UAE - Second Impressions

As I spend more time here, my impressions on the UAE are consolidating. Since last writing, I've been to Abu Dhabi to visit the Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Mosque, the $1 billion dollar Emirates Palace hotel, and exhibition on the plans for Saadiyat Island - where the Guggenheim, the Louvre, the Sorbonne, and NYU will all be setting up shop over the course of the next 10 years.

I've also been clay shooting at the nearby Jebel Ali shooting club, where we were *told* we'd get to shoot handguns but alas, they were merely shotguns. Still alot of fun! I've blown inordinate amounts of time in malls, both the glitzy ones, and the "lesser" ones (translation: not fancy and air conditioned, and instead of yummy mummies, rich high schoolers and young urban professionals, are frequented mainly by the migrant communities.) The latter made me a happy girl as things - cause I really need more things, right? - were significantly cheaper...and I couldn't torture myself with luxury brand shoe & handbag sections. In an effort to see another side to things, I decided to try the bus system for a few days - which, if I wasn't interested in taking in my surroundings, would have been a colossal waste of time. Literally 3/4 of my days consisted of commuting, trekking from one line to another, desperately seeking guidance from strangers and only to find that no one really knows the system (there aren't even printed route maps to consult). I was surprised at this lack of familiarity. However, it has afforded me the opportunity to see another side to Dubai - it is a place where Hindus, Muslims, Christians, and all shapes and colors and languages and sizes converge. Initially I thought it might be a problem that I'm blatantly not a contracted worker, also that I'm female (few of these workers are, save a few waitresses or maids) and this would lead to...general discomfort, for all parties involved; but I was pleasantly surprised to find my fellow commuters more curious and helpful than anything else. While making my way to the back of the first bus, the men freaked out and ushered me towards the front - turns out there's a section reserved for women, and it's more an obligation than it is optional to install yourself there.

But hey. If you've got time and some good walking shoes, and don't mind walking on highways (oddly there is normally a little sidewalk along the side), AED 2 vs. AED 50 is a bargain. Either way, you'll still have to listen to someone being barked at in Urdu or Farsi - whether it's your taxi driver or your bus driver. I'd like to spend some more time in Deira/Satwa and Bur Dubai, where there are little pockets catering to each nationality. Next to the central bus station in Bur Dubai I indulged in what was probably the best lassi of my life, browsed a store called "Bollywood" which sold all things kitsch, walked street after street of wholesale computer and telecom shops. Basically, it was a little India. One area I really have to praise Dubai for is the food - it's all excellent, very diverse and "ethnic" (for lack of a better term), and if you're adventurous - very cheap. Putting the idea of curries aside for a moment, you're also never too far from a roadside Lebanese place - where you can get your roasted half chickens or delicious, nutritious shawarmas (plus other yummy stuff, too). Last night we had an excellent authentic Japanese meal, complete with Zaru Soba and seared monkfish (not to mention, sake). You just have to step outside the beaten track a little (in a related vein: who knew there were so many different types of dates? I will miss these chewy treats - nature's little bundles of sweetness.)


While making my way back to my side of town (where mostly expats live), I decided to hit one of the malls. Before getting there however, we looped through a tucked-away area, which turned out to be staff accommodation. By that I mean leased block apartments - i.e. flimsy whitewashed buildings decorated with airing laundry - in which your chefs, dish washers, janitors and taxi drivers live. Not surprisingly the cars parked outside them were filled with corporate shuttle vans, belonging to all stores and chain restaurants - in this particular area, they were mainly property of Chili's and Hardee's. There were a great deal of taxis parked there as well. It took me 10 minutes from where I got dropped off to make it to the mall: this involved dodging cars on the highway, along with several other turbaned construction workers. Repeat: only 10 minutes from dust and sweat to marble floors and air conditioned stores, displaying beautiful, state of the art, and often useless things. And to top the day off? I went for a light evening run in the gym here at home on the Palm Jumeirah (land resurrected from the sea, in the shape of a Palm tree) - where everything is tranquil, leisurely, TV is cable and flat-screened, not a care in the world. The easy life.

So, I had been told that the Dubai Zoo was a real sight - not because it is so fantastic and the animals so well preserved, but because it cost AED 2 (50 cents) and the space is so incredibly small. Low and behold - it does boast an incredible variety of species given the space (probably not larger than a football pitch), and not surprisingly, the conditions were atrocious. In many cases the exhibitions looked more like a 5th grade science fair than a zoo. Directly behind the giraffe were street posts - we were so close to the road you could hear the traffic - meanwhile the lion paced restlessly in his tiny cage, the lone chimp just sat there silently, suffering, from the solitude. I don't even want to think about how hot it gets in the summer. The snake hall, which consisted of really poisonous snakes covered by sheets of plastic, had a sign that read "First aid kit available at entrance" - ummm, say what? The monkeys had some strange growths on their "behinds", something I am not sure is normal, even if they were those monkeys with the freaky red bums (you know which ones I'm talking about). Poor things. It's just not meant to be like that. There was even a grizzly. And some of those cool Arabian onyxes, and rare Ecuadorian macaws. Oh, which reminds me - I learned that falcons (as in, the type of bird) are revered as a symbol of strength and goodness (I guess that's not too different from what we do with the condor in the Andres). Not surprisingly falconry, is the favored sport of the sheikhs - that, and the breeding of fine Arabian horses...

As I left, I passed the Safa public library, which was pretty unimpressive. The most interesting thing was its extensive National Geographic collection. Which made me think about how there is actually very little investment in public institutions here. I can go ski inside, eat ridiculous food for ridiculous prices, watch a shark swim over me while I inner tube, stay in a 7 star hotel...but there aren't many parks (Safa, Zabeel, Creekside) worthy of strolling through. The zoo is a mess. OK, but wait - deals are being struck with world-class institutions (see: Saadiyat Island) like the Louvre and NYU, effectively bringing more culture to this place. Something about it bothered me, and I think Nick had a good point when he said what was lacking was a bottom-up approach. Things (brands, names, legacies) are bought, franchised, and borrowed; but there is no effort to create an environment which fosters community and intellect, to create a center of thought, so that the whole thing can sprawl organically. Instead it's imported, slightly artificial. Know-how is bought instead of tacitly, experientially obtained. Frankly, it disappointed me that these world-class institutions were "selling out" - I understand that like any organization they have to make money, but I can't trust that the quality of their institutions here (namely, the Universities) will be up to par with the ones at home....I digress. At any rate, I've also noticed that everyone and their grandmother works in "property development" or recruitment of some sort - I wonder how their prospects are looking now? Supposedly Dubai is pretty much going bankrupt, with many projects being canceled and Abu Dhabi's "powers that be" bailing them out. Still you see signs and read about all these new "villages" or "lands" (see: Nakheel's planned Waterfront - they're aiming for 1.5 million residents and twice the size of Hong Kong. I don't even think there are 1.5 million residents in Dubai right now). Often, the highway signs are up for an area or project, when the construction hasn't even finished yet. In a few cases, precious mudflats and mangroves - which were already sparse in the region - are being swallowed up by these ambitious real estate endeavors; environmental conservation is not too important, it seems, in the UAE's urban development plans. The biggest and most ironic project of all, I think, is Masdar's proposed carbon neutral city just outside of Abu Dhabi.

The amount of extravagant cars is also something I forgot to mention. In nearly any parking lot and you'll find 100, 200, $300,000 cars parked there. License plates are also another status indicator: ones which begin with A, B and C are more expensive, as are ones with fewer or symmetrical or repeated numbers. Apparently there's a big auction business behind these plates. We actually forgot where we parked one day at one of the malls, only to find out that you can request a card with the location (level, number) you are leaving it in. Next time, I guess. There's also a big Vertu mobile phone following - each one of these bad boys is handcrafted in England and comes with a personal concierge service. But extraordinary things come with extraordinary prices.

There are schools and social clubs of all denominations - for example, the Gulf Indian School, the Sudanese Social Club. There seems to be a whole myriad of international schools - all with similar names of course (such as the American International School, the Dubai International Academy) - and only one or two are accredited by government education boards. There's even a Bridget Jones' Women's Club (ummm, so I guess that's a bunch of women with a penchant for cheap white wine, feel they constantly commit social blunders, and date emotionally stunted men?). Health clinics are on every street corner - there are Canadian homeopathy centers, osteopathic care professionals, centers of obesity specialists; also a good deal of aesthetic surgery, orthodontists and sports injury rehabilitation facilities. I wouldn't have the slightest idea where to go for the best care - medical tourism is clearly being pushed in the Emirates. The overwhelming noise of media and exhibitions is also worthy of note: beauty and spa, sports and leisure, events and entertainment publications abound - so Time Out is actually just one of many information sources. Yet despite the large amount of events that seem to be on offer, I feel that Dubai lacks a lot of character in terms of the urban landscape - you don’t get a sense of the people that live in the city by looking at the city. There's no public art, that is to say sculptures or murals.

A final peculiarity: the use of water instead of paper in public toilets. Thoughts? Opinions?

Click here to see my updated photos of Dubai

United Arab Emirates & Oman

The UAE is a weird & wonderful place. I feel it was best summed up by a heavyset (and expat heavyweight) at the Christmas party I went to upon arrival: "this place is a mixture between Las Vegas and a 3rd world country - Middle East light". Another friend of mine themed it "Faux Glam". Translation: on the one hand it's shiny and modern, luxurious and ostentatious. But scratch the surface and it's crumbling - the service is actually pretty poor (given the prices and reputation of the places) and the endless variety of different nationalities barely manage to communicate in broken English (forget Arabic!). The stores and brands on offer are such that every foreign community is catered to - indeed it would seem that in Dubai, the Britons, the Americans, the Filipinos, the Indians, and the French alike can go to their local coffee shop or grocery store. There's a Next and a Debenham's, a Chucky Cheese and an Applebee's, a Virgin Megastore and a Border's, a Boots, Pain Quotidien, Paul's, a Marks & Spencers, a Carrefour and a Geant, even a Safeway (cleverly renamed "Safestway") - a Costa, a Starbucks - a Jollibee's and even a Nando's for the South Affers amongst us. And it also seems that whatever your nationality, you have a variety of banks from home to work through/with over your stay here - so you're not just limited to HSBC, "the world's local bank"...

This exposure to convenience and abundance, consumer choice and branding, after 2 years of hiding out in Bolivia has been sort of flabbergasting. I mean not like it's anything new, but you sort of forget that there is so much to have. That fruit & vegetables are commonly flown in from around the world, that they should NOT have spots on them or be irregularly shaped. That you can always "pick up" some shoes if you forget yours on your travels...yesterday I spent about 5 hours just walking from store to store, at the Mall of the Emirates. It was both enlightening and stressful - picking up and shaking electronics to figure out what they do, getting a feel for what new media is out there, getting a feel for what "reasonable" prices are, trying on clothes at the one-stop shops that filter high-end fashion and make it available to the masses (H&M, Zara). All this in a gigantic mall, in the middle of a desert - and in close proximity of an indoor ski slope, which resembles something of a bunny hill at first glance but is actually quite substantial. I got to see the Hamburg football team, who were walking around like tourists as well - here for the game tonight against Milan. It's always funny to see a "fellow foreigner" in a far and away place, you sort of look at eachother in instant recognition, feeling like you should say "hello" for some odd reason.

Back to the general gist: everyone is here for work. Most of everything looks and feels like a hotel. It seems that construction sites pop up overnight - whether it's a real estate development project, or just a roundabout. It makes me wonder how they will fill up the seemingly endless amount of high-end accommodation. Where coastline lacks, it is resurrected from the sea. The road signs and the highways themselves are chaotic and poorly planned. The drivers are reckless, many driving racing cars or gas-guzzling SUVs (apparently, turn signals are just for the safety obsessed). The haze that hangs over the city makes it so that the skyline is rarely completely visible, which is a shame given that there are so many awe-inspiring buildings. The Burj Dubai - the world's tallest building - is still under construction. Except for the area where the migrant workers (Filipinos, Pakistanis, Indians, Sudanese, Ethiopian, Yemeni, Saudi, and I suspect the large quantity of Russians may lieve around here too) live, it's very faceless. Despite TJ and Megan's stomach infections, we managed to have some great food in these areas (namely, Ethiopian and Iranian - I'm still waiting on Pakistani and Afghani), great juices (who'd have thought avocado and honey blends are so good? - and to my great delight, fresh pomegranate is always on offer) and tea too (ah, the sweet, milkiness of Chai - with which Nick has some serious portion control issues, bless!).

Jaded? Gosh, I hope not. Because there are definitely a whole host of more genuine "down to earth" activities (Entire days can be spent wandering around Deira or Bur Dubai, the workers' areas, where you'll hear, see and smell everything - here, temples and mosques and cultures melt together. There is also a great deal of off-roading and camping in and around the UAE, for example in neighboring Oman, which is safe, beautiful and cheap. Oman itself is much lower key and much more genuine - here you feel that there truly are "locals" and not just transient individuals. Dune-buggying is also pretty freaking cool, if you can stomach the ups & downs! The camel races in Abu Dhabi are also super interesting - where they use robotic jockeys following a big human rights scandal a few years back, when the international media revealed that small children were being used as jockeys. N.B.: under Islamic law betting is not allowed, so the end goal are "prizes". Loans are also considered illegal, something which greatly complicates Islamic banking. I need to learn more about that). And the flashy, "Vegas-y" stuff is fun too. Just yesterday I walked - *GASP*, walked! that's something few dare to do here, not least because of the sticky whether - to the Atlantis hotel (a pretty ridiculous place), so that I could have a peek at their Aquarium. They actually have a whale shark stuck inside that thing. It's sad and impressive at the same time. This hotel was really the only thing that truly felt like Vegas - the coastline outside was just fantastic. I'll have to head over at sundown soon. We also when for several yummy - but pricey - cocktails at the Burj al Arab, the world's only 7 star hotel. At the sky bar there is actually a "minimum consumption" rule - and of course the menu was full of amazing drinks, all conjured up by what was called a "professional mixologist". There were a few for over $3,000. I can't get my head around that, try as I may. The cheapest ones went for about AED 100, or around about $30. Given the prices, the decor was pretty random - a digital theme, with computer boards for walls, blinking and flashing like it's Y2k (come to think of it, it was probably planned and built in Y2k). I certinaly enjoyed observing the high powered dinner dates going on around us...big hair, loafers and jetset handbags. So FABULOUS!

It's also worth a mention that New Year's Eve was canceled at the request of Sheikh Mo, out of respect for the Palestinians being killed in Gaza. The radio stations were also unplugged for a few days, so we listened to alot of classical music instead of the usual pop-y stuff from the Virgin airwaves (or BBC if we're feeling intellectually curious). It's also worth a mention that Duty Free is the salvation of nearly all non-Emiratees - alcohol licenses are difficult to obtain in Dubai, so most people drive to across the border to Umm Al Qwayn (different Emirates have different alcohol regulations) to stock up. We went on the day before New Year's and the rush was shocking - had I been able to take my camera in, I would have, but alas - no recording devices are allowed. Needless to say there were many locals on shopping sprees. In a similar vein: every campsite we've set up has been conveniently located and visited by a group of locals hoping to join in on the festivities - no doubt curious to see what that alcohol thing is all about. Or at least, what the hell is it that we do in the desert?

I've been able to get some interesting perspectives on this place, thanks to contacts across a whole host of occupations and reasons for being here. This begins of course with Nick's circle of friends, rugby friends and coworkers. Tonie -Nick's maverick photographer buddy, and his girlfirend Emmanuelle - French journalist at Gulf News - have been super fun and helpful so far in terms of gaining local knowledge. Gabriel was in town visiting his fam (his dad is an architect in Sharjah) and interestingly his family's New Year's celebrations - an Assyrian party at a big hotel - were postponed until the following day, also due to Gaza. I'm trying to train (and by trying, I mean thinking about it more than actually doing it) for the 10km run part of the Dubai Marathon on the 16th of January. So the other day went for a run with a Japanese woman I'd met on our group New Year's Eve desert camping trip, who teaches at the Japanese highschool. From the sound of it the Japanese community, true to form, is tight-knit very supportive from within - she gave me some good tips on where to buy the pickled ume I so miss snacking on, and of course on where to get an authentic bowl of udon. This weekend we'll drive over to Abu Dhabi to visit Mr. and Mrs. Jones, both former teachers of mine from my time in Paris. They currently run the international school there. From the sound of it I'll also be here when two friends pass through on business from London - Laura for Dubai Art and Maria for the World Future Energy Summit. Yep, because I have such fabulous friends...

Recap: Dubai is the honey pot of the middle east. Nobody here seems to love it. Everyone's here to get forward in life in some shape or form, and few plan to stay here forever. My only real complaint would be that the public transport is crap (even the doorman says so - and if Abdul says so, it MUST be true). The buses are cheap, yes - but the coverage is limited, they pass only very 60 minutes in most places, the stops are quite spread out, and they are never on time. This is due to change though, with the rail system being put in place. Another interesting current event over here is that the Gulf Cooperation Council (UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, and Kuwait) is building up to a currency union. When we were in Muscat (Oman) the GCC was meeting, in order to further these discussions.

I think the biggest question on everybody's mind concerns sustainability - those that live here normally finish their conversations on the topic with a shaking of the head and a line like, "here today, gone tomorrow". And it's true that much of the planning seems so short term. Environmentally speaking I would say - admittedly, knowing very little about the technical side of things - that despite the forums on energy & climate change, the green marketing campaigns I see splashed here and there, and of course the region's deep entrenchment in the oil industry...it doesn't seem like there's much of a carbon footprint mentality.

Click here for my photos from the UAE
Click here for my photos from Oman