4 Arabian nights....
October 23, 2007
The Gold Souk in Deira, Dubai - definitely one of my 'window shopping' days!
Dubai was the last port of call
on this by-now legendary itinerary, to which I owe multi-stopover
flights a fair amount of debt. Weeks of researching into and planning
the entire trip resulted in being able to combat the high cost of hotel
rooms in Dubai by booking a budget-cost hotel room in the heart of
Deira, Dubai's business and expatriate area, which represented the
lower end of the city's opulent budget scale, but an area which was not
without its set of shopping, dining and entertainment options. The real
blight concerning the urban area of Dubai revealed itself almost
instantly - that the city had grown up at such a rapid and
out-of-control pace, that the roads could barely accommodate the sheer
volume of traffic, and as a result, getting from A to B felt like a
frustrating chore, set to test the patience level of even the most
unfazed traveller.
Welcome to the Burj Al Arab hotel - 7-star opulence and nothing less!
Window shopping though took on a whole new meaning,
as the exorbitantly-priced gold jewellry on display in Dubai's Gold
Souk made for excellent photo opportunities, it also outlined the
city's ostentatious wealth, and consumerist culture. One dynamic
shopping mall after another seemed to ram this point home, and the
entertainment factor of the Mall of the Emirates' adjoining indoor ski
slope, Ski Dubai, seemed to outline just how far the country had
progressed in innovative terms. A day out at the Wild Wadi water park
was enough to bring out the hedonist in anyone willing to give the
park's attractions a try, and its' location in between two prominent
landmark hotels, namely the ultra-opulent 7-star Burj Al Arab and
Jumeirah Beach hotel, made it feel like a visitor to the water park
also pertained to part of the high-flying jetset who frequented hotels
of that very ilk. Clearly, there's a lesson to be learned in just how
much off-shore oil reserves play a part in a country's economic
development, and Dubai's growth from its humble desertscape origins to
its current economic powerhouse status illustrates the exploitable
nature of these vital natural resources.
The Gold Souk in Deira, Dubai -
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Welcome to the Burj Al Arab hote
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Wild Wadi water park - more a ca
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Intricate stained-glass effect a
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Entrance to the Dubai Museum, Ba
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