Dubai: Towers and Malls

I recently travelled to Dubai and Qatar on a business trip and, being the inveterate traveler I am, it would have been a shame not to have made the most of what was supposed to be a working trip, which I did, Dubai and Qatar are places you hear a lot about, must see for yourself, but rarely get to go to.

So, OK, a lot of people do go there, even if it isn’t really your idea of a favourite travel destination, and after all, what is there to see there? Awe-inspiring structures surrounded by sand and sea? Heat? Shopping malls with air conditioning? Pharaonic projects? Reasonably priced, tax-free, luxury goods? Hi-Tech facilities? Traces of a re-surging local culture almost lost in a frenetic race for 21st century modernism?

With my Smartphone in one hand and my wife’s pocket digital camera in the other, I duly set about one of my favourite activities, taking photos of my surroundings. Now I know neither are the best for top quality photos, but then again, that wasn’t what I was after, my predilection being for capturing on the spur of the moment moments, which I did.

As previously stated, Dubai and the region are known for their hot weather; even in November, temperatures can reach a comfortable 30 degrees Celsius, so I was surprised and a little “jazzed” that it rained on the Friday I was there (Friday being the local’s Sunday and my day off)… to think of it, so were the locals. When I say it rained, I don’t mean a gentle drizzle drifting in from the sea, I mean a genuine cloud burst, the heavens are opening, call me Sandy, rain storm, something the likes of which the region only sees once every fifty or so years!

So what did I do and what did I see that merited taking photos of? I suppose if you go there regularly you give up taking photos, but for first timers, like me, without a doubt Dubai’s must-see attractions, the Burj Khalifa tower and symbiotic shopping mall, the Dubai Mall, should be at the top of any visitor’s list. Limited for time I found myself riding up the star leap elevator (the fastest in the world) to the 124th floor and the observation platform, from which, if it hadn’t rained, I would’ve been able to admire, albeit from a distance, the map of the world islands taking shape out in the bay or the Palm-shaped island nestling behind it.

Sheik Zayed Road intersection to the Emirate Towers

And how it rained! I had skipped breakfast in order to arrive in time to enjoy an early morning view of the city from 800 meters above sea level! However, visibility was sufficient to see the surroundings, even if everything appeared sandy grey. I had been advised that 30 minutes would be enough to go round, take the default photos, enjoy the view and ride back down the elevator. Not being one to conform, sheep like, to other people’s a-prioris, I actually did the tour in 30 minutes but then took another 30 minutes to absorb the surroundings, realizing in the process that even if I had gone there on the only day in the century it rained, I would have regretted coming all that way and not going up.

Once back down to earth, my stomach reminded me I hadn’t eaten since dinner the night before, so after a tall, no shot, café-latte and a toasted breakfast sandwich, I headed off for the 2nd part of the morning’s expedition, a tour round the Dubai Mall, one of the world’s largest malls by shopping surface area. Now it seems the Dubai Mall is also known as the home of the Dubai shopping festival, and having seen it firsthand, I can confirm that! But what did surprise me was that I started noticing the shopping bags people were carrying… Boots, Marks & Spencer, Debenhams, Dorothy Perkins, Miss Selfridge, even Waitrose! Sure, there are lots of others and had I come from the States or elsewhere, I would have noticed Bloomingdales & Co, but I was impressed. I live some 600 miles south of the English Channel and would kill for a “Boots” or a “Marks & Sparks” in the town where I live. This, I was told, is what helps make the Dubai Mall what it is. There are plenty of expat colonies in the Emirates, British, French, and Germans…, who all appreciate the little details that make Dubai a home away from home.
*I’m not going to go down the “Ex-Pat” road right now, except to say that after 35 years of living “temporarily” in a country of adoption, I’ve never considered myself a “Ex-Pat”.

The morning wore on and I realized I was going round in circles, my feet were tiring and I was thirsty. A 2nd tall café- latte was needed, after which it was time to make a beeline for the Mall’s amazing aquarium, which, fortunately for me, provided some distraction after 2 hours of window shopping, I’m used to window shopping in small doses, but this was verging on gluttony. Also, the olfactory senses were starting to seriously overload. Someone recently talked about “tacky malls.” Well, let me tell you, this was more like walking around in a gigantic bottle of perfume.

Dubai Mall Aquarium

I needed fresh air and was looking for the nearest exit. I started feeling claustrophobic and the sensation of walking aimlessly round in circles* reminded me of a Doctor Who episode from 2007 called “Gridlock”. In that episode, the residents of a future New York spent their entire lives driving around an underground highway system called the “Motorway,” with no hope of ever getting out (until the Doctor came along)… that’s how I felt until I found the exit.
* During the hot summer periods, the air-conditioned malls are crowded from morning to night with people escaping from the heat outside. What else is there to do and why not stay inside? The Mall has everything, restrooms, restaurants, food shops, clinics, hotels, cinemas, even an ice rink!

But I finally made it out of the mall, via a parking entrance, and broke air only to dive back in again, half an hour later, for the third and final part of the morning, meeting up with a locally installed family, but not without having taken some photos, the first close-up shots of the Burj Khalifa, from the pavement beneath it!

The Burj Khalifa