Hi guys I'm here from my hotel balcony here in lovely Dubai Marina and I spent
10 wonderful days exploring Dubai and all it has to offer but there's some
things that you won't find in any Travel Guide that they should really tell you
about so without further ado here's ten things that they don't tell you about
coming to Dubai number one Dubai is huge yet Ninh I already knew that right well
it's not that simple everything is super-sized everything is
palatial and because of that it takes a while to walk anywhere take for example
this thing over here that over there is dmcc metro station now it looks like a
two-minute walk that way but if I'm being honest it's actually more like an
eight minute walk now in the desert heat this can be quite unbearable and let's
say for example you have to go to the supermarket across the street over there
it's an eight minute walk to the metro station a five minute walk through the
metro station and an eight minute walk down the street so it takes a while to
get anywhere because Dubai is incredibly big so bear that in mind before you come
out here wear comfortable shoes and comfortable clothing because quite
frankly you're going to need it number two the cars have the right of way here
you'll notice when you walk around Dubai but there's a distinct lack of crossings
and some very very big roads this is because Dubai was built around the car
and they like their cars here and car is still the main mode of transport even
with a massive metro line running through the middle of it
because of this you have to keep your wits about you when you're crossing any
road or approaching any Junction because let's face it the driving standards here
in Dubai aren't anywhere near as disciplined as they are in the UK or the
u.s. so make sure that your head is on a swivel when you're crossing or
navigating roads number three Ramadan is inconvenient one
of the things about Ramadan is that you cannot eat or drink during the hours
between sunrise and sunset especially in public they actually have security
guards and police officers that will enforce this rule very very strictly now
I know what you baby thinking or that means I started earth I'll die
of thirst well not quite when you come here during the month of Ramadan there
are restaurants and bars some of them will be shot completely there's nothing
you could do about that but the ones that are open will have blacked out
windows black curtains and lots of boards and signs that will tell you that
the place is open but only for non-muslims and kids so you can go
inside and eat and drink but you can't leave with your food the only place
where this generally is even more a pain in the backside is the shopping malls so
if you go to an outlet and order food they will serve you but they'll put it
in a bag and they'll tell you to walk to the nearest food court because as
mentioned earlier Dubai is big the shopping malls here are palatial and you
might be walking 500 meters or more just to get to the food court just to have a
sip of water so better in mind that if you do come here during Ramadan it can
be a little inconvenient if you are absolutely dying of thirst in the desert
heat I highly recommend bringing a water bottle with you and finding the nearest
public loop blocking self neuticle and taking your few swigs that's how I
managed to survive these last 10 days trust me number four what Ramadan has
discounts so currently it is down here this is why I got the holiday
so cheap and because business is so bad here during the month of Ramadan because
nobody eats or drinks or does anything businesses that do stay open are
literally fighting for your money they will throw out deals left right and
center for example I went skydiving today which is definitely highly
recommended don't laugh at my weird face and with the skydiving they actually
give you tickets to go skiing free of charge now I wish I'd known this before
paying for skiing literally four days earlier there are plenty of discounts
during the month of ramadhan and if you're not sure ask ask if there's a
Ramadan discount you'll be surprised because most of the time the answer is
yes you'll get free attractions free food and you get a lot more value for
your money here during the month of Ramadan so always ask Ramadan isn't that
much of a pain in the backside when it's cheaper significantly cheaper to do all
the activities that you wanted to do number five the official language is
Arabic but everyone speaks English yes it's true it's in Middle Eastern country
everyone speaks Arabic but that lasts just the way it is but because this is
an international City now you'll find that everyone pretty much speaks English
so if you are a native English speaker you'll be absolutely fine here without
having to learn a single word of Arabic the signs are in English that people
speak English and so long as your English is at least conversational
you'll be absolutely fine if you're not a native English speaker or you don't
really know how to speak Arabic you'll still be able to get by the signage is
quite good but bear in mind that English is the international language here
number six the metro is your best friend the metro line runs all the way from
Dubai Airport all the way along the city of Dubai and trust me it is your best
friend when navigating the city the Dubai Metro is quite possibly the
fastest easiest best and cheapest metro service that I've been on
anywhere in the world it's clean its efficient it's always on time and it's
very very cheap to ride the Metro you'll need to buy a prepaid card called an old
card I highly recommend buying a silver card over the gold cards you don't
really get much of a benefit with the gold card and fill it up with Durham's
this noir card can also get you access on the dubai trams and the dubai buses
so better in mind that this is the cheapest way to navigate the city if you
do insist on driving yourself powering a car and petrol is quite cheap here but
bearing in mind the road standards aren't as quite as formalized as they
are in the UK or the US the most expensive form of transport is taxis
especially if you're coming from the airport at a time when the Metro doesn't
run I arrived at half 1:00 in the morning and I had no choice but to take
a taxi here to my hotel unfortunately this is the time where they financially
but rape you and these taxi fares could quickly add up so please if you are
booking accommodation and you're not sure where to go always go with a place
nearest to a metro station trust me you won't regret that number 7 Dubai isn't
cheap you know these guys have the most impressive skyscrapers that you'll ever
see in your life the facilities are second to none the shopping malls are
palatial unfortunately this isn't built with oil money it's built with tourist
money lots of it and as a result everything here in Dubai is relatively
expensive so if you are shopping if you are doing attractions or if you are
eating at fancy restaurants bear in mind to bring some money with
you quite a lot more than you think because everything here in Dubai costs
money don't get me wrong if you wanted to do a cheap Dubai holiday yes you can
lie on the beach and enjoy the sunshine yes you can see the free-of-charge
attractions like the Burj how you for fountains and there are some quite cool
things that you can see for free but that's all you'll be doing all the cool
stuff the skydiving the skiing the skating the
camel rides the dune bashing they all cost money so be prepared spend a wedge
when you're out here number eight it's hot even when it's not so it's just pond
midnight here in my hotel in Dubai and it's still about 30 degrees Celsius
during the day it can range from anywhere between 35 and 52 degrees
Celsius that's stinkin hot so bear in mind when you are packing your suitcase
wear light clothing that's very modest and covers up skin but make sure that
you wear materials that will keep you cool because quite frankly you'll need
it NUMA night they don't tolerate rule breakers if you haven't already watched
my video on the 10 things that you don't do in Dubai click on that link below and
you can see the video the locals and members of staff who work in the
services they do not tolerate people who break the rules you could get fined or
even imprisoned for doing something that you think is fairly normal but it is
against their laws so always check the laws before you decide to come here
ignorant is no defense against the law so make sure you check all the laws
before you come here and number 10 have fun but be very careful so even though
dubai is probably the safest city you'll ever come to because there's security
guards in police everywhere you still have to be respectful of the laws and
you still have to watch your wits about you crime still happens accidents still
happened and you could fall foul on the law very quickly so have fun because
Dubai is home to some of the most unique experiences you'll ever do in your life
and have your fun but be modest about it tone down your behavior if you were
drunken lout you like to shout scream and rave and dance that's a surefire way
ticket to spend the rest of your holiday in prison I'm seriously not joking so
guys that was the 10 things that people generally don't tell you before you come
to Dubai hopefully you've enjoyed this video and found it helpful and if you do
want to ask any comments or questions feel free to comment down below and
if you've got any other ideas for a bucket list ideas feel free to tweet
them at me and if I get enough suggestions I'll go ahead and do that so
guys thank you very much for watching and we'll see you in the next episode
Ninh Ly - www.ninh.co.uk - @NinhLyUK