By evening I decided to go for shopping and I was lucky to visit Dubai in February as one of the world’s largest festivals was waiting for me. The Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) was ready to be explored. You might be thinking, I, being an architect, what’s the interest dragging me towards DSF.
Friends, I just want to confess that I have a girlfriend and she would have killed me if I had gone back without buying anything for her. Though I am passionate about architecture, many times I do things that make others happy. Exploring DSF and shopping there was for my friends and especially, for my love Steffi.
The theme for the festival was “One World One Family One Festival”. In Dubai, I was missing my family and friends, but a taxi driver became a very good friend of mine. I reached the festival by late evening and was not even a bit surprised to see a huge crowd. The arrangements were looking absolutely stunning and the festival was ready to control any situation.
The time came when I had to go wild on shopping as everyone had given me a long list of items. I tried to make everyone happy even if my pocket bent a little more. This extravaganza which was held for 32 days had different products from every part of the world. My girlfriend is very fond of handbags and so, I went to find a unique for her. There was a variety of handbags from Prada handbags to Persian handmade ones. I also was pleased to know that the discount was offered in every stall. This relieved me to some extent.
DSF had thousands of small retail outlets and many shopping malls. Lucky draws were organized by many malls with prizes like LX570 car and AED 100,000 cash. I shopped for my friends buying different things that they told me to buy. I loved shopping for the first time and selected some best household products. My dad loves perfumes and there were so many stalls that provided with some best perfumes. I choose a soft one for him.
I very much liked the fireworks that were held during the night time. Almost every country had a separate pavilion presenting the best their country offers. I heard that many events were held like Lexus Mega Raffle, Fashion Show and many others. I was lucky to witness the Nissan Grand Raffle.
I shopped till I dropped and went back to my room with the satisfied mind.
Kumbhmela in Haridwar
My next most spiritual destination was the Kumbhmela held in Haridwar. While reading books, I had also read about the
Karni Mata temple
On my journey towards spiritual India, I also experienced one of the weird temples of India.
Vipassana center, Dhammagiri
After visiting the religious places of India, I thought of visiting the meditation center of Maharashtra where I would be relaxed and get peace of mind.