Dubai, United Arab Emirates, June 17th, 2008

The worlds tallest building, the Burj Dubai

Unfortunately this was just a work trip for me (Eric), so Erin wasn't able to tag along. Further, I was only in Dubai from 8am Tuesday to 2am Wednesday so my stay was brief. However, my friend and colleague Jason and I had a three hour break between our morning and afternoon meetings. On most business trips, I probably would have used the down time for a nap or to catch up on email. But this is Dubai, and in the middle of the desert there's only one way to spend three spare hours...skiing!



Ski Dubai is for Experts Only



Jason and I took a taxi from our hotel to the indoor mall where Ski Dubai is located. 15 minutes after walking in the front doors by food court, we were decked out in our standard issue ski pants and jacket (a necessity - who in Dubai would own ski gear?!?), skis, boots, and poles. Off we went up the lift. It was actually a very impressive operation. The snow was decent, the slopes were longer, steeper, and less crowded than I expected, and they even had a ski lodge half way up the mountain. We did about 12 runs in one or two hours (longer slopes than expected, but still not THAT long).



Indoor skiing with Jason between meetings



Another taxi then took us to Burj al Arab hotel, the world's first 7-star hotel - the one shaped like a sail perched on the edge of the Persian Gulf. As we should have known, not just anyone can enter a 7-star hotel...at least not for free. The 70 Dirham ($20) "entry fee" seemed both frustrating and intriguing. If they can charge $20 just to walk through the lobby, it MUST be worth seeing. However, we decided against it as our evening meeting was rapidly approaching and "sight seeing" is not usually an acceptable excuse for tardiness with clients. The driver took us to a public beach next to the hotel so we could snap some photos.

One thing you'll notice in the pictures is the poor air quality. Apparently it is a combo of humidity, heat mirage (it was 115 degrees), pollution, and a sand storm. I noticed that as our plane landing that morning. As most of the other business travelers wisely slept, I was the dork sitting awake with my camera hoping to catch a glimpse of some of the famous Dubai development. No such luck. Too hazy.

Dubai is a very interesting place. They've definitely adopted the Sino/American philosophy of bigger is better over the current European preference for understatement and charm. (I guess it's natural to flaunt what you got.) What seems like hundreds of sky scrapers shoot up from the desert in all directions; half complete, half under construction. The architecture is all safely described as "modern." For example, the 38-story Dubai World Trade Center building was the city's tallest when it was completed in 1979. Now it's ranked #59. For the sake of comparison, the Empire State Building was New York City's tallest when it was completed in 1931 and it's still the tallest today. Even if the WTC towers were still standing the Empire State Building would be 3rd...not 59th.



View from my hotel



The roads are always jammed with cars (a side effect of cheap oil). There is a subway system under construction, but the jury is out on how many riders will take advantage. Any tasks that involve walking in the open air are not perceived favorably.

It also seems extremely diverse in terms of culture, race, religion, ethnicity, dress, economic status, and language. Though everyone that I spoke to used flawless English. The scenery altered between perfectly manicured landscaping and sand or dust. The Saudi clients we met were delightful, as eager to learn about us as we were to learn about them.

I'd go back in a heart beat...especially since there is NO WAY Dubai is going to exist in its current state 20 years from now. It's either going to be thriving in a state closer to "complete" than "in progress." Or it's going to go completely bust because the region's economies simply do not have the fundamental infrastructure to support the boom-style building that's going on right now. Either way, it will be something to watch.

Click the link for my pictures: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=hj0zhyv.c86ymi03&x=0&y=-b8ss29&localeid=en_US