Access Blogs
Dubai: The Quest To Be The Best
It has actually taken me a week to recover from being awestruck at all of the incredible sights I witnessed in Dubai.
It is a place obsessed with "est's."
The biggest, the fastest, the tallest, the most expensive-est. (Okay, I took liberties with that last one but, you get my point.) There is no dream too big, too outrageous or too expensive in the quest to be the best.
It is hot. It's winter in Dubai but, it's still 80 degrees and many of the guests here at Atlantis the Palm hotel where I stayed were out sunbathing by the pool sipping on fruity drinks and slathering on suntan lotion, just baking.
And then, others are skiing. Yes, you read that correctly. Skiing. In the snow.
My friends and I head out to the Mall of the Emirates a few miles from the hotel to do some shopping. Many of the stores look the same as ours - Virgin Records, Foot Locker, D&G.
We are walking through and then I saw it. I could not believe my eyes. I put my nose up to the window to take a closer look. Here are the pictures to prove it. People skiing - IN THE MALL. It's called Ski Dubai. Skiers taking a gondola up to the top of a ski slope and then jetting down what looked like a "green" or "blue." There was a toboggan run and a little bunny hill for the kiddies climb up. People dressed in the heavy snow gear because it was cold inside and here I am, with no sleeves, looking at them just a few feet away - INSIDE THE SHOPPING MALL. Unbelievable.
Also incredible is Burj Dubai also known as Dubai Tower - the world's tallest building with some 160 floors and a current height of 2,684 feet although numbers constantly vary. You can see the tip of this tower some 60 miles away. As our driver approached, we jumped out of the car along the road to take a picture.
Then, there is the Burj Al Arab Hotel - the only 7-Star Hotel in the world. What makes it so special? I'll tell you more about that later. It is a sight to behold because it is built in the shape of a billowing sail.
Back in my hotel, Atlantis the Palm, I was almost blinded by this little baby in one of the store windows. A 52-carat, flawless diamond. Dare, I go in and try it on? I wondered if the salespeople at the Levant jewelry store watched Access Hollywood here in Dubai. What the heck? They could not have been nicer when I asked to try it on.
The gentleman went to the other side of the store, opened a drawer and pulled out a black velvet box. He opened it up and took out a pair of white gloves. They were the whitest gloves I had ever seen. He slipped them on, opened the case, and slid out the ring and gently walked it over to me. As gentle as if he were carrying an egg on the tip of his finger. He placed it on my ring finger and it FIT!
Now, if I could only afford the $25 million price tag.
Maybe they have lay-a-way.
Shaun
$25 Million? Oh wow..that would be one hell of a LONG lay-away. I can't even imagine anyone spending that kind of money on a material possession.
We have people from our office working in Dubai (we are in engineering) and I agree, the weather is something else. It was 50 degrees C when one of our ladies was there just six weeks ago.
Why on earth would the rich and famous be attracted to Dubai? When I think of all the countries in the World, France, Spain, Italy (need I go on?), Dubai is the last place I would want to spend my holidays at.
Maybe this is just a "flavour of the month" thingy.
whoever wrote, that duh! , there is snow when your skiing , yo do not have to say oh yeah , we got snow , its the same word ,that was really airheaded .
Hi Shaun I loved the/your coverage on Dubai, makes me wanna visit there, you looked really nice, like a true "tourist" LOL I love to travel & have been travelling with my mom since I was 5, I'm originally from the Caribbean island of Trinidad, that should be your next stop, it's really live around Carnival time which falls in either Feb or March it all depends on when Ash Wedesday falls, i'm heading here in 5 days, it might be a little too soon for you to pack up & leave though, but then again you have a fun job