I have just walked through the world’s largest mall and into the world’s fastest lift, where, at an ear-popping 10 metres per second, I am ascending the world’s tallest building.
With just over a minute to reach the 120th of 160 floors, I recall the things I have seen in my last three days in Dubai. Much like the lift’s interior, they seem to have passed in a blur of shimmering glass, mesmeric lights and conspicuous displays of wealth. (There was also lots of great food; it just didn’t fit with the metaphor so I’ll cover that later…)
I arrived in Dubai with many preconceptions, after weeks of media speculation about the emirate’s financial viability. I was anticipating a kind of puritanical Vegas, glistening with bling and the hubristic excesses of unrestrained capitalism.
What I found was something altogether different and inspiring…
Our tour began with a trip to the souks, a conspicuously modest set-up where you can find a full range of spices, souvenirs and some surprisingly authentic looking fake iPhones. Hopping onto one of the Alhambra passenger boats, we went upstream to the gold souk, where hundreds of gold merchants offer everything from solid gold cigarette cases to woven gold tops.
After the souks we visit the Dubai museum, where visitors can learn about the region’s history, from its first mention in writing in 1095 by an Andalusian geographer, through the pearl trading era in the middle centuries to the periods of Ottoman and British control.
After lunch, we set off into the desert with an Arabian Adventures guide, Yuman (or YumYum to the girls, he tells us) to experience something of the old way of life. Shortly after we enter what is now a conservation area, Yuman stops to let the tyres down. “Now we go off road,” he says. Minutes later we are hurtling up and down the dunes, kicking up plumes of fine sand and wishing we’d eaten smaller lunches.
We stop to watch the sun set, and I am reminded of Wilfred Thesiger’s account of crossing the Empty Quarter, just a few hundred kilometres west. On first entering the desert he sees only an empty expanse, but he soon realises that the sand teems with colours and details as the light changes through the day. It is yet another metaphor for the modern Dubai, which has transformed from mere sand to a kaleidoscopic bustling city in just 50 years.
Along the way I ask Yuman about Arabian Adventures, one of 50 subsidiaries of Emirates airline. “It is 50 per cent government and 50 per cent privately owned. One half is owned by the Sheikh and the other by… the Sheikh”. This sums up a lot of the business and grand projects here. However, as another tour guide put it later on “Every state owned business has to be profitable on its own, because it won’t be supported by the others.”
The jeep ride is followed by a mercifully brief camel ride/photo-op, then dinner at a desert camp. A belly-dancer, henna tattooist, sheesha pipes and star gazing by the camp fire follow, then it’s back to the hotel for mojitos and live jazz.
Our dalliance with luxury tourism was put on hold the next day, as we are shown behind the scenes of Emirates tourist set up to learn what the future holds for Cypriot customers. First on the agenda was a meet with Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations, Richard Vaughan.
Vaughan is optimistic about Cyprus’ potential both as a destination and a market, and he cites some promising indicators.
“It’s a proven fact that both trade and tourism benefit from air links, and last year we increased from five flights a week to 14.” While business travel had been affected by the economic crisis, tourism to Cyprus, he said, had remained fairly unaffected. “If you offer a good product at a competitive price, then business will follow.”
After Emirates HQ we move to their catering department, a colossal $120 million Wonka-esque factory which makes and loads over 95,000 meals daily. Clad in hairnets and lab coats we were shown automated crockery transporters, then, tortuously (it was coming up to lunch time) through the food preparation area. Tonnes of cookies, flocks of (cooked) quail and mountains of pastries later, we emerged into the brilliant sunshine.
Tourists once again, we set off for lunch the highly recommended Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht club.
Over Grouper and Chips, our Emirates host Jonathan Hill tells us more about life in the city. “It is a great place to live and do business, with lots of networking events. The weather is also good, we get around four days of rain a year.”
Speaking more generally about the tourism sector, Hill said that holidays have become more accessible to tourists on a budget. “For example, one of the best places to eat in the city is a fried fish stall near Umm Suqueim, where dinner for two can cost just 60 Dirhams (€12).” From the roof of the Emirates offices we can see the budget airline, Fly Dubai.
Dubai’s unique selling point, however and the theme of our last day is its celebration of the outrageously decadent. There are a plethora of attractions for wealthy visitors, built with seemingly limitless budgets; ski-slopes, seven star hotels and artificial islands being just the tip of the iceberg.
Ian McDougal, UAE Commercial Manager at Emirates Holidays, says “We are not just selling holidays, but selling people their dream experiences. When our customers dream of something, we make it happen.”
It is a model that is weathering the economic storm, and Emirates Holidays is continually expanding and offering new destinations. Asked how the financial crisis had affected spending, McDougall said “Some customers are taking shorter holidays, or choosing business instead of first class, but we are living in what I call the ‘age of me’. People want to pamper and treat themselves, and we can offer that.”
Next up we move to the Burj Al Arab, known as the only seven-star hotel in the world. At €1,400 per night, it has an undersea restaurant and a rooftop bar offering the world’s most expensive cocktail, at $7,450.
From the Burj, we are buggied to, for me, the most memorable experience of the trip; Lunch at Pierchic. Housed on a purpose built jetty near the Burj Al Arab, you can sit on the breezy decks and sample dishes to make Heston Blumenthal proud.
As I run through this mental checklist of sights, sounds and tastes, I become aware that the music around me is rising to a crescendo, that my ears have popped again and the plummeting blue lights on all sides have slowed to indicate our approach. With a crash of cymbals the doors open and the suddenly the city is unfurled before us like a Persian rug I saw in the souk that morning. The view is staggering. From this height everything is so distant that it appears almost stationary.
From Burj Khalifa’s 360 degree panoramic viewing gallery, it is possible to see other emirates in the distance; the next door building, which is still six times bigger than the Shakolas tower, appears tiny.
We mill about a bit, ooh-ing, aah-ing and wincing as a window cleaner abseils out over the city to polish an area of glass. Before long we are hurtling earthwards in the Tardis-like lift and enjoying our last sunny moments in the Emirate.
While Dubai’s financial sector has taken a hit in recent months, the tourism sector appears on the rise. Admittedly, it is not cheap, but for anyone looking for great food, the seclusion of the desert and architectural marvels, Dubai literally offers the heights of luxury.
- Emirates currently operates 14 flights a week in and out of Larnaca. For more information contact: Emirates Airline, PO Box 43039, Larnaca. Tel: 24 008420, fax: 24 008422. www.emirates.com
