Saturday, June 28, 2008

DUBAI EXPERIENCE


Going to Dubai City was an interesting experience, because this city offers a kaleidoscope of attractions for visitors.

I landed in Dubai early dawn. I stayed near the World Trade. This was a great location since I found out there are really two distinct areas of Dubai. The city center is where all of the old buildings, culture, and markets reside. Outside this area, nothing is older than ten years and they don't seem to be slowing down the building frenzy anytime soon. While in Dubai, I quickly learned that the city is addicted to luxury and nothing there is cheap.

The first morning, I explored the city center and the markets to get my fill of culture and sufficiently satisfy the nerd in me. It was cool walking through the city and witness the call to prayer come over the loud speaker six times a day, it was really a culture shock for me.

One of the most amazing experiences is Ski Dubai, a ski resort of 2 slopes in the Mall of Emirates Ski Dubai is the most captivating contrast: imagine yourself coming from the outside with temperature of 40 degres and then changing, put on your skis and taking the lift…a total amazing immersion in a fake world…Ski Dubai may be controversial, crazy, sick, whatever….it is definitely a HOT VENUE!

In all, Dubai was a great experience, but a little strange. They have so much money they don't know what to do with it. Already they have plans to build a much larger mall around the Burj Dubai, which is planned to be the tallest building in the world (with provisions that allow additional floors if some other country tries to build a taller monstrosity). I don't think I could live there, but it's definitely worth checking out for a few days, especially if money is burning a hole in your pocket.