Why oh why it has taken me so long to post these pictures of Dubai I have no idea. I had all the time in the world last week as Peabrain (don't think I'm being cruel - Chris has earned his new nickname well!) abandoned me to jet off to Los Angeles, reporting on NAMM 2010 for musicradar.com.
Pfft, hanging out with rockstars, playing all the newly launched guitars, attending swish product launch parties and eating pancake after pancake - he makes me wish I had stuck with journalism instead of venturing off on this photographic tangent. But alas, I stayed at home to lay carpet, clear snow and go bowling!
So anyway, here it is... Dubai - November/December 2009.
There are skyscrapers everywhere in Dubai, even on the beach! We went to this beach in Jumeirah a couple of times for picnics, paddling in the sea and general lazing about in the sunshine.
The Marina.
I took a bit of a risk in Dubai by using some ten year old expired film
I'd bought on ebay. Some of the rolls were so grainy they have ruined
the shots but for all it's rubbishness, I quite like this picture.
Garden View Villas, Dubai.
This is the house we stayed in. It's amazing - like a home from MTV
cribs or an Arabian castle. Pretty much every room had its own bathroom
& balcony, there were tiny lizards running around on the walls and
it boasted a mini bathing pool and a turret! Out the back of the house you can see New Dubai in the distance and just off to the right is Old Dubai.
In the desert about an hour outside of Dubai towards Hatta and Oman. I found this slightly amusing but a bit sad really. You can tell that the 4x4 dune bashing is a hot tourist activity as they leave all their rubbish behind in the sands.
This is the traditional bedouin campsite they took us back to after the
4x4 dune bashing. It was definitely geared up for tourists but fun all
the same. When you arrived you were greeted with dates and weak Arabic coffee and offered the opportunity to camel ride (no thanks!) and quad bike. I was really up for quad biking but was only wearing flip flops so had to give it a miss. Inside the camp were shishas (not really as nice as the ones we'd had in the proper shisha cafes), traditional Arab dress to try on, amazing free food and drinks, falconry, henna tattoos and belly dancing shows...
...but by 8:30pm everyone else had buggered off and we were the only two people left! Alone in the desert in an open tent with nothing but desert cats and two flickering tea lights for company.
The Burj Al Arab, Jumeirah. We couldn't really go to Dubai without treating ourselves to a couple of hours indulgence in the ridiculous opulence at the Burj Al Arab. First, your taxi must go through the gated security where they check your name is on the list before letting you through. You drive over the sea to the tiny island which is home to the hotel and surrounding resort. Strangely the whole structure seems very small up close. It's only when you move further away (or higher up) that you realise how impressive it is.
Once inside you're greeted with burning incense and dates. The lobby walls consist of two giant aquariums which you travel past as you go up the escalators. Everything is decorated in gold and there are plush seats, fountains and a few exquisite jewellery boutiques. There is a quartet of musicians playing in the corner and everyone looks very proper and well to do. It's insane! Literally the only few shops there are those that sell jewellery or suits and fur coats! Where you buy your toothpaste from I have no idea... I suppose your butler fetches it!
We took the panoramic lift up to the Skyview bar. The lift is fixed to the back of the hotel and shoot you up right over the sea! We were one of the first guests to arrive (eager!) so were lucky to be given the best table in the corner between the two glass walls with a view of the Palm, The Earth and the City. Unfortunately my pictures of the view aren't very good due to the silly film I was using but at least this one shot demonstrates how much you can see. You can just about make out the Burj Dubai in the distance. I love the shadow the Burj Al Arab casts over the sea.
I'll post pictures of our meal tomorrow so check back if you've ever wondered what afternoon tea in a seven star hotel looks like!
Dates growing on a tree opposite the Burj Al Arab.
The Burj Dubai (or Burj Khalifa as it's now known) is so big that you can't really see it. I guess that doesn't make sense... but as it's never truly completely in your eyeline and you have to lean right back over on yourself to see it fully, it just doesn't register. When you do look up it's so futuristic and unreal it is as though someone has drawn it in. Very strange.
See how big it is?! Those other buildings are massive skyscrapers themselves and they can't even compete with the base of the Burj! We were meant to be in Dubai for the grand opening of the world's tallest tower but just days after we made our booking, the launch date was put back a month! Gah! I'm ever so disappointed that we never got to visit the observation deck but I guess it's something to look forward to in the future if I ever return.
Bur Dubai. One of my favourite days in Dubai was spent in the old part of the
city, crossing the creek by abra, wandering around the souks, being
jostled around in the madness and neon lights of Deira, listening to
the call to prayer at the mosques and having after dinner shisha on the
waterside.
"Special price..." The souks in Bur Dubai were exasperating! The textile souks are fab if you want want to buy cushion covers, pashminas, throws or general cheap tat. They're not so great if you don't like crowds or haggling! We got on just fine though and accidentally stumbled upon a genius haggling technique guaranteed to bring the price right down... just leave! Over the river in Deira is was ten times as crazy! We took the abra over and managed to get totally lost thanks to our useless Lonely Planet map book. Deira is a noisy, bustling, free for all and we were the only Westerners around which drew quite a few glances our way. Despite being a little bit terrifying after we got lost for the third time, it was still really exciting and we got to visit the world's dirtiest Wimpy restaurant in the search for a toilet, so it was worth it I think ;)
I love airplane food but airlines need to be reminded that vegetarians like cake also. Everything we ate was so... healthy! Aside from the lack of stodgy food, Qatar airways were an awesome airline. On the way there we flew over Iraq too, which was something I never expected to be doing.
So, that was Dubai! I wish I could have taken some better pictures as I always feel guilty if I come away from somewhere with just a few snapshots and no 'real' pictures. I guess it's just one of the dilemmas of being a photographer. Anyway, here's to more travelling this year!
Do you have travel plans for 2010?
