Women only in Dubai

Whatever your thoughts are about this it really doesn't matter.

If you live or visit Dubai, this is what you get.

I'm happy to sit anywhere on train or a bus.

Don't go thinking this gives you the right to a seat or more space as a woman.

It's just as packed on the trains and buses wherever you stand.

Or in the ladies section

It is well sign posted and for me the only advantage is these carriages stop right at the top of the escalator.

There are fines for men of AED 100 for being in these areas, but more often than not it's usually Emirate men travelling with their wife and children. Both wearing traditional clothing. The rules aren't enforced that much to be honest, but if a transport inspector does politely remind you that you are in a women's only area, one just moves along nicely, the same goes with eating and drinking on public transport, people do it, until they are asked not to.

There are separate areas at the local doctors although often ignored by husband and wife who really don't want to sit on separate sides of the waiting room for antenatal checks.

I have no desire to go into this park and neither does hubby and besides it's a very small park and there's much more on offer in the big park that the small park is in. We don't have kids living with us anyway.

So it's not a bad thing, there are very few benefits either other than when you are on the public transport and it is packed, fit to bursting, there are no surprises as to exactly what that may be that is rubbing up against you.

*edit
As a woman I have the choice of using the Women's Only section, it is NOT compulsory for me to have to stand or sit there.

Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens and World of Birds. Cape Town.

I travelled to Cape Town in August 2014 with my teenage son. He moved back to boarding school in the UK the year before and we'd never got round to taking him to CT when he lived here. Having made a 27 hour journey by train, the last thing he wanted to do was get on a bus and tour the City. He did come out with me on the 2nd day and the 3rd day we hired a car and drove to Hermanus to whale watch and see the penguins at Betty's Bay on route.

Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens are located at the eastern foot of Table Mountain in Cape Town and is one of nine National gardens with five of the six different biomes in South Africa. Founded in 1913 to preserve the unique flora.

I visited on a very wet and windy day. I bought a two day pass with City Sightseeing on the Hop on Hop Off bus. Kirstenbosch was my first stop so I took a photo of the time table at each stop. Unfortunately I confused the photos and ended up waiting an hour at World of Birds.

The newly opened Centenary Tree canopy Walkway or Boomslang, meaning tree snake, is 130 m long and 12 m above the ground, and has wheel chair access is a fab way to view the scenery.

Kirstenbosch contains many plants, including my favourites the Protea, the national flower of South Africa and the Strelitizia regainae 'Mandela's Gold' or more commonly known as the Yellow Bird of Paradise. It symbolises liberty, magnificence and good perspective.  


Returning to the entrance, I'd just missed a bus, so I opted for a walk round the gift shop and a coffee.

Hopping back on the bus, my next stop was World of Birds, it was still raining and the attraction did have some shelter from the rain with the trees. I was overwhelmed by the smell and wasn't too impressed with the hygiene and the layout. Also there were peculiar combinations of birds in the enclosures and chickens seemed to feature in large numbers. 

There was also a monkey enclosure and other animals. However I didn't want to go in there, again due to the smell. There was a large school group in at the same time and the air was filled with teachers yelling at the kids and blowing whistles. 

I walked round to reach the exit to discover I'd misread the timetable for the bus and waited for 30 minutes in the bus shelter, it's not somewhere I'd be visiting again in a hurry.

Free things to do in Dubai - The Archive, Al Safa Park

I love Dubai, I absolute love the free stuff to do here, it takes some searching for and planning in regards to public transport, but it is well worth the effort.

Every Tuesday I buy a copy of Time Out Dubai. it is packed with information from 2 for 1 drinks, deals with meals, places to go and things to do for all ages, and it also advertises free stuff.

I plan my week around it and I also plan my photo prompts for #project365 and #mysundayphoto. To see more of these you can find me on twitter, face book and instagram as Chickenruby and on Google + as Suzanne Chickenruby.

Tonight I went to see the movie The Girl with the Pearl Earring. It is one of many events offered by The Archive in Al Safa Park, which is a short bus ride from our house. There are 2 entrances to the park, I got off the bus on the Al Wasl Road, paid my 3 dhs, it was a bit of a walk to find it and I wish I'd taken a torch. The park is currently shut off in places making it difficult to follow the signs due to the construction of a new canal. So I will need to explore again in the day time before I return next week to watch Art of Steal, no idea what it is about but the bean bags were comfy, the coffee and staff were great and now I know that the blue lights travelling up and down the buildings behind the screens are the elevators, I won't be distracted again.

To see what else The Archive have on offer you can follow them on instagram, face book and twitter. I'm certainly checking out what else I can do there.

Shopping in Dubai away from the malls and tourist areas.

Not everyone who comes to Dubai is here for the shopping, some of us live here and although you don't pay tax on your salary here, the cost of living is much higher than many other places.

Inside Dubai Mall

The Dubai Shopping Festival DSF, has celebrated it's 20th successful festival which runs January 1st to February 1st and was perfect timing for us on our relocation here when purchasing some essentials whilst waiting for our container and air freight to arrive. Including a massive discount of nearly 50% on a gas oven.

But I'm tired of the Malls now and having done all the touristy things I want to explore a little bit more of Dubai, the real Dubai, not just the attractions and the Malls.

Leaving the train at Diera City, the first place I saw was Diera City Mall, it was well signposted and whichever way you exited the train station it automatically draws you towards it.

After standing back and taking in the sights around me and confirming that everyone who drives a car in Dubai has a horn and every horn works, approximately every few seconds, I headed towards the bus station, in the hope of finding a few local shops. The guide books tell you where you can buy what and where, but when you arrive there's no sign posts to point towards the none tourist areas. It's a bit of hit and miss, but as long as you don't mind walking around and exploring, which is perfectly safe to do, you'll find some delights.

Two different style restaurants, the 1st one was more formal and near the train station, the second one, where I had lunch was off the beaten track, food was very cheap and very good and the staff helped me with directions to get back on the beaten track.

Another place to visit are the souks, but exiting the train at Al Ghubaiba or Al Ras you find yourself in the heart of the tourists again, but if you're prepared to wander a bit off the beaten track, head in the direction of the bus station again.

You'll find some amazing shops selling everything from material, hand made suits and dresses through to spices, gold, knock off handbags and wonderful little street cafes.

I've still Al Kamara and Al Jafilya to explore in search of quality leather handbags, not knock off, but if you do want a plastic designer copy then I've been told these are the best places to go to.

I found quite a few smaller independent malls, selling everything from Loom bands, through to toasters with toiletries, dried foods and clothes and of course what every visitor wants to buy when they come to Dubai, souvenirs.

The shops are packed full and you do have to rummage for items, if you have a pushchair or a wheel chair you certainly won't be able to get upstairs in these places and it can be hard to move around inside.

At the attractions, Marina mall and the airports you'll pay 4-5 times more for the same replica Burj Khalifa, Burj Al Arab, magnet, carpet, sand bottles and camels. Be warned though, when you buy a stuffed musical camel form one of these places it is likely to burst out into a verse or two of Happy Birthday.

Check out the 1-19 dirham stores, souvenirs aren't made to last forever anyway.

My Sunday Photo Week 5 Exploring the neighbourhood

I could post a picture of our new home or the creative book case I made from wine crates, but instead I've chosen this photo of what Bob and I are doing right now. We're on the Al Wasl road at the bus stop waiting for hubby, then off to get passport photos done so he can apply for his driving licence and we can buy a car.

Did you know Wasl is the old name for Dubai?

Public transport in Dubai

Public transport in Dubai

This is my 3^rd trip to Dubai.

In January 2014 I walked EVERYWHERE, I covered miles on foot along the beach, through the streets and around the malls and back again.

In November 2014 with hubby I mastered the train and now December 2014 after relocating here from South Africa I’ve mastered the taxis and the buses.

I’m rather enjoying the freedom in Dubai, the fact there is public transport that is affordable, the fact after 4 years in South Africa I can walk out the hotel to the local shops and cafes without fear for my safety on day one, has made it all so much easier to relocate.

On my first day in Dubai and on my own I stepped outside the hotel and into a taxi, I very confidently gave him the address of our new house, somewhere I’d only seen on google earth and within 5 minutes it became apparent the taxi driver had no idea where I wanted to go. Assuming it was my accent and I’d pronounced the place name wrong, I wrote it down and showed it to him.

From my memory of google earth I directed him to the house, after he finally listened to me. I was pleasantly surprised when he didn’t charge me on arrival and he apologised. But I’m now avoiding taxis, it wasn’t over expensive, but the bus and train is cheaper.

Armed with a map that is not to scale, having been dropped at the airport to wave goodbye to the youngest, I caught the train to ADCB where the map indicated I could pick up the number 88 bus. It cost me AED5, after a 15 minute wait I hopped on the bus which cost a further AED7.50 and tah dah I made it, back to the house. Yesterday at the same stop after the number 8 whizzed past, I caught the 88 again which terminates right outside our hotel, I then caught the train to Dubai Marina and then the metro to Jumeriah Towers 2, where I sat Big Chef's cafe awaiting the arrival of Real Madrid.

The buses and trains are brilliant, I purschased a NOL silver card for AED25, which gives you AED19 of travel time and cheaper journeys, you swipe in and you swipe out when you reach your destination, no worrying about having the correct bus fare on you, although you do need a miniumum of AED7.50 for any journey to start loaded on your card , and no worries about where you need to ask to go. I recognised the area near our house very quickly, both journeys I had a seat but I got on at unpopular stops for this time of the morning, by the time I reached my destination it was a bit of push and shove to exit. 

Be prepared for a bit of a walk from the train to your end destination, for example it is 1km from the train into Dubai mall, but it's under covered, air conditioned and there are travelators to use.

The bus stops have air conditioned shelters with an electronic board of when the next bus is due and it's end destination. All of the public transport is very clean, runs on time and is easy to navigate. The routes, the rules and the fines are very clearly displayed.

I will be avoiding the weekends, Fridays and Saturdays, especially the popular destinations such as the malls and the creek as everyone seems to be going there.