Understanding Dubai

Dubai City from above

For the vlog episode #2 video, see the end of this post...

UNDERSTANDING DUBAI. (Or trying to do so...)
The concrete jungle of Dubai has me. It is warm, but not too hot - i got lucky with the weather here. My first night i have a couchsurfing stay at Sid & Kaaya (Couchsurfing Profile)- a lovely Indian couple, who make my arrival in the city pleasant and easy. We have nice conversations and cook an Indian dish (see recipe in the video), before i move on to the next couch at Harry (Couchsurfing Profile), a HongKong expat for the next days...

Me and my couch surfing hosts: Kaaya - with Sid on the background photo ;)

The next day, it is time for the main reason I came here in the first place: to meet my friend Björn and his wife with their baby - finally! Hanging out together and to meet little Ole after several months was really fun. But having lunch on an artificial island in the ocean is kind of surreal - just like most things here. Everything seems to be artificial - the buildings, the stores, the whole lifestyle... But by couchsurfing i at least get to understand the mix of cultures a bit better and understand why there is not much of a typical culture left. It's city of immigrants. So first i want to get a better view of the current Dubai city from the top of the tallest building in the world: The Burj al Khalifa.

The Burj-al-Khalifa from below

Looking down on this (still unfinished) mosaic of skyscrapers, fountains, wide highways and artificially build islands in the middle of the ocean just shows that this place keeps growing the same way: Bigger, wider, taller - whatever money can buy...

The Burj-al-Khalifa from the Top View

After this experience i would like to get at least a glimpse of what it must have felt like many years ago when this place still was only a big desert. So I'm hopping on a (admittedly quite touristic) desert safari tour - just like 8.000 other tourists - a day (!). Our guide is really nice and we enjoy our fun ride bouncing through the dunes. I decide not to do the circular quad ride and ride on the camels or pictures with a falcon, as i don't know if the animals are being treated there well...) The trip then ends at a desert camp for a beautiful sunset, where we receive some dinner buffet and see three different live shows on stage. The three shows (bellydance, fire spitter and spinning-skirt-guy) are surprisingly good and might give a bit of insight into the (ancient) culture...

Our Landcruiser for the Desert Safari

All in all the stay with only four nights was short but alright. I now have some better understanding of the mix of cultures and the desert life. I still would only come here to visit my friends, but never just fly here only for fun or vacation. If you have a stop-over, you might want to have a look at this Las Vegas of the Arab Emirates, but there are more interesting places to visit on this planet of ours...

Sunset in the desert camp

WELL, NOW WHAT'S THE MEANING OF THE LETTER "L"? I have promised to tell you and it is simple - the L stands for LOCAL. The only problem is that Dubai doesn't have too much "local" stuff to see, visit and eat. (I managed at least to get a local fish & side dishes once though) Even the famous desert safari is only a nice, but touristic 'desert show' experience. That is why I will get more into the meaning of local at my next stop, which is rich in local culture, traditions and of course food: MUMBAI!

PS: if you want to find out about all the places i've been to in Dubai which are shown in the current vlog episode or if you want to see, where i currently am: Click on "WHERE I AM" on the top of this page to see the map and explore...