Dubai Cruise - Before the Cruise (Jan 24 - Jan 26th)

I've heard a lot about Dubai prior to coming here. Mostly on the architectural accolades like the Burj Kalifa being the tallest building in the world and Ski Dubai being the biggest indoor skiing center and Dubai Mall being the biggest in the world.

Atlantis Hotel @ the Palm Islands

All those were true and I was quite impressed. However, I love culture, history, and heritage, so I was looking for more than modern Dubai. I wanted to understand why arabian women wrapped themselves in black from head to toe; Why there was a man chanting 5 times a day through a loud speaker throughout the city. I wanted to know what was here before all the skyscrapers and how did this city seemingly sprouted from no where in the last few years; and I wanted to know what their traditional meals were like and if they truly ate with their right hand and did their other business with their left.

Architectural Heritage Office at Bastakiya

Seating area overlooking Bastakiya

I got here by myself one day early, before the rest of my traveling posse. So I made sure to hit the things I liked because I know that the rest of my group may not appreciate culture the same way I do. I started in old Dubai, an area called Bastakiya where there were still the original earth toned cluster of buildings that Dubai grew out of. Many of these are restored and have now been turned into quaint little artists shops and cafes. It was a great area to just roam around, although the day that I went, it was more like a ghost town. What I realized from the locals was that it was Friday, which was the big prayer day for the Islamists. This was not dissimilar from what a Sunday is for Christians and a Saturday is for the Jews. I made a point of getting out their early to capitalize on my time but found out that many shops would be closed today and those that are open won't be until 2:30 after the major prayer session of the day.

Beam and ceiling detail typical of Souks

Man walking to the Mosque

Men in getting ready for prayer at the Bastakiya Mosque

With my camera in hand, I happily spent the time photoshooting the local buildings and architectural details. Praying was very important to the locals and they will pretty much pray anywhere once its time.  I was walking around listening to the "chant", a calling over loudspeaker for people to pray. Most people made their way to the local Mosques but many of them will actually drop on their knees in the middle of the street and alleyways if they are not close enough to the Mosque.

Yes, that men praying in alleyways.

And even on the streets.

After witnessing the big prayer extravaganza, I took a local boat (called the Dhow) ride to the other side of the creek where the old silk and gold markets still are today. The boat ride down to through the creek reminded me of what a drive down a local busy city street of china and vietnam would be; both chaotic and exciting at the same time. The driver was experienced but left no room for comfort, not for the foreigners at least. Luckily, I preferred that type of driving myself so I was more amused than frightened.

Lamp detail at the local souk (a.k.a. market)

Locals buying slippers at the silk souk

The next day, the rest of the family came and we went to check out modern Dubai. First stop was the Burj Kallifa, touted as the tallest building in the world. It was a mixed-use building consisting of offices, hotel, and private suites designed and furnished by none other than Georgio Armani himself. From the skyline, this building was double the height of anything else around it. It was 200 stories tall and took about 6 years to complete, officially opening January 2010. We were smart enough to book to go to the observatory before coming here which costed $25 USD. For the on-site ticket purchase, you would have to shell out $100 USD just to get up there; and even at that, it was hard to get availability. After about 20 minutes of queuing, we finally got into what I would presume to be the world's fastest elevator, befitting to be in the world's tallest tower. We were zoomed up to the 124th floor in exactly 1 min and 15 seconds. The ride was very smooth and we didn't even feel it. You could've told me that we were locked up in a small non-motion room and I would've believed you. The observatory was fairly standard and actually less exciting than a few other towers I've been to mainly because Dubai didn't have the city views to justify it. There was the cluster of buildings, but beyond that, it was a stretch of desert. We were fortunate that it was a clear day though because the visibility wasn't great on the other days we were there.

Burj Kalifa in all it's glory

I made it to the top!
Well, the observatory at least.

Looking down at the fountain.
The black lines are the water spouts for the fountain.

Desert skyline.

The family at the top.

Rain drops falling on my head....

After coming down, we spent some time in Dubai Mall which was right at the bottom of the tower anyways. Dubai Mall boasts an indoor ice skating rink and an Aquarium with the world's biggest span of clear acrylic panel, recognized by Guiness themselves. Walking through the mall, we didn't miss home at all. Many of the north american brands were well represented here. We saw three Tim Horton's by now, a Seattle's Best Coffee, Aldo, La Senza and even Dunkin Donuts. A nice little gem I found was a Ducati shop which doubled as a cafe and Ducati merchandise store. I spent some time drooling over the stuff and shop design and was happy.

Aquarium with world's largest acrylic panel

Hanging out at Dubai Mall

The Waterfall at Dubai Mall was very cool!

Ice skating in the mall.

With a penguin friend too.

Yummy... Ducati...

For the afternoon, we signed up for a desert safari where we experienced what it was like driving crazily in a 4x4 on desert dunes. I liked it! We finished off the night having a BBQ meal in a arabian desert camp with the entertainment of the local dance and belly dance. It was a great night in the desert under the clear desert moonlight.

Playing in the sand dunes.

At the top of the dunes.

Janey trying out Henna for the 1st time

Kirsten bunny earing herself

The local arabian dance

Belly dance at night

Eating in an arabian hut

Riding camels in the sunset

The next day, we went to the Mall of Emirates which was the largest mall until Dubai Mall took over the throne. Our main destination was to check out Ski Dubai though. Imagine a ski destination in a desert? Come on, who could resist. I took Kirsten in and actually had a lot of fun in the Snowpark, which had a bobsled trail, a kid's toboggan slide, and a larger double person toboggan slide. Kirsten had so much fun that she kept on saying "Again, again!" The engineering behind this complex was quite amazing. They managed to fit a few runs for beginner and advanced along with two chair lifts. This is beside the kids play area. As I looked around, I saw large fans and compressors high up in the wall. Crudely speaking, I was skiing inside a large walk-in cooler, but it was a lot of fun!

Kirsten & I at Ski Dubai

Kirsten enjoying the sled

We had made reservations for dinner at the Burg Al Arab, Dubai's first famous building in the shape of a large sail. They wanted to be a hotel in the water and the sail symbolism was representative of early Arabian life where they would fish and dive for peals off sail boats. This hotel was the world's first 7 star hotel and it was more exclusive than a back stage pass to a Lady Gaga show. You cannot even get on the reclaimed island without paying a $100 admission or having a reservation to the hotel, which ranges from $1800 USD/night to $18,000. Yes, that was 5 digits a night baby! The architecture of the building was quite stunning but the interiors was not my cup of tea so to speak. It was decked out in bright blue, reds, and gold patterns, probably paying homage to the arabian style, a little too gaudy for me.

The Burj Al Arab in the backdrop

Kirsten & Cadence photo op.

Kirsten & I

Janey looking pretty in the evening

Overall, the visit was pleasant and it was quite amazing to experience the effects of Dubai's monumental growth. One question that I had throughout my visit was how can they grow so big, so quick. Dubai was nothing more than a small desert town in the 70's. When the seven local Emirates decided to band together to form what is now known as the United Arab Emirates, Dubai started to build the infrastructures for a modern city. The amazing thing is that 80% of the new downtown buildings was built in the last 5 years. I learnt that there is no taxes what so ever in Dubai. No income tax, no sales tax. A foreign company can come in and keep everything they make. Imagine if that was true at home? We would all be 40% richer or can choose to work half as much. I was wondering if this is because the local monarchy was rich enough with oil, but apparently, this was not the case for Dubai. The capital city, Abu Dhabi was were the oil money is. Dubai makes their money off tourism and trade. But I can see how having a no tax policy can attract a lot of commerce and tourists very quickly. So I think some credit should go to the king for being open minded and open for growth.

Modern mall, traditional wear.

Dubai is an interesting city where the old intersects the new. You will see many local arabians dressed in long traditional wear, some of which still respect tradition with their black or white headpieces, but some mixing the white bedsheet like gown with a baseball cap. This is all layered in with a americanized city and capital system. From the local 16 lane highway reminiscent of Vegas, to the tall glass towers; sometimes, it was hard to imagine that I am actually half way around the world in the middle east. Especially, when I am walking in a mall, shopping at H&M while listening to the Pussy Cat Dolls and Niki Minaj.