They said Dubai is more Las Vegas than Arabian Knights. Instead of building casinos to encourage tourism, Dubai is a city in the desert where they built satellite business parks and offered incentives to the first businesses to open branches. These brought in more businesses and employees and unbelievable prosperity to an area that doesn't have any oil reserves or income. For instance, Digital city (just one of the many complexes) is home to all the major technology companies including Cisco, Microsoft etc.
Dubai Views
On the drive to the Eastern suburbs, you have never seen so many skyscrapers under construction, the whole skyline filled with cranes and partly completed buildings with beautiful lines and different aspects.
During the hot midday hours we explored the malls to escape the heat. Las Vegas has been outdone. One mall has just opened with an indoor ski resort. There are two ski slopes, a bunny hill, a ski school area, a toboggan and a tubing hill, plus a short luge. All this is visible from the massive windows in the mall. The shops are all exclusive designer stores, the sort of shop, if you have to ask the price, you shouldn't have entered.
Snowing in the Mall
We discovered another mall yesterday on the way to Abu Dhabi. It made the L.V. Aladdin look like a strip mall. Its theme was an old Asian Trader's route and each major intersection/center court was themes after a place he had visited. For instance, in the Chinese center court there was a Chinese Junk about 150 feet long. That was the entertainment section which was complete with an Imax theater.
In these malls, I was surprised not to see designer dressed shoppers, in fact the most elegant people were the black clad women, their long black coats subtly embroidered with black and gold and showing beautiful skirts peeking out from underneath as they walked.
Of course, my pet peeve was very much in evidence. Settled in armchairs outside of Starbucks were many white clad Arab men talking on cell phones or working on laptops and their wives and children eating at McDonalds or KFC in the food halls.
Unfinished Skyline
A beautiful memory was going to the coast in the evening, sitting on the break wall enjoying the cool breezes and watching the sunset. You could easily have imagined you were on a CA beach. There were groups of people sitting and talking and many kite surfers making the most of the evening breezes.
Dubai ViewsOn the drive to the Eastern suburbs, you have never seen so many skyscrapers under construction, the whole skyline filled with cranes and partly completed buildings with beautiful lines and different aspects.
During the hot midday hours we explored the malls to escape the heat. Las Vegas has been outdone. One mall has just opened with an indoor ski resort. There are two ski slopes, a bunny hill, a ski school area, a toboggan and a tubing hill, plus a short luge. All this is visible from the massive windows in the mall. The shops are all exclusive designer stores, the sort of shop, if you have to ask the price, you shouldn't have entered.
Snowing in the Mall
We discovered another mall yesterday on the way to Abu Dhabi. It made the L.V. Aladdin look like a strip mall. Its theme was an old Asian Trader's route and each major intersection/center court was themes after a place he had visited. For instance, in the Chinese center court there was a Chinese Junk about 150 feet long. That was the entertainment section which was complete with an Imax theater.
In these malls, I was surprised not to see designer dressed shoppers, in fact the most elegant people were the black clad women, their long black coats subtly embroidered with black and gold and showing beautiful skirts peeking out from underneath as they walked.
Of course, my pet peeve was very much in evidence. Settled in armchairs outside of Starbucks were many white clad Arab men talking on cell phones or working on laptops and their wives and children eating at McDonalds or KFC in the food halls.
Unfinished SkylineA beautiful memory was going to the coast in the evening, sitting on the break wall enjoying the cool breezes and watching the sunset. You could easily have imagined you were on a CA beach. There were groups of people sitting and talking and many kite surfers making the most of the evening breezes.
0 comments :: Dubai Escapade
Post a Comment