Dubai: Done, Done, and Disappointed

I am now well into my second day of traveling to return from Jakarta back to Atlanta, which required a 20+ hour layover in Dubai. I thought it wouldn't be so bad. I was quite confident I would be able to waste 20 hours in the city/emirate of Dubai. So I came, and I saw. But...

WHERE IS ALL THE OPULENCE? THE WEALTH? THE TALL TOWERS AND THE RICH PEOPLE AND THE PARTIES?

All I saw was a bunch of sand flying around and a mediocre-ly developed (and all in the last 20 or so years) pretty dull commerce focused town with a bunch of people from all over the world. That last part is pretty cool. But the rest of it? Bah humbug. BO-ring!

That said, I did my best to avoid the splendor (wherever it may be), and my expectations may be wayyyy off. I checked out the market areas, the souks, the waterway (ferrying up and down Dubai Creek), the museums, and the food. I started out positive, happy to hear the call to prayer and enjoying a delicious cup of joe. That plus their metro is twice as nice as MARTA (no surprise there).

In fact my first meal at 8am was divine. The waiter brought me a plate piled high of herbs: mint, spicy arugula, oregano, and chili. Plus lemon and tomato. On the side, warm pita of all shapes and sizes, and a big fat plate of hummus, with potatoes, eggplant, and falafel all on the side. I swooned.

And I went off: all around Deira and through the souks (spice souk, gold souk, tons of souks!). Boring! So I crossed to Bur Dubai to see a few museums, more souks, restaurants, a beauty shop for henna that Time Out recommended. The Dubai museum was mobbed and totally poorly explained. Lame. The other museums I happened into were actually quite nice and they were cool oases away from the hustle and bustle of the very commercial streets. It seems everyone is an official trader of something in Dubai. I found quite a few of these house museums or heritage houses, etc. And really enjoyed them (despite their poor reviews in guide books). They were nice places to go in depth a bit.

Of course I ate well--a shwarma that gave my "best of" a run for its money, an incredible fresh lime juice & mint concoction (I guess they get creative with alcohol banned and all), and sorts of fresh juices.

Other than the house museums, probably my favorite thing was this one area of town called Bastakiya (see right). It is not quite historic, though it has been recreated to mimic the historic look, which is similar to Malian mud houses, sort of. I loved the galleries (XVA gallery was one of the neatest things I've seen...can't wait to share pics--see below right).

Though my day in D has come and gone, I don't feel quite ready to make a reflection as to what I thought about it.

Who is Dubai? Everyone, it seems. And yet no one, it seems. I kept getting lost in the Pakistani, then the Iranian, then the Indian, etc parts of town. Who are the Bedouins? How are they involved? And what about the close Iran connection? Wuzzup wit dat?

I just don't get it. They have, seemingly, almost no connection to their past. They spend so much time celebrating their history since 1940 that they have lost a connection to their history and where they come from. (again, a naive outsider's perspective). I found really very little there of interest.

Ultimately though I feel lucky. Lucky to have seen so many different cultures, so many different cities, so many different countries in--well, all throughout my life. I got to see tons and tons of different people in the most incredible melting pot. All with different languages, features, and dress! It is fascinating, even if jetlag sucks. And what do I have to look forward to now? a 16 hour flight from Dubai to Atlanta...in a middle seat.