Castles In The Sand

"...built a perfect house in perfect town

dreamt a perfect dream and it all fell down

oh, just tell me we're happy,

just building castles in the sand


Lyrics from The Philosopher Kings

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cD4ufkgzIxE









The Video I shot below was the opening of the Atlantis Hotel at the end of the Palm Jumeirah. I shot it from the beach and it does not do the show justice, since you had to be able to see the entire Palm Islands Development to see it all. Halfway through the show there was so much smoke it looked like Armageddon and you could not see very much of the second half of the show.




Here is another clip from YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyqNExbQ0xE


Maybe a fitting end to an incredible (think about the meaning of that word) run of hype and unbridled growth. Things are starting to unravel in the Kingdom of Dubai as development project after development project are canceled or put on hold. Hill is seeing major projects curtailed or slowed down, the most recent being an indoor theme park the size of SeaWorld cancelled. What is amazing is the speed in which it happened. Things were rosy here 3 months ago and in two months some property values have dropped 40%.

Work will still go on, but the locations will be in the Countries that have the huge sovereign wealth funds built up from the oil price spike, like Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Libya, and some others. They will use this time to catch up with the big head start that Dubai gained and that they were all envious of. Let’s face it, if the base assumption is true, that you can build a market in one of the most inhospitable climates in the world and people will flock to it, then this represents a once only opportunity for these Countries to build something to compete with Dubai. They also have the advantage of hindsight and not moving too fast and too far ahead of the market.

So, who is the market? For Dubai it was the newly rich from Russia, China, Asia, Australia, the Middle East and those building and selling these Castles in the Sand and all the things that one needed to go along with them, like Ferraris, furniture (oh you gotta see the couch I took a picture of below, perfect for Michael and Megan), good food, entertainment, and the list trickles down.






Today 5/12/08 (notice that I have had to adopt the international dating convention that my good friend Nelson used even in the U.S.), a Friday, is the beginning of my week end and is followed by a three day Holiday starting Sunday celebrating EID.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eid_ul-Adha)

I am going to check out Oman and Abu Dhabi by car, and hope to see some families selling fine rugs by the side of the road.

MAY THE GUIDANCE AND BLESSINGS OF ALLAH BE WITH YOU AND YOUR FAMILY

EID MUBARAK

Up The Creek

This post is coming soon, need to sort out some pictures and the script. But in the meantime I wanted to pass on this incredible shot taken from the tallest building in the world, the Burj Dubai, now nearing completion.

In Dubai being Up the Creek or on the Creek is a very good thing. The Creek is actually a once natural inland waterway that has been dredged and expanded tremendously. The last contract was just let for 750,000,000 Dirhams or a little over $200,000,000 to dredge the final leg of an extension that horseshoes through the city and returns to the Gulf. This new leg will cross the busiest road in Dubai, Sheik Zayed Rd, a 12 lane freeway. Nothing is off limits here to encourage development. So if a few hundred thousand people have to be inconvenienced by the equivalent of digging a canal across I 4 in Orlando or I 10 in New Orleans, to create more waterfront, then so be it. There is no doubt that the Creek was the catalyst for the origin of Dubai as a trading center and then the root of the expansion that created Dubai when everyone thought Sheikh Zayed http://www.sheikhzayed.com/index_flash.htm# was a little off, when he decided to spend a fortune to dredge the Creek using contractors from Holland in the Sixties and going forward. The stunning buildings and rate of development of Dubai are testimonies to his foresight.
From my apartment I am able to walk to and along the Creek which is lined by Souks (markets here) and re-creations of older Dubai Neighborhoods, museums, and a fish market. You can take a boat across the Creek for about 30 cents. I usually get out and walk about 5 miles in the evening for exercise. The weather is getting quite nice here in November so it looks like climate is not a problem from November through March. Being in this old portion of Dubai is really nice and has marked the true beginning of my adventure.
There is a sense of apprehension in the air here due to the worldwide market condition and it is amazing to see such a drastic change in only 1 month, from being overconfident to genuine worry about the real estate market here and the future of Dubai. But leave it to Dubai to throw the biggest gala in recent times, purported to have cost $20,000,000 (yes that’s the reported cost of the opening event) with the opening of the Atlantis Hotel. Sonni , a coworker,r and I watched it from the beach and it was spectacular. About half way through the show there was so much smoke it looked like a nuclear conflagration had occurred and it made it hard to see the rest of the show. We learned later that the best view to truly appreciate the magnitude and spectacle of the show was from a plane or helicopter due to the sheer enormity of the display (follow this link to see what I mean, ttp://video.aol.com/video-detail/worldand039s-most-lavish-hotel-opens/4204249012

Some of my Pictures from the Creek and the fireworks appear below.

Bubble Bubble Toil and Trouble

Bubble Bubble Toil and Trouble

Dubai is all about growth. The phenomenal amounts of money poured into the economy have created what appears to be the largest real estate bubble on earth. Until very recently rents were increasing by 8 to 10% per year as were the prices for the unfathomable number of new residences, commercial office space, condominiums, etc. I am going to make a prediction that within 3 years real estate in Dubai will be the best value on the planet. There are simply not enough people to fill the amount of space being created here. I picked up the daily edition of Gulf News the local English language newspaper on Wednesday and it is about an inch and a half thick. Half of the paper was a section on real estate. I have also noticed that the kiosks in the malls that the various developers have set up are noticeably less busy in the last two weeks, by noticeably, I mean nobody at any of them when I pass.

And now the toil part. All of building and the support services behind it come at a price, and the price is our humanity and the chase for the money. This is a bit complicated and there are some twists so bear with me. In order to field the huge workforce required for all of this building there tens of thousands of expatriate laborers sponsored to come into Dubai on work visas. They are paid a minimum wage, rumored to be around 600 dirham a month or just over $150 US. They are also provided with sleeping accommodations in a labor camp and three meals a day. They wait in huge groups for the busses to coma at the end of the day to take them back to camp, sometimes a very long ride. So on the surface it seems they are truly being exploited, they work dawn to dusk for very meager wages that are usually sent back home to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, East Asia, Africa or where ever. The reality is they would be making far less in the home country and probably not have enough to eat. So is it exploitation?

The irony here is that expatriate pay for Americans and other high skilled workers. It’s almost the same deal , they pay us more than we could make at home, provide our accommodations and transportation (but not our food). We are quite happy because we come from a good life to begin with, put up with an exotic location and culture while sacrificing the things we can’t get here that we had back home. Same deal different perspective.

I moved into new digs on the 30th and it is so much better. Hotel Apartment, serviced with a nice rooftop pool and exercise facility. Close to the old part of Dubai so you can walk to Souks (markets) and the Creek. Pictures to come.

Dead Man Jaywalking

Walking the streets of Dubai is not for the hesitant or indecisive. As long as you understand that you have no rights unless you are hit and injured or killed you will be fine. As I mentioned in my earlier post, the large amount of construction makes for very few safe pedestrian walking areas, and let’s face it, the drivers here are more worried about being outmaneuvered by their racing buddies than anyone foolish enough to be caught walking or running for their lives in the street. Day dreamers and those fixated on their iPod are particularly vulnerable and in real peril.

There is a bright side to pedestrian rights here and it has the traditional moniker of Blood Money. If you cause someone’s death and it is in any way due to your fault or negligence you must pay the family of the deceased Dh200,000 That is dirham at 3.6725 to a US $ or $54,795 for a man and Dh100,000 for a woman. Yes it is true that women get very little public respect here, but I am sure it is true here as in any other place in the world, that at home and with husband and children, Women Rule.

There is one other interesting phenomenon observed here, as people walk about in the blazing sun and temperatures that can reach 115⁰, He who gets to the shade first keeps it. You will see people lined up in the shadow of lamp post, building or whatever offers some iota of relief from the sun. You find yourself angling for every bit of shade offered and the shortest pathway between two points. I have yet to find that idyllic strolling spot yet, but I am sure that I will, and look forward to telling you all about it.

Tale of a Mall Rat

After the first two weeks in Dubai, I have a confession. I have become a Mall Rat. Everything American is in the Mall, including the weather. My apartment is a short walk, 10 minutes, from the Mall of the Emirates (pictured here with the large indoor Ski Slope Attraction just visible at the left). This is one of the larger Malls, which are all similar across Dubai, with parking undercover and three levels of shopping. This is the one that has the ski slope, built in the middle of a desert, and make no mistake, this is a desert. You can ski, buy groceries and electronics, eat, and all the other regular stuff you do at a mall. I go at least once a day, but usually twice, and that is when I am at the apartment.

My office is right across the street from the City Center Mall (below) and that I where I catch my Taxi to go home and eat lunch, and by the way guess where I catch my taxi in the morning. You guessed it, Mall of the Emirates. You can get all the uncommon, by local standards, American food like McDonalds, Chilies, TGI Fridays etc. as well as the local favorites of Middle Eastern, Indian, Thai, or just about anything else.

My first impression of Dubai is Hot, Flat, Crowded, and Dusty. I am not sure whether the dust is coming from the desert or all of the construction that is going on. Whatever it is coming from, it doesn't get washed away during an occaisional shower, since there are very few and far between rains. Near my apartment it is not an exaggeration to say that every other building is under construction. I have never seen anything like it. Supposedly 20% of all of the tower cranes in the world are working in the United Arab Emirates. The buildings already built are stunning and diverse, nothing is too adventurous or out of the realm of possibility.

The sounds on the street are dominated by honking horns, screeching brakes, accelerating autos, banging hammers, plywood and steel dropping, and it never seems quiet. One interesting observation is the lack of animals; I have seen one dog on a leash since I have been here and a few birds. How they expect to fill all these buildings with people when animals do not live here (I am told because of the summer heat) is beyond me.

Driving appears to be similar to chariot racing here. I have not tried it yet and am not sure I want to. I actually saw an article or opinion from a reader in the newspaper, that suggested the government should issue special tags to new drivers, so other drivers would be understanding of the white knuckle fear and panic these drivers are experiencing that prevent them from getting out of the way.

This is the valet parking area at Mall of the Emirates. Ferrarri, High End Audi, Convertible Rolls.