Mosaics of blue, green and lavender: yep, we’re in Dubai. The Journal’s favourite photographer Nayantara Parikh and her musician boyfriend Rohan Kale took a trip to Dubai’s sandy shores to celebrate a birthday and brought back stories of flamingoes and flowers.

"We went record shopping because this was one of our main goals on this trip (Rohan just bought a record player); obviously we popped by the Virgin Megastore, but where we found some real gems was a small spot called Amongst Few.

We had the pleasure of checking out Lucky Voice where Tall Black Guy was playing. Lucky voice is a karaoke chain from the UK, but it is anything but cheesy. It was super laid back and we met (and made friends with) a cool bunch of people. It had a really good vibe.

We went to Box Park, a strip of shipping containers with shops and restaurants. Lots of little bespoke designers and a some cool places to eat. JBR was a nice walk; the running track’s actually made of a special material that ensures that it doesn’t hurt runner's knees. You can take your swimsuits and swim after, should the weather allow.We did some super touristy stuff as well, which was a nice break from the slick malls. One was Miracle Garden, which is the widest expanse of flowers I've ever seen in the middle of a city. It’s a sweet walk (we were super-lucky with weather when we were there. It rained a bunch because they were cloud seeding to cool it down before the races). You can buy tickets at the venue (only! they remind you that tickets from anywhere else are fake). It is 72,000 square metres of flowers and they revamp it every year (but fret not, the old flowers are recycled and used as fertiliser). The butterfly garden is right next door. We couldn't visit it this time around, but hear it’s lovely.We also went to Ras Al Khor wildlife sanctuary to check out the flamingoes. They are cool, but I might skip this one because it’s basically just flamingoes! There's also a beautiful view of the Dubai skyline. We also stopped by Madinat Jumeirah which is pretty, and an indoor market place; good for knick knacks, a general stroll, and boat rides!
And we had a yum dinner at Wakame which isn’t new, but is a favourite.”