No Mirages in this Desert

Eating lunch in TGIF in the Mall of the Emirates, turn right, you see the entrance. Turn left, you see skiers on the lift ready to hit the slopes.

Filling up bags in a candy store in Dubai Mall, turn around and you see divers exploring coral reefs with full grown sharks and sting rays swimming by.

I am in the middle of the desert, yet everywhere I look the lawns are perfectly cut and GREEN.

Driving on a western style highway, turn left, I see sand, rubble, the desert..turn right, I see green plants, flowers, and Dubai’s skyline with Burj Khalifa in the center, glittering into the clouds.

Is the 110 degree weather and 75% humidity making me see things? No, this is Dubai..there are no mirages in this desert. My friend Yesha, whom I stayed with, probably described it best, “This is a place of unrealistic realities”, where the impossible is all but possible and is sitting right in front of your eyes. Hello Dubai. Where ultra modern meets ultra conservative, truly east meets west, I feel like I’m in the twilight zone and I must admit..somewhat of a culture shock. I see women dressed head to toe in black hijabs and abayas, yet the very same clothes are bedazzled with jewels and they are shopping in Luis Vuitton etc. Even when I walked into Mango (stylish Spanish brand), they have conservative versions of this one dress I had been eyeing all summer. The airport (Terminal 3) feels like a lavish casino, each mall is bigger than the next..looking like 5^th ave and Rodeo Drive under a roof. You want the biggest and baddest of anything? Come to Dubai.

The first night, we had dinner at the Creek Club and watched another world cup match. This baller restaurant had an outside tent (with AC of course) and screens everywhere. In Dubai, you basically go from AC to AC (meaning AC in the car, walk out into a mall, restaurant, whatever with AC). When I stepped out of the car…yeh I was in the sauna of the Middle East (remember how I commented about humidity in Singapore..yeh that’s got nothin’ on Dubai). To my surprise, the tent was nice and cool, with the sweet smell of sheesha. At each table, there was a hookah, and the odors of the different flavors combining to produce a wonderful fruity aroma. After you smoke sheesha in the Middle East..the one I have at home is not so good. I think it’s the coal that they use, it’s much better than the crap I buy in the States.

I did a half day desert safari..drive out about 45 minutes from the heart of Dubai and you are in the depths of the desert. First was dune bashing – driving up and down the sand dunes in a 4x4 (word to the wise, don’t eat before you do this). After an hour..most of us were nauseous and told him to stop..it was a lot of fun though. When you walk in the sand..it’s the finest sand I’ve ever felt (two tone in color, one light beige, and one burnt orange) and you just sink into it. Setting foot onto a dune, you notice the patterns in the sand sculpted by the wind, it’s just gorgeous. Since it’s so windy, I ended up with sand in my mouth..chewing sand..is not too tasty. At the camp site, there are a couple of activities, camel riding, sand boarding, henna, sheesha, belly dancers etc. Sand boarding. I had to try it. Pretty much like snowboarding, but you don’t go as fast..and coming back up..what a work out. Sinking into the sand while carry a heavy snowboard..err sandboard? By the end of the night, I held my sneaker upside down for 30 seconds…and sand was still pouring out.

Comment about food – again like what happened in Thailand..I can no longer eat Middle Eastern food in the States..it tastes like crap. The falafel here…it’s so crispy and light..and the hummus, baba ghanoush, and pita..heaven. I tried some other Middle Eastern breads, and this salad with pomegranate..just wow.

The last day, I met up with another Kellogg admit, Jafar who lives in Dubai. We explored the old part of Dubai called Diera…eventually we had to get out of the car..and into the HEAT. We spent a couple of hours outside…taking a ferry across the river that separates old and new Dubai, walked through a souk (market), and went to Dubai Museum (which I really liked).

But as Jafar said and a few other folks I spoke to…in Dubai, anything WAS possible. After the recent debt crisis (essentially they financed long term projects with short term loans, and were unable to borrow any more $$ after the crisis), funds have dried up here and you’ll see many buildings have completed and just sitting there.

Some interesting things I learned about the culture:

 The UAE is made up of seven city states or emirates(Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, etc), each headed by a sheikh. They are all royalty and rule all aspects of government. Dubai itself has no oil, and through the vision of Sheikh Zayed had been turned into a western friendly place – thus they make $$ from tourism and logistics as it is a crucial port. Nobody pays taxes in Dubai and if you are an Emirati, you are taken care of (i.e. – education is paid for, university abroad, they are secured with jobs etc). However, as an expat, life is tougher..you have limited rights (i.e. – only a couple of years ago were non-Emiratis allowed to own property).

Burj Al Arab is the first 7 star hotel, and it’s on an island.

Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world, can be seen from 60 miles away, it’s unprecedented and defines Dubai’s style of anything is possible.

Friday and Saturday is the weekend here. Thus..you have to work on Sunday.

Houses on the Palm Jumeirah (man made island) each look like medieval castles and each of the palm leaves are named with letters.  At the end sits the majestic Atlantis hotel.

So I’ve been listening to a lot of Paco de Lucia (magician on the Spanish guitar)..which I guess means…I’m ready for Espana!!