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
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.
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