United Arab Emirates (Dubai)- 2008, 2011

We’ve been to Dubai twice, both times as stopping off points on the way to other countries, Oman in 2008 and South Africa in 2011.  Dubai is the hub for Emirates Airways, an incredibly busy airport connecting Africa, Europe, Asia and South America.   Flights are generally long, sixteen hours from San Francisco, and because of its location most Dubai flights leave in the middle of the night.

Dubai is both a city and also one of the seven Emirates comprising the United Arabic Emirates, or UAE.  It’s situated on the eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula with the Straits of Hormuz to the north, Oman to the southeast and Saudi Arabia to the west.  At the Straits narrowest point, Dubai is only 150 miles from Bandar Abbas in Iran.  With a population of about three million, Dubai is the largest city in the seven Emirates.

On our 2008 trip, we only spent two nights, which was sufficient for a good overview. We rented a Toyota Landcruiser, which we were planning to drive into Oman and which enabled us to see more of Dubai and the surrounding area.

Dubai is something else, kind of a cross between Disney World and Las Vegas, on steroids.  Powered by oil wealth starting in the 1960’s, Dubai built and kept on building, until in 1991 the oil started running out.

While the UAE ranks 7th in world oil reserves, with almost 100 billion barrels, Dubai has essentially exhausted its oil and oil production accounts for less than 1% of its gross domestic product.  Recognizing that “black gold” would no longer power Dubai’s economy and growth, planners in the 1990’s began a major diversification program, enhancing other sectors and positioning the city as a luxury tourist and business destination. 

When we were there, they were still constructing the world's tallest building, and said that if anyone built a higher one, they’d just add more stories.  But after the economic downturn of 2008, Dubai ran out of money and had to appeal to Abu Dubai, one of the seven other emirates, and the wealthiest, for funding to complete the building.  As a result, the name was changed from Burj Dubai (burj means “tower” in Arabic) to Burj Khalifa, Khalifa being the name of the Emir of Abu Dhabi.

Unlike the US where real estate was tanking, property values in Dubai appreciated at an incredible rate, at least before the 2008 recession.  It’s amazing how many hotels, condos and office buildings were under construction; it was mind boggling to see and reminded me of the frantic construction in China.  Many Russians, Chinese, Indians and Europeans had been investing in Dubai property, with condos appreciating at the rate of several percent a month.  

While exploring the city we noticed an amazing amount of healthy-looking landscaping, much of it being watered almost around the clock.  We didn’t understand how a city in the desert could have so much water available, until we learned about their water supply.  The Jebel Ali Power and Desalination Plant covers an area of more than three kilometers along the Persian Gulf and is the world’s largest gas-fired and seawater desalination plant.  It can desalinate more than four hundred million gallons of seawater a day and provides 99% of Dubai’s water needs. California should be studying their system.

Our second visit to Dubai, in 2011, was on our way to South Africa with our grandson, Nick.  We stayed two nights with friends Lynn and Cam, who we had met on a riverboat cruise in Germany.  Lynn is originally from Singapore and Cam is from Australia.  Cam is a captain for Emirates Airlines and Lynn was raising their young son, Angus.  They live in a large, three-bedroom apartment situated in an enclave reserved for Emirates employees.

Lynn and Cam gave us the grand tour of Dubai, including a visit to the top of Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building. At 2,700 feet, just over half a mile high, it surpassed the previous record holder, the Taipei 101 at 1667 feet.  It was opened in 2010 after a six-year construction project, at a cost of 1.5 billion dollars.  The Burj Khalifa was part of Dubai’s plan to diversity from an oil-based economy by creating mixed-use residential and commercial structures, including large shopping malls.

While strolling around the observatory, and marveling at the magnificent views, we came upon an oddity:  an ATM machine that dispensed gold bars.  Payment was either in cash or credit card and 24-carat bars were available in one, five and ten grams. It’s likely that these were meant as souvenirs, although pricey ones. 

On another day Lynn and Cam took us on a tour of the city, including the amazing Palm Islands, the largest manmade islands in the world. They’re named after their palm tree shape; seen from space, the archipelago resembles a palm tree within a circle.  The islands contain more than ten thousand residences, sixty hotels, shopping malls, restaurantsand a marina.  

Another Dubai amazement:  the Burj Al Arab Jumeriah Hotel.  In a city filled with luxurious and expensive five-star hotels, the Burj Al Arab stands above all the others. It’s billed as the best 7-star hotel in Dubai and the world’s most luxurious hotel.  It’s built on its own island, in the shape of a sail ship, and at about 1,000 feet is one of the tallest hotels in the world.  Misti and I wanted to go into the lobby and were told that would cost us $50 each; we declined.

After several days with Lynn and Cam, it was time to resume our travels to Oman, a distance of only ninety miles to the border.  We spent ten days in Oman, returned through Abu Dhabi, capital of UAE, and drove back to Dubai for our flight back home.