Dubai was impressive.
No one, in their right mind, that visits this extravagant city would ever deny it.
It’s visionary.
It’s innovative.
It’s very much like being thrust into the future.
I do like it… but… it’s so big… and new… and shiny… and so… magical, yet unreal. It’s so incredibly unreal… and surreal… that it’s almost fake, but extraordinary. It’s luxury and opulent… with futuristic architecture making it a leader in global innovation.
It’s tough to wrap your head around all this bling bling. There is money money everywhere. More money than I can even imagine. Billions. Trillions. I’ve seen cars I’ve never seen before. I’ve seen brands I’ve never even heard of. The affluence here is well beyond the limitations of my imagination. The entire city is mint.
Dubai is flush.
Everything is bigger and better.
Apparently, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum travels around the world… and if he sees something he likes, he builds it in Dubai. He went to London and liked Big Ben, so now Dubai has a Bigger Ben. He went to New York and liked the Chrysler Building. Now Dubai has two of them.
Projects like the Dubai Marina were modeled after luxury waterfront developments in cities like Vancouver… and is now one of the largest man-made marinas in the world.
Outside of the luxurious Dubai Mall were the iconic Dubai Fountains…. inspired by the famous Bellagio Fountains in Las Vegas. This vibrant area is regarded as the heart of downtown Dubai, serving as a renowned destination for both tourists and locals.
The Fountain exhibition begins each evening as the sun is setting. The water is choreographed to perform intricate movements in sync with a variety of Arabian music and dazzling lights. If that breathtaking spectacle isn’t enough, the backdrop of sparkling skyscrapers adds to the magic of it all.
Towering majestically above the skyline, the awe-inspiring Burj Khalifa stands as a brilliant masterpiece.
~ The Burj Khalifa stands at a
staggering height of 828 meters (2,717 feet), making it the tallest structure on Earth.
~ It has 163 floors, the highest number of floors in any building.
~ The Burj Khalifa features 57 elevators and 8 escalators.
~ The design is inspired by the Hymenocallis flower,
featuring a central core withe three lobes extending outward.
~ Over 12,000 workers were involved in its construction, at the peak of the project.
~ The total cost of the project.was approximately $1.5 billion USD.
It’s huge.
Gargantuan.
You hurt your neck looking up at it.
You have to give the Arabs credit. Dubai has successfully turned a barren desert into a metropolis. They truly are a symbol of limitless ambition.
If you build it, they will come.
Literally.
I’m liking this Shiek. He may rule through dictatorship, but he’s fair and seems to care about his people and his state. No one - including himself - is above the law.
There is no garbage on the streets, no graffiti, no homeless, no drug addicts, no crime. Dubai is the third safest city in the world. Apparently there are cameras everywhere, so no one would do anything for fear of getting caught. I was told that you could forget your iPhone on a park bench and come back a few days later and it would still be there. People leave their keys in their cars and their front doors open. I guess citizens fear the wrath of persecution if they mess up… or worse… face deportation. It’s the unwritten rule… you behave… or you get out.
There are virtual police stations, Smart Stations, everywhere. You can wander into any of these and have a coffee, use the facilities, read one of the Shiekh’s autobiographies, take a load off and enjoy the air conditioning of the lounge… AND speak to a police officer online to report a crime, air your grievance, pay a fine or simply ask a question. There are even a couple things to keep the children occupied and entertained while you get down to police business.
Being a dry country, it was thought highly unusual for the Shiekh to allow bars & restaurants to serve alcohol. In many interviews, he was pressed on the subject. He was asked why he would do such a thing, considering…
His response was simple.
“I am catering to my guests. If they want alcohol while they are visiting, they shall have it.”
Smart… I think he had the foresight to see that tourism could soon be their greatest source of income. Dubai has strategically implemented policies to balance its cultural and religious traditions with the needs of a global tourism hub. He was then asked, “what if your people indulge in the consumption of alcohol?”
Again, his response was reasonable.
“My people can make their own choice.”
He’s a good Shiekh and people love & respect him. He is revered for his visionary leadership, economic growth, progressive policies, global influence, philanthropy, cultural preservation and so much more. He has a real connection with his people and it shows. His photo is everywhere.
Sure… there’s no democracy and no such thing as freedom of speech, but things get done. Quickly. Nothing gets buried in paperwork, endless meetings or bureaucratic bs.
The United Arab Emirates is composed of seven emirates, each governed by a ruling family headed by a sheikh. They came together in 1971 under the vision of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the ruler of Abu Dhabi, who is widely regarded as the “Father of the Nation.”
An interesting fact is that the position of Shiekh does not fall to the eldest son when the Shiekh passes away. Instead the Shiekh appoints the son he feels best suits the position and who he wants to carry on his legacy and the work he’s done.
He has already appointed his 4th son.
I, like most people, assumed that the number one money maker here was oil.
Wrong.
It is… and perhaps not so much in this order…
Tourism & hospitality - Dubai attracts more than 13 million people every year.
Real Estate - Dubai attracts investment from across the globe.
Trade - as their airport is one of the largest in the world, its free trade zones like attract global companies seeking a tax-efficient base.
Emirates Airlines - one of the largest airlines in the world.
Dubai Airport - global leader in International passenger traffic.
Wow.
I’d heard of a possible Tim Horton’s here in Dubai and I’d decided to make it my mission to find it. Turns out I didn’t have to do much searching, as there’s quite a few. It seems that Canada’s favourite coffee hotspot is fairly popular here. I visited one, for the photo opportunity, and treated myself to a Dubai Timbit.
How could I not?
The following day, I decided it was time to get a little bit of culture and history and I signed up to do a tour of the old souks in the old town of Dubai. Dubai is split up into two different regions. The locals call the old Dubai, the real Dubai… and the new Dubai, the fake Dubai.
Fitting…
Our guide was wonderful and took us along the riverside markets, through the spice souk and the gold souk.
Vendors are the same the world over. I understand that they’re desperate to make a living, but hearing the same thing over and over…. and it’s overly persistent and borderline aggressive. They really just mimic each other.
It begins to grate after a while. You do have to avoid eye contact at all times and never show an ounce of interest.
“Where are you from?”
“Come look! Looking is free.”
Or my personal favourite, “You PROMISED to come look!”
Ugh.
I didn’t buy any spice, nor did I indulge in any gold… (though I did momentarily consider it)… but I did splurge on a couple pillow cases and an embroidered purse. I’m clearly not in a position to be buying a lot of things that I’ll have to carry around for the next few months, nor do I have much money to spare. But, in that moment, I was convinced that these items were absolutely essential. It felt like it would have been a BIG mistake not to buy them.
HUGE.
Life threatening.
The guide taught us how to tell real saffron from imitation, how to smoke perfume yourself and how to best get rid of a sore throat. Did you know that saffron naturally slows down the aging process? I should’ve loaded up on that.
But I didn’t.
We had Arabic coffee and were told that when guests arrive to visit the man of the house, it is the wife who decides how long the guest will stay by the size of the coffee cups she uses to serve the coffee. A large cup may mean an hour or so… whereas the small is 10-15 minutes and beat it!
I did purchase a small bag of eucalyptus crystals though.
Don’t ask…
I don’t know why.
From there, I decided to try my luck on the Dubai metro. Public transportation is so much cheaper than taxis but can certainly be intimidating when you’re new to the maps and the ticketing system and very ignorant in regard to how things work. I was lucky and had a few people to help me.
There is always someone to help here. The people are so kind.
I’m at a bit of a loss because I don’t have wifi. I tried to purchase an eSIM but was denied. For some reason, unbeknownst to me, airolo cannot sell esims to anyone in the UAE. So… I have to wait until I cross the border into Oman. For the next few days, I will have to be solely reliant on free wifi provided in a scattering of places.
I chose the Dubai Marina as my metro destination. This is a huge city and I was on the train for the better part of an hour. I strolled along the marina for about a couple hours. It was ok… but not a lot of character. Just new. I didn’t even get near the ocean, as waterfront was owned by posh hotels that I could hardly afford to step into. I finally jumped into a taxi and made my way back to the Dubai mall to meet Franny for dinner.
Seems odd that I have a friend in Dubai, but I do. I met Franny when I was volunteering in Arusha, Tanzania. She’s originally from Germany but now works in Dubai as a marketing executive and part-time model. The ‘modelling’ part was a little intimidating as I couldn’t be further on the other side of the spectrum. Regardless, I put on my cleanest, least smelliest clothes and headed out to meet her for a lovely meal at one of her favourite Indian restaurants. It was fabulous to see her and afterwards, we wandered around downtown she pointed out some of the brilliant highlights of the vibrant city.
It was an early evening, as I was set to meet my Madventures tour the following morning. Thought it might be a good idea to get some laundry done and avoid turning up a dirty, stinky mess.
I took my small bag of personals to the front desk...
Rookie mistake.
My bill was 160 dirham.
ROOKIE.
That’s the equivalent of about $60 CND.
WHAT????
I almost fell over when they handed me the bill. I could’ve thrown all those clothes away and re-bought brand new… THREE TIMES.
I’m not kidding.
Three times.
The moral of this story?
Don’t do laundry in hotels.
I was livid.
Still am…
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