Wednesday 27th February 2013 +4.0 hrs GMT: Dubai, United Arab Emirates ­ The City and State of Superlatives: Biggest, Tallest, Best But Is It?!

Mumbai and Dubai might share the spelling ‘bai’ but that is where the similarity ends, the contrasts between the two countries are simply jaw dropping in terms of size, population, culture and wealth to name but a few comparisons. For example India is one of the second most populous nations in the world after China whereas Dubai’s population is around 1.5 million, a huge difference from 183,000 in 1975 but as one of the most multicultural cities in the world the expatriate communities make up 80% of the population with Emiratis accounting for 20%. India, despite its economic growth has one of the poorest per capita incomes whereas the 300,000 or so Emiratis are amongst the wealthiest in the world.  The differences of course are based on oil.

For Dubai, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi that I am to visit in two days time and Oman the problem is how to use that wealth and what to do when their oil reserves run out in maybe 10 – 20 years since these countries have relatively small oil reserves compared with Saudi Arabia. These four countries at least have decided that they must diversify their economies away from oil to create financial centres, so called ‘smart’ cities based on computing and information technology but above all to become the top tourist destinations in the world and this is where they are all trying to outdo each other with more hotels - the taller the better - more and bigger shopping malls selling luxury goods of all kinds and of course huge theme parks. Dubai already has Atlantis, based upon the legendary underwater city – and is beginning to build a theme park that will be three times larger than Orlando in the USA.

I am going to be controversial and with the benefit of hindsight, having already visited Abu Dhabi and Oman as I come to write this posting, and say that in my opinion amazing as the buildings are in Dubai, as I will illustrate, the whole city is like a theme park and lacks a soul and if it has a soul at all it is dedicated to unbridled commercialism and consumerism. 

The photo is the best that I could achieve from a moving bus of the central skyline of Dubai with the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world at over 800 metres and with 160 storeys, on the right.