Kirsty Du Toit
With time, Dubai seems to appear on the “Top 10” of each and every one of our travel bucket lists! For Actress; Deborah Lettner, this was her second time visiting Dubai and we’ve got to say, we’re totally jealous!
“I stayed at a fantastic hotel called The Palace Downtown and had views of the Burj Khalifa, as well as the musical fountain in front of it from my hotel room. It was magical. And everything smelled amazing. I started to wonder if they were diffusing essential oils through the air-conditioning, because it didn’t matter where in the hotel you were, it just always had fragrance in the air.”
Why you should visit Dubai, according to Deborah Lettner:
________________________________________________________
1. The Burj Khalifa is certainly something to behold, the highest building on the planet, it towers over all the other high rises around it. It is impressive not only in height, but also in design, simply exquisite. (If you’re on a budget, check times beforehand at www.atthetop.ae, as ticket prices to go up vary between AED 125 – AED 500, that’s approx. ZAR 450 – ZAR 1800)
2. I couldn’t get enough of Karak Tea and dates, which were served freely at the hotel where I was staying. It is basically black tea with sugar, cardamon and milk. I’ve since been making the tea at home, but somehow it doesn’t taste the same. Great reason to go back.
3. The people are incredibly hospitable, friendly and honest. I left my phone in the back of a taxi. And while I noticed almost immediately, the phone was then switched off, making the South African in me panic. However, in less than 24 hours I had the phone back thanks to the help and efforts of the hotel staff and the honesty of the driver.
4. It is novel in its newness. Even though Dubai was established in 1833, major development only occurred after the discovery of oil and Britain leaving the Persian Gulf in 1971. So most of what we see there today was built post 1971, making it quite unique in its absolute modernity and innovative architecture.
5. It is a man-made oasis in the desert. It really is a testament to what man is capable of and I remember sitting on the balcony of my hotel room at sunset looking out and contemplating the fact that we, as people, are able to create green in the desert, while we turn rainforest to dust. Dubai really makes me feel like anything is possible by the mere fact that it exists.
In terms of the highlight of her trip, “It’s hard to pick one. I guess the highlight would have to be Ski Dubai. I had to. Of course it’s not the alps, or even Tiffindell, but the mere idea of snow-skiing in the desert, something that would have been deemed impossible probably even 20 years ago, so it was something I had to tick off the bucket list. ”
_____________________________________
https://www.instagram.com/deborahlettner/
https://www.facebook.com/deborah.lettner/
