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Published: February 24th 2009
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Burj al Arab
From public Jumeriah beach I couldn’t tell you what the slope looked like after the first few runs. Heading butt first into ‘SLOW DOWN’ signs, into bright orange fences. I couldn’t help but fall over. Even after the first two seconds I was down for the count. The second fall I thought I was a paraplegic. I was on the snow, snowboarding in the desert doing one of the unrealistic realisms of Dubai. And for the fourth journey in a row I got a bruised coccyx.
Few places in the world you can go to and all walks of life from around the world are there (minus the beggar and the gypsy.) The rich Property developer, the poor Pakistani taxi driver, the Emirates stewardesses, the Bangladeshi cricket playing construction workers. But in Dubai people come and go more so than the construction sites (a common complaint by most; “This sites been going on since before I got here”.) It is also a city that’s in a building faze and in a way it’s like looking back at perhaps what Australia felt when my grandfather came over all those years ago.
I spent a week here either doing nothing or spending a few days
Worlds Tallest building
under construction. this is the view from pool deck.
Used wide angle lens to create a more dramatic height. Took me a while to admit its pretty high around town. Most of the time it was in a taxi going from a-b. No trains yet (being built) and there’s basically no encouragement to walk. Despite that I did walk in patches and found there was a limited supply of toilets and thought maybe that’s because its so hot here that usually people sweat it out. But what about when its just a normal pleasant 20 odd degrees? Didn’t think of that did they? Oh but wait they did. See you’ll have to get a coffee or something at a restaurant meaning more money spent.
And that is what Dubai is really about - money. If you don’t think of money for your whole time here than you’ll like it. That’s why there are no backpackers or hostels. It’s a totally different scene. Really it’s a couple of days type place.
When I walked around I thought the Souks were ordinary compared to the real souks in the world. But it does provide a positive - a feeler, a taster of what a souk is about but in the comfort of a western standard.
The Beaches are cod ordinary. The mosques seem plain. And their icon
Jumeriah Mosque
Can go in her on a tour from 10am three days a week.
I didn't go. Will get my fare share of mosques later the Burj al Arab you can’t get close to because it’s bordered off! That’s what did it for me. If you pre book you can get in. That’s fine I understand about getting into the Burj. But you can’t get any closer than 500m unless you fork out over $100 or go up to Wild Wadi (the water park) and get told you can’t enter the surroundings. I ended up finding the beach to the side of the Jeremiah Beach hotel for a good sunset (actually there was a sandstorm a few days earlier so the horizon was hazy, still nice spot.) But it irked me a bit that this place puts position and prestige so high up that it won’t allow everyday people to get a closer look at the countries icon. I started (if I hadn’t already) to think that this place is a bit of a w@nkfest. Together with the whole biggest building, biggest supermarket crap. Whoop dido!
It’s like the adolescent nerdy child saying mines better, mines bigger; I’ll produce a TEK card so you can’t come in. It’s such an immature city. I really do think no one will give a crap about this
place when its finished. By that time small is big and the once great buildings will be old and past its used by date. Sheik Zayed road one of the great drives in the world just sky scrapper after sky scrapper either side of a 12 lane dual carriage way, looked a tad bit older this time round. (I was here for a few hours during transit 2004 before India) Maybe I’m being a bit too harsh but the atmosphere feels incomplete and all fake. Most people are only here for 3 years or 20 depending on where your origin is from. But I suppose that is what gives it its rejuvenating feel. But for how long...?
It has marketed itself so well; it encourages the western world to come along we’ll pay you top dollar to come here, we won’t tax you for anything. Put you up in lavish accommodation but when you get here; everything that you want will be expensive. Not because there’s taxes or anything its just that that’s the price. Eat dirt (or sand in this case). So in the end half the money that everyone earns goes straight back into the economy. And
this is just on the necessities and the rest from just finding something to do because lets face it we are in the desert.
Dubai is not like the ancient cities that have been built to survive their climate for thousands of years. It will probably be covered in sand in due time. It will be one of those cities in the history of the world where it has 100-200 years of glory than a slow torturous decline. By that stage it would have jerked itself off too much and everyone will be over it. The big tall buildings will be old and sterile and other things in life will become more interesting. But hey I could be wrong. In 50 years time they may market the ‘old is new campaign.’
Big thanks to Catherine for teeing me up with some accommodation for the week. Saved me a small fortune there. That accommodation was too upscale for me. With views of the worlds biggest building being constructed and Sheik Zayed Road and construction workers playing cricket in the empty spaces below.
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