Life in the desert

The introduction of my lonely planet guide summarizes Dubai - 'multicultural, materialistic and moving forward at a pace that no other city'. It a very impressive place or atleast it will be once they finish building the city which I am told has been going on for several years now,i.e. there is no end in sight. My first impression driving from the airport cruising on a 6 lane highway connecting Old Dubai to the New part of town, was 'Is this Dallas'? Some subtle difference like the car showrooms lacing the highway were for Lamborghinis and other exotic cars, raised highways, cheesy neon signs and large 'For Sale' signs but the landscape and vibe is very Dallasesque. They also had Toyotas but yet to see a Prius. Petrol runs at 6.25 DH (1.13 Euro) per gallon - this is still SUV country. I have not seen a place so entombed in constructions cranes and protection walls as Dubai and mercilessly this is not restricted to one area but to the entire city. This permanent state of building has been on for the last 5 years or so. Its also a source of financial growth for the folks snapping up these modern monstrosities, prices seem to be doubling every 18 months. Everyone seems convinced that it will continue for the better part of the next few decades. The main disconnect is perhaps is that most of the properties being are targetted at the Multi-Millionaires. How many are there? A special note of caution is the traffic, its LA style gridlock. If you are caught on the wrong side of town from 5pm - 10pm, then you are guaranteed to be doodling for several hours in bumper to bumper traffic. Culturally its seems to be simmering pot of the jet-setting rich and 'middle class' folks from the subcontinent (self baptised as middle class) coexisting to fulfill one objective - make more money. The Millionaire burbs is like any other rich boy's playground, however the immigrant towns are very interesting. Lots of cheesy neon lights, grubby food joints and lots of communal living areas. It makes for an interesting walking experience in the evening. I made many friends with the Taxi drivers who seem to like the place and the fact that Dubai was exploding so it really makes their efforts worth it. I found the Pakistani drivers especially friendly and courteous. I gorged on a diet of Pakistani goat peshawari and some mallu delicacies while I was there. A few places that stood out were Pak Ghazi, Karachi Durbar and Delhi Durbar. Went to this fantastic Mallu joint called Paragon Calicut which atleast 50 people waiting outside to have dinner at 11:00pm. The appam and fish mollee are to die for. Buddha Bar (offshoot of the Paris concern) is a very impressive joint, worth a few drinks. There is a lot more to the place but will save it for the next post...