i arrived in dubai in the middle of the night. they have a brand new metro system, so i figured i’d just take that into the city from the airport. but the airport station was still under construction, and i couldn’t find a bus stop or anything, and no one seemed very keen on answering any questions. i didn’t really know where i was going, so after storing my large backpack i figured i’d just start walking, as i’d rather walk aimlessly for the rest of the night than get ripped off by a taxi driver and then walk around aimlessly for the rest of the night. so i set off down the freeway from the airport (there was a little sidewalk alongside), and into the wonderful world of dubai! after a while i found a bus stop, and figured out the bus to take and everything, but then that bus came zooming by without stopping or acknowledging me in any way, so i gave up on that idea. i followed to road signs for the part of the city where my hotel was – they took me through a huge interchange – but you know how sometimes on those interchanges the roads do big loops and figure eights and whatnot? well, needless to say after 45 minutes of walking i found myself back to basically where i had started. and the same thing happened later that night (different place obviously) when i went back to the airport to get my bag and had to find my way from one terminal to another. anyway, i eventually i found a metro station that was open, and it was the most impressive thing ever. a brand new, fully automated (the longest in the world) metro system! i later learned that there was a station open at another terminal at the airport.
i then went to deira, the part of town where my hotel was, to look for it. but i didn’t know where it was. the best i had was a memory of its general location amongst a tangle of streets with arabic names. i searched the chaotic streets and souks of deira for a couple hours looking for it, which was rather fun! deira has a similar vibe to cairo, ie, a lot dirtier and chaotic than i ever imagined dubai would be. i finally found the hotel, a seedy little place that seems to be popular among africans but no one else. the entirety of this part of town has many poor arabs, indians, southeast asians and africans, but no caucasians or emiratis (the only actual citizens of the united arab emirates, who wear these huge white flowing sheets for hats, tied up with camel hair, and gracefully walk around like they own the place [they actually do]). from what i’ve seen, all the emiratis and white folks hang out in the gourmet restaurants and the malls. and they love their malls! i found that out when i then went to dubai mall, the brand new and extremely opulent largest mall in the world, which includes an aquarium and huge skating rink among many other things. the best part is that it is built at the base of the brand new tallest building in the world, the burj khalifa! it is probably the most beautiful building i have ever seen. it was so tall that i had to walk about three miles away just to take a picture that would include the whole thing! then, in the evening, there was a water and light show set to arabic music on the huge lake that partially surrounds the complex. when the fountains reach their climax, it is the tallest fountain in the world, shooting water 500 ft in the air! i then went back to the airport to get my bag, getting lost again as previously mentioned, and then finally, after being awake for 45 hours and on my feet for the past 20, got to sleep.
