In May I had a trip to Dubai for work. We were setting up a partner to sell and support our software in Dubai, so it was a work trip for me, unfortunately Kim didn't come. I only had a day and a half on my own to check out the town, and what a town indeed. I'm still trying to figure out this place!
To put it bluntly, it's a city that shouldn't really exist. When you look out from the top of the Burj Khalifa, it's just pure desert, like Vegas I guess. The city has grown tremendously quickly in the past 30 years, basically from nothing, but the economic crisis has certainly had its toll: virtually every building under construction is stalled and on hold. It will be interesting to see how they cope with the new economy post crisis. They had such big plans, including a new massive airport (in addition to the already new massive airport they just built). Now all these building are just sitting there, partly completed, being bombarded by wind, sand and salt air. As my colleague in Dubai said: it's like buying a Ferrari, opening up the hood and just leaving it in the desert, then coming back in a few years and expecting it to start. It will take untold millions just to get these buildings ready to complete the construction.
During my day to myself, I jumped on an open air bus tour that went from downtown, out to the old Dubai. There I found a tiny little Indian restaurant and had a huge plate of Indian food and a drink for about 2 euros. A far cry from the western prices of 8-10 euros for a beer in the bars in the centre of town. I also had to opportunity to go up the worlds tallest building, the stunning Burj Khalifa. When you look down at the city below you feel like you are in an architects office looking at a model of a future development. It's really quite surreal being up there.
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| Burj Khalifa. 625m high and if you look closely at the top you can see it's shadow that extends hundreds of metres in the sky. Amazing! |
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| The Address Hotel. Sat at the outdoor bar and watched the fountain show. Was like being at an all inclusive resort |
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| View from the top of the Burj |
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| Fountain and music show |
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| Old Dubai - definitely different than the new glitzy Dubai |
If you go to Dubai, make sure you get a chance to see both new and old Dubai. The open air bus is a good way to get around. If you like shopping Dubai is the place for you. Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to see the massive aquarium in the Dubai mall, but maybe next time. I have also heard the desert expeditions are great; they take you 4x4ing on the dunes, bbq dinner and belly dancers.
Stay tuned for more, as Kim and I have lots of writing and catching up to do. Next up: our fantastic trip to Croatia.
