A variety of packages and options are available, with access to the public enclosure remaining free of charge.  The ApronViews, which serves as Meydan’s replacement for the International Village, will run AED 350 per person (approximately USD 95, EUR 70, GBP 60, AUD 97).

Three different degrees of “Premium Seating” are offered and include some beverages and light snacks, with seat totals running between AED 1,200 and AED 1,400 per person.  Seats in the Parade Ring Restaurant and Tiered Restaurant are offered for AED 2,750 and AED 3,000 respectively, while a ten-person table in the luxurious Meydan Terrace can be yours for AED 30,000. 

CLICK HERE for the full site to purchase and reserve your spot on racing’s richest day.  Reservations went fast in 2010, don’t miss out on the action in 2011.

Click HERE for more details from Eye of Dubai.
Click HERE to purchase tickets from the Dubai Racing Club.

Yes.  Really!  Dubai is known for having the best malls in the world, and those in the know are correct.  Below is a shot from Mall of the Emirates, recently crowned “retail destination of the year.” Head to a corner of this mall and you’ll find that famous SkiDubai, home to the world’s largest indoor ski slope, and the first ever indoor black diamond ski run.

November 2008 witnessed the opening of the largest mall in the world: The Dubai Mall.  While Mall of America outside Minneapolis leads the pack in terms of US retailer space, The Dubai Mall is almost three times larger! 

Now, unlike our suggestion of haggling for a better price in the gold souk, you are not as likely to get away with it in the more formalized setting of the mall.  No worries – there is still no charge for window shopping.  The latest and greatest fashions and technology can be found at the many malls throughout.  Below is a shot from the Deira City Centre.

The emirate is even home to the Dubai Shopping Festival, a month-long panacea of shopping.  If you sell it, people will buy it.  And you can get most anything in Dubai, just don’t forget to declare it on your way home.

Truly, one of the more unique experiences in life and really, it’s rather simple.  Arrange a desert safari through the concierge desk at your hotel.  You’ll be picked up in a 4×4 vehicle and driven to the desert.  Air will be let out of the tires and you’ll go hurdling over and around dunes in what is really a sadistic real-life roller coaster but called “dune bashing.” 

Know your own ability to handle crazy gyrations inside other people’s vehicles.  Should you eat lunch before you go flying around the desert like a mad man?  Should you be out at karaoke until 3AM the night before, crooning tunes and swilling spirits?  Get motion-sickness? 

After about 30 minutes of dune bashing, you’re driver will assemble with others at a veritable oasis where you and all those who’ve survived various sand-inhaling experiences that evening.  A traditional bedouin barbecue will commence with all the standard Arab trimmings.  Rice, meats, breads, vegetables, and plenty of beverages to relax and unwind.  Music plays, the belly-dancer does her thing, and the hubbly-bubbly billows away in the sheesha tent.  People from all over the world, vacationing in Dubai, come together in a uniquely international experience.

#5.  Visit the Dubai Gold Souk.  I’m not necessarily suggesting you buy anything, but the simple sight of it amazes you.  Vendors are indoors and open-air and you are bound to get some hard-selling from the varied merchants.  Haggling over the price is a souk pasttime and is essentially expected.  Bracelet anyone?

So how do you haggle?  For Americans, it’s an acquired skill.  While many people are used to paying for the price tag and looking for a deal, in the markets of Dubai, gold or otherwise, you typically have free reign to negotiate the price.  Don’t go so low as to insult the merchant, but give yourself some wiggle room and you could get a deal.  One thing that has mesmerized me about the gold souk – I couldn’t find an armed security guard/police officer around. 

More gold than I’ve ever seen in my life, and yet, quite a bit of trust of the public.  Public safety in Dubai is fabulous and I’ve felt safer there than in any American and most European cities in which I’ve traveled.  Along with the gold souk, you’ll also find quite a few bootleg dealers offering you top quality names.  What is in question is whether or not you are getting the real product or a faux version.  Caveat emptor.