Dubai Off the Beaten Path Tips by Siddha3th

In an oft-overlooked part of town, towards the area where the Dubai Museum resides snugly beside The Creek, lies Bastakiya.

Charming to its mud-laned core, The Bastakiya Quarter is slowly becoming home to Dubai's burgeoning art scene - galleries, fashion boutiques, quaint little cafes - they're all to be found within a complex maze of old-style Arabian dwellings.

I love the feelings which swarm inside my mind while walking through this place... a sense of the gone-by with an accent that's very now!

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Almost all the galleries in this area are housed within converted wind-towers - beautiful, simple structures made predominantly of stone and brick.

A striking feature of these structures are the wooden 'arms' jutting out at right angles towars the top. In the olden days, when the words A & C didn't exist, these buildings were built to remain naturally cool during the cruel summer heat. Designed in such a way that ventilation was all-round.

I'll take these over air-conditioners, any day!

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Founded sometime in the mid-70s, The Majlis Gallery is Dubai's first and foremost purveyor of indie creativity. The word 'Majlis' is Arabic for a hospitable meeting place, and the gallery is just that - a warm, cozy haven for people to stroll through on those still afternoons.

You won't be hurried into buying anything here, and you can wander from room to room at leisure, taking in the sights and smells of the old building and all the paintings residing within it. The calm vibe is a perfect antidote to the mayhem ensuing outside on Dubai's harried streets.

There's a large tree in the middle of the Majlis' courtyard, casting gorgeous shade on the artefacts resting below. I find this really charming, and maybe you will too.

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I think it's fair to say that most of the dreamers who come to The Majlis, do so more for the experience than the art. Not to say that the paintings here aren't any good. In fact, it's an eclectic collection of reprints, originals and sculptures, with a heavy Oriental accent. The Majlis encourages local talent a great deal, and are always open to amateurs bringing in their stuff as well. Many expats residing in Dubai have even held their first exhibitions at this gallery.

You really oughta' make it down here on your next trip, if not for anything else, then atleast because it's a personal favourite of mine :)

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Another fun ingredient in the Bastakiya cocktail is the emergence of a couple of boutiques, bang in the center of all the art! Fae is a subtle, sexy diva of a boutique showcasing some gorgeously unique Indian wear.

Displaying creations mainly for women, their men's lines will be out shortly as well. Beautiful ethnic lehengas (skirts), contemporary cholis (chic low-cut blouses), saris - some of my lady companions have all fallen in love with the place, and insist on dragging me along each time! I don't mind, 'cause there are photo-ops aplenty, especially with the subdued lighting.

Have fun exploring up as well as downstairs, and don't forget to photograph the interiors... with each room looking incandescent in the soft, muted lights.

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Bollywood love triangles. Hollywood endings. Enough to make you weep into your popcorn. Thankfully, the guys at 9714 Entertainment & Front Row Productions have conspired to infiltrate Dubai's notoriously mainstream tastes, infusing it with a shockingly alternative dose of film.

The Stella Artois Monday Movie of the week is held every Monday (imagine!) at iBO, the gritty club which doubles up as a make-shift screening venue. Comfy sofas, an interesting, interested crowd, and of course, loads of Stella Artois.

This has been a godsend for me, sating my cravings for Almodovar, Scorsese and in the days to come, even Fellini :) To watch films like Bad Education, uncensored and uninhibited, in Dubai - is something of a minor miracle. It's very much an underground thing still, and God bless these guys for it.

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When it rains, it pretty much pours, doesn't it? For years a cinematic desert, quite literally, Dubai has suddenly sprung to life with little pockets of underground film movements. The XVA Gallery - owned by a lovely Swiss woman, can lay claim to hosting the most picture-perfect of these, its beautiful mud and brick-lime walls lending themselves perfectly to film being filtered through the projection screen. Without losing any sheen off its art gallery status.

The setting's wonderful - a heritage villa in the old Bastakiya Quarter by the creek. You'll have to lose yourself in the area's small, winding lanes to get there, but a thin curtain of shimmery beads will let you know you've arrived. The Gallery's central courtyard, flanked by lanterns and charming little knick-knacks, is suitably decked with simple couches and chairs for people to enjoy the film comfortably. And you can order some food to go with your film, from the gallery assistants nearby.

The cinema showcased here isn't really indie or alternative, but still pretty left of the middle to keep your interest sustained. A wednesday evening shindig, this is a nice way to spend a couple of hours during Dubai's lovely post-summer weather.

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With literally thousands of beauty salons catering to the girls, it's only fair that we guys get atleast ONE place for ourselves too, right? Enter Lounge, a funked-up, hip little homage to cuts, cures, and colours. Tucked away in a small nondescript by-lane in Karama, the Lounge sticks out like a rebellious neon thumb amidst its plain-Joe surroundings.

Inside, blown-up posters of kids with frazzled hair, large racks of gels 'n shampoos, and couches lined with magazines welcome patrons, together with nu-jazz flowing through the sound system. What's on offer here? You have your cuts, your colouring, highlights and for the slightly more adventurous (read flaky) of us - manicures (?!), pedicures (?!!), and full body "new-age" treatments (?!!!) No thanks, I'll pass.

But the crew are great at what they do. You'll find many small barbershops and men's salons strewn around town where a haircut will set you back by just 10 bucks. But if it's a slightly more sexy snip you're seeking, the Lounge delivers the final cut.

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Eclectic and indie aren't 2 words that exactly spring to mind when you think Dubai. So any steps towards redressing this grevious omission are more than welcome. The 5Green Art Gallery - a funky little outpost of fashion, photography, art and impromptu film screenings/ poetry readings - is one such bright 'n bold little step. Selling everything from Ts, to lomography cameras, to fringe art+decor magazines sourced from around our crazy world, 5Green is parts that sexy girl you run into at the laundromat/ parts your weirdly trippy, geeky older cousin. And loveable, all the same.

The clothes in here aren't really all that hot, and ridiculously overpiced. So give those a miss, and rummage through the beads and other knick-knacks they've got strewn about. There's almost always an exhibition of some sort on in here, with a heavy accent on some local flavour, and the result is a pretty interesting collage-like peephole to Middle Eastern pop art/culture.

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