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Published: March 10th 2011
Gold Shop
The Gold Souk in Deira, Dubai - definitely one of my 'window shopping' days!Dubai was the last port of call on this by-now legendary itinerary, to which I owe multi-stopover flights a fair amount of debt. Weeks of researching into and planning the entire trip resulted in being able to combat the high cost of hotel rooms in Dubai by booking a budget-cost hotel room in the heart of Deira, Dubai's business and expatriate area, which represented the lower end of the city's opulent budget scale, but an area which was not without its set of shopping, dining and entertainment options. The real blight concerning the urban area of Dubai revealed itself almost instantly - that the city had grown up at such a rapid and out-of-control pace, that the roads could barely accommodate the sheer volume of traffic, and as a result, getting from A to B felt like a frustrating chore, set to test the patience level of even the most unfazed traveller. Window shopping though took on a whole new meaning, as the exorbitantly-priced gold jewellry on display in Dubai's Gold Souk made for excellent photo opportunities, it also outlined the city's ostentatious wealth, and consumerist culture. One dynamic shopping mall after another seemed to ram this point home, and the
7-star hotel
Welcome to the Burj Al Arab hotel - 7-star opulence and nothing less! entertainment factor of the Mall of the Emirates' adjoining indoor ski slope, Ski Dubai, seemed to outline just how far the country had progressed in innovative terms. A day out at the Wild Wadi water park was enough to bring out the hedonist in anyone willing to give the park's attractions a try, and its' location in between two prominent landmark hotels, namely the ultra-opulent 7-star Burj Al Arab and Jumeirah Beach hotel, made it feel like a visitor to the water park also pertained to part of the high-flying jetset who frequented hotels of that very ilk. Clearly, there's a lesson to be learned in just how much off-shore oil reserves play a part in a country's economic development, and Dubai's growth from its humble desertscape origins to its current economic powerhouse status illustrates the exploitable nature of these vital natural resources.
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