Tag: tourist

Going to Qatar for the world cup… You could jump to Dubai for a couple of days… Part 1

This last August mark my first year living in Dubai, what was a six month assignment is now a one year and still going adventure. I will tell you that time flies… and more when you are having fun, during this past 12 months been having the opportunity to go to different countries in the AMEA region (Asia, Middle East, Africa, Australia), met great people and experience closely their cultures, something that you don’t get to experience so intimate living in the USA or Mexico.

Museum of the Future… Emirates Towers behind… Some of the great architecture you will find in Dubai

In November of this year the world will be looking to Qatar for the 2022 world cup, one of the biggest sporting events in planet earth. We expect more than 1 million people going to see matches there and many more just visiting Qatar as tourist. The UAE is also preparing for this event as both countries are very close just one our flight can take you from Dubai to Doha, so we expect to live the world cup like we were live in Qatar.

Dubai has great roads to manage huge number of visitors

As part of the world cup Dubai will have official FIFA fan Zones, and also hundreds of flights will be available to go and see a match in Qatar to then come back a couple of hours after the match ends. This initiatives plus other private initiatives are to support the tourist infrastructure of Qatar and generate tourism spend in Dubai taking advantage of the millions of persons coming to the region. We are all in Dubai excited for the world cup, not only for the sporting part, but also for the additional events (Artistic, Open Air Watching Parties) that will happen in Dubai during this very intense 30 days.

Qatar world cup will bring a good number of visitors similar to the World Expo on 2021-22

Taking into consideration that many people will be first timers in Dubai and maybe with limited time between the games, I just want to share 10 things that you should put on the list to do while in Dubai. Dubai has many things to enjoy, so the idea is to share some information that will help you decide what to do. I will separate the list into 2 posts so I can describe a little bit more each activity, weather should be great in November to be outside and enjoy 100%.

1, Take the Metro and connect to many attractions and Shopping Malls

Dubai Metro is a very simple 2 lines system connecting many great places for dinning, shopping, or entertainment. The red line is currently the longest self driving metro line in the world. You can buy tickets at every stop in machines or in a booth where personnel can help you. Cost for a single trip in the silver cabin goes from $1.50 USD to $3.00 USD, also there is Gold cabin that cost 2X. Some of the key attractions connecting the metro are: Dubai Mall, Mall of the Emirates and Ibn Battuta Mall / Old Dubai has a stop / Museum of the Future / DXB Airport / Dubai Marina (connect to tram) / Expo 2020 (Site of Event).

The metro makes the city very mobile, you will need to use taxi or buses but the trains makes a great opportunity to see the city from an elevated track; if we have a clear day it makes for a great trip to explore the city. Metro runs from 6AM till 12/1AM depending the day so it is available many hours during the day, it can get packed during peak hours but you can always squeeze in.

Stations are big spaces with A/C
See Red and Green Line. Red Line connect to the Dubai Marina Tram
Gold Cabin has less people, more chance to get a seat

2. Visit Jumeirah Mosque and learn a little bit of Islam

Close to La Mer Beach, you find Jumeirah Mosque a very beautiful place that open doors in 1979 and operates using the Open Doors, Open Mind program of the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding (SMCCU) promoting and sharing of Muslim culture and Islam to non Muslims with the idea of better understanding their beliefs. The activity is 90 minutes long, where they share a little bit of what is Islam and the core values where it stands, also they open a session for questions looking to share some wisdom with the participants. For me was a great learning experience, that makes me more sensible to their culture and beliefs. There are some requirements (Women wear scarf covering head, Men have long pants), but is open to anyone that want to have the experience

3. Go to JBR beach and enjoy a bath in the Persian Gulf

Dubai has many beaches along the coastline, one of them is know as JBR. This urban beach is filled with many restaurants and hotels is the perfect place to enjoy a full day of beach activities with good food and cold refreshments. You can come with your car and park in one of the underground parking or if you are staying in one of the many hotels of the area just walk and find your place on the beach. You could easily forget that you are in the desert, once you sit and enjoy the sun and the calm water in front of you. JBR for me is special since you can find activities for everyone: Rent Jet Ski and go along the Palm, Rent a boat and go out to sea and see the sunset, Go to one of the many beach clubs and enjoy the pool, Get some food and have a picnic on the beach.

4. Go to the desert and have dinner under the stars in front of a Bonfire

One activity that for me was exceptional last year and also was lots of fun was an outing to the Desert, it is one of this things that you can do with different budgets. There are desert trips that you go and do dune bashing, sand surfing, live shows, BBQ, the whole enchilada or you could do a more intimate gathering to have good food and enjoy the company of friends and family. Be there by Sunset is a must, also be comfortable with sand on your shoes but most important admire the sky and the stars that you will see. The farther from the city the better as you will have less light contamination.

No oasis near!!!
Awesome to eat in the desert
BBQ… Yummy
Glad to be in Dubai with this great team

5. Visit Old Dubai, explore the Gold and Spice Markets

Before all the big building and majestic developments Dubai was a merchant port that was supported by maritime industry, Old Dubai is a place you can’t miss if you come to Dubai, here you will find some interesting stores offering wacky gold, diamond stuff like women clothing or you could try and buy the biggest gold ring in the world. The market is not only good for sightseeing but also prices are good for gold since Dubai does not charge taxes on it. Beside the gold market you will also find the spice market where you can get your favorite spice or explore new ones. A trip to this part of the city will take you 2-3 hours, you can get by using the metro.

Not your typical clothing store
Ring Size 1,000,000
Variety of Spices to explore

In my next post will finish the list of things to do in Dubai if you have a couple of days in the city, one thing is important Dubai will not fail. 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….

Zihuatanejo… great beach town with a strong local vibe!!!

For the 2nd year in a row we decided to spend the last week of the year in a Mexican beach town, this year the reason was very different since the COVID affected our plans to see family in Puerto Rico. Zihua as the locals call it is located around 6hrs drive from Queretaro on the State of Guerrero a very fertile land located in the Pacific Coast. Very close is the more known Ixtapa also on Guerrero, is more focused on big resorts and you will have a less local experience.

We got a reservation via Airbnb for an apartment located within walking distance of the town center and with a great view of the Bay, the view was as great as advertised and the people living in the building were great, between locals and retired persons the building has great character. During the stay we had an issue with our beloved dog “Tina”, the people from the building and local veterinary were marvelous in supporting us during the incident. One more proof that the good ones are more everywhere we are. She is doing very well if you want to know!!!

The center of Zihua still looks very simple, kept very clean and you have tourist and locals in the restaurants, stores and pier all day long. There you can have some fresh seafood, buy your ticket to Playa Las Gata or talk with local fishermen to buy fresh fish to make at your apartment. One morning we had a great breakfast in Cafe Galerias the “huevos rancheros” very tasteful with a little bit of spice to get to a great start, we also tried “La Sirena Gorda” for lunch during our stay the Adobado fish very tasteful and the ceviche fresh. Definitely the Zihua center has alternative for the family with many alternatives to eat.

The standout of food in this trip for us was Letty´s restaurant it is very close to the town center, their specialty Coconut Shrimps. Their food was so great we went there multiple times to eat, a great thing of going to small towns is the closeness of service from the owners, Letty is a great woman with many years of experience in the kitchen, her cooking secrets are comparable to big international chefs. We were no fan of octopus but the way she prepares it makes it a gem. As many restaurants from around the world they are suffering from the slowdown in business, i hope that next time we are there we will have the great Coconut Shrimps.

If you go to Zihua it means you are going to the beach and here you will find a good number of them, we went only to a couple of them but they have similar experience: fun, great food, beers, sun and nice water. You get to the beaches in different transportation modes from walking, by car or public transportation to a small boat. The important thing is that you plan for the day since there are many activities to do and lots of places to eat, drink and be merry. I will share some insight from 2 beaches that for us were great

Las Gatas beach is located in front of the pier in ZIhua, to get there you need to take a small boat (cost $80 pesos both ways / $4USD). If you want to take a good place you need to arrive around 10:30AM and will guarantee some lounge chairs in front of the beach. Once you arrive you have many restaurants to choose from, we went to Otilia´s and the experience was good. Here the service was 5 star from a guy named Franco , the attention to detail was phenomenal and that made the day great. From heavy surge there are lot´s of rocks in the sand so you should bring shoes to be in the water

La Ropa beach is also in Zihua, this beach is bigger in size compared to Las Gatas. You can arrive by car or walking (30 minute walk from our place), here also you have multiple restaurant you can choose from and we went to La Perla, here the food was very good and the service from Jesus also phenomenal, they really made our days even better. In La Ropa you have many choices of water activities, you can get close to them and negotiate good prices from a Jet Ski to be launched in a Parachute to appreciate the bay. We feel pretty secure there, following common rules of security.

At night you can go to the many restaurants to eat and have a drink or if you have a great view get some food and have dinner by the moon. For us it was a full day of action and at night #chillax at the apartment.

As we close 2020, we hope that 2021 is a year were we can get to explore more, for me life is measured in the experiences you have and share, we still need to know lot´s of places in Mexico and I know 2021 will be a good year to continue our journey

As you know the idea of the blog is to share a little bit of how we see Mexico, and the great places and people they have. If you just read it forward to your friends and sign in to receive our updates about how you can enjoy Mexico as much as we have done. Follow us on instagram, or facebook look for #BORICUASLIVINGABROAD . Until next time….