An emirate of excess

precious Dubai

It is sand everywhere from the window of the airplane. The afternoon sunlight pounding the sand dunes is blinding. As the descent begins, there’s a speck of a flash.

Ahoy, is that a water body? Or a mirage? Soon specks of greenery appear and water bodies multiply, too. Within no time, the sand dunes make way for high rises, many of them with a glass front. The most audacious of the high rises sprouts over half a kilometre into the skies, essentialising what Dubai is all about: money, munificence and sheer defiance of nature.

Dubai, aptly called the city of gold, is all aglow at the recently concluded 20th edition of the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF). The month-long event that concluded on February 1 is a shoppers’ delight and a gourmands’ dream, given the spread on offer at its malls and restaurants. But the emirate is more than the festival. It is jaw-dropping from the moment you land at the airport with its soaring terminals, water cascades and fake palm trees, duty-free stores and high-end boutiques.

On the cutting edge

The present-day emirate is as much the realisation of the dream and vision of UAE Vice President and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum as much as it is its residents’ readiness to play along. To be truthful, traffic is a nightmare, before which Bengaluru pales in comparison, but the streets are spick and span... no garbage at all.

Tourist packages during the DSF, which is organised by the Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), an agency of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), is thoughtfully chalked out to ensure that the best of the city is showcased.

The first stop is usually at a mall like the Dubai Shopping Mall, one of the largest shopping enclaves of the world with a 250-room luxury hotel, 22 movie screens, 120 restaurants and an underwater aquarium. The second stop, too, is a mall. You notice that the malls vie with each other in offering the most attractive discounts, numbing one’s reason and making one shop till they drop.

A ‘must’ on the itinerary is what describes Dubai’s determination not to be hemmed in by nature: Ski Dubai, an indoor ski resort with 22,500 square metres of indoor ski area in the Mall of the Emirates. Some skiing, snowboarding, tobogganing, or just simply playing in the snow, it does not take too long to sink in that all this amid a desert city that borders on the incredible.

In Dubai, another must-see is the Global Village, which is best at night when the whole place is lit. It’s a global village with pavilions and representations from 33 countries. The best of international cultures throws up a melange of experience, including numerous native cuisines, dance forms, costumes and handicrafts. The Carpet and Art Oasis hosted by Dubai Customs is not to be missed for it stocks the rarest of rugs from across the world, including a carpet woven in gold.

When it comes to gold, Dubai has a clear   message: if you have it, flaunt it. Gold is hung at most of the 500-odd shops in Gold Souk, a street dedicated to gold.

Tall feat

The ultimate Dubai experience is Burj Khalifa, which stands tall at 555 metres. There’s a long rush to get atop the 148th floor and people elbow their way to get to the front. Tickets for the same are sold out within an hour of the opening of the counter.

The elevator takes less than a minute to take one to the 148th floor. On reaching there, one can feel the air pressure drop in the ears. That the view is breathtaking is a cliché. But from that height, one thing is clear: Burj Khalifa is certainly one achievement that dwarfs all other feats of Dubai.

Dubai is not only about gratifying one’s epicurean senses. The government has summoned the best of brains from across the world to conceptualise and create the Palm Jumeirah Island Gulf, an artificial archipelago.

The huge palm-shaped island built in the sea houses the poshest of hotels such as the Atlantis, Fairmont Palm Hotel and Resort, Anantara Resorts and The Palm Dubai. Some of the villas in this enclosure are owned by the richest and hottest names in the world of sports, fashion and film. Dubai is, after all, about money’s immense possibilities.