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The first thing I have to say about Dubai is nothing at all. I can barely lift my jaw up off the ground long enough to form coherent sentences. I've just had a brief and oh so shallow introduction to one of the most mesmerizing places I've ever laid eyes upon. One minute I was speeding along an empty desert highway, and the next the sun was blotted out by a cloud of fascinating brand new buildings, each with a unique artistic flair. Before I know it I'm gazing out the window of a Starbucks at a couple of camels strolling down a beautiful beach next to the palm tree-shaped island (known as The Palm). The distinctive salmon pink Atlantis resort looms in the distance along with the sailboat shaped Burj al Arab. Replete with a helipad extending from the side of the building, the Burj is purported to be the best hotel in the world. A Lamborghini is parked on the street, and a completely burqa clad woman (five feet behind her husband) walks by a blonde woman seated outside who could easily pass for a Swedish supermodel. Where the hell am I?
The area I find myself in is known as The Walk, a roughly mile-and-a-half long stretch of apartments, hotels, and condos that line the beach near the Dubai Marina. There are 6 Starbucks located in the immediate area, so that none of the residents departing from one of their many towers has to travel too far for their morning hit. If there are any residents, that is. It might be Monday, but I don't get the impression that the applications to live here are piling up. The street that parallels the beach is lined with cafes and boutique shops, some of them western and some not. They range from Starbucks, Boots pharmacy, and Subway to upscale Japanese and Lebanese restaurants. To my surprise, I found a Tiffinbites, one of my favorite places to get Indian food in London. The staff is, I think, Filipino, as are many of the food service industry personnel here. The fresh naan and Karahi chicken make for the best meal I've had in months. As the day progresses, I realize that The Walk is the epitome of "New Dubai," the area west of the more historic creek area. It's as if Manhattan we know it was being built all at once. People live here, but the whole place has an "under construction" feel to it, not just physically, but also in terms of its economic and social development. I can't help but wonder how many of the expensive stores here are managing to tread water. Furthermore, its hard to imagine the tiny army of multinational residents here harboring any civic pride or belonging to many local groups. Before I can think on these things for too long, I'm whisked away to a place even more superficial, unreal, and yet altogether intoxicating.
The Dubai Mall sits several miles east of the marina, closer to the historic center of Dubai, but still in another world altogether. En route, we pass by and endless sea of construction. South Asian immigrants are hard at work trimming hedges and operating cranes. Some dangle from the sides of the monstrous towers, rushing at their work. One moment, we pass by a large building bearing a propagandized poster of the Prime Minister of the U.A.E. and Emir of Dubai, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The next moment, we pass by brand new Microsoft and Cysco Systems office buildings. Where the hell am I?
The 44,000 square foot mall is colossal and feels like its own 4 floored city. It houses four hotels, a cinema, and a cutting edge arcade. Stores are grouped together, with all of the furniture stores next to each other, the women's fashion stores co-located, etc. The Gold Souk, a mall within the mall, tries to add a back-alley middle eastern feel to a mall defined by its luxury western attractions (Louis Vuitton, Prada, Cartier and the like). A multi-story aquarium, complete with a shark tunnel, graces an entire wall inside the mall. As I walked by, enjoying my Italian gelato, scuba diving vacationers explored the aquarium's reefs as schools of exotic fish dashed by. Further along, a group of people whisk by on the professional size ice skating rink. After exploring the lower level and eating at a high quality Italian restaurant I head outside where I'm greeted by the Burj Khalifah, the world's tallest building by far at 2,717 ft tall. It dominates a mini-lake that is also enclosed by the mall and and Arabesque market selling Pashminas, rugs, and other touristy trinkets. At sundown the fountains come alive, and columns of water dance to Arab music in a style similar to that of the famous Bellagio fountain. Incense and perfume permeate the air, adding to the city's intoxicating effect. Before I know it I'm whisked away, and my nascent love affair with this dream world is cut short.
I know my introduction to Dubai is just that; a superficial, shallow, and unrepresentative encounter with a tiny slice of the reality. But what a potent encounter it has been. The experience is tempered by the knowledge that only a small fraction of the population actually enjoys the fruits of the development carried out on the backs of what is essentially the modern equivalent of a slave labor force. But moral considerations aside, it is refreshing to see what focused human imagination and creativity are capable of when given access to unrestricted methods and unlimited wealth. Coming from a Western world sometimes characterized by stagnation, atrophy, and decay, the spirit of Dubai is reminiscent of the can-do attitude of the romanticized American West. Only time will tell if Dubai's development can continue; if people will ever move into those empty condos. Until then, I'll be looking forward to my next (hopefully more substantive) encounter with this new Babylon.
