A mirage in the predictable place 15/4/10
I finally got to see behind the veneer today, into the snarling underbelly of this country. Glasgow with nice hot desert air.
Far removed from the boring predictability of the tourist traps and uptown, blue blooded malls lies the real Dubai, cramped slum housing, drug dealers, people asleep or dead in the streets, sordid deals in back alleys, haggling and stealing, real markets, real deals, no frills and bullshit sales pitch thick enough to choke on. I felt right at home. For someone of my particular skills, with my eye for detail, there was a lot of potential for a good deal, only the old ones stopped me from buying moody gold to sell back home. I settled for gift hunting and playing hard to get, bartering the merchants as low as I could and being told I was a criminal many times. I know they're not out of pocket, but they're not as up as they wanted.
For all the sharp looks and quick hands I felt something in those squalid back alleys and tiny home grown shops I hadn't since I got here.
Safe, secure, at peace and in my element.
I was starting to like the place
"Oh, I've been dirt. But I don't care"
Anton
Far removed from the boring predictability of the tourist traps and uptown, blue blooded malls lies the real Dubai, cramped slum housing, drug dealers, people asleep or dead in the streets, sordid deals in back alleys, haggling and stealing, real markets, real deals, no frills and bullshit sales pitch thick enough to choke on. I felt right at home. For someone of my particular skills, with my eye for detail, there was a lot of potential for a good deal, only the old ones stopped me from buying moody gold to sell back home. I settled for gift hunting and playing hard to get, bartering the merchants as low as I could and being told I was a criminal many times. I know they're not out of pocket, but they're not as up as they wanted.
For all the sharp looks and quick hands I felt something in those squalid back alleys and tiny home grown shops I hadn't since I got here.
Safe, secure, at peace and in my element.
I was starting to like the place
"Oh, I've been dirt. But I don't care"
Anton