Novotel Deira City Centre Dubai

Usually, one would go to bed early after having packed his luggage considering that one has planned a 24 hour trip to Africa the next day.

Well, I started my African experience in a slightly different way – I went out until 3 in the morning, just having 3-4 beers and surprisingly woke up the next morning with one of the worst hangovers of my entire life and my luggage still unpacked.

I managed ...

... new buildings open! My mum's apartment is on the 38th floor in downtown, with the most superb view of the Burj Dubai, the Emirates Towers, and the Dubai Mall, and all the twinkling lights!

So this is where I'll be stationed for the next week. Sometime next week I'm going to Bahrain, possibly Qatar too if I can sort it out [avoiding Saudi due to many, many reasons, most importantly pilgrimage though], and after that it's off to Aberdeen! Woohoo..

... just waiting to fly. One guy was there for 2 months, the other for a month and one was there for 2 weeks and they hadn't worked a day. I missed my taxi and they ended up giving me a lift and we took in sights together including a trip to the Emirates Palace and they took me out for lunch! I think was a welcome addition to their day, as they were to mine. And, I think their wives will be thanking me, as I showed them my gold necklace with ...

... to take us across the creek but a guy at the ticket office told us the ones which were further up the creek would drop us closer to the souks. So off we walked again and hopped on an abra (1dhs each) for the ride across the creek. There was lots to see, all the other little boats, larger dhows and city buildings. There were public toilets just as we got off and the girls and I headed in but they were horrified to realise they were the "squat" ones ...

... realized. My sense of life in the city is that it's largely vacant...shiny surfaces, not much depth. Without fertility its luxuries will only become more luxurious and more vacant as global resources become more scarce. The scale is too large to create a multi-dimensional community in a harsh environment. Walking didn't work. Freeways ran between mega developments built by private entities. There was no public realm to walk through, only a vast selection of air-conditioned ...

... companies, displaying fire, pyrotechincs and performers using original, innovative methods and flying artists off cranes at crowd-stirring heights. I will never forget the feeling of hearing the audience (approx. 50,000 spectators) collectively all say "oooohhh... wow" as the internally lit flying characters came in thirty meters over their heads on the crane. I was ready in costume and had about four minutes left before going onstage. It was an unmistakeable wave, a ...

... converted muslin attire so that explains a bit. thankfully all the beds were taken there so i go stuck in another wi a nice jap dude then at 2 am these 2 other asian dudes came in, both dressed and looked like that korean ****er that killed 30 odd people in virginia tech in washington this year. that wa slightly off puttin so at first opportunity i was packed and out of there asap. earlier that day we spent either in taxis, tryin to find taxis or lost. next day ...

... international, etc. But what really is there to do there, after a few days of tourism? It's like a Disneyland. After the rides and the mascots, you're left with a $5 hot dog and a sunburn. Plus, in Dubai, the owners are left with a costly and environmentally unfriendly operating method. Evidenced already by the smog that coats the city. Is it really worth it to have green grass lining the avenues? I am sure I would have seen more westerners if I were on the big budget. As it ...

... walked through Dubai Souq which sells beautiful fabrics from Asia.






We caught an abra, small wooden boat with no sides where everyone sits on a platform in the middle. It cost 1d for both of us from Bur Dubai abra station to Deira Old Souq abra station. Went past the Dhow wharf – dhow bound for every port from Kuwait ...

... plenty of Arabs in white robes and red checked cloths on their heads and women in black with their faces covered.







We arrived in Dubai at 9.30pm local time (12.30am Thai time). Dubai has a massive beautiful airport but it took us an hour to ...