Dubai City Photo

Easy Rider

2009-08-23T20:49:00.004Z

To promote one of the restaurants down by the Marina, the owner has placed this unusual motorbike on display. I was so interested in taking a photo of the bike, that I forgot to look for the name of the restaurant. I think it's a case of a missed opportunity.

Fingers To The Sky

2009-08-17T22:22:00.003Z

Here's an aerial view of the Marina, taken from the 52nd floor of the Harbour Hotel. All those prized yachts waiting to be taken out for a spin on the open sea, while cars whizzing past on the highway.
The problem with taking photos through windows is that you also take any marks or spots on the glass. Being so high up, it would take a very brave window cleaner to work that high. Perhaps they could use a hose on a helicopter instead.

Looking Back To The Future

2009-08-16T21:20:00.003Z

I was a little disappointed that the new monorail wasn't finished and was taking passengers, as I was looking forward to having a ride from one end of Dubai to the other. It looks quite a good route and is bound to be a tourist attraction. I just hope the windows aren't too tinted, as it would spoil the photographic element. The stations look so futuristic. Like they belong in Bladerunner or Logan's Run.

All The World Is Blue

2009-08-15T20:30:00.003Z

Most people know that Dubai is expanding at a great rate of knots. And here are some of the many hundreds of workers from the Indian sub-continent that are making it happen. One has to feel sorry for them, as they are basically treated as slave labour. Working long hours in the searing heat, for very little pay, and living in squalor in camps far from the glistening city. They can't leave because their employers hold their passports. It's one of the sadder sides to Dubai's success, and one that does trouble me a great deal. Unfortunately I think there is very little anyone can do to help them.

Skytrain

2009-07-15T21:48:00.003Z

This is a photo of the new monorail that is currently under construction across Dubai. I wonder what the same scene looks like now? I'm looking forward to finding out and having a ride on the Palm Island section, which is now up and running. When it is finished, it should help the huge traffic jams that seem to be a constant feature of the city.

I Should Be So Lucky

2009-07-14T22:09:00.003Z

Last time we were in Dubai, Gail and I were a bit sad as our holiday would be coming to an end, just a couple of days before Kylie was due to play a concert. We had the opportunity of seeing Queen. But it wouldn't be the same without Freddie.

I wonder what band will be playing when we are there?

The Countdown Has Begun

2009-07-13T22:37:00.002Z

Next Friday (24th) Gail and I fly off to Dubai for a well deserved break. We thought about trying some other countries, but as we like the UAE so much, we just had to go back. This time though, we'll be staying in one of the hotels in the new marina. We normally reside near the creek, but I found this bargain. One we just had to try. As we'll be nearer the beach, we'll be able to explore that area for a change. We might even go and see what Jebel Ali has to offer.

Toys Are Us

2008-08-17T14:48:00.002Z

I think this Hummer is a bit too big to pull this little wooden trailer, even if it is packed with toys for children to play with. This display was at the Mercato Centre.

Trickcyclist

2008-02-13T13:52:00.002Z

Besides the acrobats, as shown yesterday, Wafi City was also entertaining the shoppers with this trick cyclist. He was very good and did some quite amazing things on his unicycle.

Legs Eleven

2008-02-12T23:13:00.000Z

A bingo reference here for these acrobats, doing a demonstration for shoppers at Wafi City. They attracted quite a crowd, who applauded politely during the show. The main aim was to give a diversion during shopping, as they were part of the shopping festival.

The Sky's The Limit

2008-02-11T14:35:00.000Z

Besides all the new hotels, apartment blocks and offices that are being constructed around Dubai, a new monorail route is currently underway. It's a huge project and almost every road is affected in one way or another. I understand it is going to go both overground and underground & that the trains will be driverless. Should be good when its finished.

What Price Vanity?

2008-02-10T18:06:00.000Z

Here's a shot of a rather vain plant preening itself in the mirror & making sure all it's leaves are in order!

There's No "T" In Coffee

2008-02-09T17:25:00.000Z

I guess it's why this outlet sells coffee and not tea. As for some unknown reason, one of the "T"s has become unstuck from the wall. I hope they mend it quickly, otherwise it might cause an accident.

Mirror Mirror On The Ceiling

2008-02-08T23:54:00.000Z

I took this shot at the airport during those long hours after checking in, but before boarding. Dubai airport is huge has quite a few duty free shops to keep one amused and spending. But being a photographer, my eyes were always looking around for something to snap, even though photography is not supposed to be allowed. Couldn't resist this jewellery stand that had a mirrored roof.

Frozen In Time

2008-02-07T22:56:00.000Z

This rather macabre tableaux was inside the Wafi City shopping centre. I couldn't work out what it was supposed to be promoting. I thought it looked quite colourful though in a ghoulish, Tim Burton kind of way.

Bag It Up

2008-02-05T08:30:00.000Z

Here's the carrier bag figure I was writing about yesterday. Quite an amusing little character isn't he. The sweets he was handing out were quite tasty. I resisted though and only had the one.

Handbags and Gladrags

2008-02-04T22:04:00.000Z

This rather attractive handbag collection, is one of three promotions girls that are walking around the Burjuman mall highlighting the shopping festival. There is also a large red carrier bag accompanying them. He hands out sweets to passers by. Naturally they were causing quite a stir, and spent ages being photographed by visitors and shoppers alike.

Let's Hit The Beach

2007-10-07T16:34:00.000Z

This is the Jumeirah Beach Hotel taken from the restaurant of the Burj Al Arab hotel. Both hotels are about the best there is until the Burj Dubai is completed sometime next year.

Sitting in the Sun

2006-11-07T08:06:00.000Z

Here's a great spot along the Creek to have a drink and whtch all the water traffic go by. It's right at the top, so all the boats etc have to turn round there and go back down to the other end where the sea is.

Eat Like an Egyptian

2006-10-06T07:07:00.000Z

Here's another view of Wafi City shopping mall. You can tell the scale of the figures by the people standing close to them. Incidently there was a big dinner going on in the restaurant, and the waiters were parking the guests' cars.

Sleepyhead

2006-10-01T21:34:00.000Z

what's better than having a lie-in on a Sunday morning? Hopefully finding a very comfortable and relaxing bed. Here's Dubai's branch of a top bedding store.

Flying Horses

2006-09-30T21:36:00.000Z

This tiled mural of Arabian stallions in full gallop can be seen at Dubai's international airport. You aren't supposed to take photos inside the airport, but I couldn't resist taking a snap or two, which is the reason why the photo isn't the best I've ever taken.

Meter in the Heat

2006-09-29T07:01:00.000Z

Up till around 2 years ago parking in Dubai was free, but now parking meters have sprung up all over the place. I have never driven in Dubai, as it is far too scary. I think tailgating is one of the rules of the road. I have not seen any traffic wardens or indeed parking tickets on our visits. So maybe they are not taken too seriously.

Plain Sailing

2006-09-28T07:19:00.000Z

Here's a shot of Jumeriah Beach close to the Hilton Hotel. I liked the look of this small boat with its colourful sails. In the background you can see the usual cranes which seem to be a standard feature of the Dubai skyline these days.

Past Times

2006-09-27T07:28:00.000Z

This model of a wind tower is at the entrance to Sheikh Saeed's house. Although it's not some much a house in the normal sense of the word, but more of a scaled down version of a castle. Most of the rooms show photograps of Dubai as it changed over the years from a small fishing village, to the metropolis we all know today.

Licenced to Thrill

2006-09-26T07:00:00.000Z

The title is a bit of an exageration for today's photograph, a Dubai car registration plate in Arabic. The first 5 characters of the licence plate read 683HH. I'm not sure what the last character is, althought is really the first, as Arabic script is read right to left.

Night Tower

2006-09-25T07:04:00.000Z

Here is one of the Emirates towers taken at night, without a tripod. I'm not sure whether this is the office block or the hotel. But they are a prominent feature of the Dubai skyline.

On the Buses

2006-09-24T22:32:00.000Z

Here's one of Dubai's more unusual forms of transport. It's called the Wonderbus, and it picks people up outside the Burjuman shopping centre, drives off towards the creek, then hits the water and gives passengers a different view of the city. The vehicle itself is commonly known as a DUKW, or Duck.

Sign of the Times

2006-09-23T14:20:00.000Z

I think it's always interesting to see what another countries' road signs look like. Here for your information and pleasure is Dubai's.

Taxi!

2006-09-22T07:19:00.000Z

Here's one of the abra, or water taxi stations, that are dotted up and down the creek. It's a very cheap and enjoyable way of crossing the water, plus you get to see parts of Dubai from a different angle.

Money Makes the World Go Round..

2006-09-21T07:04:00.000Z

It certainly does in Dubai, where it can be seen everywhere, cars, yachts, designer shops. Obviously it has to come from somewhere, and where better than you local branch of the Emirates Bank?

Which Is my Room?

2006-09-20T07:09:00.000Z

This is a shot of the Hilton Hotel on Jumeirah Beach. We didn't stay there, but visited for a day. I was interested in the symetry of the windows, balconies and that each one has a patio set on it.

Pole Position

2006-09-19T07:14:00.000Z

Here's some real Formula 1 cars on display at Wafi City. For some reason they remind me of scale models on a display stand.

Petrol Heads

2006-09-18T07:39:00.000Z

Whilst in Wafi City, I came across an exhibition of Formula 1, drag and other racing cars. This shot shows some of the vehicles used by a local racing school, where people can pay to pretend to be a Schumaker, Coulthard or Button.

Having a Pharaoh Time

2006-09-17T20:00:00.000Z

No, this isn't the inside of one of the pyramids in Egypt, but a shopping mall in Dubai called Wafi City. The whole centre is decorated with hyroglyphics, statues of mummies and outside are a couple of large statues of some ancient kings. The shops in the mall are a lot different to City Centre shown yesterday, as they are nearly all designer clothing names.

Song of Life

2006-09-16T22:06:00.000Z

The summer surprises' festival consisted of a different theme every week. When Gail & I were there, the theme was about the heritage of Dubai & it's people. This show was at the City Centre shopping mall & aimed to demonstrate the music & dance of the Bedouin tribes that lived out in the desert.

Summer of Fun

2006-09-15T07:13:00.000Z

This is Modhesh, the character logo of the Dubai Summer Surprises. The DSS is a 10 week shopping celebration in Dubai, where people are entertained and can win prizes with lots of competitions etc. Its aim is to attract tourists to the Emirate during the very hot summer and also to entertain the kids during their school holidays.

It's a Gas

2006-09-13T07:16:00.000Z

The price of petrol in England continues to rise in price & is almost £1 a litre now. In Dubai it's different. There it is around £1.20 a gallon, or about 30p a litre. It is well known that Dubai's fuel reserves are rapidly running out & so they are replacing it with hotels & houses as a source of income.

Sheikh a Leg

2006-09-01T07:15:00.000Z

Here is a doorway at Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum's house; the father of Sheikh Rashid, the guiding light of modern Dubai. The building was built in 1896 is now a museum. It displays many photos depicting the emirate from a tiny fishing village, before they discovered oil and the life that people led. The house is situated at the top of the creek, and is part of the heritage area.

Waterworld

2006-08-16T07:16:00.000Z

Dubai Creek basically splits the city in too and is a very busy shipping lane. This photo shows the sort of number of boats that use it for delivering goods to the country. It's quite interesting walking along the Creek seeing allsorts of boxes, bundles and sacks of things being unloaded from the dhow's, and luxury yachts being taken out for a spin.

Ski While You Shop

2006-08-14T07:04:00.000Z

Besides the new Harvey Nichols store, the Mall of the Emirates houses Dubai's only ski slope. The snow is real, and the temperture is kept at a constant minus 1-2 degrees centigrade, but drops to minus 8 during the night when fresh snow is being made. Can Ski Dubai hold the record as the largest snow dome in the world?

Going Underground

2006-08-12T21:20:00.000Z

Sometimes things aren't quite what they seem. Take this poster for instance. You may think it is a map of the London Underground. But you'd be wrong. It's actually advertising the different departments that are inside the new Harvey Nichols store that has opened in the Mall of the Emirates.

Hazy Days

2006-08-11T06:58:00.000Z

This was taken fairly early in the day, and you can see the misty heat haze surrounding the twin Emirates Towers hotel & business complex to the left. There's also at least 10 cranes in the photo. Dubai is undergoing a large building programme and it is estimated that 8% of the world's cranes are situated in Dubai at this moment.

Jumeirah Beach

2006-08-10T07:07:00.000Z

This shot is taken from the top of the Burj hotel and shows the neighbouring Jumeriah Beach hotel, together with the Beach Road and surrounding area. Because Dubai is a very modern city; less than 30 years old, the road layout has been styled like that of New York, where everything is in straight lines.

Flying the Flag

2006-08-08T06:57:00.000Z

This is the national flag of Dubai. There is a huge one on a very tall flagpole as you head towards Port Rashid, but I thought this smaller one on a dhow looks more effective.

Building a Life

2006-08-07T07:05:00.000Z

Here is a photo of some of the building work on Palm Island. Most construction work in Dubai goes on 24 hours a day. The majority of the construction workers come from the Indian subcontinent. They are bussed in everyday from settlements on the outskirts of Dubai. By Western standards, they don't earn very much, but it's more than they would get if they had jobs in their homeland.

Living on an Island

2006-08-06T21:21:00.000Z

Well not quite at the moment. But building is forging ahead for the first of the Palm Islands. An offshore housing & hotel complex that is being built out in the Gulf Sea in the shape of a palm tree. This scale model shows what it will look like. Dubai is building another one, together with another one that is made up of private islands that when you look down on the Earth, it makes up the map of the World.

Keep Cool Man!

2006-08-05T20:51:00.000Z

Before the introduction of air conditioning, this used to be the Arabic way of keeping their houses cool. It is called a windtower, and cooler air circulates down the tower, replacing the rising warm air. Neat & simple.

Taxi!

2006-08-04T12:48:00.000Z

This little boat is called an Abra, and you use it to cross the creek. It is a great experience which lasts for about 10 minutes, and you get to see both sides of the creek from the water. And all for the princely sum of about 15 pence.

Look up in Wonder

2006-08-03T21:18:00.000Z

Following on from yesterday's photo of the Burg Al Arab hotel from the outside, today's photo show's what's on the inside. This is a vew of some of the different floors from taken from the centre of the hotel. I think it looks more like a painting or print, rather than a photograph.

Heaven's Hotel

2006-08-02T15:46:00.000Z

The Burj AL Arab hotel is one of the most recognised landmarks in Dubai & is well known throught the world, as if usually seen on anything about Dubai. It is built on its own island and is rated as a 7* hotel. The building in the foreground is the Mina A' Salam.