Cosmopolitan Dubai: Shopping, opulence, desert safaris and the long-awaited Expo 2020

The Expo 2020 in Dubai was delayed because of the pandemic, but you can still get to it, writes Karen Murray

Karen Murray at the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve

March, 2020: Covid-19 was barely on my radar en route to Dublin Airport to board an Emirates flight to Dubai. Positive cases had been confirmed in Ireland but nobody then realised the impact the pandemic would have on a global scale.

There was a vague inkling that the press trip would be postponed due to the uncertainty around travel but word came through that it was all systems go. Little did we know that by the time we’d touch back down on Irish soil, Dublin Airport would be like a ghost town and the country would be in the first of several lockdowns.

So in what now seems like forever ago, I joined a lovely group of four (we still have an active Whatsapp group) in the business class lounge for a glass of bubbly ahead of our four-day excursion to one of the wealthiest of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates.

If there was a gold star for flying, Emirates ( emirates.ie) would win it hands down. Admittedly, I was an impressionable novice, having only flown economy, so I was easy enough to impress but the seven-and-a-half hour flight simply — well — flew by. From the chauffeur-driven service to the airport to the lie-flat seats and gourmet inflight food, it was luxury from the get-go.

On arriving in Dubai, you are instantly struck by its sheer glitter-and-gold extravagance. It’s a Marmite experience, love or loathe it, but it screams out not to be ignored.

Once a small fishing village in the Arabian Gulf, Dubai is now one of the world’s most cosmopolitan cities, an eclectic mix of skyscrapers and beaches, where money and big business intermingle with amazing views and a lively nightlife.

Just make sure your wallet has plenty of dirhams because while you can bag a designer bargain amid the plethora of luxury shops, it’s not somewhere you’d pick for a cheap package holiday.

While Islam is the majority religion, Dubai is more tolerant than some of the other Emirates regions. There are strict rules forbidding the drinking of alcohol in public places but it is freely (albeit expensively) available in hotels and the dress code is fairly relaxed (shorts, yes; bikini, no). Respectful tolerance is advisable.

The Burj Khalifa, the tallest structure and building in the world since 2009, towers over Dubai

We stayed at a lovely hotel called the Address Downtown, centrally located with plush rooms, exquisite dining, and majestic views including that of the Burj Khalifa ( burjkhalifa.ae/en/index.aspx), the tallest structure and building in the world since 2009. Rooms cost around €300 a night.

Our trip was all about the launch of expo2020dubai.com Expo 2020 — a global event currently being hosted by Dubai. Originally scheduled to open in October 2020, it was postponed for a year due to the pandemic but finally opened in 2021 and continues until March (keeping the Expo 2020 name, presumably for marketing and branding purposes).

Organisers, then blissfully unaware of the impending postponement during our 2020 visit, provided an in-depth tour of the main site, which is located between the cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi and comprises 1,083 acres. The theme is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ — all about building a better world and how this is possible through the three sub-themes of opportunity, mobility, and sustainability (each has its own pavilion as part of the Expo).

The six-month programme caters for all ages and interests, with themed weeks, entertainment, edutainment, art, culture, food, and technology all playing an important part of the overall experience with plenty of exhibits, performances and live shows.

The sheer scale of the ambitious project — the overall cost of which must have been exorbitant — was breathtaking and that was before any of us knew what Covid had in store.

EXPO 2020

Karen Murray, Linda Maher, and Nadia El Ferdaoussi at the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve

Expo 2020 was the first of its kind ever hosted in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia region. The fact that organisers managed to pull it off and open, albeit a year later, indicates how important it was for Dubai to succeed in hosting an event of such magnitude.

Expo 2020 operates seven days a week, 9am-midnight, Saturday to Wednesday, last entry at 11pm, and 9am-2am, Thursday to Friday, last entry at 1am. Pavilions open daily 10am-10pm. Weekday offers (one-day tickets, Sunday to Thursday, for adults age 18-59) cost around €15.

The Expo could easily fill several days of your stay in Dubai but there are plenty of other attractions. Our hosts were keen for us to get a ‘taste’ of Emirates life and took us on an evening safari in the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve followed by a barbecue dinner and some excellent live entertainment.

The safari involved a not-for-the-fainthearted four-wheel drive tour of the sand dunes (and you realise why the food comes after, not before). Evening desert safaris cost around €110 (adults). For tickets and deals, go to arabian-adventures.com/ae/english

For the shop-til-you-drop experience, check out the Dubai Mall, the second largest in the world by total land area. It is part of the $20bn Downtown complex adjacent to the iconic Burj Khalifa, has a retail floor area of 502,000 sq m and more than 1,200 shops. thedubaimall.com

For a list of other attractions in Dubai, see visitdubai.com

Getting there

• Return fares to Dubai start from €509 Economy Class and €2,269 Business Class. Emirates operate a daily service from Dublin to Dubai and onwards to over 120 destinations.
  
• The airline’s Early Bird Expo 2020 Dubai deal will enable customers to save up to 20% on fares to Dubai when they book their flights early. This special offer is valid on any return tickets booked to Dubai as the final destination for travel dates until March 31, 2022. The offer applies to Emirates Business and Economy base fares; on Saver, Flex, and Flex+ fare brands.
• Free Emirates Expo Day Pass: Emirates customers visiting and travelling through Dubai anytime during Expo 2020 will be eligible for a free Emirates Expo Day Pass for every flight ticket booked with the airline. Visit the dedicated offer page.