17 May 2014

An Evening On The Palm


The Palm Jumeirah

If there is one thing that Dubai is proud of apart from its Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world; it has to be The Palm Jumeirah.  For some of you who are not aware of this, let me give you a short '101' on it.  The Palm Jumeirah is a man made island in the shape of a palm tree that was built and developed somewhere in the mid 2001.  It consists of a trunk, 17 fronds and a crescent. The trunk housed some high-end apartments and hotels, the fronds are dotted with exclusive villas that are owned by some rich and famous (The Beckhams, Brangelina, Indian film star Shah Rukh Khan and a string of football stars are among the owners) and the crescent has among the best hotels and restaurants in the world. Well, the island was opened somewhere in 2006 but (wait for it..) even if I have been living here since before that, (here comes..) I HAVE NEVER BEEN ON IT except on the trunk (I dined at some of the restaurants on the trunks before, and that's it) 

Seriously I don't know why.. maybe because I was not taken by it (how can I not, right?), or again maybe because I had no reason to go until recently when Captain wanted to try out an Italian restaurant in one of the hotels on the crescent. Honestly, it was worth the time.. the view was breathtaking and it was breezy and fabulous so much so that we forgot it was on a late afternoon in May! We took a drive on the trunk, passed by the fronds (the fronds themselves are private, so no access to them) and took the underwater tunnel to the crescent. We then drove on the crescent from one end to another stopping by once in a while to bask in all the glory and sight of this man creation. We passed by The Atlantis Hotel (right in the middle of the crescent) and I was disappointed as it did not look as grand as I expected it to be in that late sunlight but wait until you see the sight of it at night time.. spectacular!

So the sun set and off we head to the restaurant..., great food, fabulous setting and all in all I am glad that Captain made the booking.  Not only for the food but for the chance to experience The Palm, finally.

The Burj Al Arab in the horizon, the ONLY 7 stars hotel in the world



Dubai Marina or The Miami or the Orient as they call it


The Atlantis was not an impressive sight in the beginning




I managed to capture a few stages of the sunset


L'Olivo at The Rixos served authentic Italian cuisine. Captain gave it a thumbs up!






My gorgeous burrata cheese with mix salad and wild berries

After dinner we hang out at the bar and listen to some live music that set the whole ambiance 


Now, this sight was another story :)



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29 comments:

  1. What?? Seriously? Haha! I love travelling along the trunk just for the sights. Taking the monorail is nice too for the elevated view but the ticket is quite expensive for such a short ride.

    P.S: Burj al Arab :-)

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    1. Serious, never been until recently. Another that I have yet to do is to go on top of the Burj Khalifa.. I guess I'll save that for when I am about to leave the country ;) Burj Al Arab is another marvel, right..never gets old, that sight...

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    2. What??? Hahaha! I've been up there twice, I think, before the ticket price went up. Not bad lah although the observation floor/deck is called At the Top, it's not exactly at the top, it's about 2/3 of the height, and it's about the same height as Petronas Twin Towers.

      Eh btw, I meant it should be Burj al Arab, not Burj Dubai, in the caption for the 2nd photo above. :)

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    3. Oh, yes! Typo error. Somehow I kept remembering the famous un-used/rejected name for the Burj Khalifa.. pening lah, macam2 Burj! ;)

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    4. The Palm Jumeirah looks quite amazing from the air but isn't it interesting how often we visit famous sites when we travel far from home but don't bother with the ones in our own area?

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    5. Elaine, you are so right! We tend to take things for granted :) I'm glad I went

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  2. Woah this looks gorgeous! I would love to visit one day - Definitely on my bucket list!
    <3
    katsfashionfix.blogspot.com

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    1. .. and don't forget to let me know when you come :)

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  3. omgosh your pictures are AMAZING!!! i want to see the palm jumeirah so badly!! all of the the aerial shots i've seen of it are spectacular!

    that is so neat that you went to eat at the italian restaurant the decor is outstanding i love the beautiful flowers and food looks so yummy! even that giant bread basket looks spectacular... it looks like they're made w/ lots of butter and herbs lol!

    thank you so so much for your kind words your comment is so sweet! i'm trying. i'm not there yet but i'm getting there :p

    www.lisalovescoco.blogspot.com

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    1. Thanks, Lisa for dropping by. You are an inspiration :)

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  4. Wow, that looks like a place definitely worth a visit! I have always wanted to go to Dubai and this palm island is one of the many reasons! :)

    www.callmemaddie.com

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    1. You should come. Dubai is THE place to be now :)

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  5. Beautiful collection of photos - thank you for sharing them! Dubai is right at the top of my list of places to visit in 2015, so this post was incredibly inspiring! :)

    http://findmethoseheels.blogspot.co.uk/

    x

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  6. You are so lucky to be there! These photos make me to want summer even more! ;)

    http://www.thefashioncuisine.com/

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  7. Wow your photos remind my how much I want to see Dubai! So beautiful. And the Atlantis is high on that list now. I need a room here!

    SDMxx
    www.daringcoco.com

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  8. I always enjoy these posts because I am not sure when I will have a chance to visit. Thank you so much for sharing!

    Alice
    www.happinessatmidlife.com

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  9. Oh yum, the food looks great! :) And I remember watching on TV when they were making the palm, it must be wonderful to be able to visit there! :)

    Away From Blue

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  10. Wow, amazing pictures! Definitely on my list to visit someday. I love trying new restaurants, sounds like you and the captain had a wonderful evening. Thanks for sharing the pics.

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  11. It must be amazing to live in the decidence! :) Beautiful pictures. Love the RZ sneaks you had on in your previous post - super cute! Thanks for stopping by SLS!

    Lulu
    simplylulustyle.com

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  12. I miss Dubai soo much!
    http://starvogue84.blogspot.com

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  13. I've never heard of this but wow, it looks amazing! Glad you had a chance to take a look around. I think the hotel looks amazing in the day time too.

    Corinne x
    www.skinnedcartree.com

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  14. amazing , hope some day go there !!!

    Un Rincón Para Mis Botas
    http://fiorellaechegaray.blogspot.com.es

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  15. This looks great!! Awesome Dubai photos
    Wishing you a blessed week ahead of you,
    kisses from Miami,
    Borka
    www.chicfashionworld.com

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  16. That is so unbelievably cool!
    Debbie
    www.fashionfairydust.blogspot.com

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  17. Completely fabulous! Ok, well I've added another destination to see in my lifetime :-)

    Monica, www.pear-shaped-gal.com

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  18. Beautiful. Thanks for taking me on a tour this time. Now in your place. I new about the island, but you gave very interesting details. The restaurant and the Atlantis indeed look gorgeous. I very much enjoyed this tour.
    Greetje

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  19. It was interesting to find out new things about the place and to see the photos. You are right, the big difference between day and night views of the hotel. The restaurant looks nice and cozy and I imagine the food there is just fantastic. I am a big fan of Italian cuisine.

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  20. you know, i actually know about this (well i've seen it hundreds of times on youtube in a skydiving video my son used to watch all the time!) it was so pretty from the sky! i didn't know it was in dubai nor did i know what it was...i assumed houses of the rich and famous! nice that you finally went!! thanks for sharing the pictures!!

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  21. This city is on my bucket list, hope I can go there one day !

    http://www.mymymode.com/

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