Blogs from United Arab Emirates, Middle East - page 179

Dubai... Home to the world's only 7* hotel, an ever-increasing number of skyscrapers, and what must surely be the only ski-slope in the desert! These attractions will soon be joined by the world's tallest building, the world's largest mall, and the world's first underwater hotel. From start to finish, it is clear that Dubai is a city of extremes. The discovery of oil in the 1960s has caused a transformation to what must surely be one of the most modern cities on the planet. We arrived here on Saturday evening on a Singapore Airlines flight from Istanbul. After clearing customs and finding our luggage, we took a taxi to the Panorama Deira, where we were allocated a room which was bigger and nicer than we had dared to hope for. Unfortunately, as soon as we switched ... read more

Cost of entry to the Zoo? 2 Dirhams (30p) Unfortunately we were denied access to the animal enclosures so I could not "weigh" the animals by trying to push them over. Added a couple of shots of the sweet water ride at the Jabel Hafeet Hotel. I would love to see a few nervous, crying children go round on it while encouraging parents shout things like "NO! STAY IN THE CAR! DO NOT GET OUT!" Sweet. UPDATE - 15.09.08 This blog post is by far the most viewed of mine, it's had over 17,000 viewings in 30 months - over 550 hits per month. If you are reading this, could you please drop me a quick message to let me know why you came to be looking at it. Thanks, Alan... read more

As I disembark from the aircraft, I feel like an ice cream cone quickly melting in the intense heat - and this is at twelve o'clock midnight without the sun shining! Arriving from Amsterdam, where the temperature was minus 3 degrees celcius, and finally landing in Dubai where the sweltering heat is 30 degrees celcius on the midnight hour really shocked my body. Apparently it's not as hot right now as it can get from June through August. Nevertheless, I hop onto a taxi, which only cost 35Dhms ($10 Cdn) to my hotel. The first thoughts that came to my mind: Where are the Arab Emiraties? The population consists of an overwhelming majority of Indians, Pakistanis, Philipinos, Lebanese and of course, Europeans (not as many as the aforementioned nationalities though). I hired a private driver, who ... read more

The two days ın Dubai really was a bit of a blur. It had been an epic day of flying and after hiking through the mammoth terminal on arrival I made my way to Al Sabkah road (little India) and my cheapish accomodation. My initial expectations of Dubai were a little dashed by the relative lack of towelheads. I had been looking forward to some Arabic interactions my friends and instead had to make do with folk from the subcontinent. Pesky little buggers some of them too. I think I just crossed India off my list of countries to visit. After very little sleep on a larg brick wrapped in a bedsheet I called Kate at her plush 5-star hotel (one of hundreds it would seem ın Dubai) as she had just arrived the following morning, ... read more

Sand on the dunes slithers like smooth silk...until it gets in your eyeballs! Earlier, we studiously applied suncreen (SPF 30) from head to toe, only to discover later on that we would become human sheets of sandpaper. The previous days desert safaris had been cancelled due to sandstorms. The sand blows so strongly that trucks have difficulty navigating the roads...and nevermind the dunes. The sand shifts in the dunes so you cannot stop and admire the view. If you do...which we did... you must be extremely careful to pay attention to the dunes shifting. I was taking video and all of a sudden I felt the truck creeping closer to me. But...we hadn't been briefed about the shifting...so I thought I was imagining it...then full force, the truck was headed right for me...think Toyota Land Cruiser ... read more