Dubai

Gosh, where to start.

I have been there multiple times since 2001 and it still continues to stun me. The highlights of my stop in Dubai were tea at the Burj Al Arab (the only seven star hotel in the world), Burj Khalifa (the tallest building in the world), Palm Island (the man-made island in the shape of a palm tree) and the Dubai Fountain (which makes the Bellagio’s water performances look like a small child’s toy).

The infamous Burj Al Arab, the hotel in the shape of a sail on a man-made island, is so exclusive you need a reservation just to get within 300 meters of the building. So our Chief Accountant, Nadja, and I made reservations for “Sky Tea.”

This is the Burj Al Arab on a regrettably hazy day.



The building is incredible in a lot of ways, but the feature I appreciated the most was the atrium. This is what you see looking up the 27 floor atrium in the lobby.



The building was ornate in a slightly middle-eastern way, for example, the elevators for example were entirely covered with stylish Arabic calligraphy. (I should have taken more pictures.)

“Sky Tea,” on the 27th floor, over looks all of Dubai. In one direction is the city, in another direction is “The World” (a collection of man-made, sense a theme here, islands designed to appear to be a map of the world when viewed from above) and in another direction is Palm Island. (I should have taken more pictures.)

Tea began with Champagne and berries with cream, followed by a tower (in the shape of a sail) of decadent crust less sandwiches and canapés, scones with clotted creams and jams and finally petits fours. It was a lovely afternoon with a ridiculous amount of food. (I should have taken more pictures.)

Dubai has a thing for aquariums. There were aquariums everywhere. It seems kind of odd to have aquariums in the desert but Dubai began as a fishing village, so maybe it is not so strange. And these were aquariums unlike any you have ever seen before. They were done Dubai style, which is to say massive. I honestly think that the aquarium at the Dubai Mall is bigger than anything the Monterey Bay Aquarium has. This is a picture of just part of the aquarium in the Dubai Mall.



The Dubai Fountain is a huge lake in front of the Burj Khalif with scheduled fountain shows much like the Bellagio’s but on a much grander scale. One of the things that makes it such an experience is the music that the water performs to is traditional Arab music. It is the sort of thing you have to see to appreciate. (I should have taken pictures.)

This is the Burj Khalifa.



So let’s talk about Dubai’s bus stops. Strange topic, I know… but they are air conditioned, so they have to be mentioned.

The bus stop is on the right.



Islam touches aspects of life which never occurred to me. There was a park where, on Mondays, only women and children were permitted.

As with most any where, the re is a dark side to Dubai and to be well-rounded I should really mention the underclass of predominantly Indians which work slavery hours to continue to build the city for laughable wages or the way some women are treated and practically imprisoned. (OK, points mentioned.)

It is, nonetheless, an incredible city.

Cool: Dubai

Stupid: Not taking enough pictures