Our route to Asia: Dubai > Maldives > Singapore
- David
- Jan 19
- 5 min read
Updated: Aug 20
After a month in North Africa we were more than ready to start our journey east and first up was Dubai. In hindsight, back to back fast trips in this part of the world may not have been the best of ideas, at least for us.
Our expectations for Dubai had been set by friends and acquaintances… big sky scrappers, giant malls, man made islands shaped like palm trees and excess wherever possible. We expected the indoor ice skating, skiing, aquariums, etc. Dubai is all that and more. We’d describe Dubai as a city where Vegas meets Disneyland and Miami’s South Beach. Everything is man made, built on a massive scale, and created as a “vacation land” resort playground for those around the world who want a splurge. Not that this is a bad thing, it just is what it is.
What we didn’t realize was just how much we would need a dose of home at this point in the trip and Dubai delivered. Our first lunch was amazing. We sat on the boardwalk of the man made Marina watching the super yachts and jet skis maneuver the bay and Persian Gulf - unreal western excess. Oh and lunch.. Chipotle, a literal taste of home. Ok, the lime flavored tortilla chips weren’t exactly the same consistency (the ones at home are generally a little stale) but the Sofritas and the Guac were perfect!
We stayed in an 18th floor apartment in the Dubai Marina, JBR residential tower, surrounded by other massive sky scrappers with a view of the bay. It was nice to have a kitchen again and to eat some meals at “home”. The 24/7 market in our complex had everything we needed to cook with many familiar U.S. brands. Produce selection was vast and varied in both price and quality depending on what country it was imported from all well labeled. For example, we could choose red grapes from Spain, Egypt, or South Africa with a significant difference per kilogram. And finally I was able to locate the holy grail of personal care products (for me)… Crest toothpaste! To my disappointment Colgate seems to have a lock on the international markets, who knew?
We (mainly Ilene) also found ourselves enjoying the familiarity of the massive, beautiful, and well maintained luxury malls. The bathrooms were western-style with toilet paper, soap and paper towels! There was something re-energizing and comforting about strolling through exceptionally clean, non-chaotic mall especially after the chaos of the Morocco and Egypt Souks and street markets. Retail therapy without actually buying anything… Perfect!
We did take in a few sights including the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. We opted for one of the premium packages (highly recommended to avoid the huge lines) and enjoyed tea and the sunset from the 148th floor. Only in Dubai.
With our inner batteries charged to 70% we said goodbye to the Middle-East and continued east with a stop in Maldives, a small island nation in the North Indian Ocean. Why Maldives? Well, David once heard it was amazing and that climate change and rising ocean levels might one day remove it from the map. So yes, fear of missing out drove us to find an all-inclusive, beach island paradise - or maybe it was just the need for some beach time.
The Maldives consists around 1200 small coral islands. Most international flights land in Male, the capital city, and from there you either take a boat or a sea plane to your small portion of paradise. Our route was a 30 minute sea plane to the Constance Moofushi luxury resort. The views of the coral reefs, islands and amazing shades of blue water could have been enough.
After landing on the water literally next to the resort, we were welcomed with a pair of flip flops and a refreshing drink. Apparently we had found the perfect vibe where acceptable footwear consisted of bare feet or flip flops. At dinner we were reminded that beer, wine, and cocktails were included. And, if we needed assistance choosing a bottle of wine from the 160 selections, one of the Sommeliers would be happy to help. Apparently we’d entered an alternate universe.
Our slice of paradise included a private deck on the beautiful white sand beach 5 feet from the amazingly blue and crystal clear Indian Ocean. Within minutes my inner battery jumped to 95%. By the time we enjoyed our first dinner, listening to the waves and enjoying some delicious wine (of course) we were already at 100%, with 4 more days to go!
Those days went by just a little too quickly, but boy were they needed. Our activities consisted of beach time, pool time, nap time, book reading, massages, snorkeling with schools of beautiful fish, rays and baby sharks, and of course imbibing a few custom cocktails. We also took a boat excursion to a small sandbar that was maybe 5-10 meters wide by 50 meters long and only above water level at low tide. We swam from the boat to sand bar and hung out there with a few other people just in awe of the sea and nature around us. This is where we met a lovely couple, Monica and Alan, who were kind enough to take a picture of us with their GoPro. And then they put up with us over dinner.
We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention that the food and the service at the Constance Moofushi were both amazing! The food was accommodating to both vegetarian and gluten free and the menus varied each day. However, the service really stood out as it was so attentive, personal and friendly it just made the experience relaxing and refreshing.
Sadly it was time to continue heading east, but we were excited, refreshed, and ready to head to South East Asia. First up… Singapore and as a friend said “Asia Lite” a good launching point for the next 5 months.
The weather in Singapore was atypical. Upon arrival it had already been raining for multiple days straight and unfortunately it continued through our three day stay. A local friend suggested we stick to the malls to stay dry. We were able to walk through the Gardens by the Bay with only a light sprinkle - pretty touristy gardens but nice to be outdoors nonetheless.
Fortunately restaurants are mostly indoors, so we managed to enjoy some yummy food, more Asian style with spices to match - we had finally found hot and spicy! We met up with some of Ilene’s friends for dinner enjoying some local food in the Boat Quay area - super fun area with bars, restaurants, Bollywood dancing and more.
We also went to Tanglin Gin for a tour and tasting - another indoor activity. Tanglin was the first gin distillery in Singapore. We enjoyed meeting some people from South Africa who now live in Singapore and of course enjoyed tasting Tanglin’s gins and liquors.
We found getting around Singapore to be a breeze. The metro is very easy to navigate, we just tapped in/out with our phones using Apple Pay and we quickly became Grab users (Uber alternative in most of Asia).
It was fun to see the city prepping for the upcoming New Year (Jan 29th), with red decor, flowers, oranges and various designs incorporating the Snake zodiac (next years zodiac). And though the downtown areas are mostly skyscrapers, there’s something about this island city that felt softer than Dubai for example. We think it’s the greenery that’s woven throughout the streets and even the buildings where indoor/outdoor space is built into various levels of huge building. It all felt very comfortable and welcoming.
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