No, it's actually more than that but those of you who have experienced first hand my propensity for misplacing things (hi Rachel and Michael) will not be surprised to hear that I left my wallet in the taxi that dropped me off at the Fairmont Hotel in Singapore. The trip was maybe 10 hours old. The taxi driver chased me through the foyer to return it with such enthusiasm that the check in staff could be excused in wondering if their late arriving guest was in fact a fare evader.
Singapore was a bit of a blur. The days were taken up with photography at Curtin Singapore then it was back to the hotel to do those tasks the "freedom" of digital photography has bought to a professional's life... uploading, downloading, processing, backing up.
Still, I did get to join Louise, Tony and Jeremy for two memorable meals. One at an Indian restaurant where the food is served on a banana leaf instead of a plate. Interestingly the place is called The Banana Leaf. The other meal featured delicious, messy crabs. As I can't recall the name I'll call it the The Really Delicious Messy Crab Place. It is a textbook example of the Crab/Mess Rule which states the quality of the crab is measurable by the quantity of the mess created in eating it. I made a significant mess.
Dubai, in summer is hot and dusty. Apparently, in winter it's not as dusty. Each of the three days I was there were 40 plus degrees. Quite a dry heat but so more bearable than the high humidity of Singapore.
The town planners of Dubai seem to have a single over riding criteria when giving permission to build anything. It must be big, preferably the worlds biggest, no matter what it is. Australia's idea of building big things is usually limited to sheep, various fruit and gumboots. While I didn't see one I am sure there is a gigantic camel being planned in Dubai somewhere.
Dubai is a 3D graph of modern, distinctive and very amazing architecture. Essentially, it is a desert sprouting glass towers growing in breadth and height daily. One of these, The Burj Dubai pierces the skyline like a syringe. It is due for completion this September and will be over 800 metres high. At present it has three cranes hanging off different levels bringing stuff up in stages to complete the top bit. I have no idea how they will get them down.
Meanwhile, just offshore, more desert is being planted to create islands for a seemingly insatiable desire for luxury homes and resorts.
The city is traversed by 12 lane freeways and a new "on top of ground" way (as opposed to subway) Metro which is also due to open later this year. Dubai is under constant construction and would be finished tomorrow, should tomorrow ever come.
Spent a long, hot day walking around the souks (markets) that sell gold, spices, textiles and everything electronic. The Hilton Dubai Creek, where I stayed, looks over the wharfs where tons of stuff is bought from India on the traditionally made timber dhows. The boxes are just stacked in the open waiting for the mostly Indian traders to pick them up.
Dubai is a great place for a culture watcher like me. West, East and all in between wander the malls and drive the streets in air-conditioned comfort. Even the bus stops are enclosed and air-conditioned.
I spent my last afternoon at the Dubai Mall which, surprisingly, is not the biggest in the world. (That honour goes to the one with the Ski Slope in it.) It does however have the world's largest indoor Aquarium featuring a coral reef, sharks, stingrays as well as fish of all sizes. Three scuba divers entertain the passing shoppers and are hopefully not too tempting to the wandering sharks.
If watching fish in a enormous bowl gets too tedious you can always go shopping or, perhaps, skating on the Mall's Ice Rink. What ever you decide, it's just as well there are seemingly hundreds of food outlets because with a layout borrowed from the Ikea School of Labyrinth Design finding your way out can take a little time.
I'm not sure about how I feel about Dubai, I really enjoyed visiting it and hope to return to see other parts of the UAE one day. There is a lot more than metropolis and desert. But it does take an incredible amount of energy to create the freshwater and cooling that makes living there possible.
I had a haircut in the Mall before attempting a final breakout. The barber was a young Turk who told me the price was 75 Dirhams but to me 50. Perhaps he felt that, in my case, even this was too much. Because, after setting fire to my ears with lighter fluid, (apparently they do this in Turkey as means of removing those hairs that choose to grow there rather than on the scalp) he ended the service with a violent head, neck and finger massage.
Suitably coiffed and assaulted I wandered off into the teeming mass of shoppers only to be tracked down a few minutes later by the smiling barber holding my reading glasses. Yes, travel my style is an exercise in discovering new places to lose things. Thankfully, it seems the world is full of kind, determined people to look after me.
I have been in London for a few days now and will update you on what I lose here soon.
Cheers
Paul
