Friday, January 25, 2008

The First Day

Given the fact that I arrived at the hotel close to 4am, there wasn't much to see. The driver that collected me from the airport was very nice and took me around parts of Dubai on the way to the hotel, but really after close to 3o hours travelling, the last thing I wanted to do was learn and appear interested in things that I could barely see anyway! It begs to mention that the very first song on the radio when I got into the van was Kelly Clarkson 'Because of You'. My Kelly welcomed me to Dubai with open arms!!!

However, once I awoke this morning, I could fully appreciate the hotel and the view I had from my balcony. Dubai has several different areas, you could call them subdivisions. Much like how in Dallas we have Downtown, Uptown, Lakewood, etc. I am staying in Dubai Marina - any guess why? Yup, because it is a marina! Let me state that there is construction everywhere you turn around here. There are so many developments going up, new ground being broken and even new buildings being improved upon. It is exactly as you see on TV - a city of cranes and dust. Suffice to say that there is plenty of money here and people are not afraid to spend it. As I pulled in to the hotel this morning, the driveway of the garage had two Mercedes S class, a Hummer, two Porsches and a Lamborgini.

If you are familiar with the developments in Dubai, you know that they are creating man made islands in the shape of palm trees: Palm Deira, Palm Jumeirah and Palm Jebel Ali.


This is a view from my balcony. Immeidately is the Dubai Marina and in the distance, you can see the Palm Jumeirah. If you can see the alleys of water between the houses, that is what creates the fronds of Palm Jumeirah.




In the far distance, you can see Atlantis. Which is the hotel/residences at the 'crown' of the Palm Jumeirah.





And this, of course, is probably the most recognizable structures in Dubai - The Burj Al Arab. It is the world's only 7 star hotel and the world's tallest hotel. I was able to drive by it last night, but unfortunately it was very late and all the lights were off. This image was taken with my camera from my balcony - it is magnified a bit. I'm not THAT close to it. :) I am looking forward to spending at least one night there.












I met up with colleagues today and walked around a bit and took a road trip about an hour or so North of Dubai. Dubai (and the UAE) has very strict laws about purchasing alcohol. You have to possess a permit in order to purchase and you essentially have to be a resident to attain a permit. However, there is a place just north of here that doesn't so much abide by those rules for some reason. We all went and stocked up on some wine and other fun libations.

Until the next time - take care of yourself and each other!


1 comment:

Unknown said...

This is a great blog! I love hearing your travels and activities to date. Makes it feel like you're not so far away. : ) - KMac