Day 3 - Dubai (Day 2)

Currently - Flight from Abu Dhabi to Amman
Listening: Scratch My Back - Peter Gabriel

All right, possibly getting in to the rhythm of this now, but Jeez, life was so much easier when you only had to worry about sending home the occasional post card. Now you have an entire world of potential blog readers just itching for your next dispatch of news from the front. Quite frankly I find it exhausting enough getting a digital camera out to take a photo, and even then I only do it out of obligation. And quite frankly, asking people to take a photo of yourself with some monument in the background is starting to get a bit old, not to mention doing it yourself with the one arm method. How I managed to do this before the digital days, when I was travelling solo with a disposable, is beyond me (yes Children, there was once a time when you took photographs onto this medium called film, and you couldn't immediately see if you'd taken a decent shot or not, and sometimes it would take hours and hours taking them to someone who could do this thing could DEVELOP them...sorry, I digress.)

Never fear, Dear Reader, I'm still narcisistic enough to take the occassional self portrait - you might even get to be privy to some of them. Just remember I look better in sepia than I do in colour.

So, second day in Dubai!! Awake to my sensational view of the dock workers on the creek, Burj Khalifa in the distance (see photo previous post). Had a sensational breakfast at 6.15am (I can't rave about the Hotel Riviera enough). Had a wander around the Souks, but the action really didn't pick up till about 8.30, and even then, after 5 minutes it becomes samesame. The spice souk was certainly a charmer for the smells, but there's only so much of wandering around smelling the saffron and the cinamon with no intention of buying before the suspicious eyes come out.

Crossed the creek to check out the very quaint Dubai Museum and Old Fort. Although there's been evidence of settlements in or near the area for thousands of years, Dubai itself wasn't established until 1811-1812. The Old fort was part of it. Usual displays and museum type fair. Do check it out, for only 3 Dihrams it's pretty cool.

Second architectural bombastic feat of human endeavour of the trip was a visit to the Palm Jumeira. I'm sure you know the drill - a collection of artificial islands that have been placed and shaped in the shape of a desert palm, the crowning achievement being the Palm Atlantis located at the Apex of the final frond. Not sure if it can be seen from space or not (unlike the "world" nearby), but still mighty impressive.




Hopped on the metro to Nesfrelat Station, then a cab to the Atlantis.

OK, Palm Jumerira - talk about how the other half live. Each of the smaller frond arms are pretty much a gated community in and of itself. Cab driver gave me a figure of 1.2 Million Dirhams ($AU 350 K, may be). I think that's what he said anyway, but that couldn't be right, seems far too "cheap". In any case, we both agreed that whoever these "other halvess" were, they were welcome to it.

Man, this cab driver I had. Good guy, Pakistani, been living in Dubai seven years. Wife and three kids back home, married 9 years. I asked him, as I ask all my drivers, if he likes Dubai. They usually pause for a second, and when I fill in the "It's OK?", they nod, although that's basically code for "this place sucks arse and I'd rather be back in India or Pakistan with my wife and kids, but at least to drive around in air conditioned comfort. Sure the driving around in circles with unpleasant passengers in tow is pretty bad, it beats working on a construction seat in 40 Degrees plus)".

That's my bit of editorialising, but I'm pretty sure it ain't far from the truth. I don't know the numbers, but as you may know, the UAE is full of workers from India, Pakistan, Philipians - obviously no jobs back home, so they come here in droves. Most UAE residents (at least the well healed ones) don't want to do all the menial and shitty jobs, so they import a separate underclase to do it all for them. Not making any value judgements, purely an observation. Although once I got passed the cricket conversation with my driver (Rickie Ponting the best!!), he started to relax and sprout forth - all the rich here do is heap, sleep, fuck, and drive around in luxury air conditioned darkened windowed four wheel drives. Ah, now the truth comes out. And he's one of millions (OK, may be thousands)who probably feel this way. Made me wonder what the future would be like for the growing imported underclass here.

All right, enough of that. Finally got to the Palm Atlantis. Jeez Louise, check this out




It's just getting more and more bombastic as it goes. $13000 a night rumour has it.

BUT, dear reader, luckily I'd brought a towel and swimmers, because the Atlantis is home to the Aquadventure Waterslide Park.

Now I know what you're thinking - dodgy old guy with no kids playing at a waterslide. But please, when it's over 40 outside and the only thing at the Atlantis is the usual overprices fast food fare and gold and silver and high end fashion, what's a homeboy supposed to do? Suck it up and go hit the slides, that's what!! And can I say this is THE BEST WATERSLIDE IN THE WORLD. Anything that allows you to slide down a verticle slop and get shot through a perspex tunnel in the middle of a shark tank is ok in my book. And I was there for THREE HOURS!! Eyes stang like hell after, and I was waterlogged like a prune, but Jeez it was worth it.

Like any good modern 21st century 5 star monstrosity, the Atlantis has its own monorail that takes you back to the mainland. Of course it does!! 15 Dirhams and your back in the land of the living!!

Back to the hotel to recover, then off to the Burj Khalifa again for the evening's entertainment. Once again the spectacle is just overwhelming. every hour from 6 the crowd are treated to the water ballet of the fountain. Words can't express what you see, you have jets of water programmed/choreographed in time to whatever music accompanies. The power in the jets must be insane, some of those short bursts of water got some serious height. The last performance, playing to 'Thriller' just beggared belief.

I'd embed a Youtube clip for you to check it out, but quite frankly the ol' iPad here and WIFI would probably have issues...