Back from the desert
The trip to Dubai went well. I wouldn't really call it a holiday destination, but I was there to generate work, and I certainly managed that.
It's a weird place. The whole country seems engrossed in one long dick-showing contest: everywhere you look, someone is building a new sky-scraper promising unrivalled luxury and the very definition of opulence. They have ravaged their own coastline, dwarfed by oppressive high-rise hotels and in the horizon all you see is more construction- that of man-made islands in the shape of palm trees, and a map of the world. More money than sense, as my parents used to say.
Dubai has a kind of 'Frontier Town' feeling to it: everyone seems to be there for the goldrush they've heard so much about, but no-one seems to be actually making any money. Well, no-one but the landlords, who seem to increment their rental rates by the month and their mood and there seems to be little legislation to stop them.
All the hard work seems to be done by swarms of Indian immigrants, who labour tirelessly to construct this new world, only to be treated as second-class citizens packed on dilapidated buses that hurtle down the freeway with reckless abandon for it's cargo. Oh yes, the roads in Dubai are indeed a dangerous place: freeway exits also double up as access points, so you are frequently face with two cars battling to join/leave the motorway, and of course no-one backs down. It's pure madness- almost like being in Grand Theft Auto, but without the Hot Coffee.
That said, the opportunities for western workers are pretty huge, and even though I am not crazy about the place, it certainly is an interesting part of the world. Probably not somewhere I would recommend as a vacation spot but if you fancy some culture shock, fill your boots. There's talk of me going to stay there for a while and represent my company, which I am looking in to. It will probably mean a few months of relative social isolation- but right now that seems pretty attractive, as I can get some things done without too many distractions.
In other news, I have found this music video for the UK musician Clark (who would get a link, but his site seems to be down). Amazing tune, and easily the most beautiful piece of animation I have seen in a long time.
Found here.
It's a weird place. The whole country seems engrossed in one long dick-showing contest: everywhere you look, someone is building a new sky-scraper promising unrivalled luxury and the very definition of opulence. They have ravaged their own coastline, dwarfed by oppressive high-rise hotels and in the horizon all you see is more construction- that of man-made islands in the shape of palm trees, and a map of the world. More money than sense, as my parents used to say.
Dubai has a kind of 'Frontier Town' feeling to it: everyone seems to be there for the goldrush they've heard so much about, but no-one seems to be actually making any money. Well, no-one but the landlords, who seem to increment their rental rates by the month and their mood and there seems to be little legislation to stop them.
All the hard work seems to be done by swarms of Indian immigrants, who labour tirelessly to construct this new world, only to be treated as second-class citizens packed on dilapidated buses that hurtle down the freeway with reckless abandon for it's cargo. Oh yes, the roads in Dubai are indeed a dangerous place: freeway exits also double up as access points, so you are frequently face with two cars battling to join/leave the motorway, and of course no-one backs down. It's pure madness- almost like being in Grand Theft Auto, but without the Hot Coffee.
That said, the opportunities for western workers are pretty huge, and even though I am not crazy about the place, it certainly is an interesting part of the world. Probably not somewhere I would recommend as a vacation spot but if you fancy some culture shock, fill your boots. There's talk of me going to stay there for a while and represent my company, which I am looking in to. It will probably mean a few months of relative social isolation- but right now that seems pretty attractive, as I can get some things done without too many distractions.
In other news, I have found this music video for the UK musician Clark (who would get a link, but his site seems to be down). Amazing tune, and easily the most beautiful piece of animation I have seen in a long time.
Found here.