Imagine riding the world’s fastest roller coaster and being 14. I’m pretty sure people wait for an opportunity like that for an eternity and still don’t get to! Well, I didn’t have to imagine because I did ride the Formula Rossa during my recent trip to Dubai. This was the one thing I wanted to do even before the trip started. And, oh! It was so worth it. This experience automatically made my trip one of the best ones I’ve ever had. I visited Dubai with my family during late January this year, and I was so impressed by the place that a part of me wanted to stay there and never come back, especially because there were so many places I could not explore in the 5 days I had there. Looking back now, I can already tell that this trip will probably remain one of the highlights of my year.
To start off, even before I landed, I felt the change around me. It was my first time traveling to Dubai. My sister and I were extremely excited for this trip because it was going to be our first international trip, that too after six years of wait! My parents added to the excitement by showing us videos of the places we would be going to. My excitement didn’t stop there though, after I got off my flight and saw the Dubai airport, I felt awestruck. How can an airport look so nice? A lady helped us navigate the airport and showed us how to use the trains inside it, because the airport was so huge that you actually needed trains to move inside it. We were helped around the airport till we reached my relatives who had come to pick us up from the airport and go to their house which was an hour away. Even though it was really early in the morning, I didn’t feel like sleeping at all; not because I wasn’t sleepy, but because I literally couldn’t sleep with such magnificent buildings I could view from the car. (This also included the Burj Khalifa and the Museum Of Future, by the way)
The best experience of the entire trip was visiting the Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi. I really love roller coasters, so this place instantly became my favorite location for the trip. I spent almost the entire day there trying various rides and looking at different attractions like the roller coasters, the restaurants and even the small shops that sold snacks. And obviously, the highlight was riding the Formula Rossa, the world’s fastest roller coaster. Even though the waiting time was really long, I didn’t mind it at all because I knew it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. When the ride launched, the speed was unbelievable and it felt completely different from any roller coaster I had ever been on before. Another ride I really enjoyed was the Flying Aces, which has the world’s highest roller coaster loop. It was intense but incredibly fun at the same time. After all the rides, I had lunch there. The food was expensive but surprisingly, really good. I had pizza and pasta, and they tasted quite different from what I usually eat, but in a really good way. Overall, Ferrari World wasn’t just the best place I visited in Abu Dhabi, it was honestly one of the best places I’ve ever visited anywhere.
Another place that turned out to be a highlight of the trip was the Warner Bros World. What made it really interesting was that even though it was an indoor park, it was designed in a way that made it feel like I was walking through different worlds. There were many themed areas like Gotham City, Metropolis and Cartoon Junction, and each place was built with so much detail that it felt like stepping into the worlds of the characters. I went on many rides there and some of them were so fun that I even rode them more than once, especially the ones at Gotham City from which my favorite one was the Riddler Revolution, where the whole ride spun in a track and went to huge heights. Apart from the rides, the food there was also amazing. I tried churros which tasted incredible, and it was also my first time trying a slushy (it was really refreshing). I had nachos with cheese sauce and salsa as well, which made the whole experience even better.
One of the most unique places I visited during the trip was the TeamLab. It wasn’t like a normal museum or art gallery at all. It was an immersive digital art experience where the entire environment around you changes, depending on what you do. There were so many different rooms with completely different themes. One room had colorful butterflies and nature inspired visuals that reacted to movement, while another room had floating objects and lights everywhere, which made it feel like I was walking inside a piece of art rather than just looking at it. My favorite part at the TeamLab was the sketch room. I colored a drawing of a snake, and they scanned it. And then, my drawing actually appeared in the digital world around me. Seeing something I drew come to life was very fascinating, and something I have never experienced before.
The first thing that caught my attention at the Louvre Museum in Abu Dhabi was the massive dome structure of the building. Inside the museum, there were hundreds of artworks and artifacts from different time periods around the world. What amazed me the most was how well preserved some of the ancient artifacts were, even though they were centuries old. Seeing these artifacts from ancient civilizations like Egypt, India, and China was interesting because I never imagined that I would ever get to see artworks and artifacts that are thousands of years old. Having only ever seen them online, I found these exhibits quite fascinating.
Apart from that, visiting the Dubai Mall was also an amazing experience. It was one of the largest places I’ve ever seen, and it had more than 1200 stores. It was so huge that there were screens showing directions, and the fastest way to walk to different places which felt like another version of google maps. I also loved trying Arabic food like hummus and bread, which tasted amazing, even though it was very simple and healthy. I also tried different desserts and chocolates that I had never seen before, from which my favorite was the tres leches. It was honestly so amazing that I ate around 3 of those.
One of the most unexpected moments happened when I was at Candylicious, a candy store. The employees suddenly started dancing to the Gummy Bear song, and, in 10 seconds, a huge crowd gathered around the store and people started recording them. It was so random, but it was a happy moment that made the place feel lively all of a sudden. I wish I could have brought the variety of international stores and restaurants back home because most of them are not available in India.
Even though the trip was amazing overall, there were still a few things that I didn’t enjoy a lot. The first was the weather, especially during the afternoons. It got extremely hot outside, which made walking really tiring. The expense is another thing. Everything costs so much more to buy there than how much it would generally cost in India. I also noticed that the rules there are much stricter, especially when it comes to traffic. My relatives told me that breaking traffic rules can lead to very large fines. But, I think this also means that the roads are much more organized and safe, so in a way it’s actually a good thing.
Five days felt like a short time in Dubai. There were still so many places that I didn’t get to visit, like the Museum of the Future; exploring even more of Dubai Mall because no way would I have been able to do that in one day, or visiting the other parks on Yas Island. Dubai feels like a place where people from across the world come together, which is why I would love to go back to Dubai again. Everywhere I looked, there were people from different countries and cultures. There are also so many unique attractions there that you can’t find in most places. Because of that, going back would mean discovering new things and getting new experiences again.
Looking back now, my Dubai trip was definitely one of the most memorable trips I’ve ever had. From exciting rides to really unique art experiences and incredible places to explore, each day I was there felt so exciting and different. Even though I saw a lot of places there, there’s still so much left to explore, which makes me want to go back again someday.