Budget Trip to Dubai

Dubai is a dream destination for many not just for Indians, but even for the people across the world and it is the 4th most visited country in the world. 

 Dubai is an important city among the 7 cities United Arab Emirates namely Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah, Dubai and Umm Al Quwain. As we know Islam is the official religion and Arabic being the local language. But still you can find people talking Tamil, Hindi and Malayalam as the country is more populated with Indians.

I recently visited my dream destination Dubai and stayed for about 14 days. So in this article, I am going to share my personal experience and I believe that it would help people, who are planning for a short budget trip to Dubai. I started my trip from Chennai International Airport, I booked my return tickets to Dubai in last minute, hence it took me around INR 38000. When planning a trip to Dubai, if the tickets are booked 3months prior, you can even get return tickets(India/Dubai) for just around INR 16000 with Emirates, the best premium Air carrier to Dubai,which will save a major portion of your budget.

Emirates also offers free wheelchair service for senior citizens, so an executive will accompany once checking is done until we board the flight. So if you are taking senior citizen along with opt for this service, while booking tickets or request them during check-in at the airport. Food offered during the flight was exceptionally good. As I landed at the Dubai International Airport, I was able to witness the amazing view of Dubai’s busiest airport, it was flooded with Airbus A380’s and flights continuously departing and arriving every 10 minutes. Despite the Covid protocols, the airport’s hospitality and the arrangements for covid test at the venue was properly organized and it was hassle free and they instructed us to home quarantine for 24 hrs by then, we would receive our test reports.

Budget friendly places to visit in Dubai

Day-1

As you are out of the airport, you can use the metro(you require a NOL Card, which can be obtained from the nearest metro or bus station) or plenty of taxis and luxury cars are available, I hired a Benz car and moved to my accommodation as I have my relatives, So I got my accommodation there, which is located at AL-Nadha its basically located between the border of Dubai and Sharjah. Sharjah was just at a walkable distance. Many cheap accommodations are available in Dubai. I advise you to opt for an accommodation near metro station. So that you can easily access metro and bus commutating, the public transport charge ranges from 3-5 AED, which I felt reasonable for an Air-conditioned transport, even the metro and bus stations are completely air-conditioned. In areas like Burjman and ADCB you can find cheap accommodation in Dubai. You can also get cheap bed spaces in Dubai

You can start from your accommodation around 10am in the morning and get to the nearest metro station and take a train to reach union station and from there you can reach Gold Souq in 10 minutes by walk, it’s a must visit place,

where you can witness a large collection of gold jewellery and next you could visit Meena Bazaar in old Dubai and do some shopping, to visit this place you had to take a Abra(a small boat) which just costs you 3 AED and next you can visit the museum and get to know the cultural and historic heritage of the emirates, followed by which in the evening you could again get to the Union metro station to reach ADCB station and involve yourself on some pocket friendly shopping like chocolates and then move to Electronic Bazaar, if you like to do electronic shopping and late in the evening you could again get back to Gold Souq and experience the open boat dinner buffet(optional if your dinner permits) then return to the accommodation.

Day -2

You could visit the below mentioned place, which are easily accessible through metro.

 

Dubai Frame

The Dubai Frame stands at an height of 150 meters. Inside you can see the pictures of Dubai’s cultural heritage and its transformation over the years and it has a sky deck, where you can enjoy the amazing panoramic view of the old and new Dubai and at night it offers an eye treat by changing colours.

Reach the Nearest station ADCB Metro station and from there it’s walkable or you can hire a taxi, entrance fee is around AED 50 for adults, AED 20 for children from 3-12 years and the most interesting thing for senior citizens and for people accompanying them up to 2 years the entry fee is free.

Dubai Marina

It’s a lovely 8km stretch with lovely beach, luxury hotels and plenty of shopping malls, entertainment and looks beautiful in night. Marina beach is an amazing beach and one of the most visited beaches in Dubai, which is clean and makes you come here during the day time to take a sunbath and to gasp for some fresh air.

Desert Safari

Desert safari is another important and must do thing in Dubai and its budget friendly either, it’s a one-day safari, where you will be picked and dropped at your location itself and the package includes, free drinks, jeep desert safari, lunch and unlimited buffet. This package would generally come around AED 45.
 

Jumeriah Mosque

Jumeriah mosque is open to muslim and Non-Muslims as well, this mosque was influenced by the Fatimid style construction, which orginagted from Syia and Egypt. It is one of the best mosques in Dubai and a must visit place in Dubai.

Finally, when it comes to the budget part I have mentioned few things to consider and it will be purely based on you as I had almost mentioned the cost involved and made some breakdown. The visa would take around 4000rs, local transportations will take around 2000rs, food and accommodation would take around INR10000, covid testing INR8000 +(India and at Dubai and same while returning) and other activities will averagely take INR5000, considering this it would take INR50000. To make value for our time and money, less than that will not be advisable.

 

Meghamalai - The beautiful terrains of Western Ghats.

Meghamalai is also called as Highwavy Moutain, Which spreads across, the beautiful Western Ghats. This region is less explored and people are less aware about the hidden beauty of Meghmalai as the roads were not properly connected and the wildlife at this venue is still restored, so maneuvering our vehicles on this road makes the trip more interesting and adventurous, but recently, I happened to know that the road laying work is under progress, So you don't need to worry about the road in sometime.

Beauty at its Best.....

Meghamalai lies on the districts of Theni and exactly situated at an elevated height of about 1500 feet from the mean sea level, as you reach this place you can see a resplendent greeny layers, surrounded by a high volt mist and the temperature that is dropping around the valley,which could activate you dopamine, such wonderful treat for your Aura as well.

This region's diversity in-terms of its wildlife and tropical plantations like spices, coffee and tea plantations are balanced in such a way that wildlife is not affected by these plantations. As the people living at Meghamalai share the space without disturbing the wildlife. So definitely this place is rarest of its kind as such diversities, where the wildlife and social life are balanced and preserved.

Best time to reach : Will be during winter season that is from November to May.

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Places to watch out :

Highwavy Dam and Lake :

A long Shot of the Lake.....

This dam offers a good view, if you visit this place during the winter season, as this dam and its lake, are surrounded by beautiful tea estates and the feathery touch by the mist, really makes us feel that we are happily lost.

Manalar Dam :

This is another dam, which is really waiting for you to impress, as the layout of this dam, really looks amazing and a best place for photography.

Upper Manalar Estates :

Lush green Tea Estates...

The estates around the upper crust near the Manalar dam is extensively covered by lush green tea estates and the mist that surpasses further adds with the temperature dipping down.

 Vattaparrai :

Vattaparrai is a view point wherein you could take a deep breathe of some fresh air, and the view is amazing as you could see beautiful tea estates around you.

Maharaja Mettu :

This is a view point wherein you could see many rare varieties of birds and yet again the temperature that prevails around this zone.

Trekking at Meghamalai :

A Misty Road....

Meghamalai is one of the best place in south Indian that offer a perfect trekking experience as this place has a plenty of trekking venues depending up on the skill set you can chose your trekking spot. Places like Pothai Pull Medu, Elephant Corridors are some of venues, where you could have a greeting experiences and even you could have a sight on many wild species like monster squirrels, elephants and many more.

Misty Evening.....

How to Reach Meghamalai :

By Train : The nearest station is Dindugal. As you reach Dindugal, there are plenty of state transport buses are available. So grab a seat for you and get down in Chinnamanur and from there you gotta to hire a Jeep or a cab. 

By Bus : You could directly reach Chinnamanur and there by from there you could hire a jeep.

By flight : The nearest airport is Madurai from there you have to either reach Chinamanur by bus and from there you have to hire a cab.

So overall, Meghamalai is a best place for nature lovers, and for weekend trekkers and people who want to low there stress level should visit Meghamalai, as this destination can really make you feel happy with its climate and scenic beauties of Meghamalai.

A weekend trip to Yercaud...........

Welcome to Exploring Indian Terrains.....

Yercaud is a beautiful hill station, which spreads across, the eastern ghats. Located exactly at Salem district. Yercaud is always a best choice for your weekend getaways, as this place offer you with many scenic views and a pleasant temperature, which could act as your high octane stress buster.

On the way to Yercuad, you gotta face 20 beautiful hair-pin bends, the place is located near Salem, approximately around 22kms from Salem at 4970ft from the sea level. This place is also said to be the birth place of coffee plantation in India, as this region is highly fertile and has a good climatic conditions that suits orange plantations as well.

Swimming Pool @ TGI Resort....

Lesiure Time .....

All-set to stay warm....

I stayed at TGI resorts, they offered individual suit villas with a highly class service, this property is close to the yercaud boat house, this property is amazing, you facilities like swimming pool, badminton Court and a small park,they also arrange campfire on request. 

A view outside my Balcony.....

As summer is approaching, this destination could help you, to beat the heat on weekends. ,Many trekking organizers, offer regular trekking programs, as people who are interested on adventure activities,can make the thrill out of it and for the nature lovers, of-course Yercaud has plenty of options to offer, which I have explained clearly below.

Places to watch out :

Pagoda Point :

Its a view point, where in you could able see places down the hill, reach thue place between 4-6 pm, to have a better experience as the temperature that prevails at this point could really offer you a great experience.

Yercaud Boating :

Boating at Yercaud.....

At Yercaud, you will be offered pedaling boats, on which you could take a look around the blissful atmosphere and enjoy the breeze around you.

Gents seat,Ladies Seat and children's seat :

As this name seems interesting, similarly the place do.Ladies, gents and children's seats are basically a cluster of natural rock formation, which overlays between the route that connects the Yercaud and Salem at this location you could take a look at the Mettur dam with the telescope.

Kiliyur Falls :

Vistiors who are interested on trekking can try the new trekking route, through which you will be directed by the lane and it takes about 2 Kms to reach this amazing Kiliyur Water falls, which is about 300 Ft, and on the way towards the falls, you could experience many scenic beauties and drop in temperature towards the route.

Kottachedu Teak Forest :

If you wanna get the best in class exploration, I would definitely suggest you to go by bike, as a part of this region is covered with Teak Plantation and the other side covered with wild Bamboo and in between their is a river that flows across this place and joins Vaniar dam, which offers a splendid treat for your eyes.

Heavens Ledge :

This is an amazing view point, that lies on the west facing cliff of Yercaud, which offers a campsite with lush green coffee plantations, you could also engage yourself on trekking as well.

Best Time to Reach : 

October to June.

Workable Budget : 

For a weekend stay : Approximately 4000 INR/per.

Room Rental - 1700-2000 INR/per

Food - 700 INR/per

For transport and others - 1200- 1300 INR/ per

Exploring the Coastal Beauty of Goa....

On my way to explore Goa.......

Goa is one of the prominent tourist attraction in India, which draws tourist across India and overseas for its beautiful white sand beaches, nightlife and cultural habitat. Goa has a mix of both Indian and Portugal influence for its Architecture. Goa is basically a coastal area, which spreads across the Arabian Sea.

Sometime back during my college days, we have been planing to visit this place for a quite longtime, and all off a sudden, during our final year of Engineering, we happened to get a time slot to visit Goa, so we started immediately by next day itself. As sometimes, things would happen at instance. So we had to take connecting train from Chennai to Bangalore and from Bangalore to Madgaon,so it was a long journey for about 22 hours, yet we enjoyed it thoroughly. We reached Madgaon around 6:30 am, and we hired a cab to old Goa, as we know the hotel charges are economical, when compared with North Goa.

At Basilica of Bom Jesus Church.....

On the way to Panjim.....

We luckily happened  to find a beach view, kind off a home-stay hotel at Colva beach and the amount that we paid was just 2000 for a 4 sharing room. So on the first day, we took some rest and then, we spent sometime at Colva beach, which was just few meters away from hotel, we happened to meet a friend, who has come come all the way from Finland, as he gelled up with us well,he also joined us with the trip with us and we went local shopping and the next day, we hired 3 bikes and we headed Madgoan and visited many historical places and the famous Basilica of Bom Jesus Church, the design was influenced by Portuguese and the construction of this was started on 1594 and this was active from 1605, and UNESCO, declared Basilica of Bom Church as a world heritage, the church has the body of St Francis Xavier, who is a close friend of St Ignatius Loyola, public is allowed every once in ten years and it is also believed that the saint has good healing power. But we weren't able to see.

Baywatch at Colva Beach......

With Oscar at our Hotel....

Dudhsagar Falls...

The Next day, we headed to Dudsagar falls, it was an awesome experience, we hired a Jeep with a driver as, we had to go through a forest area, it took us around 2 hours, approximately around 54 kms from Colva beach, it was literally, a journey through a dense forest, at-last, they stopped at a particular juncture from their, we gotta to walk to see the Dudsagar falls. As we reached the spot it was such a feast for my eyes, as I saw the Dudsagar Falls, from an height of about 1017 feet and width of 100 feet, it looked majestic, with 3 splits and pool at the bottom, followed by that the beauty, overwhelmed heading Arabian Sea.

If your are a person seeking more adventure, you could take part at the trekking program, which is organised from a village called Kuveshi, which is apparently near by, but trekking is not offered at this location during Monsoon alone as the climatic condition is worse during that part of the season, apart from that trekking is available through out the year.

Cafe Cocktail with Moumit......

Next day it was a strike out their, no food was available anywhere, but somehow, we managed to get a freshly caught King-Fish, which we bought from a near by fisherman and we cooked our-self and had nicely and at the evening, we went to a nearby cafe and had some cocktails, later spent some quality time at the Colva beach.

It was our last day, we visited Panjim church and also visited the Arjuna beach, as this beach is famous for Nightlife and rave parties and mostly, this beach would be crowded, as it was Holi festival, people were celebrating and the beach seamed Colourful.

Holi celebrations at Colva Beach........

Followed by this, we started our way back home from Goa, we got a train from Madgoan to Mangalore and from Mangalore to Chennai and there by, we had some great time and created some good memories to cherish about.

Best Time to Visit :

Between March to November -  At this period the climate will be clean with breeze air.

Place to Watch out :

Party Town Panjim

If you are a person, who is party Frolic, you gotta to camp yourself on north Goa, where you could your enjoy Nightlife Parties..

Mosques :

Safa Masjid :

This Masjid is one of the two 16th century monuments, which has managed to survive till now. Safa Masjid is located near a place called Ponda. This Majestic Architectural monument was built by Ibrahim Adil Shah,The King of Bijapur, which was built on 1560.

Safa Masjid has an elegantly designed arches with octagonal pillars, that provides shades for the worshipers and most interestingly the Masjid also has a hidden tunnel on the walls of the tank that connects to the near by reservoir. Safa Masjid will be open for prayed only on Id-Ul-fitar and Id-UI-Zuha.

Churches :

As Goa was under Portuguese Colonization for a while, the city has many Portuguese influenced Churches, which I have listed below :

Basilica of Bom Jesus Church,

The Convent of St Louis Cajetan and Church of Divine Providence,

St Augisten's Tower

Se Cathedral,

Church of St Anne Talaulim 

Temples:

Anant Temple..........

Anant Temple :

This Temple is believed to be located 45 Kms from Panjim. This temple is dedicated to Lord Siva, this temple is very neatly maintained and it also has good wooden interiors that really makes this place divine and has a small pond just near the temple.

On the bays of Colva with Udhaya...........

Beaches :

As Goa is a stretch of coastal area, you could find many different beaches :

Colva Beach,

Panjim Beach,

Arjuna Beach

Vagator Beach ,

Dona Pola Beach,

Palolem Beach,

Majorda Beach,

Bogmalo Beach,

Benaulim Beach,

Baga Beach

Aguada Beach

Ideal Duration : Approximately you would require 7-10 days.

So, if you planing a trip to Goa, make sure that you plan between March and November as the climatic condition would be good, and as get their, you could hire rental bikes, which starts from 350/12 hours, which is economical, so prefer bikes and as you have google maps you could hover yourself.

Kumily the land of lavish Beauty and Spices.

I always wanted to write about Kumily in particular as I have been to this place many times and this place is less known for common peoples, but still Kumily makes us feel ,so refreshing as it welcomes me with a green carpet in the form of tea estates and also by its rich tropical forest.

The welcoming green carpet

As Kumily is located at 2890 Ft (880mts) from the sea level, so the temperature drops down considerably, and here, the temperature that prevails makes us feel pleasant and a part of this region is with covered plantations like Cardomom, Tea and spices, the rest of its south portion are occupied by tropical forest. 

As we all know, Kerala's main source of income comes from its tourism and from the spice plantations and these days, Kerala government is taking many initiatives to promote tourism at Kumily, as this place has many location that would probably attract more tourists.

Main Tourist attractions at Kumily :

Thekady Boating :

At thekady, you could experience a cruise into the tropical forest, where you could see elephants, bison, monster squirrels and various wild animals. The best time to go for this cruise would be at 7:30 AM -9:30 AM, where in you have more chances of seeing many wild animals, as these animals, would come for drinking water on the banks of Thekady.

Thekady Boating Timings :

07:30 AM to 09:00 AM,

09:30 AM to 11:00 AM,

11:15 AM to 12:45 PM,

01:45 PM to 03:15 PM,

03:30 PM to 05:00 PM.

Thekady Boating Charges :

 Indian Nationals : 265 INR,

Foreign Nationals : 740 INR,

For children below 12 years its free.

Elephant Safari :

A place near thekady, where you could enjoy feeding elephants and an Elephant safari for about 30 minutes, I thoroughly enjoyed this ride as it made feel like as if I am sitting on small mountain top and as the elephant started marching, I was literally moving left to right had a great time, so don't miss this ride and for this ride they generally charge around 500 INR.

Kannagi Temple :

This is a temple,which will be opened, only once in a year that is on Chitra pournami, this temple is believed to be constructed around 2000 years earlier.

Angmalli and Gavi Forest Safari :

This is a dense forest and this trip will be a combination of on road and off road drive, and  only 10 vehicles are allowed / day into the forest, and we have to get special permissions from the forest department, the duration of this trip will be around 10 hours and only jeeps could hover on these areas, and on the way, u could even enjoy a Parisal ride during the trip, for which, we have to get tickets. They just charged around 100 INR for Parisal ride( A kind of boat like circular structure), Its a power packed wild safari, wherein you could see many wild animals as well.

Nature at its best....

Safari Charges: Packages with breakfast and lunch will be provided, with 4 Parisal tickets and entry charges, they charged around 7000 INR, worth your money.

Parisal Cruise

Parunthumpara :

This location is a view point location, At this place, the temperature drops considerably low, and you can even see, the mist formation post 4 pm itself and this place is located near Kumily, the distance would go around 25 Kms. You could hire a jeep to reach this place.

At Parunthumpara View Point....

Kuttikannam Falls :

This is falls is situated at distance of about 36 kms from Kumily, on the national highway towards Eranakulum, you just have a word with the locals, before you start as sometimes, due to less rainfall the falls won't be active.

Our Lady of Good Health Church - Pattumala 

This Church is situated amidst the tea estates at a steep position and the design of this massive church which looks majestic.

Majestic View of Church...

Zipline - Pattumala :

If your are adventure lover, Pattumala has something more offer.A Zipline is available,that connects two hills, which adds more spice to the trip.

The charges for Zipline are, for the first time they charge 500 INR and for every other time they charge 350 INR.

Zipline ...

Vagamon :

Vagamon is located around 56 Kms from Kumily, Jeep is the most convenient mode of transport to reach Vagamon, as this destinations is very famous for film shooting.

Satharam :

Satharam is completely a power packed off road trip on which the, jeep hover on 3 mountains up and down, which adds to our thrilling experience of this trip.

 Kumily is a best place for nature and adventure lovers, as this trip involves lots and lots of thrilling experience. Thebest time to head to Kumily is between March -June. So what are you waiting for plan your trip to Kumily for this summer, If you have any queries leave a comment, so that I could help you to best of my knowledge.

Many homestay options are available, I personally recommend Salem Towers at Kumily, its a great hotel, they do have three properties at Kumily, all these hotels are well maintained and the prices are reasonable, they generally charge around 1500 INR, for a night stay.