We had the opportunity to travel to the UAE, particularly Dubai last September 2019. My eldest sister who is on a family visit in Qatar had to renew her visa and needed to exit in order for us to process her renewal. The nearest and best place for her to go was in Dubai where our only brother works for the past 13 years. Of course, I and Sky had to tag along so we can enjoy this family time even for a short period.

One of the places my brother brought us was The Dubai Frame located inside Zabeel Park. As the name implies, it is like a big picture frame – a 150-meters, 54-storeys high observatory that captures the old Dubai in the north and new Dubai in the south. If you have fear of heights (like me), then prepare yourself as you will ascend on a glass lift going to the observatory. The ticket can be bought at the main gate and costs AED 50.00 ($ 13.67) for adults and babies like Sky are free.

The Dubai Frame is not only simply an observatory but also a museum and showcases the history of Dubai in a concise approach. Once you enter the structure, you can have your photos taken at the main lobby and just retrieve it later at the souvenir area for a small fee. Before heading to the right side towards the lift going to the deck, you will pass by the mini-museum which features the life in Old Dubai through photos, holograms and artefacts. Then once you are done in the deck and descend to the ground floor, before the exit, the holograms for the futuristic Dubai is presented.

The observatory deck is very nice as it is very spacious even if lots of people were there at that time. You will be able to see the difference between the Old Dubai (with the small buildings and houses) compared to the skyscrapers of the new Dubai on the other side. You can try to walk on the glass floor and face your fear – I tried walking but my legs were shaking and I couldn’t breathe so I was contented with just checking the view away from it.

There is no time limit on how long you want to stay at the observatory but there’s not much to do there so we decided to go after 15 minutes. We retrieved our photos at the souvenir section right after the New Dubai mini-museum and bought some other items. Since I am from Qatar, my cards don’t work if they are tapped and will say declined, instead has to be entered the usual way with the PIN which was not an issue for me.

It was a quick but nice tour and I would say not really a must-see in Dubai, but if you are fond of going to city landmarks/icons, then this one should be on your list.