Around the World in One (1) Day

1996 was the year when Dubai Shopping Festival began and it was a huge thing back then. People from around the world would visit just to go shopping. It was held from Feb – March however currently it’s being held for months. One of the concepts for Shopping Festival was to have ‘Global Village’.

15781507_10154307755748233_499442137113428137_n

It’s one of my favourite places to go for food shopping. Why is that you say? Well because distributors and traders bring unique products from housewares, clothes, food, equipment’s etc. from all around the world.

15826583_10154307755413233_7600068545574360988_n

When Tim moved to Dubai, I recommended that we should go and check it out because he loves trying out  food from around the world. We bought Zaatar (dried thyme) from Palestine, teas from China, Lattes and Sweets from Japan, Nuts from Iran, Apple Tea and Coffee from Turkey and the list goes on and on…..

12301760_10153305148533233_4194017886500691530_n

Last year, we took my mother in law and my brothers around the world for 1 day. We had a great time, watching live performances and trying out food samples.

12310654_10153305148753233_7337825028845991598_n

Global Village opens in November and closes beginning of April. So visit anytime in between. February and March are the perfect months to visit because the weather won’t be cold and won’t be hot and doesn’t rain much.

Bon Voyage 🙂

Nissreen1 Comment

Hipster Hotel in Dubai

Rove Hotel offers an urban hipster kinda looking style hotel for budgeted travellers. The company I work for offered discounted rates for staff in any of the 3 branches in Dubai. So Tim and I selected Downtown area, it is closer to Dubai Mall and the hub of the city.

ROVE (4)

We’ve booked 2 rooms so that my father and brothers can experience the hotel and it’s accommodating services. We paid £40 (AED 200) a night inclusive of breakfast and tax. We all arrived at 1PM for an early check in. Later, we got into our swimming suits and went for a swim and of course sun bathing.

Rove (2).jpg

As it got dark, we went back to our rooms to rest a little and get ready for dinner. We then went for a walk to Dubai Mall which took us around 15 minutes. We had the entertainer vouchers so we ate at an Asian restaurant called ‘Japengo’.

ROVE (1).jpg

We went back to our hotel to have tea and juices at their only restaurant called ‘The Daily’ and it’s the same place where we had our breakfast. The next day, we woke up at 6AM went straight to the gym and afterwards had breakfast and of course went for a swim.

ROVE (3).jpg

The hotel is a lovely place to stay, it’s cozy and affordable. The ambiance is urban but homely and the reception has a play station for the people to play. Definitely a good hotel to stay at for budgeted travellers.

NissreenLeave a comment

A day in Ras Al Khaimah

Tim’s mum ‘Shirley’ visited us for Christmas and New Years. So I took a day off and we drove to Ras Al Khaimah to visit Dhayah Fort. On our way to the place, the GPS led me through a small town and narrow roads which got us a bit worried anyway after a bumpy ride and being cautious, we found our way to the Fort and it was located on a hill.

RAK(5).jpg

When we arrived at our destination, I parked my car in front of a Guest House called ‘Qalat Dhayah’ which translates to Dhayah Castle, so I assumed that we would have to purchase a ticket so when Tim and I got out of the car, two boys in their early 20’s shouted the F’ Word for no reason. We just ignored and wanted to continue to the fort but unexpectedly an old man comes out of the balcony and asks me if someone swore and I replied in Arabic and said Yes but it’s okay. He then invited us in and explained that the Emirati culture is about welcoming guests and being hospitable and he called authorities and filed a complain. He served us Arabic coffee and dates from his farm and later told us he was the owner of the farm and gave us a history lesson of Ras Al Khaimah. He even gave us a free tour to show us his goats, bulls, cats and dogs.

RAK (4).jpg

RAK (1).jpg

Anyway as we thanked him and continued to the Fort, the Athan’ Call for Prayer’ started and was being chanted beautifully and the view was surreal. Everything the light touched belong to the old man. LOL just wanted to sound like Mufasa from The Lion King. By the look of it all, he owned the majority of the farms that were surrounding the fort.

RAK (2)

RAK (3).jpg

It was a joyful trip, the weather was perfect, we met interesting people and we learned a lot. On the same day, we continued our journey to Ajman to have lunch with my brother Omar and my dad.

NissreenLeave a comment

Under the Sea – Dubai Aquariums

Tim and I have seen the best two aquariums in Dubai. The first one we visited is located in Dubai Mall which is one of the top 5 biggest aquariums in the world and is located in the biggest mall in the world. The place is called ‘Dubai Aquarium and Under Water Zoo’.

http://www.thedubaiaquarium.com/en/Default.aspx

DUBAIMALLAQUARIUM(1)DUBAIMALLAQUARIUM(2)

The second aquarium is called’The Lost Chambers’ and is located in the Atlantis. It’s one of the best resorts on the Palm Island. I PERSONALLY LOVE THAT PLACE. The aquarium has really awesome interiors and you’ll feel like you are in a Sci-Fi movie. The resort also has an amazing water park and offers an experience of a lifetime, swimming with dolphins which I will blog about separately.

https://www.atlantisthepalm.com/marine-water-park/lost-chambers-aquarium

Atlantis (1)Atlantis (3)Atlantis (2)

I highly recommend you visit both, there are activities such as diving with sharks, feeding fish and many many more…

There are other aquariums located in the UAE however those are the best ones so don’t miss it if you visit Dubai.

 

 

 

 

NissreenLeave a comment

Food Trucks are a trend in Dubai

Food trucks are a thing here in Dubai and it’s categorised as one of the cool things to try in the city.

It does have a nice feel to it however abroad, the food trucks are considered street food and cheap, unlike here where it’s a trend and the food are overly priced.

So far Tim and I have been to 5 places with Food Trucks.

We’ve been to…..

  1. Salt: Located on the beach and they once served burgers in a black bun which was available for a limited time only. We’ve been to the one in Ajman and Dubai.Salt (1).jpg
  2. Eat the World: An event held by the company I work for. The event takes place in Burj Park and caters several food trucks. Our friend Katherine joined us on that event. It usually occurs in March. Eat the World 01
  3. Hangry Hangers: Yes!!! Hangry and not Hungry …We went there with our friends Ivana and Mohammad. It was a temporary indoor food truck located in a warehouse.HOW AWESOME IS THATHangry Hangers (2)Hangry Hangers (1)
  4. Last Exit: We’ve been there 3 times already and it’s a pretty awesome place. It has the vibe of the 60s and 70s and it’s located at the Exit of Abu Dhabi to Dubai that’s why they named it the ‘LAST EXIT’ and they’ve opened a second branch heading to Al Ain. The new one looks more like a cowboy ranch / horse stable kind of style.Last Exit (1)Last Exit (2)Last Exit (3)
  5. TruckersDXB: A Food Truck Event that is held every Saturday in different parts of Dubai.  Check them out on facebook https://www.facebook.com/truckersdxb/?fref=tsTRUCKERSDXB (1)TrucksDXB (2)

If we visit more Food Trucks in Dubai, for sure I’ll share it with you guys.

on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/belliontravels/ 

on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/belliontravels/ 

on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BellionTravels 

and of course my BLOG www.belliontravels.com 

 

Nissreen1 Comment

Where to find Spring in Dubai?

Miracle Garden is where you can find spring in Dubai. Every year they change the layout of the Garden and make it more creative than ever. Due to the hot weather in Dubai, Miracle Garden is only open from October till April then that’s when we live in HELL.

Tim and I visited Miracle Garden in the month of March and ate ice cream while strolling the Garden. The pictures says enough of the place, it is a wonderful place. It’s like being in the Queen’s Garden from Alice in Wonderland.

miracle-garden-6miracle-garden-02miracle-garden-4miracle-garden3miracle-garden-5

miracle-garden-7

 

Nissreen1 Comment
20170303_235056

Guns ‘n Roses in Dubai

Sept 2016, Dubai Calendar announced that Guns ‘n Roses will be performing in Dubai on March 3rd 2017 so that we can be prepared once they release the tickets online.

*scroll for videos 🙂

20170303_235056

At around November 2016, I read an ad on Instagram that said ‘Virgin Mega Store Australia are selling Guns ‘N Roses DUBAI LIVE Tickets’. I clicked on the ad to make sure it was legit. Once it was confirmed, of course I got thrilled and without any hesitation purchased the tickets for myself, Tim, my brother Omar and my best friend Mimi.

16939703_10155070428602277_1671773562514737113_n.jpg

Fast forward to March 3rd 2017, we arrived at the venue at 6PM to avoid the traffic. Generally concerts in Dubai have freebees, games, food and other entertainments around the stage to occupy the people before the show. I won a free t-shirt, Tim and Mimi won a cap and Omar won 20% off for any Hard Rock Merchandise.

20170303_201145.jpg

The first opening act was a Nepalese band called Point of View and they started their gig at 8PM which lasted half an hour. At around 9PM, Guns ‘N Roses took over the stage and the crowd went WILD all the way till midnight.

17021401_10155071349862277_9136466461912908197_n

17098663_10155071349362277_1489405517278119896_n

It was hell of a night and till today, we still can’t get over how amazing it was. Great to witness the LEGENDS

17022259_10155071349272277_5897900367110636517_n

20170303_234839(0)

Here are the videos as promised 🙂

Nissreen2 Comments

My Top 5 Favourite Things About NYC

If you read my Love & Hate blog about New York City, you’d think I extremely hate the place but I don’t. Nevertheless, I wouldn’t say ‘I left my heart in NYC’.

So here are my Top 5 favourite things about the Big Apple.

Love & Hate Relationship with the Concrete Jungle: https://belliontravels.com/2017/01/26/usa-love-hate-relationship-with-the-concrete-jungle/ 

  1. Museums:

Museum Hopping Blog:

The amount of museums the city has got is incredible. They’ve got variations of Arts, Science, History, Nature, SEX lol and many more. You can learn a lot and I wish we had this amount of institutions here in UAE.

Although Tim and I went Museum Hopping there were a lot more to learn. If I lived in NYC, I’d be hanging out in Museums a lot. In addition, if I was ever lost, you will find me in the New York Public Library.

One of my favourite place I’ve visited and really affected my mood was Ellis Island. Yes, it was depressing and disturbing but I’ve learned a lot about what the immigrants have gone through. Especially that my great granddad was one of them, I had a personal connection to it. By far my favourite place of course is Statue of Liberty.

Below are links to my blog about Museum Hopping and Ellis Island.

Visiting the Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island https://belliontravels.com/2017/02/04/usa-visiting-the-statue-of-liberty-and-ellis-island/ 

Museum Hopping in New York City https://bellionstravels.com/17/02/11/usa-museum-hopping-in-new-york-city/

img_3274

2. Broadway & Time Square:

Out of all the shows that were showing on Broadway, Tim and I had to pick one because we didn’t have enough time.

After struggling on selecting a show, we finally settled for ‘The Lion King’. I don’t regret it even a bit. It was spectacular, incredible and startling. Mufasa’s death still makes me cry and I had a great time singing along to our childhood movie. Broadway is Art and I would so go back and watch other shows such as Chicago, The Phantom of the Opera and Wicked.

Lion King.jpg

new-york-1

3. Street Food and Food in General

New York is very similar to London and Dubai when it comes to restaurants and dining however street food is one most awesome thing about New York because its cheap, its fast service and its HALAL.

Tim and I ate a lot in New York from street food, to diners and to Asian fusion restaurants. We dined at a Japanese restaurant in Time Square and they served the best seaweed salad EVER. We also had the most delicious Ethiopian food in Harlem.

FOOD BLOG (2).jpg

NYC FOOD.jpg

4. Central Park

Man!! that park is HUGE. It’s so lovely too. We went for a stroll and sat on the swings and enjoyed people watching but we had to leave as soon as possible when our romantic outing turned into a nightmare when I saw a huge EFFIN RAT. I made Tim carry me on his back.

*For people who don’t know me, I’m really scared of rats.

Central Park.jpg

Central Park.jpg

5. Brooklyn 

If ever I live in New York, I’d pick Brooklyn. I don’t know why but I love love loveee the ambiance and the urban hipster looking place. It’s also got awesome coffee shops everywhere to try.

Brooklyn.jpg

Guys, I really don’t hate New York and I do recommend you to visit it but personally it isn’t the place for me.

NissreenLeave a comment

UK – Anchor Bleu’s Fish & Chips

I LOVE UK’s Fish & Chips and particularly Anchor Bleu’s. Thanks to my lovely mother in-law who invited us for Tim’s 28th Birthday. I really enjoyed the vibe, the service and the food.

If ever you stop by that area, please order their Fish and Chips and around the corner, there’s a cute souvenir and art gallery to check out.

The place is really cozy and feels like home.

20160920_132859

20160920_13265520160920_13532520160920_14265220160920_143122

 

 

NissreenLeave a comment