Dubai, close up

It's nearing the end of our cruise and again, we're back in Dubai, where we boarded the ship. We have a day and a half here, and then we fly back to Hong Kong tomorrow night.

Dubai is an amazing city -- you walk through the place and you are gripped by what seems to be an endless optimism and exuberance. It's certainly a very young city -- most of the population seems to be young people (certainly a high birth rate helps), and most of the construction is new, too. Actually, the city looks very American -- wide freeways, sprawling strip malls and carparks. But of course, being much more glitzy and glam than any American city could ever claim to be.

The architecture of Dubai is also amazing -- I couldn't take pictures from the taxi, but Google for some photos and take a look at the skyscrapers. Now just having skyscrapers wouldn't be that big a deal, but the amazing thing is the way that they're building these things. Unlike Hong Kong, where the game is just to throw these things up in as cookie-cutter a shape as you can make them, it seems here that the architects are trying to outdo each other as much as they can. Most of the buildings are built in a way so that the insides of the building shows, bringing light into the deep recesses of the building. I noticed that some of the skyscrapers also have transparent lift shafts in the center of the building, and since the innards of the building is visible from the street, a passenger in the lift can see the view as he shoots up the building. And of course there are also lights. All the buildings are lit up so beautifully that they are almost like pieces of art.

Seriously, I don't think that it would be hyperbole to say that in such a city, the iconic Burj al-Arab isn't all that big a deal. Sure, it looks different, but then, all of the skyscrapers do, so what's so special about it?

(To be honest, the feeling that I get here is one of spending and consumerism gone out of control. It's almost like a "spend-it-while-you-can" mentality, and I suppose, with the price of oil so high, why not spend what you have? It's almost frightening, though also infectious at the same time. I can see why so many expats are attracted to living here. And yes, it sure is a very international and cosmopolitan city.)

The malls here are amazingly huge. I suppose that they are planning for the 5 months of boiling hot summer, when the temperatures can shoot up to 50 degrees Celsius and nobody wants to be outside. Then you really have nowhere to go but into the malls (sort of like the reverse of the Canadian winter). The malls here, though, are like megamalls -- there are malls inside malls.

Of course we couldn't resist a visit to the gigantic Mall of the Emirates, with the Ski Dubai resort inside. And gosh -- this is a feat of engineering. They have ski slopes (even a black slope), ski lifts, a snow cave, tobaggan runs, everything -- all inside a mall. And just to make sure that mall goers see what they are missing, there are windows looking into the ski area, so you could be wearing a t-shirt, drinking a soft drink, and watching people go by on a ski lift about 200 meters away!

I once swore that I would never ski again -- my last experience with skiing wasn't all that great -- but I got talked into doing it today. And finally I managed to learn enough to be able to take a ski lift and come down a blue slope, though I did fall once and had to be helped up since I couldn't get back onto my feet on my own. But it was fun and worth it. Who ever thought that I would manage to finally learn how to ski -- in Dubai?