Dubai

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After another marathon flight from Sydney, via Bangkok (>17 hours) we were grateful to land in Dubai. Astrid and the kids were incredibly jet lagged. The airport like the whole city, is under construction. We had to take an infield bus to the terminal. The ride with three jet lagged kids was interminable. After finally reaching the terminal we had to wait another 40 minutes to get through the customs line. It was probably close to 2 hours before we were out of the airport.

In Dubai we were very fortunate to stay at a friend’s apartment. He is currently living on the 28th floor in the Dubai Fairmont but ironically was back in Canada during our visit. The facilities were what you would expect at a Fairmont property - perfect. Among other things, the Internet connection was significantly faster and did not have a data cap.

Dubai is something else. The juxtaposition of Islamic values and aggressive modernization result in an quite unique city. The first thing that strikes the visitor is the massive scale of development. There are literally millions of square feet under development. It is hard to imagine how all this space can be filled. The theme in everything is “world’s biggest”. The world’s tallest structure is currently under construction - the Burj Dubai. It is unbelievably tall - currently at about 158 stories. The final height has not been finalized. It is widely believed that the developers are awaiting the completion of a tower in China, so that they can build the Burj even taller.

We spent five days here. The first day was spent largely sleeping/lounging. We took a cruise on Dubai Creek in the evening (the main waterway around which the original town emerged). Josh and Adrianne slept through most of that as well. It was very tourist kitch - as is much of Dubai, but it was fun in that context. There are at least a dozen large boats packed with tourists plying the waters of the creek each night.

Day two was a city tour. We were fortunate to have been setup with a driver. The traffic in this city can be ridiculous at times. Most of the drivers seem to look for the least excuse to lean on the horn - notwithstanding the absolute futility of such gestures. I lost count of the number of construction cranes. About 80% of the population is expat. The construction industry is staffed almost completely by workers from Surelanka and India as is the service industry. The work is hard requiring long hours. The cost of living is relatively high. However, the workers are still grateful for the work as they are able to send money home. The disparity between the rich is no more apparent than at the Mall of the Emirates. All the major clothing retailers have outlets here. In addition to the stores, there is also an indoor ski hill: we couldn’t resist. I have to say that it was a blast. Given that you are skiing inside a building located in the middle of the desert - the conditions were spectacular. I was almost giddy with the experience.

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Photos

Ski Dubai
The lifts at the indoor ski hill at the Mall of the Emirates in Dubai

Comments

[jr]

neighbours
Is Surelanka near Srilanka?