United Arab Emirates – Dubai
I’ve lost count of the times I’ve flown through Dubai, but I know it all began back in 2007 on my first Emirates flight to Australia where my travels began and have never stopped since. Even now, for well over three years I live only 864km away from Dubai and I have never visited the city. Well now I have, and there is very little I can say about one of the most famous cities in the world because basically I did what any expat working in Saudia Arabia would do when going to Dubai for the weekend, drink, eat, and drink some more!
What I can safely say is that I’m not much of a city person but I love Dubai largely because it’s so shiny, clean and new. It is obviously impressive, the rumours are all true. There is an epic amount to do and plenty to spend your money on. Every restaurant and bar are places you could happily spend the day in, chatting away to people from every corner of the globe. I sat in one of these bars (talking to mostly English!) thinking that working with cows really aren’t getting me to the right places in the world. People living and working in Dubai looked to be having a great time. Granted you need the pay packet to have the lifestyle and granted, Dubai is a city built on consumerism on an apocalyptic scale with demands on resources that probably cause as much damage as oil but! The city has an amazing feel to it even if it has come of it’s peak a little.
A photo of the Burj Khalifa, tick. Rugby 7’s, tick. Brunch, 50% tick for I was in no fit state to begin getting on the wetties so soon. 1 meter long sausages, tick. Huge bar bill for an afternoon of G&T’s, tick. For some reason, out of all the epic things that I could have done in Dubai, I was told by several people that I had to go to the mall. These people obviously don’t know me which is troublesome, for they are my family. However, I will return to this city of excess and actually get out and see more than an empty pint glass, maybe not the mall, but at least make it to the beach!
Trig Tales 