not a bad trip at all

back home and watching the live election results from tv. change might be necessary but this direction does not please me...

i miss the warmth of Dubai thats a fact. what else abut the recently built city? 12% locals shows everywhere and i was expected to be yet another resident rather than a tourist, when i came accross and spoke to people. most immigrants there being indian, i was in trouble... its embarrassing for me to communicate with indians since i don understand their english at all. other than that, it was nice to get by with english everywhere. i missed the local flavour...but at the same time of course it is interesting to visit such a place, combined of people and themes from all around the world, no weight of the past. i was told by long time residents and locals how in literally just a few years the skyscrapers have emerged where was desert before. the super modern and futuristic architecture was both fascinating and in some parts and little...tiring and too much. the metro line runs through the city and from the metro stop there is a direct "tube" to whatever is around that stop, mall or something. no need to put your nose outside. during the hottest weather it would be tough anyway.

they have built a couple of spots, a beach boulevard (JBR) and a castle looking bazaar style building combined with "a Venice" and such... so these are places where u can go to meet people. the beach boulevard has cafes and restaurants and cars are driving by to show off...u can see all the new ferraris and hummers...its like Miami.

on the last night i met 2 local arabs, Mahdi and Ahmed. i got answers to a lot of questions and some insight to how the locals feel about being a minority and the country and the vibe in general. sharia law was of course one of my favorite topics...

shopping was nice in the huge malls, cant deny that. H&M and other international brands were relatively cheap. and all the brands were there indeed. and i especially enjoyed the international foo selection at the food courts... it reminded me how unfortunate it is that i turkey, the food culture is very obsessed with local. of course, turkish kitchen is interesting and varied, but there rest of the world is just as awesome...i am hoping that slowly there were more asian/western cuisines available here - at a reasonable price. right now its only available for the wealthy.

typical shopping mall view.


















typical bar, this is a belgium beer bar at the Grand Millenium Hotel in Internet City. ALL bars (by law i think) are in hotels, as they are intended for foreigners only). there are no local bars obviusly, all are imported themes and ideas. they had strawberry beer for 8e! (Früli)














where Anas and Mofeed live, typical apartment b...skyscraper. security etc. pool at the top.














the JBR bouleward where u can walk. cafes and restaurants (no shops).














at the beach party in Barasti. it was a large area with Dj's, couches on the beach etc. drugs are available i found out, i guess not surprising but considering how harsh the UAE laws are on those things i dont know how ppl have the guts...