Arrival:
This year I got to escape the rain of Dublin again and this time it was eastwards to the ever expanding city of Dubai. I have lived, partied and worked in Al Ain and in Abu Dhabi, but have only spent a day here and there in Dubai so this was a new experience for me. I flew into Abu Dhabi (for old times sake and also because Etihad was half the price!). Five Emirati immigration officers were trying to cope with the vast sea of people arriving into Abu Dhabi airport. I was astounded having been away 3 years, it seemed that suddenly the UAE had become the most popular christmas destination for people from every corner of the world! When I eventually got up to the officer a few words of Arabic on my my part made his night, and I was reminded of the advantages of simple communication in making a tired man smile.
Cityscape of Dubai
The roads and the metro:
Racing down the 6 lane highway with monstrous cars whizzing by on either side and I was reminded of the insane lack of people sense of mortality on the roads. Sheikh Zayed Road had always intrigued me in years past and here I was to stay during my time in Dubai. I remember years past (1992 to be exact) driving back from Deira in search of the road to Al Ain and using the Trade Centre to find out way; the Trade Centre today is dwarfed by the vastness of so many other buildings towering on either side of Sheikh Zayed Road including Burj Khalifa (the tallest building in the world). Dubai is now an array of flyovers, underpasses and slip-roads where even the world's most experienced drivers face a nerve-wracking outing. Despite having a population of just under 2 million, Dubai covers a vast area unrelated to the size of the population. This means that residents spend a large portion of their days in cars and traffic.
Thankfully someone somewhere at some stage (obviously with a geography or planning background) proposed the idea of the Dubai metro - a shinning oasis in sea of concrete. Although it does not cover the entire city, it was a welcome adventure and a fresh way to see the city.
Foods:
One of the best things about the UAE in my opinion is the food - not the local food of rice and mutton I'm afraid but the vast array of ethnic food from so many different places. The reason for it's incredible quality is the multicultural nature of the workforce in the UAE, and hence rather than restaurants opening to cater to the Western 'idea' of a particular ethnic food they are catering to the 'ethnics'! The best Indian, Lebanese, Thai, Sushi, Sudanese, Mongolian, Chinese and Afgani I have eaten (outside of the original countries of course) has been in the UAE. This visit was not to disappoint this previous record. The other interesting observation I have of the social aspect of food in the UAE is lack of social class association with the event of dining out. Two of the best Indian restaurants I have been to are small sparsely decorated with questionable hygiene records frequented by every nationality and type of migrant worker in the UAE. From the oil engineer to the construction worker hanging from his scaffolding 60 floors, when they find themselves down to eat all that matters is the food. The same is true of more upmarket restaurants and locations (although cost does feature as an obstacle here), where nationality or employment is left at the door and the food becomes the social currency. In a society where 75% of the population are migrant workers, food as a unifying element allows for the bridging of difference.
 |
| Afternoon tea treats |
 |
| Yummy Lebanese food all gone |
 |
| Liberian coffee in the Global Village |
The malls and other shopping activities:
From food to shopping, and another factor where people in Dubai can walk side by side and observe each others cultural peculiarities. The first mall opened in Dubai in the early 1990s but today it's legacy is simply a name on the new metro system. A immense change from the small boutique style shops clustered together in roadside arcades or the more traditional souk or market, the grow of these malls was an exciting prospect it seemed to the Dubai of the early 1990s. They offered a location where people could escape the blazing sun in the summer and where the parents of teenagers could deposit their charges to roam the neon halls. They were an exciting addition to the growing diversity of social activities and architecture in the UAE and Dubai specifically. I remember journeying up to IKEA in the Deira City Centre mall excited by the prospect of wandering amongst the display rooms - City Centre mall now is almost insignificant in its reputation. Since 2004 it seems to me that a new mall has opened in Dubai every year, each trying to be bigger and better than the last. The two most recent are the Ferraris of malls with the Mall of the Emirates housing the controversial 'Ski Dubai' and the Dubai Mall lying in the shadow of Burj Khalifa. There is talk now of the building of the largest mall in the world, a mall that will outshine all other malls because that is Dubai's legacy it must be the biggest, the brightest, the best. The sad reality my dear blog reader is a loss of perspective - gone is the excitement I felt and observed when new places were opened, now it happens all the time and the romance of is gone. The mall today is a place you must go with a route planned before you get there to avoid getting lost amongst the miles of identical corridors, a place which becomes dangerously unpleasant at the weekend as people throng together to wander aimlessly around the overpriced shops. My advise to friends visiting Dubai is yes you must see the malls if only to gaze upon the absurdity of their architectural lack of vision and their unrealistic longterm survival as each new mall built tries to outlive the last.
Mall including constructed waterway
A legacy of the past but fortunately still a part of of the current landscape of Dubai although certainly having seen better days is the traditional souks of the city. One of my favourites is Karama where one can find clothes, shoes and bags from every famous designer in the world. This visit I also visited the souks down by the Dubai creek one of which is for the tourists, but the second Souk Naif is a gem full of scarves and clothes where the local Emirati women go to bargain to within an inch of the life of the salesman. Sitting in the small juice stalls outside the souk watching the patchwork of people from every country going about their business of shopping and eating, is one of the more pleasant Dubai experiences.
 |
| 'Older' building near the souks in central Dubai |
 |
| Souk Naif - bargain central |
Another shopping gem in Dubai is the Global Village which now runs from November until March and is housed in its own vast complex on the edge of the city. When I worked in Abu Dhabi the Global Village was a tent located in the centre of Dubai and we spent hours queuing to find parking and make our way in - another example of the 'let's make it bigger' ideology of Dubai. It was then and it is still a wonderful experience where traders from all over the world run stalls displaying the crafts and products of their country. It is a chance to chat to traders from all over the world, hear the news of their part of the world and marvel at the array of colours and smells of every description.
People:
As always the most fabulous part of any holiday or indeed any place is the people who hare the experience with me. It was lovely to spend some quality relaxing time with my mum, wee sis and favourite brother-in-law; sitting around the apartment in our pjs eating our fill and learning to play the ukulele. Last year I had the pleasure of sending New Year and the first week of 2012 with my aunt Ber and family in California and this year we spent the first week of 2013 in Dubai together - where will it be next year! Having come and gone from the UAE for 20 years there will always be people there that always make me feel right at home like an extension of my own family. It was also amazing to hang out with two of my favourite chicas from the Abu Dhabi days, Shazia and Tufaina you have not changed a bit. It was also lovely to catch up with good friends and their growing young families, to Steph and Vickie and their beautiful children.
 |
| Di and I watching the sunset by the Burj Al Arab |
 |
| Shazia, Tufaina and I |
Afternoon tea at the top of the world:
When in Rome do as the Romans it would seem is the attitude one must take to enjoy the 'constructed splendor' that is Dubai. I did it in style with a lovely afternoon with Jo and Ber at the Atmosphere Lounge on the 123rd floor of Burj Dubai. The company was stimulating, the food delicious and the tea exquisite, but the most interesting aspect was that up there above the city the real reality of Dubai becomes apparent - it is a constructed facade where just beyond the outer ring road lies the endless desert!
 |
| Jo and Ber enjoying their tea on the 123rd floor |
 |
| Sunset over the city |
Hence another experience that I can put attribute to being in Dubai is the opportunity to try things that seem crazy elsewhere both environmentally and from a humane perspective, but when in Dubai one must see themselves as being in an alternative reality - it is the only way to make it out the other side...
2 comments:
wish i was there too!
wish i was there too!
Post a Comment