Dubai, the Other Guy and the Qaboos

Let us dispense with the "Other Guy" first. This refers to Fujairah, the second smallest of the seven emirates forming the United Arab Emirates (UAE). One of the crew said it best, "this is what is was like before oil."

The striking aspect of Fujairah was passing about 100 large oil tankers anchored to its north as we approached. They were waiting to be filled at the busiest oil terminal in the world, more notable because it does not require entry into the Persian Gulf through the Straits of Hormuz. (You may need to consult a map on this one.) Thus this "choke point" we have all heard about has logically been lessened by this pipeline direct to the Gulf of Oman in the Indian Ocean.

Dubai, of course, is Dubai. Much has been said and written about this unlikely place for an economic powerhouse, so here's our view.

First and foremost, it is definitely suffering an economic slowdown. We saw exactly ONE crane move in two days of touring around the place. These are silent cranes surrounding the grandstand at the new Formula 1 track.

Between Dubai and Shanghai, maybe 75% of the these large construction cranes in the world are deployed. Dubai has more total; Shanghai has more currently active.

Other than road or utility infrastructure, most construction is dead in the water. One of the speakers on board reported a 40% drop in property values in the last 4 months. Since it's an offense punishable by substantial fine in Dubai to criticize the emir or government, I asked how he knew this. He replied, "CIA web site."

Dubai is running out of oil as well, pumping only 250k barrels per day, about 10% of what neighboring Aba Dhabi does, who also has many times the reserves. Expatriates are losing jobs, which requires them to leave the country, and so on, thus the go/go, rah/rah of the recent past is decidedly subdued.

Now look at what HAS been accomplished. Miracle may be trite or overstated, but a lower Manhattan equivalent on a man made harbor along Sheikh Zayed Road is a significant example.

More than 50 shopping malls--and not the puny kind--the tallest building in the world, a new light rail which WILL open on 9/9/9, more 5 star hotels than you can count, extensive sports facilities (golf, soccer, horse racing, polo) and probably the best airline in the world are a few other results. Four and six lane highways run in all directions. Massive desalination plants provide fresh water to the approximately 1.6M people there. The list of completions, projects underway (e.g., Palm Island at Jumeirah) and those planned are still endless.

Famous "ski Dubai" indoor ski facility at Mall of the Emirates.

Our Jacksonville friends, Carl and Mary Everleigh, at the Dubai Polo Club.

Jumeirah Beach Hotel--NOT the fanciest in town. That honor probably belongs to the Burj al Arab, from where this picture was taken.

We concluded the last chapters of the Dubai experience are very much to be written.

On to our personal favorite, the Sultanate of Oman, city of Muscat. We wrote about their sole ruler, the good Sultan Qaboos (pronounced like the end car on a train) last year, and our positive impression continues. For the second straight year, Oman makes the list of "most pleasant surprises" for the trip.

Of course the Sultan takes good care of himself. This is the main royal palace of six in the country.

Muscat lies in a small strip carved between the mountains and the sea, sometimes only a few hundred yards wide. It meanders some 20 miles along the coast, with the harbor at one end and the Shangri-La resort at the other. All the roads, landscape and structures are immaculate.

This shows the coastline nature of the city, and the traditional Frankincense burner, near the harbor at the eastern end of Muscat.

On the balcony at the Shangri-La resort at the western end, where we had lunch. As seems to be traditional in this part of the world, we had a local dish--the "Omani enema." You do not want more information.

Had a briefing yesterday on how they will get us safely through the pirate zone coming up later today and tomorrow in the Gulf of Aden. Assuming success, will post details of the third major revision to our remaining itinerary, which gets more bizarre and interesting by the minute.