22 Feb 08 Dubai, the good, the bad, the ugly.
This morning we set out on a city tour. Since it is Friday, the Moslem "Sunday", most stores are closed, so shopping was pretty much out of the question. Not that we didn't try.
In overview, Dubai is pretty much like the high rise parts of LA, but with more English language signs.
We bused out to the Palm Island, a man made island, shaped like, guess what, a palm tree. It is the first of three or four, depending on how the money holdes out. Best seen from the air or space, as from the ground it looks like the Miami waterfront. Lots of apartments, condos and houses. A sellout, we are told. Interestingly though, the million dollar water view condos had laundry hanging on the balconies.
To watch it being built check out:
We stopped and walked around the Dubai harbor, an artificial harbor surrounded by high rises, all built within the last few years. Looks a lot like Marina del Rey, the same sort of atmosphere. People were hanging around enjoying life by the pond, just like anywhere else.
Driving around, we stopped at the beach to look at the hotel shaped like a sailboat. Photo op, and off we go to the Old City, a relatively small area of buildings mostly less than a hundred years old.
Some sightseeing and we took a water taxi across the Dubai creek to the Gold Souk, which of course was closed for the holy day. A brief look at the spice market and some spice buying, and a walk among the closed shops.
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