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Posted August 21, 2009 , add a comment

10 Reasons to Shop Dubai: The Ultimate Dubai Shopping Guide

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Editor’s Note: Terry Carter and his wife and writing partner, Lara Dunston, have written half a dozen travel guides to Dubai and the UAE and have made it their home base since 1998. This time ’round Lara writes about Dubai’s top shopping experiences. You can also check out their recent post about “Top Things to Do in Dubai.”

When we arrived in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), just over 10 years ago, the Indian guy from my company who collected us from the airport chatted the whole way to the hotel, giving us a detailed introduction to the country, culture, and society, while extolling the virtues of living in Dubai compared to Abu Dhabi, where we’d just moved.

“… and Dubai has a shopping festival!” he proclaimed rather proudly. In those days, Abu Dhabi didn’t even have a mall so we had to drive to Dubai to do any real shopping, like buy an espresso machine for the apartment. But a shopping festival was something else! Admittedly, we thought this a little weird… what kind of country has a festival dedicated to shopping?

Although Abu Dhabi now boasts a few big swanky shopping centres, Dubai, with its scores of malls and atmospheric bazaars is still the region’s King of Shopping. And according to Terry, I’m the Queen of Shopping. So, here’s my Ultimate Dubai Shopping Guide, or, 10 Reasons Why You Should Shop Dubai.

#1 - Dubai Shopping Festival

The Dubai Shopping Festival, or DSS as we call it locally, has become much more than a festival of shopping. Sure, it’s the huge discounts, crazy promotions, citywide sales, and raffles with Porsches as the prize, that get us excited. But there’s also entertainment for the kids, street fairs with food stalls, nightly fireworks, and at the Heritage and Diving Village, traditional performances and cultural activities. Held in January and February, the UAE winter, the weather is lovely. It’s still warm enough to swim and tan by day, but in the evenings you need to pop a pashmina around your shoulders. The big disadvantage is that this it’s high season (and conference season) so hotels are expensive and you need to book well ahead. Like, now.

#2 - Dubai Summer Surprises

Dubai Shopping Festival became so popular that they started a summer equivalent called Summer Surprises. Even more family-oriented, as the kids are on school holidays, there’s a festival mascot called Modhesh which looks like a yellow bicycle pump. A summer version of DSS, held annually from the end of June to the end of August, there are sales all over the city, but the major advantage of the summer festival – if you can drag yourself away from the Olympics – is that hotel rooms sell at rock-bottom prices. Keep in mind, though, it’s a sweltering 45C (113F) degrees outside, your glasses fog up each time you step out of the hotel or taxi, and the whole time you’re there you’ll feel like you’re in a giant sauna or God has placed a big blow heater above Dubai. It’s an experience.

#3 - Dubai’s Shopping Malls

I’m not a fan of malls generally but in Dubai, the mall makes sense. Remember, this is a place where it’s too hot to stroll the city streets for half the year. In Dubai, the shopping mall is a relief. And here, malls are about so much more than shopping.

They’re a place for socializing, for meeting up with friends for coffee, a movie or bowling, for hanging out with the family at a fun fair or eatery, for slipping on the skies to swoosh down the slopes in preparation for winter, or heading to the gym, spa or beauty salon to get into shape for the summer.

Dubai’s malls also boast theatres, art galleries, child minding centres, and even mosques. Think of them as the equivalent of an old town square, piazza or plaza in Europe.

#4 - Mall of the Emirates

If I had to choose one mall out of the city’s scores of shopping centres, it would be the opulent Mall of the Emirates. This sumptuous shopping centre is one of the city’s largest, but also one of its most beautiful, with polished marble floors, spacious avenues, and a stunning skylight. It boasts the best selection of shops, with several swellegant department stores, including swish Harvey Nichols, dozens of chic boutiques, exclusive designer stores, fantastic shoe and accessory stores, cosmetics supermarkets, a massive Virgin Megastore and Borders bookshop, cinemas and theatre, art galleries, a theatre, Ski Dubai (yes, that huge indoor ski slope you’ve read so much about), and superb restaurants, including Emporio Armani Caffe and Almaz by Momo (by Mourad Mazouz of Momo London fame), bars (Apres), and a hotel, the swanky Kempinski Mall of the Emirates.

#5 - Dubai’s Souqs

While Dubai boasts an abundance of sleek shopping malls, the bustling souqs (Middle Eastern-style bazaars) are actually what Dubai has historically been famous for. The Deira covered market was once the Arabian Gulf’s largest – remember, Dubai has been a trading port for several centuries.

The city’s souqs may not be the region’s most attractive – get images of Marrakesh or Istanbul out of your head – but they’re just as atmospheric and easily as fun.

The difference is Dubai’s souqs are real. Gritty and ramshackle, they’re not just for tourists, they’re where the real people shop for everyday things. In Deira and Bur Dubai’s souqs, Emirati girls shop for fake Yves Saint Laurent shaylahs (headscarfs), their mother’s haggle for stainless steel pot sets, their grandmothers buy oud (aromatic wood that’s lit like incense), while their brothers, husbands and dads bargain for the latest digital gadgets.

English expats take visiting guests to gawk at the glittering gold souq, Indian expats buy saris and textiles from home, while expat workers from Afghanistan and Bangladesh stock up on basic goods to take home, from woollen blankets to cheap kids clothes.

#6 - Because in Dubai Bargaining is a Fine Art

Part of the fun of shopping Dubai’s souqs is bargaining, or haggling. It’s not a requirement, as in Cairo, Istanbul or Marrakesh – if you don’t want to play simply ask the price, you’ll be told a price, and you can pay that price. And believe me, I’m an old hand at it, and it can be exhausting and it’s not always fun. But if you pay the first price you’re given, understand you’re probably paying double the value. It’s probably still a bargain compared to what you’d pay back home, but you can get it for a whole lot less, and have fun in the process if you bargain.

So, where do you start? Ask how much then when offered a price, suggest 50% less. The salesman will probably laugh or feign horror and offer a higher price. Stick to your guns. He’ll then drop the price and once he does, you should raise yours a little. And so it goes…

Use your instinct to respond to his reactions and adjust your price accordingly. As the process draws to an end, ask for the final and best price. If the offer seems reasonable, pay up. Don’t go back to your initial offer – or worse, leave! – this is extremely rude. The sales guy won’t welcome you back when you later realise his offer was a good deal and he’ll probably spread the word around the market so you get ripped off elsewhere. While bargaining in the souqs is acceptable, it’s not in a mall, unless it’s at a carpet shop. At small independently owned electronics, computer or camera shops, you can ask for discounts, but offer 50% less and you’ll be laughed out of the store.

#7 - Dubai’s Best Buys

Dubai’s best boys are the things we associate with shopping the Middle East – carpets, textiles, perfume, spices, gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Seriously. Dubai’s Spice Souq may be small and a lot more touristy now than it once was, but a stroll here is an aromatic assault on the senses – great buys include tiny boxes of saffron, frankincense (the sticky golden rocks of resin in the big sacks), incense burners, and do-it-yourself henna kits. Deira’s Covered Souqs are the place to shop for bellydancing outfits, traditional costumes, sheesha pipes, and at the Gold Souq, anything that glitters. Bur Dubai’s Textile Souq sells Indian saris, vibrant fabrics, spangly Aladdin slippers, Dubai t-shirts, and Arabian ‘antiques’. Karama Souq is not so much a souq but a rather shabby shopping centre, but it’s the best place for discounted souvenirs from the region: Arabian bronze and copper coffee pots, engraved trays and Aladdin lamps, Yemeni khanjars (daggers), Bedouin silver jewellery from Oman, colourful Moroccan lamps, sequinned and beaded cushion covers and bedspreads from India, and mother-of-pearl inlaid boxes and furniture from Syria.

#8 - Souq Madinat Jumeirah

This stunning, air-conditioned, contemporary incarnation of a souq is the place to head when you can’t face the chaos of the real souqs, the heat has got too much for you, you’re not in the mood for bargaining, or, when you decide to refuel, you want to have a cold beer or glass of wine with your lunch. At this beautiful “Old Arabian” styled shopping centre with wooden arcades, wind-towers, and lovely courtyards, you can shop in comfort for fine quality carpets, handicrafts, souvenirs and gifts, and the best stores for those are Lata’s, National Iranian Carpets, the Pride of Kashmir, and Al-Jaber Gallery. Prices are obviously higher than at the souqs, but the quality is better. You’ll also find fashion, jewellery, leather and accessories, and dozens of restaurants, caf?s and bars where you relax and ponder your purchases, make new shopping lists, or assess the damage to the credit card.

#9 - Dubai’s Homegrown Fashion

Dubai may have made its fortunes on the import-export trade, but there’s actually some wonderful stuff produced in Dubai by Emiratis, and one of the standouts of interest to shoppers is its homegrown fashion. The biggest local name is quirky young Dubai-born designer Raghda Bukhash, who creates fabulous fashion under her Pink Sushi label, by playfully appropriating traditional Emirati culture and symbols. The black and white Palestinian keffayah or red and white gutra (Arab men’s headdresses) are all the rage in Europe right now, but Raghda was the first to use them to produce cute skirts, handbags and clutch purses. You can buy her hip fashion from chic fashion boutique, Amzaan, owned by local princess Sheikha Maisa al-Qassimi. Other independently owned boutiques stocking local Dubai fashion as well as interesting international labels include Five Green, Ginger&Lace, and S*uce.

#10 - Dubai’s Shopping Hours

Shopping malls in Dubai open from around 10am to 10pm daily (although a few don’t open until 2pm on Friday, the Muslim day of worship, like Sundays in the West), which is bliss for shopaholics on a stopover! Stores outside of malls, especially those in the souqs, close around noon for an afternoon meal and rest, opening around 5pm, which makes sense in this kind of heat. Shopping in Dubai is most fun at night when the locals go out to shop, so even if you don’t like shopping you can enjoy some people watching instead. This means you’ll end up eating late and hitting the pillow late, but what are days for if not dozing in the sun by the hotel swimming pool?

–Lara Dunston

Planning a trip? Browse Viator’s complete list of Dubai tours & things to do, from Dubai desert safaris to Dubai city sightseeing tours.

London: Tower Crusin’, Thames Boozin’

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Editor’s note: Young love in summertime, is there anything more wonderful to behold? Being the romantics that we are here at Viator, we sent Jack and Tina on a Thames River cruise & Tower of London tour. Little could we guess, it was the start of a beautiful relationship. The Brits wore gray, Jack wore Brown, the rest is steeped in London history.

Jack: Steeped in history? London? Stories of empires lost and won? Over 2,000 years of comings and goings in a place of constant traffic and with an ever-changing face? Well, truth be told, the national nude mud wrestling championships ain’t really my thing, even if it is the sport of kings and queens. But then if it’s a chance to have a few beers and hang-out with your mates, then strewth, you’d be mad not to give it a go… little did I know, that’s not what Viator was asking…

Tina: The streets of this dirty ol’ town, as The Pogues would tell it – but that was Dublin, not London, but anyways… The streets had a strange effect on me as I wandered through admiring ye olde and ye newe. I needed to find a place where it was neither here nor there, in nor out, and I needed to find it fast. I had seen too many of the regular touristy faces plonking throughout the usual touristy spaces. I wanted something more raw, or maybe something more natured, and I said to myself, “Tines, you are a Pisces, a womanly fish- how have you not been by the watery depths, lady friend??” And so I set forth, to find my liquid salvation – and yes, that may include a beer or two.

Jack: Now it’s not that I’ve got anything against boats, or torture, or a quick beheading for that matter, but the word “cruise” makes me think of either weeks at sea playing shuffleboard with the same five people, or some seedy underground club with fellas having all kinds of coloured hankies in all kindsa pockets and a bunch of secret signals that I just can’t fathom. But how about a nice boat, just an hour or two, no outdoor sports and no indoor hanky panky? Sounds alright I hear you say, and if it’s a stylish way to get from A to B then I reckon I’m in. Little did I know there was more to it than that.

Tina: Poor moi, water is a must have in any city of significance. My heart does not beat quite as fast for those that are landlocked, without even so much as a creek or stream to call my very own for some moments when necessary. Thus, I am always mightily impressed when there is a large and forceful body standing before me. And I like rivers too. So I was happy to take up the offer of a ride on one of the best known maidens of the world, as she straddles the city from top to bottom and a bit sideways on the way through. A boat ride, of any kind, suits me well – the salt and the spray, the to and fro. Ah, there is nothing like it, and the bonus is you get to be a voyeur into some fancy pants houses by the water, and sometimes throw eggs, if you have a boat that is fast enough.

Jack: By the time I’d dragged meself round to Westminster Pier it was getting a bit warm, and was feeling the need for a refreshing midday ale, but then a little something happened that stopped that thought in its skinny little tracks. “Brown,” I said to the fella in the cruise booth. “Jack Brown,” I added, to make it crystal clear. Fella checked the list and his perky reply came, “Tickets for two?”

Huh? Gentle reader, you can imagine my surprise, and so this went back and forth for a few moments, nearly started to explain the whole Outback Adventurer thing, y’know, traveling where no man, or Sheila for that matter, dares go, but this fella didn’t seem to listen, like half of London I was starting to reckon, and had it fixed in his ‘ead that it was for two? What, Jack and Brown? This was gettin a bit odd and I hadn’t a clue…

Tina: So I was waiting as the ‘plus one’ for a certain streak of Brown at the ticket counter. I knew him straight away, as if I knew me own name. Of course, it had to be him. Walkin’ up with an almost rickets like stride, burly voice and too much facial hair for the 1pm meeting. He seemed a bit confused, which is never a surprise to me. As he was almost going to challenge the ticket man to an arm wrestle; I decided my fun had been had, and the boat would leave before it was settled between those two. So I sidled up, put my arm around his waist, and tickled the bloke til he near wet his pants. It would appear my fun had not yet been completely had. I introduced myself, and the ticket man had a decidedly relieved look on his face, and Jack…well, I couldn’t really tell what his expression meant at all…

I bought him a beer, and he was speechless, not because it hadn’t been done before, but I think because he had never seen a Sheila with two in her hand. And so we began the journey down Thames lane, past the London Eye, and the Match Em, Hatch Em and Dispatch Em building – the old marriages, births deaths registrar .

Jack: Not since “Apolyclaps Now” had I more intimidation of going down the river – this Tina lady had me matched beers one f’r one, and hardly seemed to pause to draw breath. Shakespeare’s Theatre rolled by the banks, the Anchor Inn, too, which they used as a change-room back in the day – and here Tina had a sparkle in her eye like that wasn’t the only place t’was a shame to be without a change-room. Before I knew it, we’d made our debut on London Weekend television, as we rolled by as the studio’s riverside backdrop, we’d seen the ladies bridge, and I was beginning to think that wasn’t the only long moment that was stretched across these waters…

I pulled meself together, long enough to notice the history of this place – seemed that from listening to the Mate’s commentary (not blue-badge guides but the boat’s own staff that tell you what’s what) – that the Thames was steeped in old things on all sides, hist’ry veritably flowed through its watery veins, I heard that some of the jokes in that hour had surely been passed back n forth for centuries without seeming to age a moment, a quirky laugh hid behind every old bridge and vantage by the boat’s proud prow.

Tina: But deciding the hour was coming late, and I was up for a bit of inhumanity, following the tour on to jump off at Tower Pier for a spot of looking about the old Tower of London seemed like more than a good idea. As the leaftletty things tell you it was a prison, a royal palace and a mint, all rolled into one. All I have to say, is it was pretty big, but as usual, not as big as you would expect. So there we were, cruising the battlements with slightly shaky legs following the boat outing, seeing all the Ravens that now run the place holding court on all the lawns. There’s the legend that if these birds ever leave, the monarchy and Tower would fall apart. Well, as a good Aussie Republican, I was thinking of setting up a shooting gallery as I watched those dark blobs flutter about the grassy knolls… on the boids, a’ course, nothing more sinister. Ol’ Mr Brown was starting to loosen up too, getting the impression that not only the fellas play rough, that daring twinkle returning to his slightly shocked brow.

You kinda stroll through various ages heading round the Tower, seeing the bedroom of Edward II, Longshanks they called him, and then the armour of Henry, which apparently accommodated a somewhat frightening fighting member in the forward section. I am sure if I were to come up against that, I would scream in terror too. There is a very modern memorial, for all those who were strung up at the Tower, and oh yes, those bright shiny baubles that are placed on the heads of the coronated heirs to the throne of ol’ Enlgand- where for once all that shimmied was all gold.

Jack: Seemed to me this place put the ‘evil’ back into ‘Medieval’ – awkward ways to go, quick ways to lose your head, and if you’re against a Poll Tax, say round the 1300s, could be a good place to invade should you be the wanting to put the large back into the Public-at-Large. Spotted some fine graffiti etched into a wall, prisoners artwork – maybe the cover for one of the first black metal albums, all pentangles upon ye olde cross. Didn’t seem like a good place to spend your allotted eternity, but if it’s bright spangly bits your fancy – then there was one bit left to see.

Tina: If it were treason you fancied, the monarchy would happily have you sliced by high quality shiny knives or pulled apart by a couple of horses before it was beer o’clock. The goriness continued at the Blood Tower where the nastiest prisoners were kept, but as I am a vegetarian pacifist, I decided it was too much for a first date, and I didn’t want Jack to go into a primitive state, as I was starting to get other ideas about where to take this one next…

-Jack Brown & Tina Grace

Planning a trip? Browse Viator’s London tours & things to do in London, from the Tower of London to the London Eye to London cruises & Thames river cruises.

Sydney Beach Guide

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You think Sydney, you think the beach.

And you’d be right. There are about 150 beaches in the Sydney metropolitan area! The city’s spread along a long coastline fronting the Pacific Ocean, full of coves and rivers, ocean pools and surf, cliffs and treacherous waves. It’s spectacular and awesome and chilled out, all at the same time. And as winter starts to release its grip in Australia and we head into summer (remember summer in Australia starts in December!) I’ve created a Sydney beach guide to get you in the mood for the next Australian summer.

Sydney Beach Guide: Harbour Beaches

You can divide Sydney’s beaches into harbour beaches, and the southern and northern ocean beaches. I think of the northern beaches and I think of surf and bush (as in, plants and shrubs). Of the southern and I think of blocks of apartments climbing hills overlooking some great ocean views.

Within the harbour, Balmoral Beach is my pick. While the ocean waves pound outside Sydney Heads, Balmoral sits tucked safely inside with its calm water and sandy beach. Surrounded by trees and expensive houses, the lovely Bathers Pavilion has a restaurant and cafe if you get sick of the sun and sand, and it’s only a short way from the centre of the city. It’s been a popular beach since the 1930s and is a conservation area.

Another popular harbour beach is Neilsen Park. Don’t be put off by its alternate name: Shark Bay. The beach has a shark net protecting it. Although it would be hard to convince non-Sydneysiders that this is enough to keep the sharp toothed marauders away. The media, especially the world media, loves reporting shark attacks; you’d think it was the only thing that ever happened in Australia. The real news is that hundreds of thousands, millions of people swim every year in Sydney, and very few get eaten. Really.

Sydney Beach Guide: Southern Ocean Beaches

Of course, the ocean beaches are a bit riskier. Harder to protect with shark nets and the summer of 2008/9 did see a lot of visits from sharks. Can you blame them for wanting to go to the most popular beaches in the world? And, again, almost no one ever gets eaten. There is an underwater shark net to protect these beaches so… we’ll see.

Bondi is one of the most famous beaches – it’s the one that always gets on TV and into movies. One of the southern beaches, it’s a kilometre of golden sand, with the iconic lifesavers in red and yellow to pull people out of the surf if necessary. There’s an internationally popular TV show called Bondi Rescue about these heroes, and they really are heroes!

At the southern end of Bondi Beach is a rip which takes people out a little deeper than they intended – locally it’s known as the Backpacker Express. The other end of the beach is quieter, kinder. I have to say that while I appreciate the beauty of Bondi, I have never swum there. I am too scared of waves. Not very Australian of me, I know. I’m just not that keen to make it onto reality TV.

One of the things I love about these Sydney beaches is the ocean swimming pools. Forged from the natural rocks and a bit of concrete, these pools are filled by seawater, with the waves breaking into them at high tide. It’s just like swimming in the sea but much, much safer. Bondi has its famous Icebergs pool and swimming club, dating back to 1929 when the lifesavers needed to keep fit throughout winter without braving the roiling seas. Now there is also a swanky restaurant called Icebergs Dining Room, with some of the best views in Sydney.

A little further down the coast to the south are my favourite beaches: Bronte and Clovelly. Bronte has a pool that I love, and the usual Sydney cafes, and trees and hills full of apartments with views to die for. Many of the apartment buildings are older style and sometimes almost affordable – if you are in the movies, or otherwise stumbled over a large pile of cash.

It’s a lovely walk along the clifftops near Bronte and Tamarama beaches. Waverley Cemetery perches on the cliffs here and has some of the best views in the world. If I ever live in Sydney, this will be my dream location.- not the cemetery, I mean Bronte. But I definitely won’t be swimming at Tamarama Beach – pretty it might be, safe it’s not. Considered on of the most dangerous beaches on Australia’s east coast, it’s small and deep and the smallest bit of weather can whip the water into a frenzy of waves and rips; you’ve been warned. Mind you the surf lifesavers at this beach haven’t let anyone drown yet – pretty impressive. I’m still not venturing in there though.

Clovelly Beach is my favourite because it is small and protected by a sea wall – no waves! And the little bay is full of marine life. I can take a mask and snorkel and float face-down until my skin’s all wrinkled and the huge blue fish are totally sick of me watching them. Fabulous. And great for kids. Not so much a place to go for sunbathing and glamour – more for gawking at the marine life.

Nearby Coggee is also great for its pools and for wandering off the beach as the sun starts to drop in the sky, heading for one of the cafes or beer gardens overlooking the beach and just watching the moon rise. And people get to live here everyday! I should be so lucky…

Syndey Beach Guide: Northern Ocean Beaches

On the other side of the famous Sydney Harbour Heads are the northern beaches. Manly is probably the most popular and is easily reached by ferry from Circular Quay. Again, it’s a long sandy ocean beach, but with the benefit of having a calm harbour side beach also. Little Manly Beach is often cited as one of the best beaches for kids to swim, and for having picnics in the grassy park. Nearby Shelly Beach, also inside the Heads, is a good place for diving with lots of marine life and calm waters.

Further north along the coast, you get to the beaches whose names just mean surfing and beach culture: Curl Curl, Narrabeen and Dee Why. Made famous, or infamous, in the book and film Puberty Blues by Kathy Lette and Gabrielle Carey, when the boys surfed and the girls waited on the beach with food, a dry towel, and the dog. These days the girls get to surf too.

Even further north are the other places I could quite happily live were I to call Sydney my permanent home. Palm Beach and Whale Beach are gorgeous, and a little quieter than the beaches closer to central Sydney. The areas surrounding the beaches are full of trees and houses clinging to the hills. Some of these original beach holiday shacks have survived, although a lot of mansions have come to roost also. But the terrain and the local councils stop people building total horrors so the area remains pretty. It’s still close enough to commute to work in the city each day, although Sydney’s traffic can be a bit of a nightmare. And the shopping areas still have a local feel about them, unlike the tourist-thronged esplanades of Bondi and Manly.

Just inland from here lies Pittwater. A bay full of yachts and little villages, which are actually still suburbs of Sydney. It’s surrounded by Ku Ring Gai Chase National Park, which is huge and bushy and great for bushwalking. In the middle of Pittwater lies Scotland Island, which has no cars and is only accessible by boat. People living here rely on ferries or private boats to get home and for all their shopping. Likewise some of the bays around Pittwater have no road access, only boats. Which would explain why there are so many yachts tied up in the marina. Here and the Harbour are great places for sailing and those who prefer to whip across the water rather than slide into it flock here on weekends.

I just read a book about living in Pittwater – Sanctuary Creek by Susan Duncan. The lifestyle sounds so romantic and wonderful – a close knit community, a closeness to nature, silence, - and I’m sure it is, but – and again I am a terrible Australian – the thought of so many spiders and snakes scares the living daylights out of me. I think I’d rather try my luck with the sharks - there are fewer of them.

-Philippa Burne

Planning a trip? Browse Viator’s Sydney tours & things to do in Sydney. Also check out Rod’s previous post about Sydney’s Bondi Beach.

New Giant (small) Panda at the San Diego Zoo

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It’s been a busy time for the giant pandas at San Diego’s world renowned zoo this past week!

First up, two birthdays were celebrated this week. Su Lin (meaning ‘a little bit of something very cute’ in Chinese) celebrated her fourth birthday on Monday with a massive two-tiered “cake” made of ice, carrots, bamboo and apples. And yes of course, it was topped with a giant 4.

The other birthday was for Zhen Zhen (meaning ‘precious’), who celebrated her second birthday with a smaller cake, also made of ice and goodies. What to give a panda who’s well taken care of by zoo staff? Both pandas received birthday gift boxes full of biscuits made especially for pandas.

It’s a… stick of butter?

The biggest news to come out of San Diego Zoo this week is that momma panda Bai Yun (meaning ‘white cloud’) gave birth to her fifth panda cub! This happened just before 5am on Wednesday, August 5. The baby cub, who they initially believe to be a boy, is about the size of a stick of butter and weighs in at approximately 4 ounces.

In addition to her two cubs currently at the San Diego zoo, Bai Yun is also mother to Hua Mei (the first panda born in the Western Hemisphere since 1990) and Mei Sheng (the only male panda born in San Diego). Both of these pandas have now returned to the Wolong Giant Panda Research Station in China, as part of the agreement between the San Diego Zoo and the Panda Research Station.

Hua Mei has gone on to be an amazing breeder, having given birth to three sets of twins and a single cub.

Viator offers admission tickets to the San Diego zoo (we also offer a San Diego zoo ticket with transport from local hotels). Though you won’t be able to see Bai Yun or her new cub for a few months (unless you’re watching them on the zoo’s Panda Cam), there are always her two offspring (and their dad, let’s give pappa panda some due props!) to see. The San Diego zoo is one of the only places in the United States that you can see these rare and gorgeous animals!

-Jenny Crossling

Planning a trip? Browse Viator’s San Diego tours & things to do in San Diego, from San Diego theme park tickets such as SeaWorld, Legoland and the San Diego Zoo.

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