Dubai Pictures are Online

Very Tall | by Samer Farha

A Slice of Skyline | by Samer Farha

I didn’t manage to get a lot of pictures while I was in Dubai. The heat kept me inside where air conditioning and ski slopes could keep me cool. The pictures I did take and like, though, are up on Flickr, now. Here’s the set and the slideshow.

A Hot Shower

Of all the things I miss from home, I think I miss my shower the most. It was roomy and luxurious, always afforded me hot water, and never complained a bit when I wanted to spend a longer time relaxing under it’s hot stream of water.

Alas, in China the showers were so small that I could see developing claustrophobia. And the water heater was meager, barely able to supply enough hot water for one shower. Many is the time when attempting to shave my head in the shower resulted in an icy finish.

In Dubai, the showers were nice and big. Unfortunately, if you wake up past 10a, your only option is hot water. Not, you know, mildly hot. No, no. This is scalding hot water. And there’s no way to temper it. The sun heats the “cold” water tanks on the roof and you’ve got no hope. On the plus side, you don’t have to worry about it turning cold.

Here, in Lebanon, the problem is different. It’s a power problem — as in, there ain’t any. The water heater (and the air conditioning) cannot be run off the standby generator. And since they lose power around here for at least four hours every day, you better hope those four hours aren’t the ones leading up to the time you need a shower.

On the plus side, the internet can (sort of) be run off the generator. My laptop has to be battery powered, though.

The Magical Place

When you think of the Arab world, I bet you rarely consider beer, nightlife, or skiing. Well, think again. Dubai has all those and more.

I’ve been here for a few short days and yet I’ve managed to go skiing for the first time at Ski Dubai. It was a painful affair, with boots that were far too tight, but I am proud to say I only fell once after bouncing off a padded wall.

There was a beer festival in Dubai while I was here. We went, but the line was so long we decided to just sit outside and enjoy having Guinness brought to us. I did get a peek at the list of beers, and it wasn’t very impressive. The notable beers were Chimay and Duvel, among a few others, so I don’t feel we missed much.

The nightlife here is astonishing. Everyone goes out, and the bars and restaurants are every bit as outrageous as the construction and buildings that hold them. Believe it or not, not only is cachaça available here, the caipirinhas made with it are very tasty. Who knew?!

The most amazing thing I’ve seen here, though, has been Burj Dubai. At 2,087 feet, it is currently the tallest man-made structure on earth. It is an astonishing building, and you can see it (through the smog, even) from just about anywhere in Dubai.

I’m off to Beirut later today. I’ve yet to go through my pictures and post them, but stay tuned.