Live anywhere long enough and even a city as vibrant as Dubai can seem jaded, boring and passé. But talk to visitors and people elsewhere and you'll soon be forced into re-examining this city of superlatives. Not only are people immediately jealous that you shop at the world's biggest mall and dine at the highest restaurant, but everyone one seems to think (rightly so in our case, of course!) that we all hang out with the likes of: (Dubai visitors last week) Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Lindsay Lohan, Nadine Coyle and Pamela Anderson.
The Dubai Shopping Festival, the 17th instalment of which begins today and runs until February 5, is partly responsible for that high-profile image, offering as it does concerts, parties and endless opportunities to make the folks back home jealous. We present ten ways to pap yourself for Facebook posterity.
1. Make like a movie star
You'd have a hard time persuading property developers Emaar to let you abseil down the Burj Khalifa like Tom Cruise did in Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, which was filmed right here in the shiny emirate.
But they'll happily let you tour the world's tallest building from the inside, where you can take in arty installations and architectural exhibits about this stupendous vertical city. Timed tickets to the 124th-floor outdoor observation deck cost Dh100 (film-star-style instant entry sets you back Dh400). Alternatively, head to At.mosphere restaurant on the 122nd floor and celebrate your arrival at the top of the food chain by tucking into some of Dubai's most succulent steaks or by drinking in the view at the lounge next door.
Details: Book at burjkhalifa.ae and at atmosphereburjkhalifa.com
2. Hang with the stars
Making their way to shiny Dubai this DSF are the Queen of England, Britney Spears and David Beckham. No not really, just celebrity lookalikes. Also booked to provide Facebook fodder all month, with an elevator tune or two, are pop singer soundalikes Will Smith and Justin Timerblake.
Details: From January 12 to 27 at Dubai Festival City corniche, from 5pm to 10pm on weekdays, until midnight on weekends.
3. Go on a walkabout
For a city that swelters in temperatures of over 50 degrees every summer, our not-hot season is an absolute treat. Festival organisers have made the best of the glorious winter sun, so there's plenty of action all over the city. Best of all, in our recession-tinged times, most of it's free and you can get to it on foot.
At a mini arts souq opposite the British Embassy on Al Seef Street are carpet weavers, glass blowers and metal workers from Syria, Morocco and Oman. The results make for beautiful one-of-a-kind gifts. The annual honey bazaar in the same area dishes up exotic beauty remedies and all-natural solutions to digestion, skin and marital problems.
Other stalls nearby offer all kinds of traditional products, such as oud and incense and handmade soaps and candles, as well as the fruit of a relatively newer tradition: cabinets and jewellery boxes made by long-term guests of Dubai Police.
Across the creek, Al Riqqa Road is home to a month-long fairground with games of luck and skill, acrobatic displays and magic shows that will keep the kids away from the computer. Among this year's attractions is the grandly named Monte Carlo Circus — but we haven't had a chance to check it out yet.
Details: Until February 5, various streets, most events run till midnight.
4. Party like a rock star
We may all still be nursing our QE2-sized New Year's Eve hangovers, but this is no time to stop the party. This month's calendar is packed to bursting with something for all tastes. UK DJs Paul Woolford and Steve Mac kick the year off with their distinctive electronic beats, East European sensation Guf and Rolex-X alum brings his Ice Baby hit to Club Sensation on Sunday, and R&B hitmaker Marques Houston heats up Chi @ The Lodge next Friday with Naked and other tunes. And that's just the first week!
Over the next month, each weekend will see top Arabic artists perform at the Burj Khalifa as part of Layali Dubai, a festival signature back by popular demand this year. Two concerts are planned each weekend. A final roster of acts was unavailable at the time of going to press, but we expect Nancy Ajram will put in an appearance.
Confirmations are thin on the ground for other big draws, but UK soul legend Billy Ocean is a definite for the Irish Village early next month. Other big names rumoured to be hitting the city are Bollywood hitmakers Vishal-Shekhar, Pakistani ghazal singer Ghulam Ali and the inimitable Tom Jones. But leave your hat on — nothing's set in stone yet.
Details: check dubaicalendar.com for updates.
5. Shop till you drop
Retail therapy never gets this good. Not only is almost every conceivable brand on sale during the DSF, but stores and malls are licensed to stay open until midnight — or later in some cases.
Back on Al Riqqa road this year is the annual Night Souq. A couple of dozen pop-up shops by Al Ghurair Centre stay open until 2am during the week and 3am on weekends, selling fashion, jewellery, toys, obscure ethnic foods, knick-knacks and enough tat to send kitsch lovers into a frenzy of feverish excitement. In Dubai, a late night out doesn't have to be in a smoky club.
Best of all is the chance to get rich quick. Besides the almost absurdly cheap promotions, many retailers raffle off cars, gold and even cash (see our story on page 5), — so the city really does morph into shopaholic heaven over the season.
Details: Various malls; the Night Souq runs from 6pm to 2am on weekdays and until 3am on weekends.
6. Tone up
Never mind that you've already broken all your New Year resolutions. Help is at hand with the annual Weight Loss Show. From meal plans and slimming products to organic food and alternative therapies, more than 50 exhibitors will parade state-of-the-art weapons in the battle of the bulge. Plus, there'll be on-site workout classes, talks on nutrition, healthy cooking demos and high-energy activities for children. There will also be a contingent of cosmetic surgeons at the show, so if you've tried it all before but nothing's helped, you know where to go for that red-carpet appeal.
Details: The Weight Loss Show is held at the Dubai International Marine Club on January 27 and 28, weightlossshow.ae; entry is free.
7. Go down in history
The shiny emirate is probably already in record books as the city where the most world records have been broken, but that hasn't deterred people from looking for yet another title. A biography of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) by Saudi author Dr Abdullah Abdulaziz Al Muslih, Secretary-General of the Complex for Islamic Fiqh Research in Riyadh, is reportedly set to be the world's largest book at over five metres tall, with 420 pages that weigh more than 1,500 kilos.
Details: January 11, log on to dubaicalendar.com
8. Sport some glamour
Even if you missed AC Milan taking on Paris St Germain at Al Ahli Club yesterday, you can still get 2012 off to a flying start with some top sporting action.
The Dunlop 24H race, the first international 24-hour race of the GT calendar year, runs from January 12 to 14 at the Dubai Autodrome with excellent international representation on the circuit. Expect to see all the top sports cars on track.
For fans of foot power, the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon on January 27, which is seen as a key qualifying event ahead of the June Olympiad, has pulled in some of the world's biggest track stars, including defending champs David Barmasai and Asselefech Medessa.
Then there's the cricket. Pakistan takes on England in Dubai and Abu Dhabi this month as part of the Future Tour, in a bilateral series comprising three test matches, four ODIs and three T20 encounters.
Lovers of all things glamorous, of course, will skip all these for the five-meeting Dubai World Cup Carnival, which begins today at Meydan. The first event, the third Meydan Master International Jockey Challenge, runs today and tomorrow and features 12 of the world's top riders.
Meanwhile, a royal association ensures put hunting, shooting and falconry front and centre at the Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Championships.
Details: dubairacingclub.com, dubaidutyfreetennischampionships.com and dubaicalendar.com
9. Get some culture
Beyond the shopping, the DSF is one of the best times for a close encounter with the emirate's past. Channel your inner Wilfred Thesiger, or should we say Mubarak bin London, at the desert camp at Al Warqaa. Rent a royal tent and kick back with the family in traditional Arabian style with horse riding, falconry, camel safaris and more. We promise it's nothing like the desert safari experience that left you underwhelmed.
More material types will be thrilled by the Carpet Oasis at the Airport Expo Dubai, which brings together more than 100,000 weaves from Iran to North Africa; so now is the best time to blag a magic Arabian carpet.
And with special shows laid on at Heritage Village and Diving Village, it's the best time to get an insight into the makings of the UAE and into the down-to-earth lives whose positive attributes we would do well to emulate.
Details: Until February 5, log on todubaicalendar.com
10. Fly high
One of the easiest ways of to put a new perspective on Dubai is by looking at it from a new angle. Aerial tour operators Seawings offer a 40-minute dock-to-dock aerial tour of the city that focuses on the Burj Khalifa and the Burj Al Arab, taking in the Palm Jumeirah, The World Islands and Dubai Creek along the way.
It isn't until you've seen this city from the sky that you truly begin to understand the width and scale of its achievements.
Details: Dh1,325, book at seawings.ae
— For more information on any of these events, call Ahlan Dubai: 600 54 5555
