MEMORIES OF DUBAI

I remember looking eagerly to see the renowned view but seeing nothing but clouds.  I remember it taking forever to leave airport security, and being nervous about the endless questions they asked me.  The air felt thick and heavy against my skin, especially given the fact id come from a nippy English spring.    The heat was oppressive and incredibly sticky.

I found Dubai a little bit strange.  It looks Middle Eastern and distinctively foreign, and many areas are so full of Indians that its like being back in India.  However, the steely watch from the modern skyrises and eerily quiet motorways quickly bring you back to the fact that Dubai is an entirely different kettle of fish.  I had very little interaction with Arabs and mostly talked with immigrants from India and Pakistan.  I found them to be happy and mostly extremely friendly - the emirate's promise of a better life so well packaged that the long commutes and struggle for work can be overlooked.  People have to work long hours here because its so expensive but therefore have to live hours from the city in the cheaper areas.  The city is very cosmopolitan which means that westerners are commonplace, so there are no small luxuries to be found being foreign. 

Immediately after checking into my hotel, I set off to experience a typical Dubai mall - the Burjaman Mall, which was a 20 minute walk away.  Along the way, I noticed that not only were people everywhere they were all dressed pretty normal (in saying this, i would not know if someone was dressed in expensive brands) and many wore traditional arabian garb.  Construction was happening everywhere as well, and the footpath was basically rubble.  Gucci would not have lasted long here.  However, the Mall itself was stunning and contained the usual big name brands such as Saks Fifth Avenue and some lesser known Emirati names.  Prices are expensive though especially as i didnt bring much with me.

I did a tour of the city but I have to be honest - after India, Dubai's attractions seemed boring and fake.  The Dubai Museum is housed inside a fort which is pretty cool as when i arrived there were hundreds of flying scavenger birds giving the place a certain authenticity.  There were some good reconstructions of how the area used to be (which wasnt that long ago) but I felt that the tour spent too long here.  I bought some decent souvenirs here though.  The tour also visited the Bastikyan area, which showcased a token camel, but boosted through the outskirts far too quickly.  Jumeriah Mosque was impressive, as was the creek crossing on an abraa.  This area impressed me as the pace was less hectic than India and the vendors were really unpushy - which seems to me strange given the amount of rich westerners that must pass through here.  The gold souq was a brillaint place for watching people going about their daily lives.  I saw many men in thobes with women dressed in exotic abaayas walking behind. 

But as a first time visitor to Dubai, the glimpses I'd had of the Burj Khalifa way off in the distance was enough to distract me through all those more 'real' experiences.  I spent the entire time looking for it on the horizon and tapping my feet with impatience while waiting at the neverending traffic lights.  The roads are slow but quiet here, and many lanes wide as you approach the strip of buildings famous for appearing in travel guides everywhere.  The Burj looms closer and closer.  I entered its domain via the Dubai Mall, which was to me much more interesting than any of the cultural experiences offered by my hotel.  Despite the late hour, the mall was packed - English tourists walking side by side with well dressed Saudis and tiny Chinese business men.  I noticed that there were many shops that I found back in England and it looked like everyone was spending up large.  I entered by a MASSIVE, well, esperience to my right - an aquarium that looked absolutely incredible!  I passed numrous sculptures and a gold souq within the mall that looked just as glittering and frequented as the one in the Creek.  But the treat was to come.  I exited the mall and stepped out into ...

the most purely FANTASTIC sight my eyes have ever seen!  Sitting in restaurants and standing on steps were people of every size and shape gazing across lagoons of water and light to .... the tallest building in the world!  At 828 metres high, the Burj is impossible to take in.  And its not a skinny CN Tower either - its base is huge and continues its width as it goes up.  Seriously, it looks alien.  I had to bend backwards to look to the top and in doing so felt waves of dizziness come over me.  When the building itself was too much to look at, the view across the water to the hotel and shops was a treat to behold.  And then the show started.  I have since read that the creators of the Las Vegas fountain/light show assisted on designing this one as well and I have to say, they did a brilliant job.  The water flies up so high with the accompaniament of different light effects and to a stirring middle eastern score.  It was incredible!   I sat down to dinner within the mall but outside on a balcony under the stars (I assume there were stars but there was far too much light pollution!) with the perfect view of the lagoon and Burj before me.  I'd chosen well - there were no other tourists in the small restaurant and only several Middle Eastern men and women smoking  sheesha.  I ordered a traditional Dubai meal of spicy fish with tabouleh salad and hummus and it was delicious.  It made good use of all the spices i saw that day in the souq, and the cardamom was especially aromatic. 

There is so much to see in Dubai and i caught just a glimpse.  But no visit would be complete without seeing the Burj al Arab, the iconic hotel that most people picture when conjuring up images of the city.  It takes a long time to get anywhere in Dubai, and surprisingly the Burj is quite a way from Dubai Mall.  The hotel is reached by a manmade causeway from the mainland and there is a guarded gate.  Non-guests can enter for dinner but as i am neither guest nor patron, i stood outside and gazed in awe while my taxi driver (from Pakistan) joked with the guards.  Its a stunning building, lit up from every angle at night, but after the Khalifa, seemed tiny.  I would have loved to go inside.  Afterwards we journeyed out onto the Palm.  To be honest, I did not even realise we were on it!  We went underneath the water at one point in a massive tunnel and drove out to the Atlantis resort.  Now this building is MASSIVE.  Pictures do not do this building justice at all.  It has a spectacular backdrop against the sky and the palm trees and the water...the next time I visit Dubai I aim to stay in this hotel.

Dubai is many things; a paradise for families, for shoppers, for lovers of architecture and fine dining with a hint of the exotic.  Those who have travelled little out of their comfort zone may find Dubai confronting at times (for example, the heat, the people, the food) but within the malls and hotels its like a modern wonderland.  Its a destination to visit for its in-your-face shows of wealth and spectacular feats of construction.  I would love to return to this Emirate and experience its excessiveness for all its worth.