HAPPY DIWALI, everyone!  Diwali is the “Festival of Light” – the time of year when Hindus celebrate the triumph of good over evil and light over darkness.  Although it is a Hindu festival, and Dubai is a Muslim city, diversity is celebrated here – and so Diwali is also celebrated in a big way.

My husband Jimmy and I took a “food and photo” Diwali tour to better experience this holiday, which is a “new” holiday for us.   We signed up for UNSEEN TRAILS, a joint venture of “Frying Pan Adventures” (a food tour company) and Gulf Photo Plus (a photography gallery).  FOOD and PHOTOGRAPHY sounded perfect!  And it was.  (A huge THANK YOU to our guides Mo and Tanya – top notch and so informative!)

After meeting at the Baniyas Metro Station, we headed over the creek on one of the Dubai Creek dhows.  The trip over the creek is beautiful at night and was a new experience for us (we have ridden the dhows countless times during the day, but never at night).   From the creek we walked to the heart of Meena Bazaar, which is the “Little India” of Dubai.

We were asked by our tour guides if we were there for FOOD or for PHOTOS – for us, it was both and we had great fun with both.  Mo, from Gulf Photo, was on hand for plenty of tips for photos – and our food guide Tanya took us to five – FIVE – different restaurants to sample Indian food like I have never had before!  The tour is a four hour walk, thank goodness, so we did not feel quite so guilty eating as much as we did.

You can take an Unseen Trails or Frying Pan tour anytime of year – they are a great way to learn.  We loved learning more about Hinduism, Dubai’s Indian community, and sampling Indian food as we have never had it before!  HAPPY DIWALI!!!

These three were hanging out – what a perfect backdrop and portrait.

One of our favorite things was photographing the people of Meena Bazaar – always asking permission first.

An astrologer outside the Hindu Temple.

One of the many bakeries offering many different types of Indian sweets.

Inside the Hindu Temple.

It was a photo as well as a food tour – so lots of photos were taken, of course!

One of the many restaurants to choose from in Meena Bazaar.

Inside the Hindu Temple.

One of the many bakeries offering many different types of Indian sweets.

One of our favorite things was photographing the people of Meena Bazaar – always asking permission first.

An astrologer outside the Hindu Temple.

One of the many restaurants to choose from in Meena Bazaar.

These three were hanging out – what a perfect backdrop and portrait.

It was a photo as well as a food tour – so lots of photos were taken, of course!