The logic of a madman is a sane man’s confusion. Joe R Lansdale.

So almost a year is over with coronavirus and we are with living it. The good news is that vaccination is out but when it will reach us is another “big Question”. Whenever I think about coronavirus, COVID 19 and the statements related to both by World Health Organization-WHO reinforces the above statement again and again over my mind. 

Everything was normal till the mid of December 2019, I was on my Christmas vacations in Europe and exploring the beautiful snowy mountains of the Alps. The very first time, I heard the word COVID 19 was in the Grand Canal of Venice and it was just normal like cold flu. As per the information of WHO, it’s not contagious and it’s only in China. Slowly, the stand of WHO changes and so the speed of COVID 19. 

Here is a link to My Video – How to Explore Dubai in 7-10 Days. The Lost Mumbaikar Way.

I came back to Dubai on Jan 11th with my family but my travel never stopped. Like all the other people on the planet Earth, I too never have taken this virus seriously. I was in Mumbai in the first week of Feb and saw some of the foreigners with masks, it was a pretty unusual sight to me. I reached Dubai on the first week of March after adding three more new countries; Panama, Costa Rica, and the Bahamas in my globetrotting list along with the USA and Mexico. However, I realized with this trip that traveling will be a different ball game now. My experience was not great like earlier travels as most of the airport and aircraft start taking precautions of COVID 19 which created delays and confusions among passengers. I start adapting to the new way of traveling and learned few unique and unheard words- “social distancing”, “community spread”, “asymptomatic”, “isolation”, and the most important and infamous word “quarantine”. I also learned the actual name of the coronavirus as “SARS-COV-2” virus but still ignorant that how COVID 19 will bulldoze “The Trillion Dollar Economy” in just a few months. 

80% of the world got affected and it spread like a wildfire to each country of the globe. WHO after deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity made the assessment that COVID-19 can be characterized as a “Pandemic”. After the news of the pandemic out in the market, airports in Dubai closed down on March 26 as per the preventive measures by UAE authorities to contain the spread of coronavirus. People arriving from other countries who are neither citizens nor residents, such as tourists, business travelers, and new immigrants were barred. 

But after one-year of slowness, confusion, and chaos, some changes can be seen in Dec 2020. I admit that the world is not fully recovered and there are partial and full lockdowns in a lot of places. While many places around the world remain off-limits, more and more countries are beginning to open their doors. These countries are doing it with health and safety protocols in place as Dubai is one of them. Dubai got open on July 7th and UAE is one of the most searched destinations in tourism for 2021. The other popular destinations are KSA, Canada, the United States, and Egypt.

But most of the countries are changing and playing safe after the second wave of COVID 19 so I am not going to discuss those countries but only about Dubai. Today is UAE’s 49th National Day and I am sharing my thoughts and experiences which can motivate you to explore Dubai.

Recently, IPL 2020 happened here, and it was managed so professionally and neatly. The UAE has been extremely proactive in implementing preventative healthcare and hygiene protocols. It included ramping up its “Hospital Infrastructure” and “Advancing Testing Capabilities” in terms of the number of tests per million people. These measures boosted the level of confidence and trust among the tourists who wanted to explore and visit new places. 

However, before planning to visit Dubai, these are the few points which you have to consider. I learned from the website of Emirates # www.emirates.com and it reads as follows: 

COVID-19 requirements for tourists visiting Dubai

• There is no age restriction on travel.
• All tourists should check the Emirates website for information on applying for a visa from Dubai immigration before they travel. Some nationalities are eligible for a visa on arrival.
• All passengers must have travel insurance with COVID-19 cover along with an insurance certificate showing their coverage policy to present at check-in before flying. Alternatively, passengers may declare that they will bear the costs for treatment and isolation if necessary, before travel.
• All passengers, including children, must take a PCR test – a Polymerase Chain Reaction test, the most commonly approved COVID-19 test – 96 hours before the flight.
• Passengers must then bring their negative COVID-19 test certificates with them when they travel.
• PCR tests are also available on arrival in Dubai if incoming passengers were unable to take the test before departing. However, if passengers take the PCR test on arrival, they must self-isolate until they receive their results.
• If the PCR test result is negative, tourists are free to leave their hotels and enjoy their trips as usual.
• If the PCR test result is positive, they must follow the advice of the Dubai Health Authority and stay in self-isolation.

For the last 3 years, I was celebrating my Christmas and New Year Holidays in Europe. I changed the plan this year after seeing the present scenarios of lockdown and a sudden surge of COVID 19 in Europe. The circumstances gave me an opportunity to explore my own place; Dubai. And December is the most suitable time to visit Dubai. The temperatures ranging from 26°C to 14°C throughout the day give ample amount of time, unlike summer holidays. Personally, I always take advantage of the fantastic weather and the festive vibes of December, and Dubai is never short of things. Exploring Heritage Souqs to Dune Bashing & Desert Safaris to Hot Air Balloon rides to Sky Dives to Water sports to Skiing at -4’ Celsius are equally entertaining to all the ages. There are so many events like Dubai International Film Festival, Dubai Shopping Festival, UAE National Day Celebrations, and Global Village to name a few which can always attract to visit Dubai for the next 2-3 months. So guys are ready to explore Dubai. I am also going to explore Dubai differently….this time.