I was in Dubai this month, one of the five emirates of the United Arab Emirates.  There are certain descriptions of Dubai that are frequently used: pearl of the Gulf, sleepy fishing village transformed into modern metropolis, tax-free expat haven, headquarters of luxury living, and so on. There’s more than a grain of truth in these cliches, but to me it reminds me of Vegas  - a man made semi fantasy land in a desert.  There is a seemingly endless amount of fascinating architecture, with tons more to come - there are cranes everywhere. The Dubai Mall and the Mall of the Emirates have aquariums, ice rinks, even an indoor ski hill that is almost .5 kilometers long.   Even though Dubai is pretty cool to visit now, in five years it will be cooler by multiple of 2x or 3x.  Everything is bigger and better and they continue to push the envelope. 

Only 5% of the 2.0m plus population is native, with the rest comprising ex-pats from India, Pakistan, Australia, Americas and Europe, which makes it very cosmopolitan actually.  You don't much feel like you are in an Arab country outside of the local dress for natives and the dual languages on signs and such (Arabic and English)

I enjoyed the Dubai Marina area, with its canals and where the man made islands in the shape of a Palm and the world exists (you have to look this up on Wikipedia if you haven't seen or heard of it).  You can tell nothing like the EPA or DNR exists here or the Sierra Club, in seeing how they built it.  No snail in danger of extinction is going to keep its habitat. Everything gets bulldozed! 

I also liked an area called Creekside, which is where it all began in Dubai, as a port and trading center. The dhows, which are unique shaped boats that are the shipping workhorses, and the Souks (markets) are both very interesting.  I also went to the top the Burj Khalifa, all 160 stories of it, the Burj Al Arab, which claims to be a 7 star hotel (on a 5 scale) and was designed like a sail, with an accompanying hotel built to mimic a wave. and a few other places of interest.  I am not rushing back, but it was a great experience.  Click on the icon on the bottom right of the pictures if you wish to see them full screen.  Enjoy.