Things to Do in Dubai

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• Abras - a cheap commute for many but you can hire one on your own.
• BBQ/Barbeque - at home, on the beach, or go camping in the desert.
• Bowling
• Bungee Jumping
• Camel Racing - early Friday mornings in the winter. Schedules and times are notoriously difficult to figure out.
• Camel Riding - everyone wants to have a go right? A large collection of camels for riding on at 'Big Red' sand dunes on the Dubai-Hatta road, about 30 mins from Dubai. Keep driving till you see it, it will be obvious. Quad bikes and big dunes on either side of the road with 4wd cars all over them. Sometimes there's a rent-a-camel on the public beach next to the Jumeirah Beach Hotel.
• Camping - in true expat fashion, get your BBQ, a crate of refreshments, a tent, and park on a sand dune somewhere for the night. You're supposed to have a permit to camp on the beach. Don't go into the desert with just one vehicle. Bring lots of water, suncream, towrope, spade, mobile phone, and expect it to be 10 degrees colder at night than in the city. Things you should bring that people will laugh at but wish they'd brought themselves include plastic table, chairs, disposable BBQ, and portable shower (or garden watering can). Stretchers are the best compromise between ease of setting up and comfort when sleeping. Get them for less than 100 dhs at Carrefour. Choithrams have the best sausages, Spinneys the best bread. Park n Shop and Spinneys also have a good meat selection.
• Cinema - lots of cinemas in big shopping malls, also the Grand Cineplex near the Wafi Center. Standard ticket prices 30-35 dhs. Films only seem to run for a week or two. Go daytime or early evening if you want to avoid noisy crowds. It's common for people to have loud conversations and talk on mobile phones during screenings. English films are usually subtitled in Arabic, and sometimes French.
• Cinema - arthouse / retro / old movies - XVA art gallery on Wed nights, Wafi Rooftop Sun nights (not in summer).
• Dancing - nightclubs, salsa, ballroom
• Eating Out - try an "all you can eat & drink" buffet.
• Fishing - cheapest place is off Maktoum Bridge or the beach. Hotels and yacht clubs will organise more expensive offshore fishing trips.
• Friday Brunch - a bit of a Dubai expat institution. Stuff yourself with eggs and bacon and sleep the rest of the day. Pubs do standard versions. The Burj Al Arab does a more expensive one with a great view but disappointing food for the price.
• Hang-gliding - in Al Ain
• Helicopter flight - a great way to see Dubai if you didn't get a window seat on your inward flight, www.aerogulfservices.com. Cheapest one is 2500 dhs for 4 people for 25 mins.
• Horse Riding
• Karaoke
• Karting.
• Library
• Massage
• Minigolf  at the Hyatt Regency Deira
• Mountain Biking - try the mountains in Ras Al Khaimah.
• Night Clubs
• Paintball
• Paragliding
• Parachuting
• Pool / Snooker / Billiards.
• Salsa Dancing
• Shisha, or hubbly bubbly as some say. A traditional Arabic social smoking pastime. Bars have capitalized on it and you do get some splendid locations to have a toke. Try Quarterdeck, Souk Madinat in Jumeirah, or Barasti Bar.
• Shopping - there's no shortage of opportunities, as you would expect from a city where a Shopping Festival is a major tourist attraction.
• Skydiving - Umm Al Quwain airfield offers tandem skydiving. Not cheap.
• Study - a language, a higher level qualification, a different subject.
• Yoga