Dubai: Strangest Place on Earth
BTW, yesterday’s story about Marvel and the Al Ahli Group teaming for a marvel theme park in Dubai, this will be nothing compared to the other crazy shit going on in the world’s fastest growing city: a race for the world’s biggest skyscraper; the world’s first underwater hotel; the world’s tallest hotel; artificial island archipelagos in the shape of continents…The Starjammers should feel right at home here, along with all the other foreigners who are helping fuel the growth. Check out the link for even more mind boggling architectural renderings.
03/21/07 at 9:07 am
Just call it Tacky Town.
03/21/07 at 10:47 am
Been to Dubai once and thought to myself: this place does have the markings of a Disney World resort for boring but incredibly wealthy Wall Street people. Having said that, Dubai is the only country in the Middle East that has a plan after the inevitable demise of their oil-based economy and has had it for quite some time: attract the richest people and corporations in the world by not have them pay income tax and build an infrastructure around that notion, be it as a tax haven/resort for billionaires and tax haven for global corporations trying to avoid the Enron fate.
It sure has the potential to become the Monte Carlo of the 21st century, even though it is tacky (if you have ever been inside the Burj al Arab hotel, you will leave wondering if there is anything in there that is NOT laced with gold)
03/21/07 at 11:13 am
Gee, it reminds me of Metropolis….
03/21/07 at 12:54 pm
Why not just build affordable housing here in major North American cities.
03/21/07 at 3:02 pm
It’s a place willed into existence by the weight of money and it’s gravitic attraction to more money.
Don’t go during the ‘Shopping Festival’, it’s a swiz.
DO go…if you like…sand.
03/21/07 at 3:28 pm
Apparently Dubai has zero tolerance for lots of things like drugs and drunk driving. The record on women’s rights is more mixed, since there are so many expats there, but they are advised to “dress conservatively.”
I would say if I want to go on a fantasy desert vacation I want to go somewhere where it is legal to drink martinis while wearing a flirty Ungaro sundress.
03/21/07 at 3:48 pm
Wow, they sure do have a lot of money.
Wonder where it came from.
03/21/07 at 11:17 pm
Think Manhattan mixed with Monaco mixed with Orlando and spiced with Las Vegas.
(And if you want “kul-CHA” you can go up the road to Abu Dhabi, which will have both the Louvre AND the Guggenheim!)
My store sells a laminated map of Dubai which features FUTURE development. That’s right, buildings which are in the planning stages! (I personally like that development which reproduces the map of the world in little islands off the coast.) http://www.privateislandsonline.com/the-world-dubai-1.htm
The coast (well, actually, offshore) has all the high priced, “Jesus” rooms. (That’s what the guests say when they enter the hotel room.) Inland will be the entertainment zones, including an arabic-theme park. (Yes, I can just picture MAD Magazine’s version!)
For fun, the locals of the United Arab Emirates like to go inland for off-road exploration and picnics.
11/29/07 at 5:46 am
no coment!
12/12/07 at 3:41 pm
Amazing place
Ive been there several times- its truly astounding and very positive
The Marvel park will be interesting for sure
I cant wait to see it
01/22/08 at 12:19 am
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10/30/08 at 2:55 am
natang ah..bangunan pelik2
haram ah…