Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)

I arrived at midnight to 35degC, steamy, sultry, hazy, humid, HOT!!!!! Yesterday I did a city tour and saw air conditioned bus shelters plus not many people on the street during the day...most shops close between 2-4 for siesta (only they don't call it that here...they just close). During the day the temp was in the mid 40s, it's hard to be motivated when you just feel limp and the heat just sucks the life out of you.
I shopped for bottled water and my fave travel snack (Pringles) at the local supermarket Spinney's. They have a 'Pork Shop for non-Muslims' next to the regular supermarket. A lot of brands are the same, and even written in English, as well as Arabic.
There is plenty of construction going on in Dubai....apparently 40% of the world's cranes are being used in Dubai right now (!!). Plenty of Indian and Pakistani people here, in fact, i have not met a Dubai 'local' yet. To work here you can get a 3yr visa but are not able to become a national, so workers just get their visas renewed every 3 years.
A massive train system is under construction and when it's done it will be fantastic.

I expected Dubai to be like Las Vegas, bright, gaudy, and tacky. It is not like that at all. The new buildings and hotels are all kind of sandy coloured rendered construction, they fit in perfectly with the beach colours. They have whole neighbourhoods of same things, for instance, the Knowledge Village - universities, colleges and schools, all in one area. I have had a look at Ski Dubai, it's attached to a huge shopping centre. Not sure if I will in fact have time to ski there, i'm too busy seeing the rest of Dubai. Last night I went out to the desert in a Chevy Tahoe, in a convoy of about 30 cars, we went to a camp and sat on woven cushions, ate an awesome dinner and watched belly dancing. i got a henna tattoo on my hand, it will last about 10-12 days apparently. I am impressed with the belly dancer, who, after sweating her ass off and dancing for about 20mins, would have chewed up a billion calories!

I am meeting a few Aussies and Kiwis, either returning home, or going on to take cruises in Europe. Everyone here speaks English, some a bit dodgy but understandable nevertheless! My hotel is a non-drinking one, as a lot are. The main larger hotels have bars, but mine does not, and i haven't worked out where to buy any, it's not like Poland where beer etc is readily available at the corner shop or supermarket. The guys at the front desk of my hotel are all doing deals with their mates for tours..it seems a little dodgy...but you get that!

Today i'm going out to the desert and mountains, then on a dhow dinner cruise. It's hard to do stuff on your own as it's way too hot to be wandering around by yourself, although the crime rate is virtually nil - i guess people are too busy working, and too hot to be causing trouble! Unemployment is almost nil here. Dubai is awesome, i wish i was here for a longer time. I plan to go to the gold souk (market) tomorrow and check out jewellery. Apparently the good price to pay is between 18-20 Durhams (about 4-5 Aussie dollars) per gram. i have no idea how that compares to anywhere else...but I'll check it out! I'm also hoping to get a helicopter flight tomorrow, but you have to fill the whole helicopter, and so far i have been unsuccessful......stay tuned! will write more tomorrow, unless i melt away!