My Dubai experience

From my university days, I always wondered why most Nigerians spend a fortune just to go to the city of Dubai. I thought it was probably for the fame, the show off or maybe the glamour attached to this small city, even smaller than Lagos in Nigeria. And so I concluded within myself that those Nigerians who go to shop in this city or for tourism had mere misplaced pri­ority.

That was what I thought, until I experienced the city myself. Trust me, my mentality about the manner at which people ‘lavish’ money in this city has changed. With a population of 2.657million people, the city has carved a niche for itself and has become a top location for tourism and business.

Dubai is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It is located on the south­east coast of the Persian Gulf and is the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, one of the seven emirates that make up the country. Abu Dhabi and Dubai are the only two emirates to have veto power over critical matters of national importance in the country’s legislature.

I’ll start with the hotel where I lodged, strategi­cally located inside Dubai Mall, is a luxury home away from home. The Address Dubai mall faces the iconic BurjKhalifa, the world’s tallest tower and is connected to the Dubai Mall, one of the world’s largest shopping and entertainment centres. The outstanding facilities the hotel offers, makes it the premier business and leisure destination within the heart of the city. The breakfast offered in the hotel is one thing I always looked out for.

I’ll share about another experience that got me thrilled and excited and will not leave my memory in a moment, it is the ‘IMG World of adventure.’

Stretching across 1.5 million square feet, IMG World of Adventure, owned by the UAE-based Ilyas and Mustafa Galadari Group, is an indoor theme park close to Global Village on Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Road, with four worlds: Marvel, Cartoon Network, Lost Valley and IMG Boulevard.

The IMG world offers the most amazing rides and attractions. The park also features 28 unique food and beverage offerings. From America to Middle Eastern, Pan-Asian to Mexican, European to Indian and South African, these incredible and thematic food outlets give guests an experience like no other. Among the various rides and food I had in the IMG world, one experience I would always love to share is the experience of the ‘Haunted Hotel.’

As the name implies, the experience was really a haunted one, taking me from one scary experience to another. No wonder anyone less than fifteen years isn’t allowed to go into that particular room. In that room, all manner of thoughts came into my mind. The humans were dressed like witches and ghosts, with amazing props, making it so real.

They kept coming straight at me and making all manner of scary noise and with the lights out, I felt really haunted. When the experience in the haunted room was over, I wished I could have another experience.

Another exciting one is ‘Atlantis, The Palm’, it spans a massive 46 hectares, with 17 hectares of wa­ter park alone. Atlantis also features exciting marine and entertainment attractions that the whole family can enjoy, and a collection of world-renowned and award-winning restaurants.

From the moment visitors arrive, they will be immersed in a dazzling world of imagination, pleasure and luxury. The Atlantis beach resort is an aquatic wonderland by the sea offering relaxation and thrills for couples and families alike.