Dubai

Now that things have settled down, I’ll share my thoughts on Dubai. First off, it doesn’t feel like the Middle East. Very little of Dubai isn’t western influenced. In the US we have signs in English with maybe Spanish writing underneath it. In Dubai signs are in English with Arabic written underneath. Since English is the language of business I assumed there would be a lot of English translations. Instead it was all Arabic translations (at least what I witnessed). The buildings would be at home in the US. I guess I assumed from the pictures that you’d have these skyscrapers surrounded by buildings you see on TV or the movies of Iraq, Iran or Lebanon. Really wasn’t the case. There was some but you can tell there was effort made to appeal to Europeans. In fact the few areas I saw that looked like traditional/Hollywood/news portrayed Arab villages were more for tourism than function. It was like the medieval festivals they have in the US. You get to experience life from a different period and while you’re here, please shop. That is how these areas felt.

I was very comfortable walking around at anytime during the day or night. In fact, I feel less safe here in Kansas City than I did in Dubai. Not only is the crime rate very low, but when I walked around, I saw more of a reflection of a home than a foreign nation. I’m really not sure I ever met an Emirate. I met several Arabs from Egypt and Saudi Arabia, but no locals. At the hotel everyone was European or Indian. At night when we ate it was the same thing. In some ways, that was a little disappointing.

UAE is a country that doesn’t cut corners. The drive between Dubai and Abu Dhabi is about an hour and a half long. Between the interstates was a constant row of flowers and plants. Every couple of miles there was also a water fountain or a way to get water. This area is completely sand. They are irrigating the desert for miles so that the major interstate between the two largest cities in the UAE looks nice. In Dubai I couldn’t find a skyscraper that looked the same (except for things like their version of the twin towers and such). The malls have a lot of similar stores to the malls in the US. However, most malls in the US have a design or them, but nothing compared to Dubai. They have more of the Vegas feel to them than a traditional mall. Everything has details and nothing is plain. In one mall they have different sections that represent different parts of the world. They actually brought in artists from those areas to make it authentic. They really don’t seem to worry about expense. The show is that important.

I know several of you asked me about dress codes and what people wear. Islamic women wear some type of head scarf. There are a variety of names I’ve yet to understand but different scarves mean different things. Most do not have the full face coverage, only head and neck. Some only reveal their eyes. Men either were dress clothes or regional wardrobe that identifies their origin. Men are not required to wear any type of clothing like women. As for the non-Islamic, we basically can wear anything we want as long as it is not too revealing or improper. I was told women need to cover their shoulders, but in the malls I saw several wearing tank tops. I think a level of modesty is advised but nobody would need to buy different clothes to visit. Again, it is very western in appearance and the shops highlight that fact.

When it comes to places to live, the team in Dubai was nice enough to take me around to a couple areas. I think our focus will be on the Marina area (which includes internet city where Cerner is located) or the Palm Island. Traffic is really bad so I want to be as close to work as possible. Plus, there are a lot of shops and restaurants in that area. These areas are close to the beaches, easy access to the interstate and around some amazing hotels. The convenience of it all would be nice. Hence, we’ll most likely live an apartment or high-rise condo. Is it greedy of me to want an ocean view?


A couple of intersting links I've included below.

http://www.gulfnews.com/sport/Athletics/10224628.html

This is an article about Dubai's desire to host the 2012 olypmics


http://www.burjdubai.com/

home link to the Burj Dubai, worlds tallest building (yes, it's on sand)


http://www.skidxb.com/English/default.aspx

about ski dubai, with facts about how they make snow indoors


http://www.dubai-architecture.info/DUB-GAL1.htm

Dubai is nuts, well, at least according to this person


http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/06/25/duibai.tower/index.html?iref=newssearch

article about Dubai building rotating towers



if all this happens, it will be pretty amazing