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/

Many cultural wonders but also beautiful nature to visit !

• Cairo - Mohammed Ali mosque & Hanging church
• Aswan - philae temple
• Kom ombo temple
• Sinai - White canyon and coloured canyon
• Sinai - Mt. Sinai and St-Catherine monastery
• Red Sea - Ras Abu Gallum NP
• Luxor - Luxor temple
• Luxor - Karnak temple
• The mighty Nile by boat !
• The pyramids of Gizeh - just because nobody believes you have been in Egypt and not seen them

When in an unfamiliar country, it is easy to feel lost or out of touch with the local customs. And in Spain, if you don’t speak any Spanish, this feeling of alienation can multiply if you can’t communicate. So here are a few tips to make traveling through Spain a bit easier for someone foreign to Spanish life.

Remember that Spaniards’ eating schedule may be quite different than what you are used to. Dinner time is normally between 9 and 11 pm and lunch is usually eaten in the mid afternoon. When finding a place to eat, try to avoid chain restaurants where food can be rather bland. Look instead for Mom and Pop joints where the menu is most traditional and the food is most likely delicious.

Spaniards also are very dedicated to their daily Siesta time. Besides restaurants and retail stores that are located in touristy areas, businesses close down between the hours of 2 and 5 pm. So plan ahead – try to plan on eating lunch during this time period, as you won’t be able to do much of anything else.

Driving in Spain is probably not the greatest idea. Signs are often confusing and streets are poorly marked if at all. That is not a great combination when driving in a foreign country. Spain has a fantastic public transit system, and if you are going somewhere quite close, walking is a great way to take in all the sights. If you are traveling cross country, the train AVE in Spain is great. Public transportation is always a fabulous way to meet fellow travelers.

Lastly, when using public restrooms, toilet paper is not a sure thing. In fact it’s more likely that there will be none. It would be smart to travel with some tissues, so you don’t find yourself in this uncomfortable situation.

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

Low Cost Flights

The famous Treasure Island author Robert Louis Stevenson once wrote: “For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” The Scottish author would have plenty of choice in the modern day UK on how to move around this country. This article looks at the benefits of low cost flights compared to other forms of travel when considering spending a weekend in the historic city of London.

1. Flights to London do not have 13 other stops on the way: Have you booked a coach to London, only to find that you are going there via Hull, Cardiff, St Ives, Hastings, York and then John O’Groats? Most cheap flights to London head there directly, meaning no 12-hour mini-tour of the UK on the journey down.

2. You do not need your credit card details to land or park your plane in London: Driving down to London is one thing, getting into the city and parking is another. The introduction of the congestion charge and increased parking rates mean that taking the car is becoming increasingly expensive. Fortunately, aeroplanes do not have to pay the congestion charge, or parking fees!

3. There are no traffic jams in the sky: There is nothing guaranteed to send moods spiralling downwards in a car or coach than hitting one of the many traffic jams on the roads of the UK, especially when you glance up desperately to see planes above your head, winging their way effortlessly to their destination.

4. Flying is relaxing and stress free: Are we nearly there yet? Can we stop soon I need the toilet/feel ill? Children fighting and bickering, arguments over whether your other half is reading the map correctly. Travelling can be so stressful at times. In the air, however, the most stressful choice is whether to enjoy a cool drink while you read your book or listen to your music in peace and quiet.

5. Flying is much quicker than any other form of travel: If you are heading for a short two-night break, then you do not want to spend an inordinate amount of your break travelling. From the UK, London can be reached by almost every airport within the space of an hour or so, freeing up more time for your holiday and less time on the road.

6. There are many flights to and from London available from a variety of places nowadays: It is not just the case that the cheapest flights available come from the most popular and populous airports. Many smaller airports now offer a regular low-cost shuttle flight into the capital either daily or on several days during the week. This means that many local airports offer a direct link to the capital for your convenience.

7. Clouds do not require ‘necessary maintenance’ and contra flows: There are few things more maddening to the motorist than the sight of mile after mile of slow traffic due to road improvements, often when nobody is actually about making any improvements whatsoever. Clouds, however, do not require such work and as such, flights into London tend not to have their journeys disrupted quite so frequently!

8. London flights are proving increasingly cost effective: With the rise in cost of petrol, car tax, insurance, parking fees and the introduction of such items as the congestion charge for London and the toll road (with more toll roads planned in future), gone are the days when using the car for a trip into London was the cheap alternative.

9. Statistically, flying is still by far the safest way to travel: Safety a concern? Remember, being on the roads is, statistically, far more dangerous than being in the air. It is worth remembering that everyone responsible for your safety in the air is a highly-trained individual, at the top of their profession. Whereas, anyone who can pass a driving test is allowed onto the roads to drive, it is a sobering thought!

10. You get more time to do what you want: Robert Louis Stevenson may have enjoyed travel, but for many, travel is the process we undergo to get to where we want to be. Travelling by air gives you far more time to spend doing what you want to do, where you want to do it.

Your free time is a precious commodity and it is your right to enjoy it as cheaply and expediently as possible and as yet, no form of transport facilitates this better than taking to the air.

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