Travel Box Adventures in Dubai!! (Part 2)

One of the questions our friends and family asked both before and after our trip was whether Dubai was a safe place to visit.  I can absolutely tell you that we felt quite safe during our stay in Dubai, more so than Mexico or some parts of America.  Most folks we met were either very helpful or going about their business.  As one might expect in a modern country, no one acted in a threatening manner.  We travel inconspicuously and we don’t we make a spectacle of ourselves, so perhaps we aren’t targets for evildoers.  But between the unique experiences and familiar stores I would recommend Dubai to anyone looking to have a fun, safe vacation.

Additionally, while I did keep some cash in the form of UAE dirhams, we found that most stores and shops accepted credit and debit cards, eliminating the need for us to carry lots of money.  During our stay the exchange rates did not fluctuate much, and there were plenty of ATMs if we did need cash.  We did ensure our bank was aware that we were travelling so they didn’t think our transactions were fraudulent.

As far as getting around, we chose to travel by Metro and taxi.  The Dubai Metro has two lines: green and red.  The green line connects to the northern part of the airport and a few other key stops (including our hotel).  The red line extends from the southern part of the airport through most of Dubai, and includes stations connected to the Dubai Mall/Burj Khalifa, the Mall of the Emirates, Jumeirah Beach, and Palm Jumeirah.  Since we used the Metro for most of our travels, day passes were the most cost effective solution for us.

While we were on one of our many trips mall trips, Meka and I stopped by Hershey’s Chocolate World:

While we marveled at this American chocolate oasis, we made a new friend who accompanied us the rest of our trip.  His name (for now) is Hershey Bear.  I know this isn’t the most creative of bear names, but it’s descriptive enough.  We’re open to naming suggestions for our new buddy, so if you have any please put them in the comments:

Hershey Bear accompanied us wherever we went for the rest of our trip.  He loved getting nostalgic with us at Steak ‘n Shake:

He also didn’t care if I was grumpy before I had my morning coffee:

And he even came with us on our day trip to Abu Dhabi:

Want to hear more great adventures?  Maybe I’ll post another update sometime this week!  Or maybe I’ll procrastinate again.  Who knows?