Personal

Day One in Dubai

February 8, 2019

DCWeddingPhotographer-ManaliPhotography-_0145
I’m Manali
Coach, editor & brand photographer based out of Cincinnati, Ohio. When I'm not behind a camera or teaching about systems, you'll find me at a vineyard or cuddled with my cat Keegan on our cozy couch!
Top categories
Tried & true business tips  and systems to save time
Behind the scenes of not just business, but LIFE as well.
My best tips for getting them ,most out of your brand session!
Watch This Free Class to Grow Your Photo Business! 
I Want To Tune In!

My family and I have flown Emirates while traveling to India for quite a couple of years now almost with an hour or two of a layover in Dubai. We’re pretty used to running across the airport from one terminal to another to catch the next leg of our flight but this was the first time we actually decided to stop in Dubai for two days and see the city!

DAY ONE

Getting there wasn’t too bad with a straight 12 hour flight on Emirates on which we got served plenty of food and I even got to enjoy a glass of white! I attempted to sleep the entire flight as to avoid being jet lagged! Landing in Dubai was interesting because amid stretches of sand dunes as far as I could see, was this bustling city with super tall skyscrapers that you could note from the plane! We got to Dubai about 8 AM local time and by the time we checked into our hotel, changed and ventured back out it was about 10.

On our first day we made a trip out to Miracle Gardens which my mom really loved. It’s a small park filled with huge statues from Mickey Mouse to a giant palace to a larger than life Emirates jet plane ALL completely covered in flowers. A tiny speck of pink, yellow, green and white among the sandy desert area of surrounding the outskirts of Dubai. The entire place was COVERED with flowers! We had Turkish coffee and then headed back near where we were staying in the Al Bursha area (about 30 minutes outside Downtown) for lunch. We grabbed chicken wraps for lunch at a Turkish place in Emirates Mall. I wish I could remember the name because the wraps were SO GOOD! While we were there, we saw the indoor skiing place and had a cappucino larger than my head from Costa Coffee which is apparently a famous coffee shop chain in London. If you’re already sensing a theme, coffee was a staple throughout our time in Dubai trying to fight off the jet lag.

We then set out for what’s called a “desert Safari” which is not to be confused with an actual safari involving animals hahaha. We were driven about an hour outside the city out to the Yemen border where you could start to really see the desert with orangeish red sand dunes stretching for miles and miles. We got to ride an ATV along the sand dunes for about half an hour which was SUPER fun!! At one point I got off of the ATV to stick my foot in the sand which was SO SO SOFT!! I’d never really been in a desert like this before but I loved it! Despite being fairly warm out there was a cooler wind that kept the sand pretty cool!

Our driver then took us through the desert driving for about half an hour in the caravan zig zagging left and right crashing over the dunes. Revving up hills and flying down the valleys in the dunes and it was both fun and frightening at the same time because it felt like our car would tip over at any point. We were clutching onto the sides of the car for dear life. At one point our driver did get stuck trying to climb up a hill and had to carefully reverse back down it.

At the end of the night we were taken to mini village and got to eat food and watch a couple of shows including skirt spinning, belly dancing and a fire breather. There were also camel rides there so very “touristy” but it was fun to watch the performances and get to be out in the desert and try some new food!

Day Two will be up on the blog next week but until then, here’s some photos from Day One! All of these were taken on an iPhone so bear with the quality!

DCWeddingPhotographer-ManaliPhotography-_0145

If you enjoyed this post, you should binge read other travel posts!

NYC & New Orleans

Life in the Spring

Creative at Heart Round 8 Recap

TOP RESOURCES

Start drafting a photography-friendly timeline & get to know the couple better so you can best personalize their experience with you from the start!

TOP RESOURCES

Photographers, tune in to this masterclass to learn how to quickly build your photography business and consisntely raise your prices.

TOP RESOURCES

Thinking of investing in a branding photography session? Read about branding sessions & how to get the most out of yours!

Browse By Category

Business

Branding

Mindset

Podcasts

Personal

Search by Keyword

WORK WITH ME

How I Can Help

I help creative small business owners feel calm & confident in front of the camera or behind your business with brand photography, educational resources & online business management.

WORK WITH ME

Want more support?

1:1 Coaching for Creatives

Helping creative small business owners overcome the perception of perfection & ditch comparison to generate momentum towards their goals - one week at a time!

LEARN MORE

Enneagram 4w3, cognitive & computer science major turned biz strategy nerd!

I went from charging $600 per wedding to over $5k & went full-time within 1 year of starting my biz! Now I help creative small business owners show up confidently behind the scenes with elevated brand photography, business strategy to build their dream biz & life and help managing all the logistics and details along the way! 

WORK WITH ME!

YOU'VE GOT (E)MAIL

Weekly emails sprinkled in with business tips & psychology-backed sales lessons. The catch? The MP Email Fam gets first dibs on new offerings & sweet savings sprinkled in along the way!

Leggings, messy buns, and 3rd cups of coffee (or wine!) are *all* welcome around here

Swipe My Booked Wedding Questionnaire & Join the MP Email Fam

business tips dropped weekly

    Insta famous
    FRIENDS

    Latest business tips, BTS, travel & cozy life with Keegs 🐱 over on the 'gram! Have a question? Just wanna say hi? Don't be a stranger - shoot me a DM! 

    @MANALISONTAKKE

    Do a happy dance & then personalize your wedding clients' experience with this questionnaire when they book! This has helped me build a client experience that has booked me $5k+ weddings!

    DOWNLOAD THIS FREE GUIDE