Ever since seeing photo's like this one a few year's back, Dubai has always intrigued me.
Dubai like most of the UAE has a vast amount of fossil fuel available and thus, a seemingly bottomless pit of money. Over the last 2 decades Dubai has used that money to attract tourists and ex-pat workers to their city. Currently ~92% of the population in Dubai is ex-pat workers, leaving a small population of actual locals (ya I know, 92%....crazy isn't it!). They've taken this direction so that when the oil reserves run out, they have a sustainable tourism industry that can produce enough revenue to keep the city afloat not create a ghost town.
What's my take on this city? Well to be honest if George Jetson and Aladdin got together and built a city, they’d build Dubai. It's clearly evident that the coolness factor beat out sound city planning here. But hey, that’s one of the reasons I wanted to come see it! No building here is older than 20 years basically, and most are less than 6 years....you can imagine how modern it is.
So how did I arrive in this city you ask? Well for one extremely hungover from Oktoberfest, no surprise there. I took an afternoon flight out of Munich to Istanbul Turkey where I was forced to pay 40 euro’s because one airline couldn’t transfer my baggage to another and I had to get a visa to transfer my own luggage.....GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER ISTANBUL. After that it was off to Kuwait where I had a 7 hour stop over, overnight. You know when I was 6 years old, staring out the window during cut and paste time at school I’d dream about staying overnight in a Kuwaity airport.
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| Didn't think I'd ever see this "welcome to" sign |
So I played the part of “only white guy in Kuwait, sleeping on a bench” for a few hours until getting on a plane finally destined for Dubai. I still think it was worth the few hundred I saved vs a direct flight, it’s all about experiences right? Right.
Finally arriving in Dubai after an exhausting visa and customs experience (THANK YOU CANADIAN GOVERNMENT) I won’t go into detail about why the UAE hates Canadians, but click here if you want to read up on it. My friend Muna picked me up (you rock Muna!) and I was thrown into the madness that is this bustling city.
Driving down their main highway (Sheikh Zayed) I was treated to a city skyline like I’ve never seen before...
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| Emirates Towers |
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| Metro station....they have the same one in Total Recall I think |
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| Taken from outside Dubai Mall, the biggest in the world |
Ahh Dubai shopping, like nowhere else in the world. Check out this clever youtube clip if you want a rundown on how many shopping malls there are in the city, it’s insane. Dubai Mall being the world's biggest, I decided to check it out first.
Apparently over 1200 stores and services offered....
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| Now that's a mall directory |
So what's in this colossal mall other then the usual stores and such?
A giant aquarium for one:
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| A bit heavy on the advertising eh Citizen? |
Annnd an ice rink, why not:
Ya Dubai mall was awesome, in every respect. Oh I almost forgot to mention what was attached to Dubai Mall.....not a big deal, but just he TALLEST BUILDING/STRUCTURE IN THE WORLD
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| The Burj Khalifa.... in all it's glory |
Another look at it...in day time
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| There may or not be a crane in this picture.... |
What a structure....broke every record in the books when it was completed in January of 2010 (on budget and on time). $40 to get to the top.....you bet your sweet ass I got up there, during the night though as I was warned the daytime gets rather foggy with all the humidity and the visibility isn't the best.
At 880m it dominates everything built before it:
Over 200 stories in
this beast...unfortunately the public observation deck is located only on level
124 so that’s as high as you can get.
The night shots were still spectacular:
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| Water feature below that has a similar fountain show to the one at Ballagio in Las Vegas (see video below)....Dubai Mall to the left |
You can purchase all
sorts of souvenirs at the observation deck too, including gold bars. There are vending machines around the city as
certain high profile locations that sell you gold bars. “Hey honey grab me a Snickers out of the
vending machine over there, and a diet coke....oh and a gold bar too”. One of those Dubai things that
make you shake your head at its’ awesomeness.
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| My friend Muna maxing out her credit card....just kidding! |
I visited another
Dubai icon, the Burj Al Arab hotel
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| Shot taken from 360 bar out in the harbour where the mojito’s are only $30 :( |
And we can’t forget
Ski Dubai, which is a giant manmade ski slope within The Mall of the Emirates.....I
just had to see this thing.
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| View from the Mall of the Emirates at the Ski Dubai structure |
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| You can go tubing or even zorbing! |
I also took a drive
out to the Palm Jumeirah which is the manmade landmass that looks like a giant palm
tree.
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| Each of the villas on the fronds has its' own private beach |
This thing is
enormous, I had no idea...it took nearly 10 minutes just to drive from the
bottom of the trunk to the top of the palm!
They had planned to build 2 more as well, even bigger....but then the economy tanked in ’08 and the company who was contracted to the project went
bankrupt. At the very top of the palm
there is Atlantis (yes, another copy from around the world....this time from the Bahamas)
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| Cars parked outside |
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| The main hotel lobby |
One of the days I
decided to get out of the city and head into the desert for some dune bashing
in a 4x4, traditional Emirate dancing, camel riding and for an authentic Emirate meal.
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| Camel riding! |
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| The dancers would spin around while holding these large circular pieces of fabric with different coloured patterns....quite the spectacle. |
My camera ran out of batteries just as the belly dancers came on :(
There are mosques everywhere in Dubai, and 5 times
a day they blare a prayer over loudspeakers....I decided to record one such
prayer from my hotel room one night.
That guy has no chance in Dubai Idol....no chance
An hour and a half down Sheik Zayed highway is Abu
Dhabi, which has an enormous mosque so I decided to tag along with my friend
Muna for a day trip (she was going there for work).
I was not disappointed as the mosque was absolutely spectacular.
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| Your building is bent :( |
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| Sheik Zayed Mosque |
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| Muna rocking the traditional hijab |
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| Main courtyard with beautiful tile art work....I have no idea what I'm doing |
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| The mosque houses the largest carpet in the world |
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| Men praying to the 99 names of Allah |
And that about does it for the UAE, next stop Nepal for my 2
week hike into the Himalayas!
Wow dude - incredible set of pictures. Looks like an awesome addition to the itin - any place around the world that is this unique needs to be visited.
ReplyDeleteI forwarded your concerns on Istanbul to a friend in Turkey - she'll clear it up for you/the world. Love the Total Recall ref - definetely was in that movie. Did you hit the slopes in that mall?
it was like $80 to hit the slopes....everything is insanely expensive in Dubai man. I wanted to go in the Burj Al Arab hotel for a few drinks and it was $40 minimum spend...nuts
ReplyDeleteSpectacular pics. They do everything in a big way which is easy when you've got the funds. Interesting that the town planning is lacking--- so even with all that money they don't have the expertise in all areas. Muna looks terrific--- what a great smile!
ReplyDeleteThis is such a nice blog to read. It is an interesting article. You have spoken your thoughts very well in this. The author has done a great job with this blog. Great.
ReplyDeleteproperty shop investment
But hey, that’s one of the reasons I wanted to come see it! No building here is older than 20 years basically, and most are less than 6 years....you can imagine how modern it is.
ReplyDeleteAl Raha Gardens