I avert my eyes when I’m here. I get stared at a lot. I guess red hair is something to look at when many women here wear burkas and in some cases are covered from head to toe, without even a slit for the eyes. Underneath all that, however, they seem to be wearing very hip outfits. I’m not sure how that all works.
The last time I was here in September 2007, it was god awful hot. It was like being blasted like a heater even in the shade. This time of year it is just wonderful, about 75 degrees (24 C). Absolutely wonderful, after freezing my butt off in Boston.
Cranes everywhere in 2007
This is a short trip, arriving after a 13 hour flight on Friday night, and flying back out again on Monday night. But enough time to realize that things are much different this time around. Last time, there were building cranes in every direction, as far as the eye could see. It was a city under construction, with a seemingly unending amount of money. This time, all that construction has stopped. They seem to have been affected by the economy just like everyone else.
I understand from a colleague that any building that isn’t at least 60% completed has been forced to stop construction all together. But they mustn’t leave the building looking like it isn’t completed or they get fined. And apparently, the expats aren’t fairing well either. There are rumors that when they cannot afford to live here anymore, they drive their fancy cars to the airport, leave an apology note, and fly out of the country abandoning their car and life here.
Last time I was here, I took in the luxurious side of Dubai, staying at the Medinat Jumeirah hotel, getting pampered and staying in a hotel room bigger than my apartment. This time I still stayed in a hotel that was bigger than my apartment (I don’t think smaller ones even exist), but it isn’t nearly as extravagant, and it is still pretty freakin' nice! I stayed at the BurJuman Rotana, which has a business tower and upscale mall attached. The mall was filled with places I couldn’t afford – Chanel, D&G, Fendi, Versace – and apparently neither could anyone else in Dubai. It was empty every time I walked through.
Living Room in the hotel
Bedroom at the hotel
Can someone explain how this work? Do you sit on the toilet then move to the bidet?
I did notice a place selling upscale burka’s there. I was dying to go in and see how much they cost, but thought they might be offended that some whitey was curious about that sort of thing. I have no interest in offending anyone, especially in a somewhat conservative Islamic country.
View of Burj Dubai
From the business tower, you have a great view of the Burj Dubai, the tallest building in the world. It is absolutely amazing looking, towering over all the other buildings and at least twice the height. It looks like something out of BladeRunner or The Fifth Element. It is supposed to be 160 floors when completed in September 09, but they claim to be hiding the details so they can keep adding to it if need be.
Nope, cannot navigate there!
Even though it is a modern city, you are reminded how conservative it can be all the time – by the way people dress, the juxtaposition of historic mosques against the tall buildings, and the inability to view websites that are used everyday by the typical American. There is a Prohibited Content Categories that outlines how you cannot view information on “Learning Criminal Skills” (like lock picking, stalking, buying pirated material), internet dating, illegal drugs, or porn. I don’t know what I was looking at when I got stopped, but it was something completely innocuous, and I am sure I was instantly turned into the government and won’t be granted access to Dubai the next time I attempt to visit!
The last time I came here it was Ramadan. It is difficult to find places to eat during the day or get a drink during that time, but since the Medinat Jumeirah is a luxury hotel with an attached upscale souk (market), bars were eventually found. This time, we happened to be here on Mohammed’s birthday. No kidding, there was not one place that served alcohol in the entire city (believe me – I feel like I called them all!)! After a long day of working with my co-workers, you’d understand why I wanted a drink! I cannot believe that I just happen to be here at times when you cannot get a drink. My co-worker and I are convinced that lack of alcohol is why there is so much stress in the Middle East. If they could have a drink and relax a bit, everything would be fine!
I’ve just arrived back in the USA. It was a 15 hour flight back, and we arrived almost an hour early in DC at 5:30AM. In DC, customs don’t open until 6AM, which means we had to sit on the plane and wait. Just excellent. Then when we got to customs, we discovered that the flight from Kuwait had arrived before us. I believe there were about 8.1 million people on the Kuwait plane waiting in the customs line. And – this is no joke – there was *1* custom’s officer to process all of us.
Forget this, I’m going back to Dubai!
At the Bar Dubai Souk