Dubai...
What can I say about Dubai, that hasn't already been said?
I travelled there in mid-July, the temperature ranged from 32-38 Degrees Celsius att night. During the day it was an astronomical 43. Hot Hot Hot! British tourists temporarily migrate to foreign shores in search of Sea, Sand & Sun in their millions each year, most would find the temperatures of the Arabian summer unbearably hot. Not me! The hotter the better!
Dubai is a city of excesses, not just the weather. Everything. Skyscrapers, shopping malls, fast cars racing along Sheikh Zayed Road, man-made islands, amazing beaches and exclusive hotels. They have them all in abundance. It was evident after a day that this would be the perfect place to relax and get away from it all.
Amongst my favourite attractions were the insanely tall, completely unreal looking Burj Khalifa; the dancing fountains just outside it (they danced to Michael Jackson's Thriller... awesome!); the bizarre things they have in their malls: Aquariums, Zoos and Café's made almost entirely out of ice; the refreshing Mint Lemonade drinks that are sold everywhere and the fascinating range of architecture on display.
Everything is so clean, fresh and new! The Metro light railway opened 18 months ago but looks no more than a day old. A common gripe people have with Dubai is the 'strict' nature of the rules, in fairness though any rules are there for a reason. The place is safe and the people have respect for one another, it makes for such a calm, relaxed environment.
If you ever watched the program 'Women In Black' on the BBC with Amani Zain it showed the Emirati women living the high-life. Wow, she wasn't wrong! So many of them walking around with designer shoes, handbags and shopping bags. It was a fairly surreal experience considering the western media like to portray Muslim women as the oppressed.
It's not all sunshine and designer labels though. Most of the taxi-drivers and service workers work 12 hour days 6 or 7 days a week just to get by and send money back home to their families. Unsurprisingly, they don't enjoy Dubai quite so much.
Here a few out of the hundreds of photos (yes, really!) that were taken:
Hijabis on their Blackberrys :)
The huge Aquarium in the Dubai Mall!
Penguins from the mini zoo at the Dubai Mall. Say whaaa?!
Chillis!
The dancing fountains.
At The Top of the Burj Khalifa.
Mint Lemonade, oh how I miss that refreshing sweet drink!
Atlantis!
The famous Sheikh Zayed Road.
My first ever Pinkberry experience which has got me hooked to frozen yogurt!
The ice cafe - Chillout.
The tallest building in the world - The Burj Khalifa.
How unreal does the Burj Khalifa look?!
The super clean Metro Station
Dubai Marina.
Saving the best till last. The breath taking view from the top of the Burj Khalifa. Words can not describe how amazing this looks.
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