Don’t build your homes on sand
Once upon a time it was a dream ... a grand dream that was actually slowly shaping into the most colossal of all engineering undertakings. It was so fantastical that a lot of people thought the pictures of Dubai's islands that looked like a map of the world were a joke. Looks like they were right after all.
Lauren Greenfield, an amazing photographer, has caught the city in crisis. Homes that are brand new are being demolished to make way for more viable projects and tons of areas where it was too hot, too sandy, well, have become just that.
“I call the story an improbable fairy tale,” Ms. Greenfield said in an interview with the New York Times. “Anything that could be fantasized could be built. It really was the land of opportunity. It’s more Las Vegas than Las Vegas.”
Aside from the many enormous buildings of excess, she also photographed Plastik, a flamboyant club that bills itself “Exclusively For The Filthy Rich And Aesthetically Perfect”. Next to that are pictures of foreign labourers in their spartan dormitories who claim they have not been paid for months.
Even brand new cars covered in layers of sand and dust did not escape her eye, apparently abandoned by fleeing expatriates who could not pay their debts. Three-year-old housing developments were being torn down to make room for even newer housing developments - which begged the question, for whom, exactly?
After all, the wise man built his house upon a rock. As for the other fella, it all came tumbling down.
Is the UAE Expensive?
There's really no better way to fly than by Emirates. The food and service is first class and the airfare is reasonable. A lot of people prefer to fly other airlines because they don't want to lay-over at Dubai, but that has changed dramatically in the last few years. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) (Arabic: دولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة, transliteration: Dowlat Al-Imārāt al-‘Arabīyah al-Muttaḥidah) is now a tourist destination.
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
The UAE is a federation of seven states aka emirates: Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm al-Quwain. The question for the lonely planet traveller is this- Is it possible to have inexpensive accommodation in a country that is rich and dripping with oil?
DUBAI
Yes, Dubai is the famous for having the only seven star hotel in the world, but trust me, there are cheap hotels for travellers who may not have so much in their pocket to lavish on themselves.
ABU DHABI
Most people recognize Dubai because of its incredible marketing efforts, but Abu Dhabi is actually the capital, and the richest of the emirates. In fact, the most expensive hotel is being built there although no one really knows. Yep, the US$3 billion Emirates Palace Hotel is finishing soon to rival the best Dubai has to offer. But again, fret not. For the less well-heeled, there are cheap hotels in Abu Dhabi, thank goodness!