PodAsia Travel Podcast

SHOW NOTES - episode 063: Dubai, United Arab Emirates Hotel overview of the Sheraton Deisuru Where to shop in Dubai Sound-scene tour of the Gold and Spice Souk area Music by John Morgan Newbern from CDBABY.

AVOID: You must give this hotel a big miss! Bad review and not at all friendly for the business traveller. Surprisingly, it is a Sheraton Hotel called the Sheraton Deira Hotel. Al Mateena Street P.O. Box 5772 Dubai, · United Arab Emirates Phone +971 (4) 268 8888 5.0km from center of DUBAI. The hotel is not a business hotel. If you are looking for a cheap and easy hotel then this might be for you. However, it is directly under the flight path, has double glazing windows but nothing can reduce the noise of an older 707 freighter!

In addition, the staff are not overly helpful and there is a Star Studio Restaurant and Nightclub on the 5th floor which parties till 3AM every night. Great if you want to party, but for business…

MUST SEE Gold Souk: We review the Gold Souk area of Dubai. Located at the mouth of the creek, it dazzles people by selling gold in large quantities and with no security. A must visit for shoppers and sightseers.

One of the more startling sights in the city, even for those not interested in making a purchase. Most of the gold is 22ct quality and quite expensive - shopkeepers are prepared to bargain - and the craftsmanship can be remarkably detailed. The gold items are sold by weight with a "making charge" added on top to cover the workmanship. It pays, therefore, to go shopping armed with the current gold price and a knowledge of the making charges in order to refine the bargaining process and secure your deal. We saw some very interesting pieces. Look for what is called "a marriage set".

MUST SEE - Spice Souk: The Spice Souk is actually a historic market that has been a part of Dubai since the origin of Dubai itself. Located at the mouth of the creek, it is about 200m from the Gold Souk, but has sadly declined a bit in recent years as supermarkets take over the spice trade. A must visit for shoppers and sightseers. Lots of souvenirs are also available. Both the Spice Souk and the outdoor Gold Souq are a rather hot and sweaty experience with limited air-conditioning, so wear appropriately cool, loose clothing if visiting in mid summer. Individual shops are air conditioned.

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Relaxing music track for this week by John Morgan Newbern. His track Time Travel from his album "DrawninwarD" available from the great music source at CDBABY.

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 Episode 63-EN [00:31:23m]: Play Now | Download

This entry was posted on Monday, December 4th, 2006 at 8:04 pm and is filed under PodAsia Travel Channel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.