Report from Dubai - Day One, Part 2

Not sure what’s up with my jet lag. I made it through the day on Tuesday finally hitting the sack around 9PM, but have now been up since 3:30AM. At least I got some sleep.

I have endured extreme heat before, but nothing prepared me for walking around yesterday. When I stopped at the concierge to check my directions for my planned jaunt, she said that I was very brave for undertaking such a walk and didn’t I want to take a cab? After about 15 minutes, I realized that she was probably right. The humidity wasn’t all that bad, but the heat is so intense that even my glasses were burning to the touch. It didn't help that I was in long pants as shorts are frowned upon here (can't reveal too much flesh).

I made it as far as the Gold Souk which was not all that interesting as neither Betsy nor I are very much into jewelry. Perhaps more interesting was that once I got a block from my hotel, I was in a blue-collar commercial section of town. There were shops offering just about anything one could want, yet none of them were particularly nice – mostly hole in the walls – but I got the sense that I was seeing part of Dubai that many tourists probably do not. It also seemed to be the center for shops that do custom modifications on cars. No garages – the work was being done right on the street in front of the storefronts.

Some other observations:

o I have a fairly dark complexion for a Caucasian so when traveling through Europe, no one really has ever pegged me as a tourist until I open my mouth and they hear my lousy accent. Here, however, I feel like a lily-white Irishman who hasn’t seen the light of day for months.

o Many Arab businessmen – essentially anyone in a white collar job – wear the traditional long white robe and headdress. I did not see many at all at the airport or on the ride to the hotel, but here at the Hyatt which plays host to many business meetings, at least 50% of the men in the lobby and other public areas were wearing just that, including the security guards. All the others were foreigners for the most part. I find it both interesting and somewhat amusing. The amusing part comes from the fact that in films and other exposure to the Arab world, I have always associated men in such dress as being leaders or royalty. Every time I pass an Arab man in the white flowing garb, my initial reaction is that he must be a sheik or emir when, in fact, he is just as likely to be the IT guy or a personnel manager.

o There are very few women in public here and many are dressed in black robes and fully veiled. Contrasted with this are the many commercials on TV featuring Western women in contemporary dress, until I realized that all of those commercials were for products that are geared towards outer appearance – cosmetics, weight loss products, etc.

When I returned to the hotel I checked out the attached upscale mini-mall which features an ice-skating rink, Fun Time Pizza (think Chucky Cheese) and Baskin Robbins. And everyone here seems to smoke, regardless of whether it is permitted or not. Now it makes sense why, on the flight from Paris, the crew repeated the fact that smoking is prohibited on board including in the lavatories about 8 times.

The revolving restaurant was completely booked last night so I ate in another of the hotel’s restaurants where I had an excellent Middle Eastern mixed grill before hitting the sack. Tonight I am hosting a dinner at what is supposed to be a very fancy Iranian restaurant (many of the restaurants in town are either Lebanese or Iranian).

More later.