until next time….

Emirates Business Class and Airbus 380… one fine combination

When I moved to Dubai on August of last year, I knew that there would be a chance to try Emirates and the Airbus 380. It is known the high level of service and quality Emirates provides in Dubai and also how they are using the A380 to differentiate from other airlines when it comes to service and amenities for their customers. Before getting here I had read about the Emirates Terminal in DXB and how this massive building is able to manage millions of passengers in a year also how Emirates is the biggest customer of the A380 and is providing exclusive amenities to its customers.

Once you arrive to Dubai you see how Emirates is important to the growth of Dubai as one of the top tourist destination in the world. Dubai International Airport is the busiest international passenger based on traffic and is because of the massive footprint of Emirates in the country flying to more than 80 countries and more than 160 destination and the Airbus 380 is a big factor in managing those numbers. Emirates is the biggest customer for the plane with 119 of them in service more than 40% of the available planes in the world. If you add the foothold of the A380 plus Terminal 3 at DXB (Biggest passenger terminal in the world) you get Dubai recipe of having a record to show the world.

The Emirates Business Class experience start when you get picked in a BMW at you home/office and drop you off in the Business/First Class designated area at the airport. Is crazy to see the number of cars you can see in the road with the Emirates logo, but then you need to understand that an A380 has more than 70 business class seats. This initial service really set the mood for a smooth transition from your starting point to the airplane. Once you get out of the car you can select one of the many business class stations to do the check in, since the terminal is so huge they dedicate massive space for check in for all classes. My experience is that it takes 5 to 10 minutes for the check in as they have a good number of stations, after you get your boarding pass is onto the Business Class Lounge. The Security and Migration at DXB is a breeze, once you have your biometrics into the system you only put you passport on one of the smart gates and the doors will open to let you pass into the terminal. From the different airports I have been the efficiency in this one is phenomenal.

After you pass security there is a 5-10 minute walk into the terminal and towards the Lounges, one thing that I learned the first time is that the lounges (Business and First) are the size of the terminal; so if you flight leaves from door 35 you have an elevator that goes directly to the door and no need to leave the lounge to get to the door. Once you get to the lounge you can enjoy the big facility: have some food, enjoy a drink or just relax in one of the many areas they have for resting. The place is so big you can be get the right space for work, meditate, chat with fellow passengers while waiting for your departure. With one our to the flight boarding start, you will see it in the many monitors, the good thing is you check in from the lounge to the airplane.

After getting to the gate you can appreciate the size of the A380, for the airplane to work the airports needed to adapt multiple tunnels for the boarding, in some cases you can see up to 3 tunnels connected but usually there are 2: one for each floor of the airplane. Inside the airplane you start seeing beautiful details that are part of the Emirates brand, with some background music. Fun fact: in many of the boarding’s there are a couple of songs by Puerto Rican artists like Marc Anthony, Ricky Martin, Chayanne!!!

The A380 has some features that makes it unique, in first class you have fully enclosed seats with dinning at your leisure and yes the opportunity to shower at 40,000 feet in the air… As of now I have not experienced the first class service but my current experience in Economy and Business has been exceptional so definitely the experience in first would be out of this world.

Business section is huge, since is almost all the second floor of the airplane, but you can see a great number of flight attendants ready to support you during the flight. Once you get to your seat, there is the traditional champagne to start the journey and while they make last checks before flight. You will find business seats to be spacious with ample storing place, the configuration of the seating brings good privacy but if you are flying with someone you could get center side by side seats that by lowering a small board you have the ability to share during the flight.

After approximately 45 minutes of departure you can go to the Onboard lounge where you can go and have a drink or snack while in the air and have an share stories with other fellow passengers. Going there and just be an hour of the flight there is a very enjoyable experience, personally have met great people from other parts of the world and also learn a little bit more from some of the great flight attendants that support us during the flight.

Food in the flight is excellent with always good variety and taste, you will not get hungry in the flight. Full dining service in your seat and cold/hot snacks in the lounge, and obviously a good variety of beverages with a full bar and drink menu. They also have snacks likes olives, peanuts if you only want to calm your hunger.

Once you are in the air is easy to forget you are cruising at more than 500 mph / 35,000 feet in the air with the personal service, big spaces and the entertainment available (called ICE more than 3,000 movies and music) will make the flight memorable. I will miss this level of service when I finally go back to America to suffer in those regular seats the airlines offers (:-)

The airplane is powered by four big engines, and you would be surprised at the low noise you hear when in the air, I have been in smaller airplanes where talking would have been more difficult. Engine noise was an important issue that they manage as you will find tough regulations regarding noise levels at some of the key airports like London Heathrow, Lufthansa did a study and found noise levels 50% lower than their 747. Its avionics was taken from military experience and was a first in commercial aviation, more than 300 miles are installed in each airplane. Some people has said that part of the delay was in part to the complicated process of installing all this cables. In total more than 4 million components are part of each vehicle.

The combination of great service by the Emirates team, plus a great airplane in the A380 makes the experience unforgettable. Is important to remember that the travel experience is not only the final destination. Thanks for reading the post, please share it and sign in to receive our updates; also follow us on Instagram, or Facebook look for #BORICUASLIVINGABROAD. Until next time….

Dubai Marina: Impressive promenade, close to JBR beach with many restaurants and activities for all ages

30 minutes from the airport on Sheikh Zayed road you will arrive to Dubai Marina, one of the top communities in the UAE, established in 2003 is considered one of the biggest man made marina in the world (If you ask here they will tell you is the biggest). For the developers to make it real, they excavated and brought the Persian Gulf waters into the development creating a 3KM long canal.

A great urban space with activities for everyone

There are 2 big areas that are part of of the community, one is Dubai Marina with many buildings across the canal and the other is JBR (Jumeirah Beach Residence) which is in front of the JBR beach. The JBR project is massive with more than 30+ buildings, that include hotels and apartments with many retail outlets. JBR is the largest single phase residential development in the world (another Guinness record for the UAE), the project looks impressive when looking it from the sea.

Great Skyline of the Dubai Marina from the different points in the Promenade

There are hundreds of boats that go in and out every day, from daily excursions, big yachts rentals, and private boats that are anchored on the marina. Just sitting in one of the many restaurants and look into the canal and see the boat movement can make for a relax experience. You can rent from a couple of hours to full days and get to explore a different view of Dubai from the sea.

One of the secrets to view Dubai Marina is the RTA public transportation boat you can board, at 4:30PM every day the boat leaves from a station near the Dubai Marina Mall it goes through the canal and to open sea, making it way back when it reaches the hotel Atlantis, the trip is one hour long and provide great views of the many attractions in the area. The price is around $30 Dirhams ($8 USD)

Dubai Marina connects with JBR beach, this adds tons of additional things to do and enjoy

If you like to run the Marina promenade give you the opportunity to run around the marina, with great views of the buildings, boats and tourists. The route is around 6KM so you can do some work before going to one of the many restaurants and then to the beach. The views are simply spectacular, the massive buildings and the canal waters makes it for great views something very difficult to find elsewhere.

Great place to catch a run or simply walk to relax after a hectic day

There are restaurants for every taste from the classic fast foods, to local cuisine or international restaurants; many of them have tables outside and when the weather is good makes it for a spectacular gathering. One of my favorite places is Pier 7, this locale has 7 different restaurant where you can go to eat, drink and have fun with great views of the marina.

Walking distance from the JBR beach is a new development called Bluewaters also a place with many entertainment options and also restaurants, here you can find Ain Dubai the tallest and biggest observation wheel, another record set in Dubai. Is a great place to get a good view on the Dubai Marina skyline

Ain Dubai and Bluwaters at the top of the photo

If you are in Dubai do not miss it, take at least one full day to enjoy it. For sure I will be writing again about this great place, if you just read the post please forward to a friend and sign in to receive our updates; also follow us on Instagram, or Facebook look for #BORICUASLIVINGABROAD. Until next time….

La Perle by Dragone… Great show, must see if you are in Dubai

Dubai is full of great activities to do… some outside and extreme like Skydubai and the tandem skydiving jump, others inside live Ski Dubai where you can go and have a great time doing some skiing in an enclosed ski park. Options are numerous, so companies need to put lot of thought and investment on great shows with the best of the entertainment industry.

If you been to Las Vegas, you would know regular shows like KA, O, Blue Man Group, Mindfreak. This are regular shows that have their own theater, with shows almost every day of the week (2 functions per day). The theaters used for the shows in some cases in some cases are built with unique specifications only designed for that show, investment goes into millions of dollars.

La Perle is located in Al Habtoor City – Close to the Dubai Creek

La Perle is based on the same concept of a permanent, 2 daily functions held in a custom made for the show theater in Dubai consisting of performances by acrobats, gymnasts, and daredevils with awesome music and special effects. The show opened in 2017 and was developed by Franco Dragone, hi is one of the creators of some Cirque du Soleil shows.

Theater Ambience is great, you feel close to the show

You can buy tickets for one of the 3 zones they have, in my view all tickets are good since the theater is not that big and the way is designed let you have a good view from any vantage point. Once you enter the ticket area, you can buy a drink and some snacks, take them to the seat and enjoy the 90 minute show.

One of the performances… The acrobatics were awesome

The show has a good balance of big performances (high flying) and other more light (comedy), making the 90 minutes very enjoyable with a very energetic finish. As you will see in the photos the theater decoration make you feel that you are part of the show.

If you want you can go earlier to the theater and have some food at restaurants that are in the same area where 3 Hilton properties are located, also you can do it after the show as Dubai is a night city where people are outside enjoying themselves until late in the morning. It is a great alternative for entertainment in the city, it doe not matter if you been to similar shows La Perle has it’s own essence.

If you are in Dubai do not miss it. This is all for now, if you just read the post please forward to a friend and sign in to receive our updates; also follow us on Instagram, or Facebook look for #BORICUASLIVINGABROAD . Until next time….

Burj Khalifa… Tallest building of the world, One of the iconic places in Dubai

Once you arrive in Dubai, the number of tall buildings will impress you. As you move across the city you see different areas where Skyscrapers are found, for example you have Sheikh Zayed road where you will find many of this Skyscrapers like the Gevora Hotel (Tallest hotel in the world), Dubai Marina were the Marina 101 is located at a height of 425 meters is the second tallest building in Dubai, and Downtown Dubai where the Burj Khalifa is located standing at more than 800 meters high (half a mile!!!)

It is so tall that you can see the building from a great distance

There is no formal definition on a Skyscraper but if we use the reference of 150 meters, Dubai has close to 75 buildings higher than these. The cool thing is that every building has it’s own persona there are no 2 Skyscraper alike making it a great activity on looking for details unique to each building.

A sample of the many tall buildings you will find in Dubai

It took 6 years to get the project completed from 2004 to 2010, at a cost of $1.5 billion dollar one of the most expensive projects in the UAE, it is located next to the Dubai Mall (biggest shopping mall in the world) in Downtown Dubai. You can see the building from many places within the city, is impressive the size versus all other structures. When you look it in a close up it seems that the top floors are fake (like Disney use in the parks to create special effect), but in fact they are real, the Burj Khalifa has 163 floors combined into offices, residential, retail, and entertainment. The 828 meters height is 20% more than the Merdeka 118, second tallest building in the world located in Kuala Lumpur.

Look at night, it is impressive, display on the building is spectacular

The design is derived from Islamic architecture and presented multiple challenges from building efficiently and economically, understanding the winds, elevator systems, electrical and water services. Design challenges were not the only thing that they needed to overcome, there was some financial troubles and with support from the ruler of Abu Dhabi the government lent billions of dollars to continue the project.

A little bit of the timeline to get the building done

You can enjoy by going to the Dubai Mall and get a close up look of the building while the Dubai Fountains play their show, or can have the experience to go at the top of the Burj Khalifa. For this you can go to their webpage and get ta ticket for specific hour, best times are at sunrise and sunset (tickets are more expensive). One interesting fact is that at the top of the Burj Khalifa you see the sun 2-3 more minutes than being on the ground floor (impressive) .

Some of the views at top of the Burj Khalifa

One of the must places to go in Dubai, the Burj Khalifa is an important engineering and architecture masterpiece not only for Dubai but for the world. If you are in Dubai do not miss it. This is all for now, if you just read the post please forward to a friend and sign in to receive our updates; also follow us on Instagram, or Facebook look for #BORICUASLIVINGABROAD . Until next time….

Experiencing Jebel Jais the Longest Zipline in the world

To end the year in Dubai, I had the opportunity to bring my family for a couple of weeks so they can also enjoy the great things the UAE has to offer. We planned to not only do things in Dubai but also do activities in other Emirates including Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and Ras Al Khaimah; you will see other posts of the different activities.

Me and my Kids.. getting pumped to do the adventure!!!

With 2 big kids (21 and 17 years), we need to found high energy things with lots of adrenaline. Doing some research I found that the UAE has another Guinness world record (to many to count) and is the longest zipline in the world. We already had some experience trying the Monster Zipline in Orocovis, Puerto Rico, currently 3rd longest behind Jebel Jais in UAE and one located in Chihuahua Mexico.

Great roads in the UAE… From Jebel Jais mountains you can see the neighboring country of Oman

The trip from Dubai is around 2:30 hours, the first part is a bg road but then you get to the Jebel Jais mountain where you will spend a good 40-50 minutes going up to the Zipline entrance. Roads in Dubai are spectacular, no issue for us to drive with a clean and well paved road up to the entrance of the attraction.

Jebel Jais mountains are spectacular… Impressive views!!!

To do the attraction, my recommendation is that you book your ticket in advance so you have a reserved spot; once you get there it is well organized with people guiding you through the check in process and security brief before going into a small van that will take you to the launch area. Let me tell you I like adrenaline activities but when you start getting close to the Zipline and see the magnitude of the adventure your heart start pumping blood faster and will definitely get some chills.

You see the lines that will guide your 2.8KM journey

When you are driving across the Jebel Jais mountains you have impressive views of the mountains and the huge gaps between them, 10-15 minutes before you arrive you can identify what it seems the launchpad of the Zipline and at first you think that cannot be, because of the height and the steepness of the drop…. but yes you then realize that it is the launchpad and you will go down more than 2.8 KM at speeds of more than 120kph (75mph). They tell you that you could reach up to 160kph (100mph), I do not know of is true but once you are going down it is fast!!!!!. Once you finish your trip, you arrive into a suspended platform, a la Star Wars from there is a short Zipline to the van that will take you to the starting place.

Suspended Platform where you Arrive – Star Wars !!!!!

Look at the red circle… That is me flying to the finish line!!!

The place has a restaurant where you can grab some drinks and food, while enjoying a great view. Also they rent Go Pro cameras if you want to capture video of your adventure. Employees are well trained, you feel very secure during the process from registration, launching pad and coming back. If you want more info you can go to their webpage at https://visitjebeljais.com/

2021 was a great year, where I had the opportunity to visit new countries and places, I hope that the sharing of this experiences set some excitement and that you plan your own adventures. Will continue sharing my experience during 2022, for now if you just read my post, forward to a friend and sign in to receive our updates; also follow us on Instagram, or Facebook look for #BORICUASLIVINGABROAD . Until next time….

Gold and Spice Souk in Dubai… Is not the new Dubai, but is a must see attraction!!!

Once you arrive to Dubai, all the new buildings and new attractions capture your attention and forgot that the city started hundreds of years ago as a trading post for precious metals, pearl industry and fishing village. Not far from the new Dubai you will find this markets or Souks the way they are called here.

The Gold and Spice Souks are located in Deira, Dubai; can be said on the Old Dubai. Deira is the commercial part of Dubai but has lost focus due to the accelerated growth of Dubai other commercial places. In Deira you will find the Dubai Creek a natural waterway, where you will found many small boats (Abra boats) moving from one point of the city to another point of the city by paying $1 or $2 AED. The markets are more than 100 years old with gaining relevance with the oil boom of the 70’s.

Once you get to the Souks, walking them are easy and secure. As many places in Dubai they are well kept and with good signage to facilitate walking from point A to point B. As you enter the Gold Souk you are greeted with the biggest gold ring in the world (another record for Dubai!!!), weighting at more than 140+ pounds is huge, it can be the ring for King Kong. As many records they announce you will see the Guinness certificate.

Yes is a GOLD ring and below ou see the Guinness certificate

Along the hallway you see the different shops showcasing their work, all things gold… Gold Clothing, hundreds of necklaces, chains, rings, bracelets, everything you can imagine is there in gold. Different Karats and colors can be found, also Silver is widely available with many products being offered. It is a great place for a nice stroll just looking and stopping to see the level of detail in some of the pieces. We did enter to a couple of stores and never felt being hassled to buy something, obviously they will try and show you their work and get you interested but in a relaxed manner.

Some example of the gold pieces you can find

Not far from the Gold Souk you will find the Spice souk, also with good spaces you will have a colorful and aromatic journey from the different spices you can buy there. The displays looks wonderful and inside the stores you also can see other variety of products. The cool thing here is you can see the product very close before you buy and discuss with the shopkeeper on the different spices and their history.

Walking the Spice souk gives you a sense of traveling back in time, when no supermarkets were available and went to the markets to buy what you needed for the day, there’s no doubt that the level of intimacy on the service is the best compared to the big box stores that exist today in Dubai.

As the year start I will continue the updates from Dubai and sharing more insight on this great place, also will include some post around neighboring emirates. For now if you just read my post, please forward to your friends and sign in to receive our updates; also follow us on Instagram, or Facebook look for #BORICUASLIVINGABROAD . Until next time….