c+d: 9/29 - 10/2 dubai

I don’t know what to say about Dubai. Imagine flying over a vast desert that meets the ocean, and then, as you look out your airplane window, suddenly you see a city growing straight up out of the sand. Like, a big city. Wide streets, modern cars, traffic jams, and a multitude of sky scrapers. Welcome to Dubai.

My wife dubbed it “the Las Vegas of the Middle East”, which definitely captures a lot of it. It has the 5x daily call to prayer, typical of most Muslim cities, as well as the stereotypical Arab sheiks driving their large Mercedes and the troupes of silent, black-shrouded women, nothing visible except for the eyes. Yes, it has this, but, only 20% of Dubai’s population has citizen status, and the remaining (foreign) 80% caters to very western clientele. This means sprawling beach resorts, huge shopping malls, ginormous themed parks, and everything the biggest and the best: the world’s tallest tower, the only 7-star resort, the largest (only?) indoor ski resort. Only a few problems: it is hotter (and muggier) than Hades (though they say it’s nice for the winter months); poor planning (the city is spread out everywhere and traffic can be a nightmare); and, oh yes, it’s not really built yet. This is what struck me most about Dubai: everything is under construction. I’ve never seen anything like it, and I have no idea how they will fill up everything that’s being built. I don’t see how they’ll avoid huge over-supply, especially once the “fad factor” wears off and everyone realizes it’s just a big city in a desert. Though lunch in the 7-star hotel was superb…

Still, I hope Dubai succeeds. I vastly prefer their model to Syria’s.

Currently the world's tallest tower at 500 meters - and it has another ~200 to go

Notice, each building has a crane on it - everything under construction

This was the view from lunch at the Burj Al Arab, by far the most expensive meal I've ever paid for. (I would have taken pictures, but they said no cameras allowed - too many big shots?)