🌴✨ Dubai Diaries: The Grand Tour, the Great Banter, and One Very Tired Traveller ✨🌴

After several days of glitter, gold, sand, selfies, souks, Sim cards, and survival instincts, I am finally home — fresh, functional, and fully Indian again.

The Dubai trip era has officially ended.

Passport resting. Suitcase defeated.

Jet lag negotiating with my brain like a stubborn landlord.

But oh… what a ride it was!

Day 1:

Landed in Dubai. Immigration staff gave me a look that said:

“Welcome. Don’t expect smiles.”

I accepted the challenge.

Our tour manager Lokesh kept count of us like a school teacher on a picnic.

Meanwhile, Dubai Mall kept count of how many kilometres I walked.

Day 2:

Dubai Frame!

Group photo!

Everyone smiling except the person who later had to pay for the printed copy — me.

Evening cruise:

Magic show, dance, food, joy, calories, and 200 dirhams gone for souvenir photos.

Worth it. The confetti picture alone was happiness.

Day 3:

Museum of the Future:

Looked like a giant doughnut with beautiful calligraphy.

I looked like a man searching for Wi-Fi.

Desert Safari:

ATV bike shook my soul.

Dune bashing shook everything else.

Sunset made me forget the shaking.

Camel looked at me like I owed him money.

Day 4:

Gold Souk.

Wife: “Show me something NEW.”

Shopkeeper: (Shows one chain)

Wife: “Something ELSE NEW.”

Me: (Looks at ceiling) “Lakshmi, save me.”

Bought a small projector for 200 dirhams —

because husbands also deserve toys.

Day 5:

Abu Dhabi.

Mosque. Temple. History.

One tyre problem. Two buses. Three heartbeats skipped.

Airport security took my belt, dignity, and patience — then returned only the belt.

VAT refund approved — money coming in 5 days.

Hope also coming in 5 days.

Ate dinner at the boarding gate like a contestant on a cooking show with time running out.

Day 6:

Mid-air.

3:39 a.m.

Plane humming.

Mind drifting into a meditation that even saints would envy.

Someone needed medical help — cabin lights blinked back to life.

My battery died; my tourist SIM died; but my joy remained fully charged.

Home:

My son loved the projector.

My daughter-in-law enjoyed the photo stories.

I enjoyed the idlis and the nap… though the nap didn’t enjoy me back.

And now, with a grateful heart and a recharged phone, I officially declare:

“Dubai Trip: Era Complete.

Routine Life: Please Enter.”**

I carry back:

A phone full of photos,

A mind full of memories,

A wallet full of VAT hope,

And a heart full of gratitude. ❤️

1️⃣ Harmony Sculpture (Blue & White)

“Found harmony in Dubai.

Still searching for it when wife is bargaining in Gold Souk.” 😄

2️⃣ Tolerance Path (inside the mosque area)

“Walked the ‘Tolerance Path’.

Practised it immediately when people took 78 photos before moving.” 😁

3️⃣ The Ghaf Tree (UAE’s national tree)

“Meet the Ghaf — UAE’s national tree.

Strong, calm, unshakable.

Basically the opposite of me during airport immigration.” 🌳😆

4️⃣ Friends at Global Village (the joyful group selfie)

“Travel tip:

Landmarks look grand.

Memories look greater.

But friends

make both look fantastic.” ✨😄