it's great being back in the middle east - the sheesha smoke, the way everyone seems to be asleep at 2 pm but wide awake and out on the streets at 2 am, the way buying anything or going anywhere invariably takes about 10 times longer than it should, and of course, the heat. i love it!
carrying on from where we left off, the next day i decided that i needed an unobstructed view of the burj al-arab, dubai's iconic and massive sail-shaped ultra-luxury hotel that sits on its own little island in the persian gulf. problem is, such views can only be had from the beachfront of one of two other luxury hotels, which is very strictly "exclusively for guests". and since being a "guest" for a night runs into 4 digit territory, i wasn't going to be accessing these beaches the conventional way. i tried a side entrance first, but alas was rudely turned away after being asked for a room number. i then went to the front and, waiting for security to be adequately distracted, walked briskly through the lobby, trying to look as much as i could like an important but underdressed businessman who had just jumped off a flight and was late for an important meeting and would be very angry and possibly cause someone to loose their job if they tried stopping him. remarkably, it seemed to work! its amazing how much more respect one gets once inside an exclusive luxury hotel...
for those who may be questioning my morality, and i know you're out there, i would like to relieve you in that i did not partake of the complimentary food and drink inside, nor did i actually use their beach. i just wanted a picture-perfect view of the beautiful building, and it did not disappoint. i then went to another large mall, the mall of the emirates, which is famous for its indoor ski hill and resort. i spent the better part of the next day searching for the oman national transportation company office where i could buy some bus tickets to oman (the best directions i could find online as to its whereabouts were rather vague). i finally found it in a run-down part of town, cleverly disguised on the outside as a stationary store. i then explored a few more - you guessed it - luxury malls! i also watched avatar in 3d, because i really wanted to see it. next day i too a bus to abu dhabi (2 hours away, but in the middle east thats more like 4), mostly to see the brand new, entirely marble sheikh zayed grand mosque, the largest in the uae and one of the largest in the world. it was truly impressive, and air conditioned too! interestingly, the city of abu dhabi is on an island, and is developing almost as fast as dubai onto the islands around it, such as yas island, where they built a state of the art formula 1 racing complex. apparently, abu dhabi wants to avoid dubai's rampant and some would argue unthoughtout development track, focusing instead on "culture" - like the world's biggest guggenheim museum and a new louvre that are currently being constructed. a very interesting place. i then walked the entirety of the abu dhabi corniche (took some hours longer than i thought it would), ending at another fabulous mall. i love this country, if only for its malls!
carrying on from where we left off, the next day i decided that i needed an unobstructed view of the burj al-arab, dubai's iconic and massive sail-shaped ultra-luxury hotel that sits on its own little island in the persian gulf. problem is, such views can only be had from the beachfront of one of two other luxury hotels, which is very strictly "exclusively for guests". and since being a "guest" for a night runs into 4 digit territory, i wasn't going to be accessing these beaches the conventional way. i tried a side entrance first, but alas was rudely turned away after being asked for a room number. i then went to the front and, waiting for security to be adequately distracted, walked briskly through the lobby, trying to look as much as i could like an important but underdressed businessman who had just jumped off a flight and was late for an important meeting and would be very angry and possibly cause someone to loose their job if they tried stopping him. remarkably, it seemed to work! its amazing how much more respect one gets once inside an exclusive luxury hotel...
for those who may be questioning my morality, and i know you're out there, i would like to relieve you in that i did not partake of the complimentary food and drink inside, nor did i actually use their beach. i just wanted a picture-perfect view of the beautiful building, and it did not disappoint. i then went to another large mall, the mall of the emirates, which is famous for its indoor ski hill and resort. i spent the better part of the next day searching for the oman national transportation company office where i could buy some bus tickets to oman (the best directions i could find online as to its whereabouts were rather vague). i finally found it in a run-down part of town, cleverly disguised on the outside as a stationary store. i then explored a few more - you guessed it - luxury malls! i also watched avatar in 3d, because i really wanted to see it. next day i too a bus to abu dhabi (2 hours away, but in the middle east thats more like 4), mostly to see the brand new, entirely marble sheikh zayed grand mosque, the largest in the uae and one of the largest in the world. it was truly impressive, and air conditioned too! interestingly, the city of abu dhabi is on an island, and is developing almost as fast as dubai onto the islands around it, such as yas island, where they built a state of the art formula 1 racing complex. apparently, abu dhabi wants to avoid dubai's rampant and some would argue unthoughtout development track, focusing instead on "culture" - like the world's biggest guggenheim museum and a new louvre that are currently being constructed. a very interesting place. i then walked the entirety of the abu dhabi corniche (took some hours longer than i thought it would), ending at another fabulous mall. i love this country, if only for its malls!
