Readers: A short post this time – A couple of friends are travelling to Dubai, and I sent them a list of my favorite things to do out there. You can find the list at the end of this post. What I realized is that 9 out of the 11 things on that list are what I would classify as “decadent”. My definition of “decadent” is simple: anything which costs over 50ish USD. Data from Gini curves (a distribution of income equality) reveals that this is a daily level of income enjoyed by less than 5 percent of the world population. A lot of these experiences, however, are fun and unique to Dubai, so the decadence is somewhat justified, especially for first time visitors, and especially considering that they are helping create a vibrant tourism industry in Dubai, a city which has no hydro-carbon resources remaining. In fact, I strongly support this decadence as a win-win for all. The best things in life might be free, but can good things not be costly?
A member of the Abu Dhabi royal family recently carved his name into a private island, just off the coast of Abu Dhabi. You can see it on Google maps by following the link:
http://maps.google.com/?q=Al-Futaisi+-+Abu+Dhabi+-+United+Arab+Emirates&hl=en&geocode=FUvOcwEde848Aw&t=h&z=13
This island is not very far from the main island of Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE. If you look carefully, the letters “HAMAD” are very visible. I am not sure they realize this yet, but the letters are in fact inverted, if one is facing north. As soon as Hamad catches this mistake, he will probably have them filled in, and dredged again with the correct orientation. If I wasn't sick and tired of popping bottles of Cristal in VIP clubs, the ultimate in decadence, I would probably also have my name carved into some stretch of landmass (Juhudi Gardens is all I can afford for now, and it might not be visible from space). If I were Hamad, I would have all the letters filled in with water, not just the “H” and “A” as is the case currently, and ride through all of them in my motor yatch. That would keep me entertained for a little while. If that joy does not last, I would do what this other guy is doing in a YouTube video which went viral. Please follow the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XR2R2R2Pdts&feature=player_embedded
And when that’s no longer fun, I would simply listen to this song, which is the deepest, most soothing and beautiful song ever composed. It’s based on the poetry of Bulleh Shah, a 17th century Punjabi poet, philosopher and mystic. Please follow the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMcUNnYIQdA
The music itself is quite unique, and part of the hugely popular and highly acclaimed Coke Studio series (Coke Studio has an amazing business model, where everything is left open; Coke benefits enormously as the co-brand, and the artists get compensated well, in a music market otherwise plagued by piracy – May be Microsoft can co-brand its software, and open it up to everyone, in these parts of the world). The song has been composed with a few traditional sub-continental instruments (including the indigenous and highly rare, “Sagar Veena”, which is a bit like the mystical “Sitar”), fused with modern western instruments. The video has subtitles in English. The depth and beauty of the song is lost a little bit in translation. The English translation might sound a bit simplistic, trivial and repetitive, but the Punjabi version is sublime. My favorite couplet starts at around 4:30 in this video, which is the following: “Ho, rabba koi meray dil dian kadran pachanay; mein sawaali, jeda nahin koi sawaal” – translates to: “God, if only someone could understand the deliberations of my heart; I am a seeker who seeks nothing.”
We need to count ourselves lucky for having such a rich tradition of metaphysics, and thank the good folks at Noori and Coke Studio for making Bulleh Shah accessible to a new generation. Enjoy!
The following is a list of my favorite things to do in Dubai, in no particular order:1) DISCOVER THE DOWNTOWN BURJ KHALIFA AREA: Go to "At the top" at Burj Khalifa, the viewing platform on the 124th floor of the tallest building in the world. It's an engineering and architectural marvel, and especially interesting if you enjoy watching those Nat Geo engineering documentaries. While you're there, take a quick walk through Dubai Mall, the largest mall in the world, which in spite of its enormous size, gets very crowded on the weekends. Check out both the indoor and outdoor walkways, especially the one by the dancing fountain, the largest and most expensive fountain in the world. Lunch or dinner at one of the outdoor cafes or restaurants by the fountain needs to be experienced (Cost: 70 to 80 USD pp, including a meal by the Fountain – quite decadent).
2) DINNER AT ZUMA: Zuma is a fancy Japanese Restaurant in the Dubai International Financial Centre, or DIFC. I typically order the same thing every time, which includes chilli edimami, yellow sole with ponzu sauce, marinated black cod, crispy fried squid and drinks to taste. An essential experience where you’ll get great food in a super decadent environment, and where you’ll get to watch all the other people enjoy great food in a super decadent environment. The most surreal part is watching batch after batch of all the dolled up girls and metrosexual men come up the glass lift, and enter the restaurant, exchanging cheek to cheek kisses with the bouncers (Cost: 150 to 200 USD pp – extremely decadent).
3) EXPLORE OLD DUBAI: Take a walk along the Bastakia and Dubai Museum area on the Bur Dubai side of the Creek. It includes some of the old neighborhoods of Dubai, with their traditional old houses, topped off with wind towers, a traditional form of cooling. Cross the Creek on a Dubai Water Taxi or “Abra” over to the Deira side, which is super cheap at just 1 dirham or 30 US cents. Soak in the atmosphere of old school or authentic Dubai, and a little bit of the up and coming Dubai of the late 80s and early 90s on the Deira side. Do not eat here. The restaurants are known to be dodgy and overpriced (Cost: 5 to 10 USD pp, including taxi and Abra rides – not decadent at all).
4) PARTY AT A LEBANESE SUPER CLUB: Hit one of the Lebanese super clubs on a Thursday night, the start of the weekend (the weekend falls on Friday and Saturday in Dubai). Okku at the Monarch Hotel, and 400 at the Fairmont Hotel were my favorites as of April, but there are new additions to the scene all the time. Enjoy the super decadent partying, and watching the decadent people do what they like to do best. It’s a bit different to the decadence found anywhere else in the world e.g. London decadence, which I have experienced a bit of. It’s very classy/plastic on a very large scale and has to be experienced at least once (Cost: 80 to 100 USD pp, including a few drinks and “table” seating – quite decadent).
5) ENJOY A WEEKEND CHAMPAGNE BRUNCH: Have a post-super club champagne brunch on Friday at one of the five star hotels, and cure your hangover with unlimited buffet food and champagne. Not sure what the best hotel to do this is these days. Usually a lot of fun with a big group of friends, but could also be done in a smaller group or just as a couple. Food can be decent. People watching and socializing is the big draw (Cost: 100 to 150 USD pp – very decadent).
6) ENJOY SUNSET DRINKS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE OCEAN: Have Sunset drinks at “360”, part of the Jumeirah Beach Hotel. It’s a phenomenal place, on a little island, around 200 meters into the ocean. In addition to watching the sun set, enjoy gorgeous twilight views of both the Sheikh Zayed Road skyline, and the Marina skyline, and of course two phenomenal architectural marvels, the Burj Al Arab and the Jumeirah Beach hotel (Cost: 30 to 40 USD pp for a couple of drinks – mildly decadent).
7) BEACH PARTY: Party the night away at the Barasti Beach Bar in the Le Meridien Mina Seyahi Hotel, rated one of the best beach bars in the world. It’s a fairly long stretch of beach, with lots of sun lougers, and crowded with expats almost every night. Enjoy the gorgeous views of the Marina skyline. Sho Cho’s is another good bar on the sea, at the Dubai Marine Beach Resort & Spa (Cost: 50 to 70 USD pp for a couple of drinks – quite decadent).
8) HAVE A SPLASH AND ENJOY A FEW THRILLS: Spend the day at either the Atlantis Aquaventure or Wild Wadi Water Park. I personally prefer Aqauventure. The “Leap of Faith” is a 30 meter free fall slide (5 degree angle is just about safe), which needs to be experienced again and again. I experienced it 4 times when I was last there, in spite of the super long queues. Why, you ask? Because it was so good. Relax and chill, by one of the many pools, the beach, or in the lazy river. Or enjoy the some of the other exhilarating rides in the park (Cost: 80 to 100 USD pp – solidly decadent).
9) EXPERIENCE THE OTHER SIDE: Enjoy dinner at Ravi Restaurant in Satwa. It's the best Pakistani restaurant in Dubai, but in a slightly grubby part of town. Dubai is a city of contrasts, which is best portrayed in the 2009 movie “City of life”. It is home to Arab millionaires; Western Educated Professionals; Indian & Pakistani taxi drivers; Filipino service workers and Indian & Pakistani construction workers. Ravi Restaurant is a road side café, in a part of town where a lot of taxi drivers and service workers live. It’s a bit like being in India or Pakistan, except that all parts of Dubai are extremely safe. The food is absolutely sublime (Cost: 15 to 20 USD pp – not in the decadent zone).
10) EXPLORE THE MARINA AREA: Take a walk along "The Walk" at Jumeirah Beach Residence, or JBR. It’s a shopping lane right on the beach, with quite a few restaurants and roadside cafes. While you're out there, take a speed boat tour along the Dubai Marina and the Palm Islands. It’s fascinating if you're into architecture and engineering, especially those Nat Geo engineering documentaries. JBR is a massive apartment complex, home to around 80,000 residents, built in postmodern style. For me it's an absolute architectural marvel, with the same sort of grandeur as the Pyramids of Giza or the Taj Mahal, but a lot of people think it's just butt ugly (Cost: 100 to 150 USD pp including boat tour and road side restaurant meal – quite decadent).
11) HEAD OUT TO THE DESERT: Book a Desert Safari or plan a camping trip independently, overnight in the desert. Desert Safaris are extremely touristy, with lots of dune bashing, sand boarding, belly dancing and henna tattoos. Set expectations low, and enjoy the ride. I personally don’t like it very much. However, going out to the desert independently and camping overnight is an absolutely phenomenal experience, especially with a group of friends. Enjoy the red rolling sands, and wait for night to fall, where you will be able to enjoy some of the best views of the stars in the clear desert sky, and a bit of a chill in the air, with the cool desert nights. Take a few drinks along, and some bonfire equipment. Enjoy some roasted marsh mellows, a fire-side chat, or play mafia around the fire, into the night (Cost: 50 to 100 USD pp for a Desert Safari tour –mildly decadent).
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