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DubaiSLEEPING WITH FISHES
 First
came the Burj el Arab, the world’s first seven-star hotel; then came
Palm Island, the luxury off-shore development that has caused a stampede
for the multi-million pound properties on the island being built in the
Arabian Gulf. Now comes Hydropolis, the $500-million underwater hotel,
220 suites sitting on the floor of the Gulf, 20 metres below the
surface, complete with adjustable control panels for sounds and smells.
It gives a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘sleeping with fishes’.
What next? What surreal fantasy will Dubai come up
with next, to sit beside the stunning new hotels that continue to spring
up to attract ever more people to winter in temperatures that hover
around 30o? Well, there’s the new Mina A’Salam Boutique Hotel for start,
with 4000 staff to serve its 292 opulent rooms, and where pampering has
been elevated to previously undreamt of heights.
But pampering isn’t confined to the hotels that face
on to the white sands of Jumeirah beach and the turquoise waters of the
Arabian Gulf. Spend the day lazing by the pool at a hotel in any one of
the satellite business districts that have sprung up (the new Shangri-La
for instance, or the Dusit Dubai) and you will see how opulence has been
redefined in this town. No longer do beach hotels have the monopoly on
luxury.
Dubai is more than beaches, of course. You may not
find sand dunes topped by camel trains and colourful Bedouin tribesmen a
la Lawrence of Arabia, but there are a few miles of wind-sculpted sand
dunes just outside Dubai and dune-bashing is fun – that’s if you fancy
leaving your stomach on the roof of a Land Cruiser as you hurtle down
the sands at death-defying speeds. Me? I prefer sand-skiing and bouncing
along dried-up river beds in a convoy of jeeps (Wadi bashing), or even
camel-riding in the desert.
Evenings can be more sedate but just as much fun. My favourite trip is
to a desert camp where I have my hands henna painted, enjoy a lavish
barbecue while the belly dancer writhes and wriggles, and then a
flavoured hooka (a shisha pipe). It’s an Arabian Nights fantasy! Or,
back with the pampering, a night under the desert stars in a tented camp
at Al-Maha, the award winning resort between Dubai and Al Ain, modelled
on South African game lodges.
 If
the desert and beach leave you time, board an Abra, one of the water
taxis that crisscross the creek, and get a whiff of what this sea-going
port was like in the days when it was a port of call on the ancient
trade route between Mesopatamia and the Indus Valley or wander through
old Dubai admiring the wind-towers, the most ecological and efficient
system of air-conditioning known to man.
Nearby is the Dubai Museum housed in the restored
1799 Al-Fahidi Fort, where the mix of hands-on exhibits and hologram
films bring the history, customs and people of the desert to life.
And after the horse-racing, the camel-racing, the
ice-skating, the go-karting and the golf, there is always shopping!
Estimates of the amount of gold traded in Dubai vary from $2 Billion to
$2.5 Billion and in the Gold Souq, a cluster of covered alleys in
downtown Deira, each shop window drips jewellery like tinsel on a
Christmas tree, mostly 22 and 24 carat. And don’t ignore silver. Genuine
Omani silver is becoming rare and much sought after. Both precious
metals are sold by weight - the price listed in Dubai’s daily newspaper
- the added value depending on the craftsmanship involved. You can buy
with confidence as stringent laws operate to vouchsafe authenticity.
This holiday-maker’s paradise, with hotels, golf
courses, race-tracks and shopping centres that are unequalled in their
scale and extravagance anywhere else in the world is just 6 hours flying
time away from the UK. Dubai can afford to employ the world’s top chefs
and although the country produces no food (just about everything is
imported), in the hands of these master-chefs, the results make for a
gourmand paradise.
You don’t need a Visa for Dubai, it’s malaria free,
and it’s safe. What are you waiting for? |
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