Dubai Travel Tips From a Longtime Resident and a Native Emirati Chef
Unpacked by Afar | Travel Smarter, More Responsibly
This episode explores the multifaceted identity of Dubai, moving beyond its reputation as a modern metropolis to uncover its historical roots in
Key takeaways
- Dubai was historically a vital center for the pearl trade and strategic commerce between Asia, Europe, and Arabia.
- The city's rapid development is driven by a unique sense of 'ambition, imagination, and confidence.'
Main topics
- Dubai History
- Travel Tips
Notable quotes
The future belongs to those who can imagine it, design it, and execute it.
Conclusion
The episode provides a nuanced guide for travelers looking to find the
Transcript preview
Speaker 3 (0:02) I'm Aislinn Green, and this is Unpacked, and today we are in Dubai. Kind of. I'm actually at my desk in California, but I have a very special guest with us today, the travel writer Nicola Chilton, who is at a Dubai studio, which is fitting because together we're going to explore this glamorous, ambitious, multicultural metropolis. In this episode, Nicola is going to set up the Dubai of today for us, its history, its present, and what it's like on the ground right now, as well as all the things that have kept her here all these years. And then starting next week, she'll be hosting episodes sitting down with the chefs, artists, architects, and more who are shaping Dubai today. And it's all going to happen at the very studio she's calling in from today. So that means that you can actually watch or listen to all of these episodes on YouTube. Speaker 3 (0:51) Nicola, welcome. How are you doing today? Thank you so much. I'm very excited to welcome you to Dubai. You know, when people think of Dubai, it's likely that they picture the modern skyline, the ultra tall landmarks and the clusters of man-made islands right off the shore. But until about 1966, Dubai was a fishing village. So can you explain a little bit about how Dubai came to be? Speaker 2 (1:13) Yeah, so Dubai was a fishing village. It was also a center of pearling. The pearl trade was very big here. And trade in general was big here because it has a very strategic location between Asia, Europe, Arabia. So there was a lot of trade happening, a lot of people coming through. But what people don't really know is that there have been civilizations here for a really long time. So I live in a neighborhood called Jumeirah. And In my neighborhood, there's the ruins of a 1,000-year-old caravanserai. And you can stand at these ruins and you see the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, right behind them. It's a fascinating juxtaposition. And this was a place where traders would come and rest and restock. And it's right there in the middle of the city. And it's one of these almost like secrets hiding in plain sight. What about this kind of the Speaker 3 (2:07) modern Dubai of today that... Dubai that you spend so much time reporting on for afar. Speaker 2 (2:12) So this really is a young city. Dubai is just one of the seven emirates that makes up the United Arab Emirates, the UAE. And as a country, it was founded in 1971. So the Dubai that you see today has mostly, modern Dubai has really been built in the past few decades. One of the most interesting parts of the city is Dubai Creek. And this is where the Dubai as we know it today really grew up as a trading settlement. It was a very important waterway. If you go there now, you still get a little taste of what it must have been like a few decades ago. There are these little wooden boats called abras. that crisscross. It's one of the best bargains in town. You pay the driver one dirham coin, which is like less than 30 cents. It's an amazing journey. Just hop around on the water there. So there are places where you can still get a feel for that. But what most people think of as Dubai really is the Burj Khalifas. It's a lot of the skyscrapers. So... I'm hoping we can show a few more sides of Dubai that go beyond that through the conversations we'll be having in these episodes. Speaker 3 (3:24) So that brings me to my next question, which is how did you come to Dubai? Full Speaker 2 (3:28) disclosure, I was transferred to Dubai. I've been living in Asia for a really long time. And I moved here from Bangkok. And I'd been to Dubai a couple of times for work. Speaker 3 (3:40) And honestly, I just didn't get it. Speaker 2 (3:42) So I was transferred here. And had to make it home. So I very quickly started to try and find things that weren't the stereotypes. I guess I too had believed, I'd bought into these preconceived ideas about what Dubai was, that it was just a land of shopping malls and highways and nothing else. Of course, it's not true. Nowhere can be just that, right? And one of the first things I did was I went to Dubai Creek and I took one of those boats. And I went to a little cafe and I went to an art gallery and I realized that there was a lot more substance to this city and that I was going to find it. Speaker 3 (4:22) Yeah. How have you seen the city change over the last Speaker 2 (4:25) 11 years? Speaker 3 (4:26) This Speaker 2 (4:26) is a city that changes rapidly. It's a city built on ambition. It's built on imagination. It's built on confidence. So I've seen things like... physical things change, like new highways, new bridges, a canal was built. All of the physical changes are really noticeable. But what I have really come to appreciate is that I think there's been Speaker 2 (4:54) a cultural shift. Just to give you one example in terms of food and beverage and restaurants, when I first came here, if you wanted to go for fine dining for a good dinner, your choices tended to be Dubai outposts of celebrity chef restaurants or big brand names or things that you would know from somewhere else in the world. That's really changed in the decade that I've been here. And now we have a lot of homegrown concepts. We have a lot of really creative people doing creative things, interesting people doing interesting things. And that, I think, is one of the reasons that I'm still here, because there's just this amazing community of people doing fantastic things. Speaker 3 (5:39) Well, we're going to hear a little bit about that in a bit. But for now, you know, I do feel like we need to address the fact that back in the spring, the UAE successfully intercepted incoming missile threats from Iran. And I know it was an unsettling time. We talked shortly after that. But one of the things that you mentioned to me at that time was that there was such a sense of loyalty in Dubai in response to the UAE's sophisticated defense system. So can you tell me a little bit more about what you saw in terms of people coming together? Speaker 2 (6:08) Yeah, I mean, it was definitely an unsettling time. But I think what was really noticeable was the loyalty that people feel for this place. People really came together as a community. In a way, it was a little bit like a COVID era feeling where everybody's like, okay, we're all in this together. Let's come together as a community and support each other. And that for me was really noticeable. I come from the UK where we have a tendency to be extremely cynical about things. But when you saw people here rallying together, realizing what the country was doing in terms of safety and security and stability, I think it gave us confidence as well. Speaker 3 (6:58) I know you've had a lot of people coming to visit in recent months. Can you tell me a little bit about what that experience has been like? And you travel outside