The region’s youngest and most effervescent city, revels in its location, a couple of hours away from the glitz of Europe and the bustling bylanes of India or even the climes of Africa, and with its geography, natural treasures (read oil), exemption on taxes and a visionar sheikh it has managed to gain a stronghold as the belle of the ball and with good reason. There is so much to be seen that cannot be seen, so much to do that cannot be done, so much to feel that cannot be felt and of course so much to be spent that cannot be spent! There is no amount of money that will ever feel enough in Dubai, the lux of it all is absolutely dizzying. And the scales that the buildings reach is literally like reaching into the homes of the Gods. While we landed in Abu Dhabi and drove to Dubai we were introduced to the desert first and took in the topography of the land before we saw what the visionary humans did to it and yes it is unbelieveable.
Driving on the main Sheikh Zayed road we were greeted with the most expansive traffic snarl that took us over two hours to traverse from one end of the city limits to the other. We were concerned to know that our Taxi driver could well drop us into Dubai but would not be allowed to ferry passengers back to Abu Dhabi and would have to go empty. Strange rules I thought to myself, just as we passed enormous signboards, then the Jumeirah Lake area which was again unbelievable. Reclaimed land, so much of it, so well maintained and now there are even parks with pretty specie of trees from all over the world growing comfortably in Dubai. While there is nothing natural about the city, this man-made wonder is a spectacle in itself and what mankind can do if mankind chooses to!
Our touristy day in Dubai, got me first dressing in my glitzy best, well I had to match the city’s glam quotient and we went up to the frame, to see the skyscrapers of the city from a distance, even then we were not prepared! The taxis and cabs in Dubai need a mention on their own, from Teslas to Ferraris everything is a call away, but as a green person I had to call a Tesla and so when our ride appeared we were in for a treat, from the Dubai Frame as we drove to the Burj Khalifa our Tesla had a glazed roof and sides and well what a way to zip through the city at 9 am in the morning, the city is all practically asleep at the tender hours in the morning, for us in Bangalore 9 am is practically afternoon with a majority of our day past us already! But Dubai is a city of the night, well the lights look better at night, and the city is totally lit, also the sun is too harsh in the day!
Our driver decided I look Emirati and took us to the Burj Khalifa residences as I typed out the location on our Uber and then with more time in our gorgeous Tesla we managed to reach the base of the tallest building in the world, ready to make ascent. Fifteen years after it was inaugurated and fifteen years after really really wanting to go. The building is stunning, inspired by the make of a flower in plan rising like a sheathed sword into the sky, trimming into a thinner crescendo, it is marketed to the max, as the guides go about all day talking of what is out there for all to see, reiterating facts on how the Khalifa, the tallest building in the world was built in a span of 6 years, a time frame that sometimes is what it takes to build a swanky farmhouse in India! Yet the main feature that came to my notice was later, which every guide and information chart refuses to mention was when we later headed to the museum of the future a fellow Mom elucidated me upon, that the Burj Khalifa is not connected to the sewage system of the city, as are a lot of buildings in Dubai. Hardly beknownst to that fact, I was amazed to know that the city administration decided it was cheaper to truck sewage from several prominent buildings that to connect it to the sewer system of the city. I couldnt help but feel that after all, all that glitters is not gold.
Yet the Dubai Mall, the Museum of the future are experiences in Dubai, and we most conveniently avoided the souk! The Museum of the future is greatly hyped up and the visitors get to experience what the team thinks will be the matters of the future. Divided into 5 chapters, the future is said to be all about energy tapping from the sun with panels on the moon (!), then there is the point of wellness as in the future depression is set to be the new pandemic, there is the point of bio-hacking, by using fungi of different sorts to recharge the soil of the forests that may be depleted of nutrition in the future, and then there is the matter of transportation where people can fly in their bat-suits, access information through their 3d goggles and be driven around in their intelligent self-driven cars. I wonder why smart is used for tech powered devices, but not intelligent. The final chapter is titled future heros and is a very fun play area for children. It mustve been great, since it was attested by my 6 year old! Parents have to wait on the fringes and thats when i made acquaintance with the french lady in tech, her project at the moment was the AI goggles back in France. Also she enlightened me on the present scenario of Dubai.
The parks speckled around this desert city are truly a miracle, what the sheikhs have managed to create in Dubai is truly something out of the world, as expats rush in to buy, live and get a slice of luxury in Dubai I wonder, is it necessary?
Vedasri Siddamsetty 