Fast-moving, man-made and determined to make its mark as the go-to-place for luxury — Dubai doesn’t fail to fascinate the wide-eyed Indian traveller who can experience all the frills of a cutting-edge Western world combined with Middle-Eastern opulence. At first, Dubai seemed quite daunting with its super-highways and towering buildings. But looks can be deceiving as I quickly found out that the city is actually a hub of family-style entertainment.

The drive from the airport to Downtown Dubai, where I was staying at the swank The Address Dubai Mall hotel, was an easy-breezy 10-minute journey on the 12-lane Sheikh Zayed Road super-highway. As I craned my neck to get a glimpse of the glistening skyscrapers that dot the city’s skyline, my chatty guide pointed out that Dubai apparently goes through a complete makeover every three years. “If you come back in 2019, expect to see a whole new city,” he promised with a twinkle in his eye.

It’s hard to believe that Downtown Dubai didn’t really exist till a decade ago and today it’s one of the sleekest spots to hang out in. It is home to the city’s biggest draw, The Dubai Mall, and the staggering 2,716.5ft high Burj Khalifa that sets the tone of the area.

Much to my delight The Address was connected to The Dubai Mall, spread across a sprawling 5.9 million sqft of floor space, through an indoor passageway that gave easy access to the shops.

So, we wasted no time in setting out to explore the mall’s maze of shops and attractions that could easily take an 
entire week (and plenty of legwork) to cover. It’s a good idea to hop into one of the chauffeured buggy carts that are stationed at the mall’s entrance and locate the exact places of your interest, to avoid getting lost in the labyrinth.

One of our first stops inside the mall was the mammoth 10 million-litre Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo on the second level that’s home to thousands of marine creatures. On the ground floor we passed by the mall’s Olympic-size indoor Ice Rink where you can go skidding under gently falling snowflakes, the artificial kind of course.

For parents looking to keep their kiddies engaged while getting some uninterrupted shopping time in The Dubai Mall, there’s the Sega Republic — an indoor amusement park spread over two levels. I say ‘kiddies’, but Sega can undoubtedly keep any adult hyper-entertained, a case in point being me.

From pulse-racing rides like the Spin Gear roller coaster that turned us upside down at break-neck speed we moved to the Wild Wing simulator ride where we were taken on a virtual joyride through the jungles of South America packed with sharp drops from high peaks and narrow escapes from hurtling rocks.

If day one was all about thrills and retail therapy, the first thing that we had to tick off our bucket list the following day was setting foot atop the 160-storey high Burj Khalifa, tagged as the tallest building in the world. We stepped inside the building’s high-speed elevator and before I could even finish counting till 10 in my head we had zoomed from the ground level to the 124th floor, which opens out to an outdoor Observation Deck perched 555 metres above ground level.

What lay before our eyes was a mind-boggling 360° sweeping view of the city with its shining glass towers that pierce the skies, sandy roads, zigzagging highways and the blue waters of the Persian Gulf that sparkled in the distance. It’s no wonder that Burj Khalifa is the most expensive piece of real estate in the city being home to the Armani Hotel Dubai, fine dining restaurants like At.Mosphere and high-end residences.

Just when I thought I had had my share of dizzying heights and fast-paced action, we were whisked off to Dubai’s newest adventure hub — the IMG World of Adventures that opened doors last month. For cartoon buffs and comic book geeks The IMG World of Adventures, which is being pegged as the world’s largest indoor theme park, is a place of fantasies.

Divided into four zones — Marvel, Cartoon Network, Lost Valley - Dinosaur Adventure, and IMG Boulevard — the 350,000sqft park is a veritable wonderland for children and adults alike. On our way from one zone to another we stopped to pose for pictures with Spiderman, checked out the cool range of Hulk and Avengers merchandise at the in-house stores, and, of course, embarked on thrilling rides.

If you love a bit of horror and spookiness a visit to The Haunted Hotel in the IMG Boulevard zone is a must. I went inside the haunted house expecting to just laugh it all off but ended up breaking into a cold sweat as scary characters popped out from dark corners to scream into my ears and block me from trying to escape them.

While Dubai is rapidly adding to its bouquet of fun hangouts, it remains a city of grandeur and riches. We got a glimpse of the city’s upscale life while driving through the super-posh Palm Islands which are a man-made cluster of islands — with rows of swank villas and luxury hotels — in the shape of a palm tree topped by a crescent.

Right at the centre of the crescent is the mega-scale Atlantis The Palm resort, an ocean-themed hotel. To explore the hotel’s in-house The Lost Chambers Aquarium that’s home to 65,000 marine animals we had to walk through a maze of underground tunnels that offered spectacular underwater views.

But what topped it all for me was a visit to The Palm’s two underwater suites, Poseidon and Neptune. Spread over three levels, the suite’s master bedroom and bathroom located at the basement offers a ceiling-to-floor view of the surrounding artificial lagoon. So you can spend all day gazing out at manta rays, sharks and reef fishes swimming past you, creating an illusion of being under the sea.

After all the marine life gazing, it was time to splash out in the hotel’s Aquaventure Water Park that’s 17 hectares of pure water-based amusement. There were thrilling water slides like the Poseidon’s Revenge slide that plummeted us at rocket-speed into the water and the lazy River Ride where we could just float on a tube through curvy bends and artificial rapids of the park’s interconnecting waterways.

To really admire Dubai in all its Middle-Eastern glory we ventured across to the five-star Madinat Jumeirah property on Jumeirah Beach Road. The resort is authentically Arabian-style featuring traditional Arabian summer houses complete with resplendent gardens and waterways, all built around the Souk. The Madinat Jumeirah Souk has got a bustling bazaar atmosphere with stalls selling everything from Turkish lamps inlaid with multi-coloured glass to spices and gold jewellery.
Our dining destination for the night was the Khaymat Al Bahar Lebanese restaurant in the Madinat Jumeirah, where we tucked into a delectable meal of mezze platters, falafel and fried lamb dumplings.

Then, in true Middle-Eastern style, we spent our last evening sailing through the Madinat’s winding waterways in an abra (a traditional wooden boat) under the starry skies, free from the city glare. Dusk may have set, but Dubai never really sleeps.

READY RECKONER

• How to get there: Emirates flies direct from Calcutta to Dubai.

• Where to stay: The Address Dubai Mall, Atlantis The Palm resort and Jumeirah Al Qasr.

• What to do: Visit the Burj Khalifa, The Lost Chambers Aquarium at Atlantis The Palm resort, spend a fun day at IMG World of Adventures and shop till you drop at The Dubai Mall.