Thanks to my short trip to Dubai... the block has been removed from my keboard and I am back happily trying to sheikh-out the Dubai effect.
Dubai always has had close connections with India due to various reasons - proximity, liberal regulations and laws in middle east, work & investment opportunities etc. One of the effects also has been that it is one of the first overseas option for Indian criminals to take refuge. Anyways this in itself can be a big topic for discussion, may be sometime later.
Dubai infact has become a generic word in India to represent
middle east & gulf countries. Tell a common man about Qatar, Bahrain or Oman and they may draw a blank but moment you say Dubai the face of the lowest of lowlies in India will light up with a golden glow.Well the golden glow is not uncalled for. Dubai is all about money.... period...... stop. Guess I really understood the word Megalomaniac by looking at Dubai. The city is dotted with skyskrapers and high rises. But then there are many more cities in the world with much more high rises. What makes Dubai exceptional is..... within a short span this sleepy fishing village has changed itself totally and thats where my use of Megalomania comes in. Dubai is situated in vast expanse of dessert and there is no dearth of land but still their passion for tall buildings is just to show that they can be no less than the developed world when it comes to opulence. And it is not only the height but also the enormity in what ever they construct. So you also have many of the largest malls, tallest hotel, tallest building project etc etc. You can enjoy snow skiing as if you are in alps right in the middle of dessert. You can shop for the best known global brands. In a rare possiblity of still having money whilst going back from Dubai you can spend it over in one of the largest duty free arcade at the airport.
Dubai does want to empty your pockets and it does the task impressively and successfully. The
real estate development is booming exponentially. The skyscrapers are going higher and higher and work on three fourths of a kilometer tall building has already started which as of now is stated to be the tallest building in the world, when completed. A project is launches which will have most of the wonders in the world in actual or bigger size housing hotels, malls and commercial centres. So you can stay in an Eiffel Tower, or shop in a Taj Mahal or attend a meeting in Roman Colosseum. On the right you can see the picture of proposed 705 m tall Burz Dubai. This will have 160 floors.
And believe it or not reclamation is common here to have water fronted properties. The much talked about Al-Burz Hotel is on a reclaimed island. Whilst in Mumbai reclaimation is the only option available in Dubai its resorted to make the property more opulent and desirable. The picture onthe left is of Burz Al Arab Hotel a 60 story building 321 m in height with the heighest atrium in the world.Talking of Mumbai..... Dubai not only rhymes with Mumbai but also shares most of the traits. The moment I got of Dubai airport(at 3 AM) the city reminded me of Mumbai. Rising skyline, glitzy neon hoardings, amount of traffic, dug up and being constructed roads and the happening night life. Mumbai and Dubai both have been fishing villages and have surged ahead as commercial capitals. And yes the hazy atmosphere, which surely is missed at Oman.
Still somewhere it still retains it fishing village charm, visible near the Dubai creek. This creek divides Dubai and its quite common for people to use Abra (wooden ferries- motorised) to cross the creek from Bur Dubai to Deira. I enjoyed couple of rides ( 50 phils each). The traditional markets of Gold Souq, Spice Souq, Karama have an old flavour. But most of the people and vistors throng to enormous malls. I was really mesmerised by the size of parking lots and certainly needed GPS to keep my bearings.
Me on the Dubai creek with Deira buildings and a woodden dhow in back ground.
Talking of high rises- safety and insurance are also of concern. Anyone on for discussion.
Currently the tallest building is the one at Taipei. This and everything (almost) about highr rise you can see at http://www.emporis.com Interesting site.
Well for a villager like me.... Muscat is better so like Pune. Did you hear about a simpleton who went to Mumbai for the first time and was looking all the way up to a high rise building, when a Bambaiya Thug came and asked " Whatchya doin?" The villager replied, " Counting the storeys- u disturbed me at 20" And then the thug extracted Rs. 100 saying that for each storey counted one has to pay Rs. 5 as per Bombay Municipal Corporation bye-law. Well the simpleton paid.
You guessed it right that villager was me!
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