Dubai, United Arab Emirates - A Land of 5 Star Hotels

Dubai, UAE Slide Show

As the title of this blog states, Dubai is a land of 5 star hotels. In fact, the Burj Al Arab Hotel, pictured to the left, is a self-proclaimed 7 star hotel. If you look closely, you will see a round helicopter pad near the top of the hotel. That is where Tiger Woods, among others, lands after taking a helicopter from the ultra-modern Dubai International Airport. Tiger doesn't even have to drive on the crowded streets of Dubai to stay in his $25,000 a night room.
So, what is a family of budget travelers doing in a city like this? Well, we came for what was promoted as the biggest, baddest, largest, grandest, loudest fireworks ever in the world on New Year's Eve! We checked into the cheapest lodging in the city, the Dubai Youth Hostel and waited for the fireworks to begin. Unfortunately, all New Year's Eve celebrations were canceled in Dubai. The UAE government did not feel that it was appropriate to be partying while fellow Arabs were suffering in the Gaza strip. As a result, our New Year's Eve celebration consisted of going out to dinner and waiting quietly for the stroke of midnight. We were playing a game of Hearts at an outdoor restaurant, but were informed that it was illegal to play cards in public, so we went back to waiting quietly for the stroke of midnight.
Instead of making New Year's Eve the focal point of our stay in Dubai, we set out to experience the rest of Dubai. After spending much of our time over the last 4 months exploring ancient sites like Machu Picchu, the Pyramids of Giza, and the Old City of Jerusalem, we found ourselves in a city that is all about the present and the future. There is an older area of Dubai, but the city is dominated by new skyscrapers, beaches, opulent shopping malls and the aforementioned 5 star hotels.
Dubai is a unique city in that only 15% of the population is originally from Dubai. The majority of the other 85% is from India, but there are 150 nationalities that make up Dubai. We had taxi drivers from India, Afghanistan, Turkey, and Pakistan. The city has done a nice job of integrating people from different cultures and religions that live together peacefully. In 1966, Dubai discovered oil. The revenues from oil were used to build the infrastructure of modern day Dubai. Due to the rapid international business development in Dubai, oil revenues now only account for 5.5% of Dubai's GDP. Dubai is all about being the biggest and the best. Here are a few examples of what the leaders of Dubai like to promote:

• The Burj Dubai is the tallest man-made structure in the world
• The Palm Jumeirah, the World (under construction), and the Universe (future construction) are the largest man-made islands in the world
• The Dubai Metro (under construction) will be the biggest driverless train system in the world
• Dubailand will be the largest entertainment area in the world - three times the size of Disney World
• The Dubai Mall is the largest in the world (sorry, Mall of America) until the newly developed Mall of Arabia is finished. Then Dubai will have the 2 largest shopping malls in the world.

We spent more time at malls than we have in the last four months combined. We didn't buy anything, but we did drink coffee at a Caribou Coffee and go to a movie, complete with movie theatre popcorn. A bus tour of the city allowed us to see all the development that continues even in this troubled economy. A dhow boat cruise on the Dubai Creek was an enjoyable way to spend a few hours. Dubai is developing a massive one-stop medical facility. The architecture is amazing and the city is clean. It was quite a switch for us from all the time that we have spent in developing countries.
The most amazing area was the Palm Jumeirah, which is a series of man-made islands that contain massive hotel complexes, high-end condominiums, beach front housing, and underwater tunnels. The most unique experience was skiing at the indoor ski hill, Ski Dubai, inside the Mall of the Emirates. The ski area is inside a mall, has real snow, ski lifts, runs similar to Buck Hill in Burnsville and a ski chalet. It was 75 degrees outside and 31 degrees inside. 
We went to the beach on a Monday and went skiing on a Tuesday. Dubai . . .
To view our slide show of Dubai, UAE, click on the following link ==? Dubai, UAE Slide Show