Remembering Dubai’s La Mer Beach: Warm lights, good food and fondue — The cure for a new UAE expat's homesickness

A night of lights and good food.

 What more does a Dubai newcomer need?

I moved to the UAE in October 2020, shortly after my wedding, which took place during COVID. We spent two weeks in Dubai before relocating to Abu Dhabi. After 29 years in India, everything felt overwhelming and unfamiliar — from the towering buildings to the unsettling feeling of not yet being able to call this new country home. Although everything was aesthetically pleasing, I was probably too homesick to fully appreciate it.

But, on my third day, we visited La Mer beach. And that, somehow is my first memory of Dubai, clear and distinct from the blur and haze of travelling, packing up an entire lifetime, airport rushes and the sights of buildings in a new country.

It was the lights that called to me that day, because that was how warm and comforting it felt. Lights lined the pavement and wrapped around trees. Maybe it had always been that way, but for me, on that first visit, those lights held a special meaning. It’s what I needed to see, at that moment of exhausting homesickness.

We stopped at different restaurants, picking up different desserts, and sat with a fondue for several minutes.

That was when I felt realised, that maybe, just maybe, Dubai could be home. It would take time, yes,  but one day, it would eventually become so.

 We spent only an hour on that beach, but somehow, if anyone asked me what my favourite place in Dubai was, after that, I would straight-away answer, “La Mer.”  I couldn’t even remember the names of the restaurants, but I remembered the vibes, feeling and the lights. And that was reason enough.

 Since then, I’ve visited La Mer only twice more. Once on a hot summer morning—a poor judgment call, as it was almost empty, and we quickly found a café to cool off. Another time, to meet friends and walk along the beach until sunset. We dipped our toes in the water and, for once, captured the best photos.

That’s what I remember most about La Mer. Happy times.

La Mer has changed a lot since then—I haven’t visited since its transformation, as La Mer South has been redeveloped and new resorts have taken shape. It’s wonderful, of course, but when I think back to the girl who moved countries five years ago, I remember the warmth she finally found that night under the lights.