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Published: November 29th 2006
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Never staying more than two nights in one spot, I’ve gotten pretty damn good at packing my bag; it has become a ritual at this point. Everything has its own place and it takes me all of about ten minutes to go from having everything completely strew out across the hotel room to packed and ready to go. Saturday morning, my trusty bag and I boarded another flight and landed in a city quite different from the one’s I left behind. A city with sprawling freeways, countless mega malls, theme parks, gleaming steel and glass skyscrapers and hundred if not thousands of construction cranes dotting the skyline - this is Dubai. Dubai is one of the seven Emirates that make up the
United Arab Emirates on the Persian Gulf. Unlike the other Emirates, this country depends less on its small oil reserve (6%!o(MISSING)f its GDP) and more on its thriving free trade zones, business conferences and increasingly, tourism. Dubai has also attracted worldwide attention for its innovative real estate development projects, such as Palm Island - three massive islands in the shape of a palm tree created by dredging sand up from the shallow Persian Gulf. There is also an
interesting project called Dubai World Island Earth, which will consist of 250-300 islands shaped like the continents of the world. You too can own your own island in the shape of your favorite country for about US seven million dollars...I hear Hati is still available.
The city is growing at breakneck speed, and will soon own bragging rights for having the tallest building in the world,
Burj Dubai. When completed, it will encompass 160 stories and stand over 2,600 feet tall. To put that in perspective, its over twice the size of the Empire State building…amazing. A virtual mega city is also being developed around it. Over at Jumeirah Beach, there is a seven-star hotel called the
Burj al Arab which sits on its own island just off the shore and is the tallest hotel in the world. The Burj is one of the most beautiful and transfixing building I have seen...and if it were a woman, I would have already fallen in love. I tried to visit in my t-shirt and thongs, but I was turned away at the imposing security gate and told I would need to call at least a day in advance and make a
reservation to visit the restaurant. Apparently, it costs $40 just to step foot on the property for non-guests and starts at $1,000 per night for those who want to stay here. I hear the views from the top amazing and worth a visit. Actually just coming by to admire this gorgeous architectural wonder from afar is worth a visit in my opinion.
Dubai is a virtual melting pot of different cultures. Its main inhabitants are comprised of expatriates, many European and some American. There is also a large population of Asian and SE Asians and the migrant low wage workforce comes from the Indian subcontinent, primarily Indian and Pakistanis. Most of the taxi drivers I encountered were Indian (probably because they speak better English), and all of the construction workers I saw were Pakistani. Dubai has drawn much criticism from the international community recently for the poor working conditions. The city is literally rising on the backs of these low wage workers, most of who are paid meagerly, ($10 per month) live in squalor, usually six or eight to a small room and are indentured to their employers. Their purpose here is to send money back home, and many
cannot change jobs or leave their employers for fear of not being paid wages owed. On the freeways and roads around town, I saw busloads of these workers being transported around town, crammed in so tight there heads and arms were sticking out of the windows. This is the not so pretty side of tourism. Another challenge here is the traffic. On several taxi jaunts around the city, it took me two hours or more to cover about thirty miles. This is the worst traffic I have ever encountered, yes even worse than the 405.
So what did I do here? Just what any consuming American would do, I went shopping. I had to see the indoor ski slope
Ski Dubai at the Emirate Mall, if nothing else than for a few photos for the friends back home. I had no intentions of taking part in this silly tourist ski trap, but as I watched, I was actually starting to get the itch. An avid skier, I had not hit the slopes in over a year so being this close, I couldn’t resist. What the heck, I paid the forty bucks and hit the slopes for a few
hours. It was surreal and cold (under 40 degrees) inside the domed structure with bright halogen lights dotting the ceiling. They claim to have five different runs but really it’s just two main runs that fork off in different directions and meet up at the bottom. They are long bunny slopes; with maybe one-hundred yards of what could barley pass as intermediate terrain. Nonetheless, I was happy as could be, and after awhile I actually started to forget I was inside a shopping mall. I could have been anywhere, Squaw Valley, Sugar Bowl, Mammoth….I was just enjoying being in the moment, being cold and carving some nice turns out at the Emirates Mall.
I had a late flight on Monday night out of Dubai, so I spent a day at the beach and another unique shopping mall near the Burj al Arab hotel. Mainly, I wanted to capture some photos of the Burj here at sunset but the best vantage points are from the private resort beaches flanking the hotel. So, I did what any good American would do and snuck in. I cased the area for a good hour or two before finding a stairway down to the
pool at the exquisite
Mina A Salam resort. From here, with mojito in hand, I put on my best “I own this place” look and strolled past several beach attendants and security guards onto the fine sandy beach. YES, I had breached security! Just in time to catch a magnificent middle eastern sunset on the gulf, with the Burj at my side. I hope you enjoy the pictures.
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Chuck White
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Bali Bound???
Mikey boy, Having been to many places that you are experiencing, I have had many quiet smiles knowing the buzz you are on experiencing the Middle East your first time. Is Petra amazing or what? Your commentary is first rate and the photographs are fantastic. If you weren't so good at parking cars I'd suggest a career change! Hope you can get to Bali on this trip. The sunset's are legendary and your camera will get quite a work out. Keep up the diligent work ... we are loving it. Chuck