Dubai and Abu Dhabi
My St Viet host kindly took me to the nearest post office where I packed my camping gear in a box and sent it to the Western Australian Museum. This was not because it is old and should be there, but because I have a weight problem and excess baggage is charged at EUR 59 per kilo. Nothing I own is worth EUR 59 per kilo.
Next stop was a local chat, where we had another excellent chat on the state of the world and the benefits of living in such a village so close to one of the world’s great cities.
Another Scott Morrison Relative?
It was then off to the Vienna International Airport to board my Emirates flight to Dubai. I presented my British Passport to the woman on the check in. She told me that I would not be able to board the flight unless I was able to provide a document that showed that I had a right to enter Australia. For some reason I seem to meet airline staff that hold the same views as Scott Morrison. We had a rather long conversation which got nowhere. In the end I gave up and handed over my Australian passport. She looked so disappointed.
Mayfair Hotel
The flight to Dubai was uneventful. I left by bike in the ‘Left Luggage’ and caught a transfer bus to my hotel which was about 15 minutes away. The place is a bit tacky but clean.
Appalled by the Malls
In the morning I caught the Metro system into the main part of Dubai. The metro is very impressive. I was particularly impressed by the fact that the trains are driverless and there is no station staff. Doubtless there is some central monitoring system. However , it does show that such a system is possible. Sydney Train take note.
I stopped at the Dubai Marina and went for a walk. I only saw two other people of the street. I was incredibly hot.
I took the train back to the Mall of the Emirates . This is the one with the indoor skiing slope. This would have to be the silliest thing on the planet.
I rejoined the train. I passed the ‘Internet Centre’ and the ‘Financial Centre’. Dubai is trying to establish a diverse range of industries.
Tall Towers
Next stop was the Dubai Mall which is located near the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building. I have seen a few of these: the CN Tower in Toronto, the Sears Tower in Chicago, the World Trade Center and Empire State buildings in New York and the Petronis Towers in KL. Who is going to the silly enough to build the next one? The Grollo Brother in Melbourne.
Abu Dhabi
I decide to take a trip to the next Emirate along the coast, Abu Dhabi. I booked a tour from the hotel. There were six others on the tour – an American couple from Tennessee, two mid-twenties girls from New Jersey and Russian father and son who lived in New York and San Francisco. It turnout to be an interesting combination. The girls had the combined QI of the average moron.
We headed off in a seven seat 4WD on the main 6 lane highway to Abu Dhabi. We passed the sports centre where cricket and soccer are played. I thought of the Australia and other cricketer that were due to play ODI’s in the next couple of weeks in Sharjah, just up the road. This is no place for outdoor sports. And of course there is the lunacy of staging the next World Cup for soccer in Qatar just further along the coast.
Impressive Mosque
As we entered Abu Dhabi we caught sight of the Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque. This was the main attraction of the tour.
We stopped and entered the Mosque. It is seriously impressive. Check out the Flickr link.
Apparently I took only 4 years to build. It is amazing what you can do with western engineering skills and labour from the sub-continent.
Over the top Accommodation
After the Mosque we drove passed the Emirates Palace Hotel which as rooms for USD 25K per night. Yes USD 25k!!!!!!! That is absurd.
Nearby is the construction site for the Sheiks new palace. It is close to his old one which is apparently too small. It is a joke.
Fake Traditional Village
We had lunch in a tourist museum place that had a fake traditional village with clay huts and Bedouin tents. One cannot help thinking that when the oil has gone, it will all return to that.
Ferrari Center
Heading back to Dubai, we dropped into the Ferrari Center. The bloke from Tennessee expected to see a car Museum. It is really a children’s theme park. He was seriously disappointed.
Traffic Jam
As we entered Dubai the road got even bigger. However notwithstanding it was the weekend and the traffic was ‘light’, we hit a traffic jam which brought us to a complete standstill. Surprise, surprise – lots of large 4WD vehicles on big highways is not the future.
Remembering Bahrain
I was remembering the other times I have been in this region. When I worked for Foreign Affairs the plane to London stopped in Singapore and Bahrain. It used to land in Bahrain around mid-night. As wondered around the airport I used to wonder what it was like outside.
In 1990 when I was working for Caltex Corporation, I sent to Bahrain and Cairo. It was late July and my first stop was Bahrain. I was met at the airport at midnight. As I exited the terminal I was hit by 37C (100F)heat and 100% humidity. I was taken to Awali (now known as Sitra) which is a town that was built in 1948 to house the mainly British employees and their families that were moved there to construct and manage the refinery that was built nearby. Many of the ‘Awali Children’ ended up working for Caltex, and many of them ended up in Australia.
I stayed in Bahrain for a couple of days before traveling on to Cairo and Alexandria where Caltex had operations. On the weekends I got away to Sharm El Sheik and up the Nile River to Luxor.
When I returned to Bahrain, in late October, the humidity had gone and the weather was relatively pleasant. Nothing else was.
Flickr Links
Dubai
Abu Dhabi
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