Big Fish in the Desert

The brand new Dubai Mall is the largest mall in the world. We just went to see it today. Although it may be considered open, the majority of the shops are not yet completed. But, there are some amazing things to be seen there all the same. Even the parking garages are still under construction and a bit of a crazy maze to get in and out. We enjoyed a nice lunch at Johnny Rockets (come to the desert and eat at a classic American dinner). Even the food court came with a great view of the waterfall that was about 20 feet high and 100 feet wide.

And what would a huge mall be without is own Olympic size ice skating rink with stadium seating and a 65 ft by 32 ft TV screen. When we first walked past it the zamboni was resurfacing the ice. The rink looked fit enough to have the Carolina Hurricanes come rushing out for a game, maybe they will have an exibition match. The rink slowly filled with vistors and shoppers taking to the ice.

On the other side of the mall is the new aqaurium which is an absolutely incredible sight. The aquarium has set a world record for the largest acrylic panel at 107 ft long, 26 ft tall, and 2.5 ft thick. The massive tank is home to over 33,000 fish, mostly small schooling fish. But, there are some gigantic grouper fish, black tip reef sharks, eagle rays, and leopard stingrays. The aquarium even comes with a walk through viewing tunnel that runs the length of the tank.

One thing we haven't managed to figure out is that the shops in all the malls are selling winter clothing. They didn't seem to get the memo that we live in the desert. I'm not sure woolly hats and down jackets are really necessary even for the skating rink or the ski slopes in the Mall of the Emirates.

Concert at The Village Nov. 7th 2008

Where the streets have no names, mainly because they change to often in this town. Another beautifully clear Dubai evening and temperatures comfortably at 27C (80F). Erin and I met up with Mike, Dave, and Sakkie at The Irish Village for a rocking good concert by Eagles and U2 cover bands Desperado and ZU2. The Village had set up a stage on the edge of the lake outside the bar. The venue was incredible and it seems appropriate for a Dubai concert to have a back drop for the stage being a cluster of three cranes from the construction site down the street.
Desperado opened with some classic numbers and mixed in a few from the latest album. Their music was great and the singing sounded just like Joe Walsh and Glenn Fry. ZU2 had the look down with the Bono sunglasses and straw cowboy hat and The Edge sporting the iconic skull cap. The sound was good too. They featured the newer songs from U2 and only played a couple of the classics. All in all a good show!!

1st Desert Romp Nov. 5th 2008

Erin and I decided that after a week of owning a Land Rover that it was time to venture in the wilds of the desert. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the temperature was around 35C or 95F for our US readers. The sand was too hot to walk on, even in sandals. We drove about an hour out of Dubai towards Hatta. After passing through a few small villages along E44, mostly comprised of tiny supermarkets and CD stores, we found the landmark we were looking for, Fossil Rock. It turned out to be a smallish hill made up of what looked like a dried mud castle with fissures and crevasses.

We pulled off the E102 highway and turned off the round-a-bout straight into the orange sand. After a quick depressurization of the tires we pressed on. There were a few trails in the sand from past adventurers. The Land Rover performed well, we didn't want to challenge it too much the first time out, especially since we were going solo. The uphills in the looser sand became a bit of struggle for the mass of the Land Rover, but putting it in low range and backing out wasn't a big event. We got round on the east side of Fossil Rock where the dunes appeared to be less driven. We cruised along a ridge on the dunes making fresh tracks. We had a bit of a struggle after dropping into a trough. The sand in the hollow was softer than the rest had been and the Land Rover's front wheels sunk to the skid plate. With a little bit of digging with our hands in the sand and some finesse with the accelerator we crawled out the way we came. I think the next investment for the car will be a folding camp shovel.

There were several camels roaming the sand dunes, nosing around for a sparse scraps of shrubbery that can survive the summer heat and arid winds. The camels didn't seem to bothered by us or the Land Rover, we drove straight up beside them. Once we got the tires pumped up again, we headed down the road a bit more and saw a camel racetrack and had a quick look. It was almost a little village of its own with a grocers and laundromat. There was a "camel compound" where they were training and housing the racers. Soon we will have to ride one of these awkward looking creatures with their Bubba lips. "Son you better tuck that lip before you get in caught on a tripwire." Lt. Dan