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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 off the light the loud humming and rattling of the air-conditioning unit became rather annoying. I didn't expect to need the earplugs I brought from home this quickly!
On Sunday morning, after an average night sleep, we decided to waste a morning in one of Dubai's main attractions: shopping malls! Because of favourable VAT rates certain goods, such as electronics, are far cheaper
here than in Europe. Not knowing quite yet whether the deals we found were the best we could hope for, we decided to leave the buying till later and made our way to the area around Al Khor (Dubai Creek). A quick lunch overlooking the coming and going of dhows (traditional Arab sailing vessels) and abras (waterbus) was followed by a visit to the Dubai museum, which is housed in the 200 year old Al-Fahidi Fort. The museum provided us with an opportunity to cool down in air-conditioned exhibition rooms after spending several hours outside in temperatures topping 30 degrees! Given that Dubai's population is made up of 75% expats compared to 25% locals (and thereby beats Luxembourg with its 35% or so foreigners by a long shot), the city boasts a large variety of restaurants from all over the world. We opted for some Chinese food, which was delicious.
Not feeling like having too active a morning on Monday, we went to play "pitch & put" at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. Think golf, but then on holes with an average length between 30 and 40 metres. You get a putter and a pitching wedge and have to brave
water hazards, bunkers, and the Dubai sun! At about 5 Euros this is probably one of the cheapest things you can do in Dubai, given that most activities here require a rather large monetary contribution. This must be a great place to live if you're rich. Should you be one of the many immigrant construction workers earning less than 150 Euros a month, I'm not so sure it would be enjoyable: You get to build the facilities for the rich, while never being able to come near them again once they are operational...
In the afternoon we went on a desert safari, which we had organised through our hotel. Even though Peter, my father, had already advised me that being driven up sand dunes in a 4x4 is quite spectacular, I certainly didn't expect it to be as exciting as it was. Our Pakistani driver, perhaps made more aggressive by our complaining that he was late and that he'd better hurry up, drove up and down the dunes just outside the city at incredible speeds with great skill. 45 degree angles proved no problem for him, and several times I wondered whether I would have made it 10 meters
off the road in my own Fiat Punto. Probably not! The stomach-turning driving experience was followed by a dinner in some tourist encampment in the desert together with about 100 other tourists who had been on similar desert safaris. At the risk of people accusing me of being a bourgeois ****, I would say the whole affair was incredibly tacky and clearly catered towards the average Dutch tourist visiting Spain's Costa del Sol. Phil and I decided to sit and eat on a sand dune overlooking the spectacle below. The only times we were encouraged to join in were to get our dinner (which was very tasty) and when a belly-dancer turned up...
Today we had another quiet day to recharge our batteries for India, where we will fly to tomorrow. The obligatory visit to the area surrounding the Burj Al Arab (the above-mentioned 7* hotel) was followed by a visit to Dubai's biggest shopping centre, the Mall of the Emirates. One would almost remember that this really is the Middle East when walking around in a comfortable 20 degrees looking at the same shops (+ many more) that can be found on the high street in London. The
mall also provides people with the opportunity to ski on real snow! We skipped the skiing because of the cost and the prospect of freezing inside, and decided to make our way to the Jumeirah Beach Park, where we spent a while swimming in the warm water of the Arabian Gulf.
Tomorrow evening we will fly out to Chennai in India. We'll probably visit a local bird sanctuary before making our way to the airport relatively early, in order to spend some time in the famous Dubai Duty Free. I'll let you know the financial damage later!
At the moment, I'm asking myself what I think of Dubai and whether I would advise people to visit this place... It has been an interesting experience to see a city which is so well planned, and which you can practically see changing in front of your eyes. Money seems to buy you anything here and clearly opens doors. So yes, I do think Dubai is worth a visit, just bring a large amount of cash!
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Joyce
non-member comment
Hi Neef!
Hey Erik! Ik dacht laat ik eens kijken of je je site al had aangepast. Maar Geweldig je verhalen! Ik snap ze helemaal! hahah Had makkelijk mee kunnen gaan als tolk! haha Veel plezier en lees snel weer je verhalen xxx Joyce