Ola in Dubai, UAE

After visiting Qatar in summer when the temperatures were unbelievable for our trip to United Arab Emirates we went in November. Weather was perfect, temeperature didn’t exceed 30 degrees. That let us sweat a little during the day and walk outside freely at night.

Visiting Dubai with the baby was easier and then we expected. We were positively surprised by the attitude of local people to the baby. Everybody had to hold Ola, take a photo or at least talk to her as if she was a pop star. And that were mostly men, as it’s usually them who work in sales and services in Dubai. Either in the queue line to Burj Khalifa, at the market or in any restaurant we went to she was the number one.

That’s how we found another country, after Georgia, with people of extremely friendly attitude towards children. People in Dubaj showed more care and warmth towards Ola then she ever got in Europe.
And of course she had to make some new firends as she is fond of other children.

Another thing which we were delighted with was shopping mall. And specificly meeting the needs of children and brestfeeding moms. Muslim moms enjoy public entertainments as everybody else. And since in Dubai it focuses around shopping malls, they are well prepared to serve them. Changing the baby’s diaper is not a problem. Well, sometimes it neither is a problem in Europe and there is a piece of board on the wall in the toilet. But check out what they offer in Dubai, how such thing can be organised.

A colorful room with soft changing stations, clean and fragrant. And if you forget any hygiene products there’s a vending machine on the wall. For 5 dirhams you get a set of 1 diaper, 2 wipes and a disposal bag!
In some rooms there is also a little corner with some toys there. But what happens when you need to breastfeed the baby? Nothing more simple – just use a small cosy room, relax and feed the baby.

It’s nice to say that they have also thought about mom’s needs. When after all those hygenic procedures and feeding the baby mum might feel like using the toilet too. No problem at all, there is a bathroom so big that it can fit mom together with a baby in the stroller. Simple, isn’t it? Why haven’t we seen such things anywhere else? In Europe there are similar things only in Ikea, which is known for its sensitivity for mother and child needs.

A good entertainment for Ola, even though she was so little (8 months), was Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo. When we saw how she liked the fish behind the glass we had no other option than buy tickets and take her inside.
Aquarium in the Dubai Mall is a 10-million-liter tank with sharks, rays and 140 other species of underwater animals. We took the basic option to visit underwater tunnel and get surrounded by all those magnificient animals. Ola’s enthusiasm was enough to keep her attracted for 20 minutes before she went to sleep. But for bigger children it must be quite an adventure, as it was for us.

Our ticket covered also visiting an underwater zoo upstairs. Among others there are an octopus, chameleon, 5-meter crocodile or garden eels standing in the sand there. Thankfully Ola woke up when we got to pinguins and was fascinated especialy when they had their dinner.
Instead half an hour as we thought we spent there way over two hours and decided to leave quickly as we were on the run to somewhere else. But it was well spent time and money. Walking through the tunnel was the basic option – aquarium offers also snorking in the cage, fish feeding, ride a glass-bottom boat or diving with sharks. Full day can be spent there easily.

Other amusements for kids in Dubai that come to our minds are ski area, where one not only you can ski but also meet pinguins, I-Fly Dubai, a wind tunnel where you can try flying or Little Explorers – a 2000-square-meter Edutainment Centre for children form 2 to 7 years old. We cannot say more as we didn’t have time to  try any of those but can say that the offer is undoubtly wide.

There is one more thing we should mention in regards of baby travel – UAE is a very safe country and going there with a baby is totaly secure. There is a very low crime rate in Dubai, probably as a result of using Sharia law, which imposes on criminals penalties like stoning or flogging. Pickpocketing, for which tourists are usually exposed to, is very low however common sence in keeping the money and passorts is advised as everywhere else in the world. Locals feel that safe that they leave their cars not only not locked on parking lots but with heir engines on to keep the AC working.