While making your travel plans if you happen to find yourself torn between the desert and the sea (almost as tough as being caught between “the moon and New York City”), Dubai is the travel destination for you. Dubai is located in the Arabian Desert on the coast of the Persian Gulf. It is a place where you can go deep-sea fishing one day, “dune bashing” the next and wrap it all up with clubbing at night.

Dubai is the most populous of the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). An emirate is a political territory that is ruled by a Muslim Monarch or emir Emirate is just one of the new words you will have to learn for your trip- souk is another. Souk or Souq refers to the traditional markets or market stalls which still co-exist amongst Dubai’s ultra modern developments.

Sites of the City:
At the Spice Souk you can buy spices from all over the Middle East including cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. Another must see is the Gold Souk, the place for gold jewelry. Dubai isn’t nicknamed the City of Gold for nothing. You also should spend an afternoon in the Bastakiya District to experience historic Dubai. The District is filled with narrow lanes, traditional Arabian architecture and tall wind towers. Wind towers were the only means of cooling homes prior to modern electricity. In addition the Al Fahidi Ford is the largest concentration of courtyard homes. The district has been redone for tourists and many of the homes house museums and art galleries.

If you can’t find all you need at the souks Dubai offers a huge variety of shopping options including the Lamcy Plaza, Al Ghurair City, Mercato Mall, Oasis Centre and Wafi Centre. Dubai has become famous for shopping and millions of people attend the annual Dubai Shopping Festival every February.

Desert Safaris:
There are several tour companies that lead daily desert safaris. Generally there are four tour options: morning, evening, dinner and overnight. The overnight tour is the most adventurous option and includes dune bashing, quad biking, camel riding, sand skiing and sand boarding. Dune bashing is just what it sounds like- driving around at high speeds and jumping, sliding or bashing into the sand dunes. After a long day in the heat the evening, dinner and overnight tour options include a relaxing meal and belly dancing beneath the desert sky.

Deep-sea Fishing:
The waters around Dubai are known for their sailfish, kingfish, barracuda and hammour fish. Chartered boats go out daily and include tackle. The fishing grounds are located about 25-45 miles from the coast of Dubai City. The waters are generally calm with very little wind.

Camel and Horse Racing:No, sadly, camels and horses do not race each other but you can see both sports in Dubai. Dubai is internationally known for horse racing. The Dubai Cup is an annual thoroughbred horse race held at the Nad Al Sheba Racecourse, ten minutes outside the city center. Camel racing is also popular throughout the UAE. Traditionally camel racing was only performed for special occasions like weddings or festivals. However, there are now formalized tracks and races are held from October-April each year.

Dubai is a great place to visit. There are many things to do here and the hotels are amazing. I couldn’t believe the luxury here- one hotel was even its own island. How crazy is that? Make sure you book early though because you can find some good deals now if you book head. I used Hotels Combined when I booked my room. I got a pretty good deal too. Between the posh hotel and the posh environment, Dubai is a luxurious and exciting place to visit.

Source: _http://www.mytravelingstory.com/