dubai Travel Guide
8/26/2008 at 9:33 AM
Tags: Tiger Woods, Golf Travel, Dubai Travel (all tags)
Maybe it's because we don't play much golf ourselves, but we're just not sure why Dubai needs so many golf courses--especially since it's in the middle of the desert. But Tiger Woods and his design company have just unveiled the whole big plan for The Tiger Woods Dubai which will be a hotel, residential estate and golf course all in one.
For all you golf travel lovers, the new 18 hole course at the Al Ruwaya club will be a 7,800 yard par 72. Along with the clubhouse, there'll be a golf academy and a spa, and it should all be finished by next year.
The complex will be part of Dubailand, the $64 billion dollar extravaganza that won't be finished until 2025. You might have to wait that long to get a membership to Al Ruwaya: They're already billing it as one of the most exclusive in the world. Make friends with Tiger now!
Related Stories:
· The Tiger Woods Dubai [Official Site]
· Tiger Woods Unveils His Dubai Golf Course [AFP, via Google]
· Golf Travel: Mapping Tiger Wood's New Golf Course [Jaunted]
[Plan of golf course: Tiger Woods Dubai]
by amandak
8/15/2008 at 12:15 PM
Tags: Dubai Travel, Airports, DXB, T3 at DXB (all tags)
When JetBlue announced earlier this summer that it'd need volunteers to test out its new terminal at JFK, pretty much everyone rolled their eyes. Seriously, who'd want to spend all day at the airport and not even go anywhere? Apparently more than 2,000 people in Dubai, who recently stopped by DXB to check out its new Terminal 3.
The volunteers poured through the new facility, which is scheduled to open sometime this year, checking out the gate areas, immigration and, of course, the bathrooms. Another batch of volunteers will test the terminal later this month and a third trial is scheduled for September. Though only a couple thousand people at a time are transiting the building now, airport officials expect more than 30 million passengers a year once T3 opens.
If you want to get a sneak peak yourself, sign up for the terminal test here.
Related Stories:
· Dubai Airport conducts First Major Trail at T3 [Official Site]
· JetBlue, Pick Us for Your Secret Terminal 5 Test! [Jaunted]
· Dubai Travel coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo of T3 under construction: Wikimedia]
by pbb
8/08/2008 at 9:00 AM
Tags: Magazines, In-Flight Entertainment, Emirates, Green Travel (all tags)
We've never been huge fans of in-flight magazines but they do tend to while away a good half an hour or so, or even more on long flights when we're fighting boredom. But flavor-of-the-month Emirates, in their eternal wisdom, has now decided to ditch its in-flight magazine completely.
Apparently this will save them one ton of weight per flight--we get it, lower fuel consumption and less emissions--so they're crowing about both cost and environment savings. Environment? This from the airline which thinks an in-flight shower is a necessity for some passengers?
Problem number two: What will passengers do instead of reading the in-flight mag? Stare at the screen in front of them even after watching all the movies? Hopefully not chat on their cell phones for an extra half hour.
Related Stories:
· Emirates Ditch Their In-Flight Magazine [Travel Rants]
· In-Flight Cell Phones: Vibrate Only on Emirates, Please [Jaunted]
· Emirates and the In-Flight Shower [Jaunted]
[Photo: TelstarLogistics]
by amandak
8/05/2008 at 1:20 PM
Tags: Kenneth Gile, New Airlines, LCCs, Low Cost Carriers, Flydubai, Dubai Travel, Skybus (all tags)
New low cost carrier Flydubai will have a familiar face running the show: Former Skybus COO Kenneth Gile. He's been tapped to tackle the same job for the nascent airline, which hopes to be flying by summer of next year.
It won't be the first time in the Persian Gulf for Gile, as he started his commercial career with Saudi Arabian Airlines before joining Southwest, eventually become the Texas LCC's chief pilot and director of flight operations.
He's not the only Skybus refugee moving overseas, either, it seems. Marla Matzer Rose at the Columbus Dispatch reports that some of the defunct airline's pilots are now working in China. Maybe they'll get rated to fly those nifty new ARJ21s?
Related Stories:
· Flydubai Appoints New COO [Xpress]
· Ex-Skybus Prez Lands in Dubai [CD]
· Flydubai to Launch by 2009 [Jaunted]
by pbb
7/15/2008 at 3:31 PM
Tags: New Airlines, LCCs, Low Cost Carriers, Flydubai, Dubai Travel (all tags)
The new airline Flydubai just announced that it bought 50 737-800s, a deal worth almost $4 billion at list prices. The carrier, owned by the government of Dubai, plans to start service by summer of 2009, meaning those Boeings will have to come off the assembly line soon. Rumor has it Flydubai is jumping the production queue by snapping up aircraft deliveries that American airlines have deferred.
Where will those 50 new planes fly?
To Dubai from the whole Middle East region, North and East Africa, Southeast Europe and the Indian subcontinent.
Specific routes still haven't been announced. As for fares, Flydubai says ticket prices will be "extremely competitive."
Related Stories:
· Flydubai [Official Site]
· Dubai Sheik Buys Boeing Jets for New Airline [NYT]
· New Airlines coverage [Jaunted]
by pbb
7/10/2008 at 9:00 AM
Tags: Dubai, Nude Travel, Dubai Travel, Beaches (all tags)
It may have neat architecture and man-made islands, but playboy paradise Dubai comes coupled with a legal code not built for vacationers: A British woman is facing six years in prison after being caught in flagrante on Jumeirah Beach--twice!
The first time, publishing manager 30-year-old Michelle Palmer was caught in a compromising position after a business brunch (!) at Le Meridien Hotel. The policeman on duty let her and her paramour, known to the press as "Vince," off with a warning. When he caught Palmer and "Vince" again, she allegedly got a little rough with the cop.
Now the pair are facing charges not only of indecent exposure, public drunkenness and assault of a police officer, but also of having sex outside of marriage--an act prohibited under Dubai law. (Also a crime in Dubai: Being gay or cohabitating.) Though they're exempt from the sharia court system, Palmer and "Vince" aren't in great shape.
British paper the Daily Mail was particularly unsympathetic to the lovers' plight, writing that the first Brits in Dubai behaved "badly, lewdly, crudely, as British expats do everywhere" but were decent enough to do it behind closed doors. Once again, we implore you: Be suspicious when you strip!
Related Stories:
· British Woman Faces Jail for Sex on Dubai Beach [Telegraph]
· German Tourists Beat Heat Wave With Nudity [Jaunted]
· Dubai Travel coverage [Jaunted]
[Still from "From Here To Eternity": Sydney Morning Herald]
by egw
6/09/2008 at 11:30 AM
Tags: Architecture, Dubai Travel, Zaha Hadid, Rem Koolhaas (all tags)
Come back and visit us again soon: This weekend's New York Times reported on "insta-cities" that are more dynamic than the Delta-Northwest merger. Dubai went from desert stopover to high-rise paradise in 10 years, while Shenzen, China has grown by 8 million people in 30 years, with all the unplanned, even haphazard growth patterns rapid development brings.
The coolest thing about these new cities is also their peril: That all things are, architecturally, possible. The Gray Lady discusses new projects by Zaha Hadid and Rem Koolhaas which, rather than adding to the existing cityscape, will foster the growth of neighborhoods in places where there were none.
Related Stories:
· The New, New City [NYT]
· Architecture Travel coverage [Jaunted]
· Dubai Travel coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: chant3]
by egw
5/07/2008 at 12:05 PM
Tags: Dubai Travel, Attractions, Big Things, Legoland, Wendy Perrin (all tags)
Oh, hell yes. Legoland is coming to Dubai. Now we finally have a reason to go!
Given that recent developments include bridges and a replica of a French city, it's about time for something more appealing to the kids--and those of us who act like kids. The new park, scheduled to open by 2011, will have just about everything you want:
Similar to the existing four Legoland Parks at Billund, Denmark; Germany; Windsor and California, Legoland Dubailand [will feature] more than 40 interactive...kid-powered rides, cool building challenges, spectacular Lego models, interactive attractions, family-friendly coasters and shows.
Now the only drama is figuring out how you'll get your kids to behave on the long-haul to Dubai. Lucikly, mom-travel expert Wendy Perrin has some tips on that.
Related Stories:
· New Legoland Park in Dubai [Press Release, via]
· On Holiday with Lego Blocks [Jaunted]
· Prepare for the New Lyon (Not in France) [Jaunted]
[Photo of Legoland Windsor: garybembridge]
by pbb
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