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Published: October 11th 2009
The view from Cam's balcony
We'd arrived. It was nice and hot and very alien. We arrived in Dubai at about 7.45am and it was 33 degrees outside. Thankfully, on the first day, it was a dry heat but it was pretty humid for most of the fortnight. The first thing that struck me about Dubai was that it was much bigger than I'd first imagined. The clusters of towers sprawled out around us and in to the distance as we drove to Cam's (O's best friend) flat.
A common misconception about Dubai is that it has loads of oil and it is this which financed it's rapid growth over the years. In fact it is the next Emirate along, Abu Dhabi, which has most of the oil. Dubai is in huge amounts of debt to Abu Dhabi due to its attempt to become, not just a business hub for oil tycoons, but also a central location for both business and leisure.
The United Arab Emirates has some funny laws about alcohol. Some Emirates are completely dry (the horror...) whereas in Dubai you can't buy booze in shops and the only place you can go out drinking is in establishments linked to hotel complexes. Naturally this means you will drink for hotel prices! In
order to consume alcohol, Dubai residents must have a liquor license. If you are found to be drunk by the police (not necessarily causing a nuisance either) and you don't hold a valid license you will be in trouble. Thankfully, there is a huge hypermarket a couple of Emirates down the road, an Emirate in which it is legal to sell booze, so residents can go on booze runs and drink at home for cheap! Dubai has some interesting legislation about marriage as well. We met up with one of my sister's close friends, Emma, who is a GP and lives out there with her husband, Dave (they got married before going out there as it is illegal for unmarried couples to live together but will be renewing their vows in England which will essentially by their actual marriage ceremony. Once they got out here they realised that a fair few people live together unmarried!). Due to the fact that they are married and that Emma is essentially sponsored by Dave, Dave had to fill in extra forms of recommendation in order for Emma to have a liquor license AND in order for Emma's driving license to be valid over
The view at night
Oriel and I, befuddled with gin, take time to soak up our surroundings. there.
Dubai has a very clear social hierarchy. At the top are the Emirati who have loads of money, are subsided by the government and have lot of sway should the police have to intervene in an encounter with one (such as a car accident etc). Next are the Ex-pats whom work in the offices etc and below them are the mostly Indian and Philippinos whom fill roles in the service and labour industries. The Indian workforces who are responsible for the speed in which these massive contstructions go up, all live together in accomodation provided by the construction companies. Every day they are bussed in to the sites and work throughout the day in pretty mad heat. They get paid the equivalent of around 50 quid a month which, we are told, is probably a good deal in Indian standards but it stuck in our craw a bit considering the luxurious surroundings and especially as we were spending 10 on a cocktail.
Back to our stay: Dubai has a real knack for luxury and it was the perfect place to start out after the stress of the weeks leading up to us leaving as well that which
accumulated over a very hectic year. We were 15 minutes away from the beach, one of the very few free beaches in Dubai, and Cam's partner, Jules, lives in a complex over the road which had a wonderful pool and jacuzzi which we were able to pop over and use. We managed to unwind surprisingly quickly in this environment and felt rested and calm.
In terms of trips etc we went to a fantastic water park called Dreamland which, amongst other things, had a pool bar. This meant you could sit on seats, submerged in the water, and sip beers. It was truly ace as it was flipping hot outside that day. When we met up with Emma and Dave, we went for dinner in a nice Italian Restaurant in a mall / hotel complex called Souk Al Bahar (probably misspelled that) which was in the Berj Dubai district. The Berj Dubai is the highest tower in the world. Though not yet complete and open, in the waters at its base, the tallest dancing fountain display occurs every 15 minutes (not always the same song). We witnessed this whilst sitting on the terrace of a bar in a five
star hotel, sipping cocktails. It was a pretty indulgent evening!
One evening we went to a very odd bar for the birthday of one of Cam's friends. Dotted around the bar were TV screens and the DJ mixed music videos, mostly of a very cheesy nature (I had never seen the video of 'Shout' by Tears for Fears - it was pretty bad). We were worried when we arrived at first because we didn't really get the concept and 'Stars' by Simply Red was on every TV screen in the bar; there was no escape. It actually turned out to be a really fun evening, almost like a mass Karaoke session as, later on, everyone gathered around a screen, singing along and dancing like twats. I wonder if it will catch on elsewhere as it was a very popular night and a clever idea. They guy was also showing songs from concerts which was a nice twist. Looking at some of the footage, the crowd that had turned up for Toto beggared belief. I can only assume it was clever editing. Oriel and I quietly steeled ourselves for the Karaoke onslaught that will befall us in Vietnam and Philippines
- it's going to be 'Hazard' by Richard Marx all the way. And 'Knowing Me, Knowing You' coz I've been practicing Benny and Bjorn's harmonies. Anyway...
Another highlight was a visit to the Jebel Ali hotel resort. This one had a lovely deep pool and an even better pool bar! With this one, you could sit, in the water, literally at the bar! We had a buffet lunch which was lovely. You could get some bloke to rustle you up a bespoke pasta dish... you choose your pasta (penne) your sauce (tomato - the other one was creamy) and then state whether you wanted onion, garlic, chili (yes on all counts), mushroom, pepper etc fried with the sauce before they added the pasta. There was also easy access to a lovely stretch of private beach. We left (having nicked some of the towels) feeling really refreshed and nicely worn out.
We sampled some of the local Shisha in the posh surroundings of the Dubai Marina in a cafe with a spot that had permanent shade and spent a very relaxing couple of hours puffing away, having a read, and admiring the yachts.
In one of the big
malls we saw the biggest indoor ski slope in the world, complete with real snow! The energy it must take to air condition it enough so the snow doesn't melt as well as the production of the snow is pretty mind bending.
In nights in, we played round after round of the ever-fun Shit Head which is a pretty quick fire card game where the loser of each round has a letter of the 'S' word written on their heads until someone gets the whole word). Oriel and I were disappointed that Cam and Jules refused to have their heads (OR hands) written upon - even with eyeliner! - dispute much protesting from Oriel and I and even when we goaded them on by saying that Christian's weapon of choice was permanent marker. We also played three tense but well played games of Risk, two of which I won!
All in all, Dubai was the perfect place to wind down and climatise to the heat. Whilst it was expensive to go out, they had an ace supermarket so getting by was OK. Most of the disadvantages we found ourselves at resulted from our being prepared for a year
Drunk and giggling
Another crushingly naturalistic shot of Oriel. I love working with this girl. travelling in Asia and so we were thus hampered by a very limited wardrobe (sometimes it would have been nice to doll ourselves up) and a pretty tight budget. Much thanks to Cam and Jules for putting up with us over the fortnight and showing us around the place, patiently baring in mind our restrictions!
John x
p.s. pics will be added to this ASAP. Will let you know when they're up.
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Slaz
TravelMan
Dubai's Heat
I went last year in July and it was absolutely terrible in terms of the heat! Should have know better :) http://www.jetsetandgo.blogspot.com