Dubai is above and beyond the call of its self appointed duty to be bigger, better, or at least more opulent than the rest of the world. Within a couple of square miles, the formerly “new Dubai” hosts the world’s biggest artificial ski slope, three 5 star large hotels connected by a network of canals, the iconic sail shaped Burg Al Arab, and the man-made Palm Jumeirah – a massive land development shaped like a palm with a surrounding circle built atop the Arabian Gulf.
The ski slope is in the Mall of the Emirates. Shoppers can watch snow boarders and skiers go up the ski lift and down the hill from the five story windows. The entry price includes the rental of equipment and coats. Floor length ski coats can be rented for the men in dishdashes and women in abiyas. There’s a small corkscrewed tobaggan hill and a large space to just play in the artificial snow. The temperature inside is about 34 degrees. Within a few years, Emiratis can travel to the Snow Dome which will glimmer out in the desert. Of course, it will be the largest in the world.
Madinat Jumeirah is one of the older major hotel complexes (at least three years old!) that tries to capture traditional Arabic architecture. Annie and I floated in a guided, covered wooden boat through a network of grandiose hotels, villas, and infinity pools nestled among red, white and pink bougainvillas and palm trees. I could hear birds and watch an occasional, obscenely rich tourist/hotel guest pop out of the proverbial jungle. I felt far removed from the bustling city less than three city blocks away. I’m going to take another shot at including pics here – some of the one I’m thinking of will include the Madinat Jumeriah landscape and have the neighboring Burg Al Arab in the background.
Burg Al Arab is the world’s only 7 star hotel because each suite has it’s own butler and everything is gold plated among other reasons. To my big disappointment, we did not get to go inside because entry is severely restricted due to a recent shooting there. Even if we could get in, I wasn’t sure I was willing to pay the US$100 or so entry just to get in and order, at minimum, a drink or something. Alas, nothing to report here about the world famous sky bar – the tube shape projection near the top or the aquarium inside the restaurant. My friends tell me that the food isn’t that great and dreadfully overpriced so I feel somewhat consoled. Still, though, if only I could have gone to the bathroom! I take obscure pride in admitting that I’ve discreetly gawked my way thru several of the world’s finest hotels by walking boldly through them to find the undoubtedly spotless women’s bathrooms. Nothing ventured, nothing gained and I haven’t been stopped yet although my clothes might scream backpacker and smell worse.
We later ventured out to the Hotel Atlantis which crowns the circle enclosing the palm shaped man made “island” called Palm Jumeirah. Hopefully, the attached picture will show the number of buildings that are already up. Much of this new construction has been purchased by overseas investors on speculation that the prices will skyrocket as the cachet of living on one of the world’s largest man made “island” gains further renown. When financing gets secured, the same developer will build two more palms and the World over the next few years. The previous post buildings of Dubai has a link to what these constructs would look like. The developing company is partially owned by the royal family so I’m sure they will eventually come to pass but I just don’t see how the transportation infrastructure will be able to support all these new developments which will only have two ways to enter and exit the palms – the light rail under construction and a four lane road for 60,000 plus future residents in each one. I know, I know, too much the realist. After all, Dubai’s leader, Sheikh Mohammed, believes that the length of a country’s coastline reflects the country’s quality of life and wealth.
Dubai’s plan to be above and beyond is working. I’m in Croatia now and in my second conversation with a Croatian person after asking about the bus station location, the woman asked me about what I thought about the Burg Al Arab and the palm shaped developments. So, if you didn’t already know about Dubai’s forefront role in architecture, I hope this blog has given you a glimmer into it’s prominence on the world stage.
If you haven’t already, I encourage you to check out the links about Dubai construction in the previous post. I did try to take pictures of the snow slope but the window’s reflection glare was too much for my fledgling photography skills.
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