Cool Arabian nights and days

"This is hotter than the hinges of hell!" drawled an American to no one in particular as she stepped aboard our airport shuttle to the hotel. We couldn't help but nod.

Dubai's PR machine knows that for any perceived problem (that is, desert heat) there is always a headline-grabbing solution whether it be an indoor ski field or the world's biggest water slide.

A city of superlatives, Dubai lays claim to the world's tallest building, tallest hotel and largest shopping mall and with the recent announcement as the host city of Expo 2020 we can expect there to be more biggest and bests.

In a place where almost anything is achievable, it really is possible to spend three days in the desert without breaking into a sweat.

DAY 1

Time 10.30am

Temperature outside 33.7 degrees

Cool down at Dubai Mall

Imagine a new international airport shopping arcade and then times it by 100 and you have Dubai Mall, the world's largest with 1200 shops across the road from the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa. It's not super-cheap but the experience is unforgettable. Ask the taxi driver to enter via the Fashion Avenue.

Here you can spy Emiratis showing off their luxury cars at the VIP entrance - even the police drive Bentleys. Check for the licence plate, the lower the number the more wealthy the owner is. The coveted No 1 plate sold for $US14.2 million.

Inside, shoppers browse Armani, Louis Vuitton and Chanel. If they make a purchase, they might head to new store Lovin My Bags offering a "Handbag Protection Service" for delicate leather in harsh climates. The day featured a Cartier watch exhibition and a gold model Lamborghini.

There are cooling water-based displays including the four-level waterfall, and just outside you can spy the dancing waters of the Dubai Fountain in the Burj Khalifa Lake. The day's first show is at 1pm.

But Dubai Mall may not hold the "biggest" mantle for long.

"The current [mall] facilities available in Dubai need to be scaled up in line with the future ambitions for the city," Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, emir of Dubai, has said of the plan to top it with the Mall of the World.

Time 1.40pm

Temperature outside 37.6 degrees

Cool down at Aquaventure Waterpark

The original plan was a cooling swim at the beach, the water temperature was 32 degrees - a warm bath, hardly refreshing. So, we take a taxi to Atlantis on the outer circle of The Palm, just beyond the manmade branches full of condos for the well-heeled.

At the Aquaventure Waterpark no walking is required. You can jump on an inner tube and the current will shuttle you around 17 hectares of speed slides and river rapids. First stop is the new Tower of Poseidon.

A friend and I race each other on Poseidon's Revenge; we're dropped from a trap door and propelled at 60 km/h down a slide. And of course, being Dubai, there has to be the "world's largest": It's the Anaconda waterslide with a tube 9.2 metres wide.

Outside, we spy eager expats jogging along the Palm circle. While it does offer great sea views, in this heat, are they mad? We step into a cool taxi and head back to our hotel for a lie-down.

DAY 2

Time 10am

Temperature outside 31.7 degrees

Cool down at At Dubai Museum and a cultural lunch

In a city all about the future, it's nice to know there's somewhere to go to experience the past. The air-conditioned Dubai Museum inside the Al Fahidi Fort (built in 1787) offers a visual display on how this fishing village was transformed dramatically after the discovery of oil in the late 1960s.

The exhibits are fabulously kitsch, with stuffed camels and mannequins recreating scenes of a bustling souq and traditional life in Old Dubai. The rooms dedicated to each decade after the 1960s show how quickly the expansion has taken place. In the gift shop we sample camel milk chocolate.

Nearby in the Bastakiya area, just off Dubai Creek, we were welcomed to a cultural brunch - championed by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum - to learn about Islam and Emirati culture from locals. We sit in a covered courtyard with a tall cooling wind tower and drink Arabic coffee while locals answer prying questions about multiple wives and hijabs.

"No question is off-limits," our volunteer host assures us as we begin to feast on chicken Machboos and Ligamat which are delicious deep-fried dough balls with date syrup. Indeed, the motto of the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding is "open doors, open minds".

Time 2.10pm

Temperature outside 38.4 degrees

Cool down at An ice rink and a ski field

It might not sound too hot, but the warm winds have picked up and sand is getting in our eyes. Time to bring out the big guns and head to the ice. First stop is the Olympic-sized ice rink at Dubai Mall.

I hire skates and pull myself around the training bar. Skating as an adult isn't the fun as I remember. The thought of broken wrists has me awkwardly grabbing anyone whizzing by.

It's time to head to the Mall of the Emirates to test Ski Dubai, an indoor ski slope. Inside, suited-up locals and tourists are carving down runs as long as 400 metres. Others are trying stunts at the Freestyle Zone. I opt to frolic in the snow and view the newly established colony of gentoo and king penguins, followed by a warming hot chocolate at the St Moritz Cafe before heading back into the real world.

DAY 3

Time 1pm

Temperature outside 36.8 degrees

Cool down at JW Marriott Marquis Kitchen 6 and Saray Spa

Most restaurants and hotels in Dubai lay on a lavish brunch spread every Friday, and one of the newest is at Kitchen 6, a modern buffet in the world's tallest hotel, the JW Marriott Marquis.

Six cooking stations are set up to tempt all with a number of cuisines. I make a beeline for the Arabian fare - snapper and kebabs with fresh vegetables and garlic sauce - then sushi, suitably fresh, followed by pastries.

The prosecco is flowing (only hotels can serve alcohol in Dubai) and, in hindsight, it might have been a bad idea to try a spa treatment immediately afterwards, but how could I not? Just a month before, fashion designer Donna Karan said the treatment at Saray Spa in the JW Marriott Marquis was "to die for".

I try the invigorating Dead Sea scrub. If I had spent any time outdoors poolside, I might have opted for the Sun Soother, a treatment combining aloe, rose and mint. No sweat.

TRANSPORTS OF DELIGHTS

BY PINK TAXI

Taxi travel is inexpensive here, there are 7000 air-conditioned government regulation taxis, including a ladies taxi service driven by women for women - the vehicles are recognisable by their pink roofs.

BY TRAIN

The sleek and cool metro system, which operates on a futuristic-looking elevated track, is the world's longest driverless automated railway system. If you stand at the front (where a driver would normally sit) you are afforded a spectacular view of the cityscape. There are dedicated carriages for women and children.

BY BUS

The intensive public bus system is airconditioned with designated seating for women but, best of all, Dubai bus shelters are enclosed and airconditioned as well.

TRIP NOTES

GETTING THERE

Emirates flies directly from Sydney to Dubai, phone 1300 303 777. See emirates.com.au

STAYING THERE

The JW Marriott Marquis Rooms from $289 a night for a two-night stay. See marriott.com.au/hotels/travel/dxbjw-jw-marriott-marquis-hotel-dubai.

MORE INFORMATION

definitelydubai.com