訪問日時：2015年7月18日–19日
It was a strong schedule for three days and one night in Dubai, but I was able to fully enjoy it, so I will report on it several times.
- 出発＆レンタカーゲット＆ドバイ・モール編
- ブルジェ・ハリファ編
- ジュメイラ・ビーチ、アル・カスル・プール、ワイルド・ワディー編
- シェイク・ザーイド・モスク編
Three days and one night in Dubai!
I want to go somewhere to play for 3 consecutive holidays! But if it’s in Japan, it’ll be too crowded and expensive, so I’d definitely go overseas even if it takes a while to get there.
とはいえ日数が限られているので、可能な限り満喫ことを考慮し、「条件1.金曜日に東京を夜便 or 深夜便で出発」、「条件2.日曜日に現地をなるべく夜遅い便で帰国」、「条件3.行き帰り直行便」、「条件4.二日でもそこそこ満喫できる1都市」の条件を満たすところはないか探してようやく発見したのが、[highlight]ドバイ[/highlight]でした。
Even so, I was surprised to find that there were surprisingly few places that met this condition.
Thailand, Hong Kong and other countries fell under this condition. Some flights are earlier on Friday or arrive on Tuesday morning. Asia, what is difficult to schedule? In addition, Frankfurt, Paris, and Istanbul met the conditions 1 to 3, but I can’t fully enjoy them in 2 days, and it’s too wasteful, so I decided to exclude them.
I’ve used Dubai a few times as a connecting flight, but I’ve never gotten off and toured the city, so I’m really looking forward to it.
Find a great deal on Expedia → Eventually make arrangements from DeNA Travel
さて、今回の旅、最初は最近ごひいき気味のエクスペディアで検索して、ほどよい航空券とホテルのセットを発見。最終的にはDeNAトラベル経由の手配となりました。理由は狙いの時間帯で航空券が取れなかったからです。ちなみに、航空会社は[highlight]「エティハド航空」[/highlight]、はじめての利用、そして、1泊分のホテル込みで合計9万前後の値段でした。
ホテルは奮発してジュメイラビーチにるこちらの５つ星ホテル[highlight]「アル カスル マディナ ジュメイラ」[/highlight]を選びました。1泊ならばそれほど高くない（笑）。
Basically, I plan to focus on vacations. It is unusual style for me. I heard that there is a pool on the private beach, so I decided to spend my time here playing and relaxing.
Arrival in Abu Dhabi, again in a rental car.
It’s Friday night, and I’m already familiar with the pattern of going straight to Narita after changing clothes after work. After checking in without any trouble, I had my usual ramen and boarded the plane. I was able to sleep well in the plane. Long live the late night flight.
そして無事アブダビ空港へ。到着は午前4時、予定時間よりも30分程度早く到着したようでした。ここからドバイへ移動するのですが、結局直前になってレンタカーを手配しておきました。最終日、といっても到着翌日ですが、帰りにアブダビにある大変美しいと大評判の[highlight]「シェイク・ザーイド・モスク」[/highlight]を見学したかったからです。アブダビ市内は移動が大変らしいので、車のほうが楽という情報を入手、であればドバイまでの移動も自分でしてしまえー、そう思ってのレンタカー選択でした。
The car rental was arranged through rentalcars.com as usual. I think this is the first time for me to use this company though I might have seen them in Europe.
The area with a series of booths of car rental companies was located a short distance to the right after exiting the arrival hall. Abu Dhabi Airport is not so wide, so it was easy to find.
まだ外は暗いですが、空港は24時間稼働していますので、レンタカーオフィスはいつでも開いているようです。ただ、あまり早朝に借りても行くところもないので、レンタル予約した7時まで適当に空港で待つことに。幸いカフェやファーストフート店で時間を過ごすことができました。
At 7am, I went to the booth and started the rental procedure. The procedure is exactly the same as in other countries. You present your passport, national and international driver’s license, and credit card, sign all the documents, and then you are taken to the parking lot to check the car with the attendant.
さてさて今回借りたのは[highlight]日産の「ティーダ」[/highlight]。
The same name in foreign countries. The name doesn’t seem to change like March (Micra) and Bitz (Yaris). The feeling of driving it was almost the same as the Tida sold in Japan. Anyway, I was surprised to see only Japanese cars for rent in both Abu Dhabi and Dubai. I was a little disappointed. It might have been a good idea to rent a good car for a short period of time.
First, we’ll travel to Dubai.
We got the car safely and departed from Abu Dhabi Airport. We immediately got on the E11 and headed north towards Dubai. The road is wide, very clean and easy to drive. The traffic was not so much because of the early morning on Saturday, so it was comfortable.
I thought it was free because there was no particular toll booth etc. on the expressway, but apparently it was charged when I entered Dubai. But instead of paying the fee on the spot, I put a sticker that looks like a prepaid SIM on the car in advance, and the fee is automatically deducted from that card when I pass through the gate.
この制度、Salik Chargesと呼ばれるものだそうです。
I have not been able to confirm it directly, but this sticker was probably put on the rented car this time. However, the fee was charged separately. I received an email immediately after returning home saying that the fee would be deducted from the credit card I used at the time of rental.
But it was not so expensive, 15AED, about 500 yen in Japanese yen. We passed through the gate three times, so it might have been 5 AED per time.
Then we arrived at our destination, Dubai, after about an hour of driving on an almost straight road. First of all, we aim at the parking lot in Dubai Mall. I could see the tallest building in the world, Burj Khalifa, though it was faint. This is one of today’s objectives.
Parking at the Dubai Mall, free parking, and a walk around the Dubai Mall
事前調査ではドバイはあまり駐車場事情がよくないということでしたが、このドバイ・モールは立派な駐車場が完備してあるといのこと。そして、ドバイ観光初日のハイライト「ブルジェ・ハリファ」もこのモールの一角にあます。まず到着直後の午前中はモールを見学、中で軽く食事、そして午後から予約しているブルジェ・ハリファ観光をする予定です。
We were able to find the entrance to the parking lot easily. It was a little after 9:00 when we arrived. The guidebook says that the shop opens at 10 a.m., but the parking lot was open and we were able to park our car.
First, take a picture of the parking number so you don’t forget where you are. If you do this, you will be fine even if it is your first time abroad.
The parking area where I parked is on this floor.
By the way, what are the rates here?
I actually did not receive any kind of parking ticket when I entered. Is there a different way to pay than normal?
とりあえず車を降りてモール内へと向かいました。そして、モール内に入ったすぐのところにこんな機械を発見。支払いに関して何か情報が得られるかと思い近づいてみましたが、よく読むと「場所を忘れないようにチケットとっておいてね」と英語で書いてあるだけ。どうやら[highlight]このモールの駐車場は無料[/highlight]のようです。
That’s Dubai.
Then we sneak into the mall. It looks pretty big. This is as they say.
As it was still before 10 o’clock, few shops were open and there were few people. However, some cafes were open and there were some customers. If this is the case, you can spend your time at these places even if you arrive a little early.
But in the end, while I went to the restroom and walked around the mall lightly, it was 10 o’clock before I knew it. And gradually more and more people started to arrive. It was a Saturday, so there would be more people coming in the afternoon. Various shops and facilities in the mall are starting to operate.
ちなみにこの広いモールを移動するために便利？かもしれないのが、このモール内タクシー。無料です。乗ってませんが。
ところでこのモール、ショッピングエリアの他にも、[highlight]水族館（というか大きな水槽）やスケートリンク[/highlight]もあったりとなんだか砂漠の街にはありえない施設が組み込まれています。
On the skating rink, they were playing ice hockey. It looks like an amateur team game.
And here is the aquarium. It is a huge tank though it is called an aquarium. It’s free if you just look at it from the outside.
He said that it costs money to go through the tunnel that runs through this tank.
Because it seemed only to go through, I did not bother to pay to see.
ブルジェ・ハリファの予約は13時なので、まだまだ時間があります。ということで、少し早かったですが11時過ぎにフードコートで昼食を食べることにしました。フードコート、大きいです。ただファーストフート中心。個人的にはきちんとしたレストラン、もしくはカフェレストランがよかったのですが、なかなか見つけることができず、フードコートをやむなく選択。
何品か注文しましたが、特に友人に勧められていた[highlight]パセリのサラダ「タッブーレ」[/highlight]がとっても美味でした。これはクセになりそう。
ちなみに、[highlight]モール内には無料のWiFi[/highlight]もあります。簡単に接続可能。ほんと海外のWiFiは接続が楽。どうして日本ってあんなに面倒なんでしょうね？例えばパリのシャルル・ド・ゴール空港などでは一定時間を過ぎると有料になるわけですが、支払いもPaypal対応しているからとても楽。
スピードに関しては、SNSをする程度であれば問題ないと思います。ただ、ウェブブラウジングは若干難ありだったの要注意。
（次回、ブルジェ・ハリファ編に続きます。）
