“To the inheriting makers of skyscrapers, monoliths, overpasses, canals and intricate systems of global trade: Buy some stuff.” – Old Sean
Foretold Days
After spending the remainder of January lounging in Riyadh, I hopped aboard a plane to visit a singular Middle Eastern destination which has eluded my travels. I flew to Dubai, the ambitious seaside metroplex of the United Arab Emirates.
Often, it’s funny to consider what we didn’t know prior in life. I actually recall the first moment I learned about Dubai in middle school. It was just a conversation in passing with an older fellow talking to my dad about the incredulous idea of making a towering city-state smack in the desert. He went on to talk about some of the features of the city, which he considered ridiculous.
Indoor ski slopes, cloud seeding technology, a bunch of islands in the shape of palm trees which would be sunk by rising seas, underwater hotels, a single scoop of ice cream sprinkled with gold flakes costing nearly $1,000 USD, more artificial islands to be showcased to billionaires, robot camels, pet cheetahs and golden vending machines.
I honestly remember thinking that the guy was lobbing a joke past us. But Dubai is famous (or infamous) for hosting all of that. Furthermore, for a solid few decades, Dubai was considered the city of the Middle East, potentially a new playbook for that region of the world to work by.
The reality is far more complex. The sustainable oil revenue the Middle East enjoys is facing looming threats, namely a global initiative to move towards other energy resources, both for national security and environmental reasons. The supercities of the Middle East have risen to prominence, one after another, such as Riyadh, Kuwait City, Manama, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Tel Aviv and Beirut. Skyscrapers inched upwards across the region, showing the world that technology could allow thriving super-metroplexes in some of the harshest, driest environments on Earth.
But for all that, Dubai has a special aspect of audacity to it. So on I flew.
Scrounge Lounge
The first impression that anyone has of Dubai, regardless of how a person visits, is that Dubai is very much “pay to play.” There really isn’t any way around it. If you want to go out and do something or enjoy something, it’s going to cost.
Upon landing, I summoned an Uber from the airport, hoping to arrive at my hotel. There was a bulky line which required a forty-five minute wait for incoming Ubers, even though traffic itself wasn’t too bad outside the airport. The Uber shuttled me to a hotel in the Al Karama District, to the south of Dubai Creek.
However, the original hotel I booked was… far lesser than what I had been hoping for. It was a hostel, sure, but a tiny, unairconditioned room already overstacked with triple-high bunk beds. Everything smelled slightly damp and humid. Apparently, there was an additional check-in charge I hadn’t been aware of.
I decided that I would’ve been miserable trying to whittle nights away in there. For the sake of my unusually snobby standards, I left with a shake of my head, making a last minute booking at another hotel. It was a bit expensive, but it was in the same region and far, far nicer. Not good, by any means. But nicer
From there, the night slipped by quickly. I spent a few hours wandering around the city in some darkness, checked out a couple of late night shops for food, had a fried rice dinner at my hotel and did a bit of reading.
I actually enjoyed this portion of Dubai. The neighborhoods are slightly gritty with tiny shops selling all sorts of street food, from meat-mixes to sugar canes. There are waves of people from Indian, the Philippines and Africa working on those streets and the vast majority of businesses are tough and tumble little shops.
It felt a bit chaotic and pleasantly real. I ended up heading back to the hotel to snooze deeply, bracing myself for the rise of a new day.
The Old Way of Walking
The following morning, I rose early and started a heavy-footed trek north.
Dubai is very regionally segmented. Entertainment is sharply gathered in a single walking area with huge swaths of residential kilometers separating each zone. This means that “Car is King” when getting around and walking soaks up a considerable amount of time.
But that didn’t bother me much. I travel for extra walk time and flat-elevation regions like Dubai in cool, winter weather are especially nice. I made my way to Dubai Creek in the hopes of enjoying the scenery around Dubai Old City.
However, Dubai Old City and Old Walking Village don’t seem legitimately old. Certainly, the style of architecture heralds back to an earlier time. But the actual walls aren’t made from ancient materials meticulously restored. Instead, brushed concrete exteriors are decorated with cracks, giving everything a “Halloween theme-park” quality. There are a couple of legitimate features, including a Wall of Old Dubai and a few buildings in the subsection of the Al Fahidi Historical Neighborhood. But by and large, most of the area is a modern recreation.
Entering the Old City area also means entering Dubai’s semi-traditional shopping district. There is a long souq which winds through the streets, selling all of the goods associated with Middle East Tourism.
Unfortunately, the marketeers within are painfully dedicated salespeople. Walking through results in a lot of shop-side ambushes attempting every tactic imaginable to get customers into a door. Anything from showcase to engagement to physical blocking and baiting.
“Hello, sir, want to take a look?”
“Sir, you need a new shirt, yes? I have.”
“Sir, sir, look at me. Sir, hang on a moment.”
“Hello there, sir, where are you from?”
“Hey, why are you looking so angry? Hey.”
In the shopkeeper’s defense, I was irate by the end of my walk. Getting endlessly heckled isn’t my idea of a good time. I resolutely refused to engage after a while. Luckily, my friend Ahmed bought me a pair of replacement reflective sunglasses a few weeks back, so my eyes were obscured. It made it far easier to avoid eye contact during the entire ordeal.
Gem in the Concrete
That’s not to say the Old City area isn’t nice. There are quite a few interesting gems scattered around. For one, The Coffee Museum is impressively nice and informative. There are plenty of views of the old waterway with traditional Arabian boats restored on the bank, backed against low skylines. Tea shops are plentiful and heartening. There are a few smallish parks with swirls of birds. Al Seef has pots of relaxing flowers. Seagulls swooping around tourists are endlessly entertaining.
Originally, I followed the water’s edge east, but I eventually reversed direction to see a few things I missed. The walk back was far more pleasant. The call to prayer had been called and all of the shopkeepers were visiting a mosque. I was now able to stroll through the souq at leisure, avoiding any imploring people trying to sell doodads.
My walk took me quite a distance until I reached the museum district.
While this area was largely closed, there are a lot of heritage museums in Dubai which Emiratis are enormously proud of. This area included the Al Shindagha Museum, the Perfume House, the Crossroads of Civilization Exhibit, the Dubai Creek Walk, the House of Sheikh Saeed al Maktoum, the Emerging Museum, the Life on Land Shindagha Museum, the House of Poetry, the People and Faith Museum, the Al Shindagha Historic District Center, the Pearl Diving Exhibition, the Culture of the Sea Museum, the Old Books and Text Restoration Museum and more. There were also outdoor artworks of ships and abstract sculptures, my favorite being the Boat Statue Photo Point and Nostalgic Statue.
At the Nostalgic Statue, the high point of my day was reached when a cat hopped down from the model ship to rub around my legs. I spent a solid ten minutes petting her as she meowed pointedly, directing my fingers behind her ears.
It was a nice enough way to spend time in the museum district.
Almost a Shopper
I soon reached the Infinity Bridge, walking across it to enter Al Sabkha. The Infinity Bridge is one of the three pedestrian options to easily cross the Dubai Creek. Guests can also take the Pedestal Under Walkway or the number ferries going back and forth.
Al Sabkha is especially nice as a more modern shopping area. It’s the famed home of the Dubai Gold Souk, which houses a veritable wall of gold and jewelry for browsing and purchase. There are many other miniature shopping places around the open-air awning area, including the Old Souk Bazaar, the Dubai Spice Souq and the Bait Al Banat Women’s Museum.
In all cases, it’s quite nice. But my time in the Middle East has finally led to my exhaustion at the ideas of Souks and markets. They hold nothing new for me. I walked until I reached a small venue called the Cloudy Forest Coffee Shop. From here, I enjoyed a drink and then grabbed an Uber back to my hotel for an hour break.
An Infinity of Windows
After my break at the hotel, I hopped on the Metro system to visit the legendary Business Bay. When people think of Dubai, Business Bay is what they imagine. It’s the home of architectural marvels and the most iconic points of the city.
Getting there is a bit of a hassle though. Despite Dubai being something of a metro-city, everything was made in a desert by regional contractors. This means things are widely spread out. Even walking from the metro into the center of the Business Bay takes a chunk of time, even with the over-road walkways.
But there was nothing for it. I followed the walkway for long minutes with a sizable river of people until we entered Dubai Mall, immediately streaming a variety of directions.
The Dubai Mall is an impressive setup with sprawls of people squeaking across white, manicured floors. Numerous bits of abstract artwork fill empty spaces and the number of upscale shops is staggering. Almost impressively, most of these are empty. People don’t really go to the Dubai Mall to shop, they go to window shop. If strange novelty purchases and upscale options are your eye-candy, Dubai Mall is the place to go.
The entire mall works a bit like an interactive museum. There are plenty of interesting features to pass by. The Mermaids of Arabia is a mermaid-themed cafe for children. The Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo is home to slow swirls of fish, sharks and manta rays. I also saw an oddly bulky shark-manta creature combination that I’ve never witnessed before. It’s called a Bowmouth Guitarfish and it’s an especially unique-looking creature.
Other standout features within the mall included Infinity des Lumieres, a pay-to-enter walkthrough lightshow. The Dubai Ice Rink had dozens of people shuffling around on skates with delighted awkwardness, out-traced by truly excellent skaters making loops. SEGA Republic was a jam-packed Sonic the Hedgehog-themed amusement park worth a glance or two. The Dubai Waterfall is an iconic wall of cascades and sounds worth a photo or three as well. And on and on the list goes.
The Sole Spire
I finally walked outside the mall to see the large Dubai Fountain Boardwalk. And upon doing so, I was treated to the full vision of the Burj Khalifa.
The Burj Khalifa is a marvel of modern engineering. It currently stands as the world’s tallest structure, its profile a singular icon of light, metal and glass. Soaring over half-a-mile into the heavens, it looks like a combination of a traditional skyscraper and ground-forming ice-pillar. All through the night, lights blare across its surface while music places, giving the landmark an entertainment vibe. There are drone images which zoom over the surface, falling lights, lush green swells and the word “Emirate” which appears frequently.
This is all the more impressive for the fountain shows which resound nightly. Music swings through the air and great jets of water dance easily. Higher and higher, mist forms in the aftermath of each show. Boats chug over the artificial lake to give guests a front-end view of the entire scene. The area surrounding the Burj Khalifa is no less impressive, a boardwalk with more shops and endless views of modern skyscrapers in all directions.
The scope of ambition which has created Dubai can never be understated. It is a masterful design that only the most recent generation of humans could aspire to. I truly believe there is something deeply impressive about the entire scene.
Light of Foot
After spending a small loop around the central lake, I made a point of relaxing my eyes by walking through Souk Al Bahar before checking out several other areas outside the central loop of buildings in the area.
The Burj Plaza by Emaar was nice enough. I enjoyed viewing the Wings of Mexico Statue which had a long line stretching behind it.
Humorously enough, a lot of the artwork in Dubai is imported from other areas to showcase. There was a horse in the style of Botero along some waterways. The wings of Mexico owe their creation to a Mexican artist. There are other iconic artworks which have found a home in Dubai, making it a unique art-space walkthrough. The most famed of a dozen cultures pools here, where the money creates skyscrapers.
I continued to wander, following Christmas-light-wrapped pine trees and narrow roads. I passed the beautifully designed Dubai Opera House, Burj Khalifa Park, the Dandelion Sculptures, more fountain shows, the Urbanscape Green Roof, and the Burj Khalifa base itself.
I took several other small loops through the area. There was more to see, always more.
Eventually, I grew tired. I didn’t know how late the metro would stay open and my phone was on the verge of dying. I only stopped to see the iconic Museum of the Future before heading back home.
Dubai’s most-famed central city area is special. It’s grand, immense and a vision of modern architecture. But there’s something slightly disjointed about it that’s hard to explain, a distance between the reality of the city and its aspirations.
This isn’t a fact or statistic, simply a feeling that permeates the richest and most-photographed regions of Dubai.
There’s not a solid way to explain it, so an analogy might be in order. Imagine being a child and your grandfather gets you a boxed doll or action figure from your favorite franchise. You open the wrapping paper to find the toy within and feel a thrill of excitement zip through you. You move to open the packaging yourself, but your grandfather halts you. He tells you this is a collectable item and far more valuable if it remains in the box. It’s not for playing with, he says, but instead for keeping it on your shelf in your room.
You still get the toy. It’s a gift after all. A valuable and considerate gift. But it can only be enjoyed for observation, as an adult would, who sees the value. It cannot be enjoyed like a child would, scuffs and love and all.
That’s what central Dubai seemed like to me. It seemed like a realm of untouchable features, of grand towers and spires and hundreds of things to look up and maybe, if a person is willing enough, interact with. There are, after all, restaurants, overlooks, light shows and more.
But all costs a pretty penny. And the overall result is something seen, presented or sent to you. There were no experiences that night which were sought, tumbled or earned.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing. But that is my impression.
Subtle Shores
The following morning, I headed out once more for breakfast. I was a bit groggy from my late night, but, as always, there was more to see.
I trudged to the metro once more and took it far to the south. The entire train was packed for the whole ride, endless numbers of people attempting to enjoy the weekend. My personal target was Palm Jumeirah, the artificial islands Dubai is so well known for.
I stopped for coffee and a slow walk around Barsha Heights before reaching the shores. On the horizon, I got to see the Burj Al Arab sail-shaped building on its little island. Further out was The Palm Jumeirah with its upscale hotel peninsula and outer ring of beaches. Neptune Tower lingered there, too expensive a visit for my current budget. Even the Palm Jumeirah Boardwalk was straining my time-and-cash budget. I didn’t even bother trying to reach The Lost Chambers Aquarium.
As I’ve mentioned in previous blog posts, I’m not a terribly large fan of tours. I think they feel inauthentic to some extent and give a prepackaged walk through wild and unique corners of the world.
However, Dubai is one of the places in the world where I think I should forgo this opinion. Everything in Dubai is artificial. Getting around is a hassle, especially with lines. A tour to the top sights might’ve been a better option for me overall.
Gates and Glows
After a while, I hiked back to the metro line for another foray into another part of the city. This time, I scooted up to Zabeel Park where the immense Dubai Frame stayed golden in the sunset.
The Dubai Frame is another tourism attraction and icon feature of the city. Basically everything in Dubai that merits any attention is a photo-feature. Dubai is the indisputable capital of selfies and photos. In reality, I was getting a bit tired of the museum-walkthrough experience, constantly clicking pictures at whatever I passed.
Still, the park is nice and green. There are odd planet-painted domes in the area showcasing Saturn, Earth, Mars and the Moon. There are plenty of families celebrating with one another. The Sheikh Zayed Iconic Picture in a traffic loop is an odd, if unique attraction to the south. And a large pedestrian bridge swings over to the second portion of Zabeel Park. In doing so, I reached my ticket-destination for the night, Dubai Garden Glow.
Let there be Bright
Dubai Garden Glow is a walkthrough theme-park with distinct sculptures created of sturdy fabrics with lights glowing within. When I first arrived, I was brought to the front gate where I re-entered (for some reason) and took a meandering loop through the entire park.
There are a lot of glowing figures. Monkeys in trees, zebras sipping water, tunnels of blazing lights, peacocks over lakes, more peacocks made of miniature glowing bottles lit within, fish-scaled camels, techno-colored bees and serene plant women gazing over mushroom pillars.
I should’ve been impressed. It was impressive. But Dubai Garden Glow employed the same artist who showcased the Wonder Garden in Riyadh. Meaning, not only had I seen this exact style before, I had seen it recently, just a couple of months ago. And it was a fair bit more impressive in Riyadh.
I was still charmed. But by sheer luck of prior exposure, I wasn’t blown away.
There was also a dinosaur exhibit I would have loved. But since that was for children-only, I had to call my walk early. Boo for adulthood.
Another Dog Day
That evening, I met up with my friend for a party he invited me to. For the next few hours of the night, I would be dining, chatting and enjoying the lack of darkness in an ever-lit modern city. I planned on heading home afterwards to sleep for an hour or two before my 3 AM flight back to Riyadh for work.
However, I got hit with a fairly impressive array of bad luck.
Firstly, something I ate at that party caused all sorts of health-turmoil. I was so weak and shaky by the sudden rebellion of my body, I had to call the airline and change my flight to a day later. I also contacted my company to let them know I needed a sick day for Sunday.
Secondly, when I finally crawled back to my hotel, I learned something about hotel doors. The card-scanner locks are apparently battery-powered. And my door’s battery was dead, effectively locking me out. They needed to bring a technician with new double-AA batteries so I could get access to my room and stay miserable inside.
Naturally, this wasn’t enough compounded luck. While trying to rest in my fourth-floor room, the third floor suddenly roared to life. Another door had apparently broken and the staff was attempting to gain entry by use of a massively-noisy electric drill. It shook the entire building, banning any chance of sleep.
It took them an hour to wrench the bloody door open. By then, I was haggard and dunking myself in a steaming back, using the fall of hot water to clean out my sinuses, batter away my headache and drown out the sound.
Whoops.
Roundabout Rally
The following day, I woke up late for a late checkout. When I had rescheduled my flight, I had done so for 11 PM, in the hopes of settling my stomach entirely.
Fortunately for me, that proved very feasible. I felt back to one hundred percent after a quick shower. Better still, my friend Samuel was in Dubai and quite concerned for my well being.
Samuel and I met years ago when we worked together in Beijing, China under less-than-ideal work conditions. As an astonishingly good man, we’ve kept in touch over the years, enjoying meetups in places like London and elsewhere.
Samuel picked me up from my hotel after checkout, happy to give me a fortifying tour through the city. We caught up while wandering along the entirety of Kite Beach, sipping coffee and scuffing through sand.
It’s always nice talking to old friends. That’s especially true when they’re doing stupendously well in life. And Dubai, regardless of other faults, has wonderful boardwalks and beaches.
Samuel and I eventually stopped for an Arabian lunch and I got to see some local Emiratis in full-force for the first time during my trip.
Most of Dubai is stocked and staffed with foreigners, contractors and laborers. The number of actual locals of Arabian descent is surprisingly small in the tourism areas. But they’re all around Dubai. They simply frequent places that are culturally potent for themselves.
Samuel brought me to such a place. We enjoyed rice and meat dishes while wrapping up the afternoon. Samuel finally dropped me off with farewells near a hospital district, namely the Dubai Healthcare City Metro, to get a checkup before my flight home.
Egypt-Inspired
After my brief trip to the doctor’s office, I walked around seeking out a cafe. I made my way to Wafi City Mall on a whim, hoping to sit down and do some writing.
I was extraordinarily pleased and surprised by the quality of the mall. There’s a glass pyramid-styled overlook building nearby along with numerous Egypt-themed pieces of art. That includes small gardens, towering obelisks, Egyptian statues, modern recreated Egyptian artworks, an underground traditional market, a modern upper mall area and plenty of pharaoh statues. It’s also home to the AYA, an indoor lightshow attraction.
It was a completely accidental discovery. And it capped off my visit to Dubai nicely.
Cash-Away
With that, I went to the airport, one dogged train ride at a time.
But I drastically overestimated my arrival time, since my flight had been pushed back a couple of hours. With four hours to spare and the airport overtly crowded, I decided to stretch my legs for a time before the flight. I decided to wander around the small neighborhood across the street for the time being.
It turns out that randomness is its own reward. While walking around in semi-blindness with only occasional map-checks to make sure I wasn’t too far from the airport, I stumbled across a unique little gem. There was a dining area near a stadium of sorts and within was an Irish pub. Sports flickered on the TV screen and I settled down for a drink.
Now, while drinking is technically legal in Dubai, it’s not entirely wise. Alcoholic beverages are wildly overpriced, gouging at wallets for simple import options. To be frank, I wish I had saved my money.
But alas, I didn’t. And I did enjoy my time at the pub. After finishing my drink, I made the long walk back to the airport, shuffling through security with the rest of the crowds. The Dubai Airport, despite its size, is actually quite poorly designed. Its capacity is overwhelmed easily and there are many extra stopping points, turning points and foot-traffic funnels which slow things down unnecessarily. ?Many of the gates have lines which overlap and check-in counters aren’t well placed.
But I eventually made my way through and hopped on my flight. It was an easy enough trip home, though an exceptionally chubby man kept leaning in his slip, gradually taking up more and more of my own chair despite my pointed shoves.
There are a few things in Dubai I would’ve liked to see personally. But both time and budget conspired against me. More time at Cayan Tower and the Dubai Marina would have been nice. Enjoying an event at the Expo City Dubai would have been interesting as well. The Dubai Miracle Garden was fairly high on my sightseeing list, along with the Dubai Butterfly Garden and the Global Village. For more far-flung attractions, I would have liked to see Love Lock Bridge Al Khawaneej Walk, the Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary, Sharjah Aquarium, the Night Souk, the Rain Room and more of the Museum of The Future.
But we choose our battles and our budgets. I did as much as I could manage with the time I had. And it wasn’t a bad result at all.
I’m back in Riyadh now and I’ll remain here for a period of time. I know I’ll be blinking grogginess out of my eyes for at least a day or two.
So until the next trip,
Best regards and excellent trails,
Old Sean
Written February 4th, 2024
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