h alth & e fitness
The health-and-fitness set is composed
primarily of Western expats. With so many
people working so hard to continue wearing
their skinny jeans, they gravitate to health
clubs, yoga studios and fitness centres, and
Dubai is full of sore muscles. Consequently,
massage and beauty-treatment schedules at
day spas fill up fast: book ahead. If you prefer
swimming in salt water instead of chlorine,
check out one of the public or paid beaches.
d y a spas & Massage
Though you can get a good rub-down at
most sports clubs, for the proper treatment
book a dedicated spa. Dubai’s spas like to
incorporate food into their treatments –
berries, chocolate, even gingerbread at
Christmas. If you’re dubious, more-
conventional treatments are also available.
Make reservations as far in advance as
possible for top spas such as Amara (p61)
and the Oriental Hammam (p115). Ask if a
spa treatment includes use of the pool and
grounds. If it does, make a day of it – arrive
early and wait poolside. Note: facials look
best the next day, so if you have a fancy
dinner engagement and want to look great,
get the treatment the day before. Most
spas offer manicures and pedicures, but if
you want a dedicated nail salon, try n il a
spa (www.thenailspa.com); there are several
branches around town, including one in the
Mercato Mall in Jumeirah (Map p218).
d ncinga
Strictly Come Dancing fans can take classes
in everything from the foxtrot to the night-
club two-step at the renowned US-founded
a thur Murray r dance school (www.arthur
murraydubai.com) with branches in New
Dubai (p115) and Souq al-Bahar (p79).
Private classes are also available.s iingk
The largest indoor ski slope in the world,
s i kdubai (p 113 ; http://www.skidxb.com), located at
the Mall of the Emirates, is an essential for
winter-sport enthusiasts. You can also take
lessons and learn how to snowboard.r nningu
The winter months are cool enough for run-
ning nearly anytime during the day; in sum-
mer you’ve got to get up with the sun to jog
with no fear of heatstroke. There are excel-
lent jogging tracks in Al-Safa Park (p93) and
Za’abeel Park (p67), and along Jumeirah
Beach (p94). Prefer running with company?
Check out the Dubai Road Runners (p103) or
the d ai ub creek striders (www.dubaicreek
-striders.com; Sheikh Zayed rd). If you’re into
the more social aspects of running (read:
drinking afterwards), look into Dubai’s
‘hashing’ clubs at http://www.deserthash.org. The
Dubai Marathon (p20) takes over city streets
in January.Water sports
D VINGI
Diving around Dubai means mostly nosing
around shipwrecks on the sandy seabed
of the Gulf at a depth of between 10m and
35m. The better sites are generally a long
way offshore and mostly for experienced
divers. Creatures you might encounter in-
clude clownfish, sea snakes, Arabian angel-
fish and possibly even rays and barracuda.s orts & p
activities
Before the boom, Emiratis spent their free time watching camel races, riding
horses and boating. Today, sports and activities in Dubai and Abu Dhabi
have broadened to reflect the new population. You could spend an afternoon
skittering across the surf on a kiteboard or enjoying a luxury spa treatment.
And if you can’t stand the sweltering heat – there’s always Ski Dubai.