Oasis?
Trip Start
May 14, 2008
1
9
Trip End
Aug 19, 2008
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
My summer started in Dubai-pretty much the exact opposite of Tanzania, but a nice way to ease back into the traveling lifestyle. I managed to finagle a four-day stopover to check out what Mariam, one of my best friends from Georgetown, has been up to for the last year. I was also really excited to see what Dubai's global buzz was all about
Well, my first impression was that this had to be the most infernally hot place on Earth. Surely no human life could survive without air conditioning? But as we drove towards the Burj Al-Arab, the world's only self-appointed seven star hotel, I started seeing them: "guest" workers from South Asia, toiling in the midday heat on Dubai's hundreds of massive construction projects. When I worked in Kathmandu a couple of summers ago I became good friends with a colleague named Asbin. He had already done one stint working construction in Dubai, and was gearing up for a another in Saudi Arabia. He had a two year old daughter and when I asked him what the work was like, he physically shuddered.
The opportunities in poor South Asian countries for the uneducated or low-caste are so unbelievably limited that they sign up for what they know full well is indentured servitude under the desert sun. Later, as I walked to my gate in the Dubai airport, I saw them waiting for flights to Mumbai, Karachi, Colombo. They were sprawled everywhere, looking almost dead, like the work and the heat and the exhaustion had sucked the life out of them. Though Dubai is an amazing place full of glitter and possibility, I think that scene will stay with me for a very long time.
But to get to more cheerful subjects. Tea at the Burj was as extravagant as you'd expect it to be. Maybe the seven courses were overkill, but they were delicious. The hotel itself is beautiful on the outside, but has a surprisingly gaudy interior, reinforcing my second impression-that this was Vegas in the Gulf.
Shopping is one of the major pastimes in Dubai, and boy do these people know how to build a mall. On day two we drove to the mall and walked into the surreal parallel universe of Ski Dubai. Well, they haven't found a cure for cancer, but they've figured out how to build an indoor ski hill! Mariam and I picked up our standard issue snowsuits (socks included) and trundled into the change room. Armed with snowboards (to make things a little more interesting), we stepped through a revolving door, out of the desert, and into winter. They keep the temperature at around -1 Celsius, and at night, they turn it down to -10 so it "snows." Actually, the snow was decent, much better than in Virginia, but the runs were short-maybe 8 turns. After a couple of hours the novelty wore off and we went to the "lodge" for a hot chocolate.
Next we transitioned from the crazy engineering feats in the city proper to the endless desert just outside of town. Aircon blasting, we smashed through the dunes in a Land Cruiser, our incredible driver scaring the crap out of us while (I'm assuming) somehow maintaining control. The drive was like a roller coaster, and made me think that if only I could learn to drive stick, desert rallies would be fun. While a great time, this must be the most environmentally unfriendly activities imaginable-zooming over a fragile ecosystem full of rare and hard-won life. We capped off an amazing day with some touristy kitch-a very brief camel ride, buffet dinner, and inevitably, a bellydancer...
The following day, with Mariam back at work, I made a feeble attempt to go sit on the beach. After, oh, an hour, I was roasting, and the water gave no relief, so I retreated to air conditioned comfort. In the afternoon I took a taxi to the older part of town, some ways from the flashy skyscrapers of Mariam's 'hood. I wandered through some souks, ate some shawarma, took pictures of mosques... you know, the Middle East thing J This part of town was just as cosmopolitan (Dubai is 90% expat), but here I saw lots of Africans and Arabs from other parts of the region, whereas I was staying in what seemed to be a largely European/North American area. It's truly a global city.
After four days of good food, relaxation, and awesome company, I stepped on the plane to Africa-finally! As many of you know, I've wanted to work in Africa for a LONG time and I was eager to begin my adventure.
