Exploring Dubai Part 1

Got a chance to explore a little bit as I was looking for an apartment. Like any city Dubai has a lot of neighborhoods...each with its pros and cons. Each person I've talked to has their favorite area according to their personal preferences...noise, amenities, distance to shops/restaurants, traffic, etc... So far the area that I like the most is called Jumeriah Beach, which is in the Dubai Marina. It also just so happens to be the most expensive part of Dubai! There are many reason for this... it's right by the beach, it's one of the few places in Dubai that isn't under construction, shops/restaurants/supermarkets and other convenient places are all within walking distance. That last part is a big deal because you need a car to get anywhere in Dubai. You can't simply walk to the store, you have to get in your car and drive there. That's one of the biggest things I miss about NYC, just getting out and walking anywhere. That and the subway...oh how I miss you NYC MTA. I can't believe I just sad that, because there were plenty of times back at home where I cursed the MTA, but today...I miss you MTA. Here's a couple videos of Dubai Marina and Jumeriah Beach.

This is literally in the middle of the Dubai Marina, I just saw an apartment overlooking this marina. It was very nice a.k.a. way too expensive.

This is down at Jumeriah Beach. The beach is on the outside of the residence facing north...it's actually the persian gulf. And straight across the gulf is Iran and Iraq. Right before the beach is shops, restaurants, hotels, a really beautiful walk that goes up and down the coast. The tan buildings you see are Jumeriah Beach Residence...they make up 36 buildings right on the beach...very beautiful. Can I just point out that it's February and I'm in shorts and a t-shirt at the beach!

This is my friend Simone's apartment which is in those tan buildings you saw in the last video, called Jumeriah Beach Residences. This is a quick tour of her and her roomate's place.

The hunt continues for the apartment...more to come.

Out and about in Dubai

Rounding about 15 days here in Dubai and I just got my first taste of outdoor activity. The government of Dubai flew about 7 or 8 Palestinian children from Gaza. All these children are victims of the fighting over there. They've all been seriously injured...whether it be sever burns, loss of a limb, or being orphaned. The Dubai government paid for these children to come spend some time in here and receive medical attention...all of the children who's injuries included amputation were fitted with prosthetic limbs at no charge to them. It was a really great event. Being that I spoke Arabic, they asked me and another host (handling the English duties) from Virgin Radio to MC the event. Here are some photos and a video of Safa Park.

Safa Park is a large park in the middle of Dubai. Kind of like Central Park, but I don't think it's nearly as big.



Two guys in red are trainers from fitness O2, who organized an obstacle course for the kids (and will hopefully get my ass back into shape) Ali is another host from Virgin Radio on the left and I (in my pasty white splendor) am on the right. Outfits where provided by the charity so leave the snide comments to yourself!

This little kid was hysterical. Watch him dance to the music. Very odd, but I couldn't stop laughing.





They also had cookie painting for the kids. Here, Virgin Radio's Simone displays her crafty cookie artwork..."V" for virgin.




There's always construction in Dubai...these towers are currently in the process of being finished.

Welcome to Dubai...now learn Hindi, Maylay, Pakistani, Urdu, and Philipino.

So it's been almost one week since I've landed in Dubai and it's been a pretty interesting week...it is quite an amazing city. Dubai is one of the Emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates. Dubai has actually been a major financial port for a very long time. But it's the last 30 years that we've all heard about it, especially the last decade, because it's in the last decade that the investment and construction boom has really taken hold here. To think that about 30 years ago this was mostly desert and today it looks like this...





is pretty amazing. My hotel is pretty nice, not one of the big fancy gadjillion dollar ones, but a pretty good one none the less. Internet costs me about 30 bucks a day or 5 bucks an hour so that's why you haven't heard from me much. I'm trying to be sparing with my money until my first paycheck.

Getting around really isn't very easy if you don't have a car. My first night here I tried to take a cab back to my hotel, and quickly learned that most of the cab drivers don't really...how do I put this...know where they're going. You see, it's not like NY where you get in a cab and say "35th and 6th" or "1515 broadway please." Since this country is A: so new and B: constantly under construction and new roads are being added every other week, there really isn't a reliable address system. When you tell someone a location, you do it with landmarks. You say "please take me to the Grand Hyatt Hotel behind the Dubai Mall off the 2nd exit by the Burger King." That kind of thing. So when I explained to my taxi driver he nodded and drove off, 5 mins later he's asking me left of right at the intersection. So, what should have taken 10 mins actually took about 45. It didn't help that he really didn't speak English or Arabic, so I was out of luck. My second cab ride had an Indian guy yelling at me in what I assume was Hindi but all I could make out was that he had to make it back for shift change. So, we almost died about 10 times as he weaved in and out of traffic and I almost puked about 6 times because it was brake, gas, brake, gas, brake, gas. And he didn't even drop me off at my destination, he dropped me off across the street about 50 yards away because he didn't have time to pull in. Here's some more pics of the city for your pleasure...


This was a nice restaurant I was eating at and the view was of the Burj Al Arab on the left. Those buildings below are of a really nice hotel, but I can't remember the name.



I'm in my realtor's car here on our way to look at some apartments...those building are what we're going to look at.



The main 12 lane road (6 going north and 6 going south) that pushes right through Dubai is called Sheik Zayed Rd....Sheik Zayed is the ruler of Dubai. Someone told me this stretch of highway is the most expensive piece of property in the world because of all the high rise buildings.



Here's the Burj Dubai up close. It's the building on the left. It's supposed to be complete sometime this year. And when finished it's going to be the tallest building in the world...over 160 floors. The neighboring emirate and capital of the U.A.E. Abu Dhabi is planning on building a tower that will dwarf this one. So far I've learned that there's a kind of unspoken rivalry between Abu Dhabi and Dubai. When one completes something the other has to top it.


Being from NY, I'm no stranger to beautiful skylines of skyscrapers, but I have to admit Dubai has a pretty amazing one too.




This was pretty cool. I'm at work at the station and all of a sudden a helicopter lands behind the station in a small field. Not a helipad or any kind of landing area, just a little patch of grass. We're all thinking it was some sort of royal prince or something. My first taste of rich royal Dubai.




The beaches are very beautiful here. In this photo you can see one of the man made islands, Palm Jumierah. If you look closely you can see the "branches" jutting out. That tall building in the background is the new Atlantis Hotel that just opened.


So my current task at hand is finding an apartment. Over here the landlords want you to pay 1 year up front. You sign a one year lease for however much a month and you have to pay A FULL YEAR up front. Yes, that IS a lot of money and a sever pain in the ass. OK...enough for now. Sorry this is so short, time is slim and costly...more updates to come as soon as possible, I promise