Busses make me write. I'm in a van and while the desire is there the ability is lacking. I am reminded of the corrugated dirt roads in Oz but this is a highway. I'd estimate that we're going somewhere close to 150kmph. The areas we're passing look like the green is winning. There are rooftops of temples in the distance but for the most part the area looks industrial. We're heading south from Bangkok but the story needs to backtrack west.
As I left Germany I tried to get rid of unnecessarily warm clothing. "Ooo I hope that guy is homeless!" I caught myself thinking right before giving away Jessica's very warm sleeping bag. My jacket and boots are in Nuremberg under "when in doubt, throw em out" instructions. I land in Dubai and leave the rest of my things in the trunk. First destination is the bar for the only night where my "I don't buy drinks in Dubai" strategy managed to keep me sober.
"Has Dubai changed?" A question that served as a constant reminder of the fact that it had been over a year since I'd been there last. Those 4 months at home feel almost like part of the trip. In that year the metro in Dubai opened up, so did the Burj Dubai, and then it was bought by someone else and now the tallest free standing structure in the world is named the Burj Khalifa. I have no idea if I spelled that right. Conversations about unemployment were quite frequent. So were conversations about racism. "I like how accepting people in America are of other races and cultures" tells me an Indian guy as we sit next to each other on the bus to Abu Dhabi. "My one year contract ends in a few weeks. I can't wait to get out of this place and go back home to Delhi." We bond over the book I'm reading. He has read it as well. We trade impressions of each other's countries. "Most of my impressions are of the midwest. I find the people there are hard working but know how to take time out to appreciate the small things in life. Having a beer at a baseball game or sitting by the lake. In India people are too concerned about daily routine to stop and enjoy life. I like that the hiring practices are far more based on merit. In Dubai everyone just looks after their own." Even my host my former travel partner, a French girl expressed similar sentiments. "Every time a job opens up it goes to a friend before it is even posted anywhere. The Algerians are looking out for the other Algerians, the Egyptians for the Egyptians, everyone thinks the Europeans are overpaid and get special treatment. It's all politics and backstabbing." She explains when I ask why she's looking for a new job.
"It will all collapse when the oil runs out" predict people who haven't been there. The oil is in Abu Dhabi. So is the money. Dubai won't fail. It's a theme park. It's Muslim land. An entirely rated G paradise. A place for rich oil tycoons to take their families and spend lots of money without any chance of pork being in their food or porn being sold in view or feeling awkward in a burka by the beach or ever being more than 5 min from a mosque. They keep all this and gain every other western convenience that is not so easily found in Muslim countries. It's a huge market. And it's not sooo Muslim that it scares the white tourists away. This isn't going to die when the oil dries up. Not until it dries up everywhere anyway.
I have fun as usual. My host has a key card to the Atlantis. We go and pretend we're guests. I get to the top of the Burj. Sorry “the top” as the top that you get to is nowhere near the actual top. Nice view though. From up there you can see the urban nightmare that is Dubai. A city built quickly, and recently sounds like it would be a civil engineer's dream. From the look of it though it more resembles 1000 different civil engineer's dreams which have quickly translated into one planning nightmare. Try walking somewhere in Dubai. It's an obstacle course. The side walks are not connected. To walk from the Burj to a metro station I had to jump barriers and run across 5 lane roads. The Burj is already falling apart though. Look at the pictures I put up. A woman I met at the top pointed it out to me. Little chunks missing. Sure they may be mostly aesthetic but they are missing nonetheless.
We threw a dinner before I left. I managed to find some cheddar cheese. It's funny what we miss when we don't have it. My Israel stamp went unnoticed for my whole trip.
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