Ivan’s Blog

So, today is the last day of my first month in Dubai. From this perspective, my previous life in San Francisco seems like a distant past. As a short retrospect, in the past 30 days or so I managed to:

- pack my whole life (well, a huge part of it) and fly half way across the world to a little desert town called Dubai

- find and move into a new apartment in the Greens community in the new part of Dubai

- become a resident of the UAE and more specifically Emirate of Dubai (something that, at least administratively) I was unable to accomplish in my four years in the US

One of the things that I’m missing and that obviously will present a challenge in my new environment is reestablishing a circle of friends that I had in the Bay Area (to all of you who are reading this - I miss you!!!). Yes, I’ve done that before when I first came to the US, but the sheer fact that I went there to attend school made it so much easier. This time, it will take much more effort and the results remain to be seen. 

That being said I was thrilled to find out that one of my classmates, Steve also came to Dubai for a project with his firm (name not to be disclosed for competitive reasons). We caught up yesterday and spent half a day exploring a different facet of Dubai that I haven’t experienced beforehand:

Beach 

One of the things that Dubai is trying to establish itself in is tourism. With sunny weather year round (too sunny at times), sandy beaches, great location and transport connections, liberal reputation (relative to the region) and abundance of shopping, it is no wonder that it attracts tourists from all over the world. In fact, their 2015 Strategic Plan foresees a twofold increase in the number of tourists visiting from the current 7M/year to 15M/year (very similar to the 16M attracted by one of the top tourist destinations in the US and my former hometown of San Francisco, California).  

The Jumeirah Beach Park public beach that we went to had all the makings of a tropical beach: golden sand, emerald water - warm enough to enjoy it (for a change!), hot girls in bikinis and the palm trees scenery of Burj Dubai, the tallest building in the world and Burj al Arab, a seven star hotel.

The Creek

The creek is where the ‘old Dubai’ was founded. As was typical at that time, the little hideout was a frequent stop of the ships and traders going to and from India and beyond. Even today, when most of the seafreight is transported through Dubai in 10-storey high post-Panamax transoceanic ships calling the nearby port of Jebel Ali, the creek is still bustling with activity. The docks are full of working men, loading and unloading cargo ranging from bulk goods, some of which surely has been a staple commodity on these docks for centuries, all the way through the modern A/C units, appliances and electronics.

On the banks of the creek is the old market (’old souk’). Quite a contrast to the shiny and glitzy (and ueberexpensive!) malls of the new and modern Dubai, this market with its natural ventilation system (yes, people have lived here even before the A/C) is a virtual time machine that gives a glimpse of the old ways of which not a whole lot is left. As is the case in other parts of the world, globalization, progress (or ‘progress’) are taking their toll. Interspersed between traditional shops selling carpets and traditional clothes are the small booths trying to entice hordes of tourists with cheap knock-offs of popular apparel and watch brands.

Tomorrow, I’m headed to Abu Dhabi, the second (or the first) city of the Emirates where I will be spending my working weeks for the foreseeable future. If luck (and some other factors) would have it, I hope to be able to catch a breather an explore a bit - keep your fingers crossed and I will thank you with a nice blog post. Fair enough!