I took my first trip out of Al Ain and went to Abu Dhabi on Nov 2 and it is a very straightforward drive into the city to the mall. A friend took me to Marina Mall. It was huge (over 250 stores) and busy. It is located across from a gorgeous marina/beach area. The water was a great aqua color--(Sorry, no pictures, but in the future). There is definitely a mall culture here that more active than at home. Everyone here go to the mall because that is thing to do and place to be especially when it hot. The mall are well air-conditioned, almost to the point of being cold and needing a sweater/jacket. There many recognizable USA and European stores and restaurant here. There is IKEA, Dunkin Donuts, Sbarro’s Pizza, Gap, United Color of Benetton, Burberrys, Carrefour (the French equivalent of Wal-Mart) and much more. The food court is filled with food choices from all over...Indian, Arabic, Mexican, Greek, etc. I had Sbarro’s deep dish broccoli and spinach stuff pizza for lunch as I wanted just a small taste of home. Yes, it tasted just the same. As I have looked at various items while window shopping, prices depending on what you looking for will vary. They can be slightly cheaper or about the same. However, I have found books in English are costly and there limited supplies of bestsellers or variety.
I took my second trip of Al Ain, this time to Dubai on Nov 9. A friend took me to the Mall of Emirates. This the famous mall that has an indoor ski slop. The drive was interesting as there is so much construction the typical route are sometimes closed and there are many detours. Take the wrong detour, you get lost for a couple hours on the other side of town. The city is a “wow” moment. The skyscrapers are going up faster than you can count. The streets are wide and there is train transit system being built along with many roads and bridges. I did see 10% of the city and it is incredible. I will have to go again and again, just to take pictures and be a tourist. Yes, all the pictures I viewed on TV and on various website about Dubai…all came to life and in full color and I had a “wow” moment. After about 30 minutes of being amazed…it hit that I live in the UAE and I can visit more often and not be in “tourist mode”.
Mall of The Emirates is humongous. It has 450+ stores, again will know US and European and then lots of UAE and Gulf region stores as well. It was complete amazing to view the indoor ski slope and tobogganing run as the temp gauge read -3C (26F). There are 3 foods courts will choice from almost every corner of the world. We opted for Turkish food for a late lunch. I had hummus and flat bread, lamb and chicken kebab w/ rice…very yummy. So there is an impressive list of notable stores which is as follows: Alfred Dunhill, BCBG Max Azria. Borders, Burberry, Bvlgari, Carolina Herrera, Carrefour, DKNY, Dolce & Gabbana, Emporio Armani, Escada, Gucci, Louis Vuitton , Paul Smith (fashion designer), Roberto Cavalli, Tiffany & Co., Versace , Virgin Megastore, Yves Saint Laurent, Nine West, Bata, Ecco, and more
As you can see…high fashion is common place here with all the designers have their own store in the mall. Of course, like other places in the world, high fashion comes with a high price tag as well. So I’ll be sticking with the low to moderately prices stores.
As you can see…high fashion is common place here with all the designers have their own store in the mall. Of course, like other places in the world, high fashion comes with a high price tag as well. So I’ll be sticking with the low to moderately prices stores.
Website Photo Gallery of the Mall of the Emirates: (http://www.malloftheemirates.com/photoGallery.asp).
I still have a few more malls to make some initial visits. There is Deira Shopping Centre, Festival Waterfront Centre, and Dubai Outlet Mall…just for starters.
So this is the story so far on shopping and its location…more to come as I visit new locations.
No comments:
Post a Comment