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It was a spur of the moment decision. My friend Shuba and I, friends from childhood, decided to take off on an Arabian holiday, to Dubai. My daughter Niranjana was thrilled and she pitched in to create an itinerary for the two of us. Having never travelled abroad, it was an adventure for Shuba and me. My daughter took care of booking the hotels and flight tickets; we just had to go. Thrilled to the core, on April 17 2017, we both flew to Dubai on an early morning flight. On alighting and completing the formalities, we took a cab to Best Western Creek plus, our hotel. Bewildered, tired yet thrilled, we had a sumptuous lunch and we were greeted by a smiling cheerful lady Ms Mary, from Ghana. We were on a short trip, and hence we decided to start on our itinerary immediately. First we visited Dubai frame, and we were fascinated to see Old Dubai on one side, cramped with buildings and the New Dubai on the other side of Dubai Frame- with massive tall structures of architectural excellence. The view was from the 48th floor, which was paved with glass floors and it was mildly dizzying to look down from such heights. Our next destination was the Miracle Gardens, which were a virtual feast for the eyes with flowers in all colours, shapes and designs. We refreshed ourselves by drinking fresh sugarcane juices from tall Bhurj Khalifa shaped glasses. We took in the beauty of Miracle Gardens by taking a ride in cute vehicles specially designed to take people around the massive gardens. Off to Dubai Mall, and we watched the sun set amidst the backdrop of a beautiful fountain show. Then it was time to go up to the 125th floor of Bhurj Khalifa. The entire city of Dubai lay before us , bathed in lights and colors.It was a breath-taking experience, we returned to our room, bone tired but happy. The next day, we woke up amply refreshed and after a heavy sumptuous breakfast, we set off on foot to explore Dubai. We reached Gold Souk, and I bought an Aladdin’s lamp, some Arabian perfume, and other trinkets. Off to Dubai Mall again, and there we had lunch at a theme restaurant, the Rainforest Café, where we befriended a Filipino who regaled us with stories. She suggested we have their vegetable pasta and chocolate mojito and we complied. Our next destination was to see the Dubai Aquarium, which fascinated us with its underwater zoo where we could see the massive fish and whales and dolphins swimming all around us. We did a spot of shopping, constantly checking to see that we had not run out of dirhams. We came back to our room to change and refresh; we had a cruise dinner planned for us, the Dhow cruise and we dressed up for it. It was the most beautiful night ever, with dance and music and great food aboard the cruise ship. On returning we were warmly welcomed by the tiny four foot concierge at our hotel, Sajjid Hussain, who waited on us hand and foot and made us feel so much at home. We retired to bed early since the next day we were departing to Abu Dhabi. We took a bus tour, and visited the Great Mosque, which was exquisite in its architectural splendour. We had to wear their traditional burkhas and we could spot each other only by the colour of our handbags. We visited the Etihad towers and also the Grand Palace on our way back. We will never forget our Iranian guide on this tour, Obaid who treated us as his own sisters. We spent the evening at Ferrari world. On the last day in Dubai, we were taken around the city by my cousins They took us to Palm Jumeirah, Ski world and a lot of other places. We had a leisurely drive around the entire city, and then we stopped for lunch and were whisked off to Ikea showroom. After a spot of shopping, it was time to leave for the airport Shuba had just one grouch, that she couldn’t take a pic with a real Arab!