Dizzying Dubai - 1

The plane touched down in the Emirate of Dubai after midnight. En route to the hotel, I groggily watched an ultra-modern city pass by: high-rise towers, parks with flowers, modern multi-lane roads and, even at this late hour, plenty of traffic. The only clues that I had landed in an exotic Alice-in-Wonderland were road signs in both Arabic and English and frequent mosque minarets pointing skyward.

Next morning, I strolled through Dubai Mall, one of the world’s largest with over 1,100 shops. An elevator sped us to the observation deck of the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa (828 m). The fantastic view showed clusters of skyscrapers stretching to the Arabian Sea, where a group of man-made islands in the shape of the world shimmered in the heat. I tried to imagine the immense construction boom that created this amazing cityscape, for only two decades earlier none of this was here. Furthermore, this instant city — just add water and petrobucks — is one of superlatives: tallest building, most luxurious hotel (the Burj al Arab, 7 stars), huge cruise-ship port, best horse-race track and to top it all off, an indoor ski hill. How could a world-class city rise so quickly from a barren desert? And would the recent financial crisis halt this frenzied growth?

I wandered through the Atlantis Hotel on the famous man-made Palm Island (Tiger Woods and other famous people have villas here.). Incorporating an enormous aquarium and water park, the hotel epitomizes the over-the-top attitude of Dubai. The Lost Chambers suite, for example, stretches over three stories with its own elevator. The bedroom and bathroom windows face onto the aquarium with sharks and manta rays lazily floating past. Pleasant dreams.

At the Mall of the Emirates the indoor ski hill was busy with snowboarders and skiers — outside the temperature was 30°C! A woman, enclosed in a long black abaya, carried her little son’s snowboard.

The portrait of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum adorns many walls, a not-so-subtle reminder that Dubai is governed like a benign dictatorship. Not only is Sheik Mo incredibly wealthy with over seven palaces, several wives and 21 children, but he also has the ultimate power in the Emirate. Under his visionary direction this patch of sand has transformed into the thriving commercial and tourism centre of the Arab world, a cross between Singapore and Las Vegas.

I had heard that foreign workers, who form about 80 per cent of the population, are not treated well. But those I spoke with — all in the tourism business — had kind words for the Sheikh. I saw little trace of discontent or fermenting revolt. A dark note though: a critical article about Dubai had been cut out of every issue of Vanity Fair on newsstands.

That afternoon I went on a dune bashing tour in the desert aboard a huge Hummer. I walked barefoot, soft sand squishing delightfully between my toes. The dunes were like artwork with delicate ridges and ripples. The more adventuresome tried sand boarding. Then we sat on cushions on rugs on desert sand and enjoyed an Arab meal under the stars.

My favourite part of Dubai was the gold and spice souks. It was refreshing to wander through crowded, narrow old alleyways savouring the smell of spices, instead of in sanitized malls. The adjacent creek was jammed with dhows, reminders of historical trade routes.

I removed my shoes and entered the coolness of Jumeirah Mosque, one of about 500 in the city. A lady clad completely in black described the five pillars of Islam and its gentle and peaceful culture. These principles are reflected in the city, which for tourists is safe, with little alcohol and no gambling or beggars.


The social highlight of Dubai is the World Cup horse race, described in my next blog.

More Info:
+ General info: definitelydubai.com
+ Tours: www.knighttours.co.ae