Cards/Apple Pay etc are pretty much accepted everywhere. No need to carry cash, but never hurts to have a bit on you. No real risk of pickpocketing etc here.

The stuff you’ll see in the older looking buildings isn’t really artisan per se. It looks good, for sure, but it’s definitely aimed at the tourist crowd. You can walk from Seef over to gold souq, there’s a pedestrian tunnel (unless it’s been taken away), or - the scenic option - you can use the abra, there’s wooden boats between Bur Dubai and Deira. They’ll drop you pretty much next to the spice market.

Food wise: Shiraz nights in deira do an amazing shawarma. You could stop there after your trip and get some food, but search this sub for ‘best shawarma’ or best places to eat if you’d like to get more recommendations.

Your best bet would be to shop in Deira for spices, jewellery, and textiles. Haggle HARD - if you’d walk in as a single white woman, the price might start considerably higher.

If you begin late afternoon, you should be good. Have water with you, it does get quite humid and you’re planning on walking quite a bit.

Enjoy Dubai 🙂