any have any info on Dubai. I'm currently doing the job search and looking to live overseas for a year or more.

1/26/2006 6:03:51 PM

http://realestate.theemiratesnetwork.com/developments/ (must see)


The World

The World Islands are a collection of man-made islands shaped into the continents of the world. It will consist of over 250 to 300 small private artifical islands divided into four categories - private homes, estate homes, dream resorts, and community islands. Each island will range from 250,000 to 900,000 square feet in size, with 50 to 100 metres of water between each island. It will cover a total area of 9 kilometers (5.4 miles) in length and 6 kilometers (3.6 miles) in width, surrounded by an oval shaped breakwater. The only means of transportation between the islands will be by marine transport.

The World Islands will be located 4 kilometers off the shore of Jumeirah, close to the Palm Jumeirah, between Burj Al Arab and Port Rashid. Each island will be sold to selected private developers and are expected to have pricing beginning at AED 25 million (US$ 6.85 million), for the AED 6.6 billion (US$ 1.8 billion) project.





The Palm

The Palm Islands, also referred to as The Palm Dubai and The Palms, are the three largest man-made islands in the world, which are being built on the coast of the emirate of Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Its concept was announced in May 2002 and the three resort islands are expected to maintain Dubai's position as a premium tourist destination. The Palm Islands is also the self-declared 'Eighth Wonder of the World'.

Each of the islands (Palm Jumeirah, Palm Jebel Ali, and Palm Deira) are being built in the shape of a date palm tree and consist of a trunk, a crown with fronds, and are surrounded by a crescent island that acts as a breakwater. The islands will support luxury hotels, freehold residential villas, unqiue water homes, shoreline apartments, marinas, water theme parks, restaurants, shopping malls, sports facilities, health spas, cinemas and various diving sites.












Burj Dubai

Burj Dubai is set to be the world's tallest building and the centerpiece of the Gulf regions most prestigious urban development, entitled Downtown Dubai. The Arabic meaning for the word Burj is 'tower', which gives Burj Dubai a meaning of 'Dubai Tower' or 'Tower of Dubai'. Its exact height hasn't been disclosed but it has been confirmed that it will be over 700 meters tall and its design was influenced by the six petal desert flower.





Dubai Waterfront

Dubai Waterfront is a stunning new development comprised of canals and islands containing luxury hotels and homes. Its 70 kilometer (42 miles) Arabian Canal runs through the desert, while its arc shaped man-made islands produce a shelter around the Palm Jebel Ali. The harbour provides sea access for trade and entertainment, while its surroundings are divided into a series of commercial, residential, resort and amenity areas.

Dubai Waterfront will extend Dubai coastal line by 820 kilometers (492 miles), which is 12 times the current length of Dubai's coastline, and will cover an area of over 81 million squared meters (266 million squared feet). It is intended to be the world's largest beachfront development and the largest man-made development. It will be larger than Manhattan or Beirut and is being built to be Dubai's premium luxury district. The development will feature over 100 different waterfront developments and over 150 planned communities. The various key development areas of Dubai Waterfront can be seen the aerial map below.





Falcon City of Wonders

Falcon City of Wonders, also known as FalconCity, is a 100 acre (405 thousand square meter) development being built within Dubailand. The AED 5.5 billion (US$ 1.5 billion) project will be a multi-faceted residential, tourist, entertianment and recreational destination that will contain residential apartments, villas, shopping malls, hotels, restaurants, health clubs and spas, schools and parks.

Falcon City of Wonders will be a unique tourist attraction, as it will capture the spirit of ancient civilizations and contain architectural marvels of the world, combined with modern facilites. It will be a city shaped like a falcon and contain life-size replicas of seven wonders of the world - the Great Pyramid in Giza, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Lighthouse at Alexandria, Taj Mahal, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Eiffel Tower and the Great Wall of China.

The Great Pyramid in Giza will contain residential flats, offices and retail outlets and the Babylonian Gardens will comprise luxury apartments, restaurants and coffee shops. The Light House of Alexandria will consist of hotels and retail outlets and the Taj Mahal will comprise hotels and restaurants. Luxury apartments and retail outlets will be the main features of the Eiffel Tower, while the Great Wall of China will encircle the Pharaohs Theme Park located within the fun city. The residential villas (The Villas) will constitute the wings of the falcon and will come as detached, semi-detached and townhouse villas.

1/26/2006 6:16:18 PM

looks they they could have done a little better job in laying out "the world"


what about hurricanes?

1/26/2006 6:41:46 PM

Well they have a ski resort.

1/26/2006 7:08:59 PM

^^They don't get a lot of hurricanes in the Persian Gulf.

[Edited on January 26, 2006 at 7:09 PM. Reason : ]

1/26/2006 7:09:27 PM

A friend of a friend is over there doing landscape architecture on the palm, apparently it's fucking insane.

1/26/2006 7:12:19 PM

i love it.
lived in that country for 16 yrs, and i'm going back when i graduate!!

1/26/2006 7:17:14 PM

speak any foreign languages?

1/26/2006 7:28:44 PM

durka durka

1/26/2006 8:10:02 PM

Quote :

"A friend of a friend is over there doing landscape architecture on the palm, apparently it's fucking insane."

Do you know the name of the firm he/she works for? Just curious.

1/26/2006 11:05:37 PM

Quote :

"durka durka"

roflrofl

1/26/2006 11:16:15 PM

my sister was there during Xmas break.

good times she said

1/27/2006 2:33:54 PM

Just pack your bags and go. Don't think too much about it. 'Cause that's how awesome Dubai is

1/27/2006 2:34:55 PM

My dad leaves Tuesday and my step-mom will be there around the beginning of March. He likes it there, I'd recommend it, I'll probably be working there once I graduate.

1/27/2006 2:39:34 PM

I lived in Abu Dahbi for 10+ years. Its the capital of the UAE and is about 1 1/2 hours - 2 hours away from dubai. It was certainly the best place i've lived ever. It was like a paradise on earth. I would move back there in a heart beat without even thinking about it. And now Dubai is 100 times better than it used to be due to all the recent developments.

1/27/2006 2:41:26 PM

^^ If your step-mom is gonna be there around the shopping festival then...all I can say is I'm very very very jealous. I <3 Jashanmal

[Edited on January 27, 2006 at 2:41 PM. Reason : .]

1/27/2006 2:41:29 PM

heh, there's no way that poser Amsterdam can afford a place on the Palm, much less the World

1/27/2006 2:41:42 PM

what a mess this thread was

anyways - i'm heading there on friday and will be there for a short amount of time - 1-2 days or so - any recommendations for things to do?

11/30/2010 11:13:44 PM

Is not Dubai 100+ half the year.

How are the alcohol/islamic laws?

11/30/2010 11:21:28 PM

I just talked to a lady at work whose son and family is there. She said they are really enjoying it and he is getting paid big bucks. Sounds like she would recommend it. The only negative she said was that it is 20 hours away from here.

11/30/2010 11:38:37 PM

^^^ what do you do for work? your job is taking you to a lot of really neat places recently. i'm kinda jealous!

11/30/2010 11:45:43 PM

I did some quick googling & it didn't look like anyone in the construction industry, at least on the engineering side, was pulling in more money than they would be in the US. Perhaps I was mistaken.

[Edited on November 30, 2010 at 11:57 PM. Reason : *]

11/30/2010 11:50:56 PM

^ Perhaps same salary, but remember, white people get free furnished housing, free use of a car, free medical care, etc. So you basically end up saving a shit load more than you would in the US.

OmarBadu, URGENT! Do you want to go up to the observation deck of the tallest building in the world? If so, you should book and pay online now! Doing so, tickets cost about $27, but if you get there and want to go up on the spot, it is $108 (4x)!!! So I would suggest you book them now!

https://tickets.atthetop.ae/eticketing/

The sun sets around 5:45 pm local time, something to consider when reserving a spot. (night view from top? day view?)

Highest outdoor observation deck in the world (124th floor) at 452 m (1,483 ft). (Wiki)

I was there a couple of weeks ago, and it was my 2nd time in Dubai, but the 1st time doesn't count, as the 1st time was in 1999 and didn't go see anything, not like there was much to see, anyway.

These are from the chit chat thread:

Quote :

"World's tallest structure, next to the world's largest mall (1,200 stores) with the largest aquarium front panel inside the mall, and one of the world's largest fountains outside the mall."

Quote :

"World's tallest structure ever built World's largest mall (has world's largest aquarium front panel inside) World's longest fountain (dances to music) "

And here are some other things:

Dune bashing
Dubai Mall
Dubai Aquarium (inside the mall)
Ski Dubai (inside Mall of the Emirates)
Burj Dubai
Dubai Fountain
Burj al Arab (sail shaped hotel)
Atlantis Hotel (on the Palm Island, has huge aquarium inside, and a great water park)
Wild Wadi Water Park
Emirates Palace Hotel (Abu Dhabi; hotel that cost the most to build ever)
Ferrari Theme Park (in Abu Dhabi)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Templateubai_landmarks
http://wikitravel.org/en/Dubai
http://www.dubaitourism.ae
http://www.definitelydubai.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tourist_attractions_in_Dubai

I might post more.

BUT GET THE TICKETS FOR "AT THE TOP"!

12/1/2010 9:48:57 AM

When you're there be sure to visit the slave camps. Say hey to all the Pakistanis and other foreign nationals that get paid pennies a day to build these modern wonders.

12/1/2010 10:37:14 AM

thanks for the help so far - i'm also going to brussels now too but i'll make a separate thread for that

12/1/2010 3:53:05 PM

Dubai's going to be an interesting city to visit after they go broke and it becomes a ghost town.

12/1/2010 4:16:47 PM

The fountains start at 6 pm. Show is for about 7 min every 30 min. You can watch the show from the tower and then watch it again when you come down. If you go up at 5 pm you can get a day view a sunset view a night view and also see the fountains from up there.

[Edited on December 1, 2010 at 5:17 PM. Reason : ]

12/1/2010 5:14:29 PM

^ They already are broke. half of what was shown above has been put on hold, and they are in serious bankruptcy right now.

12/1/2010 5:15:08 PM

how foolish of them to invest in tourism. They should stick with oil, that'll last forever

12/1/2010 10:50:58 PM

I always like shopping where I know 100% of the proceeds go to propping up a slave state.

12/1/2010 11:09:18 PM

^^ The don't have oil.

Each of the 7 emirates in the UAE is semi-autonomously ruled by a hereditary ruler from different families. Abu Dhabi (the emirate), which accounts for some 87% of the country's area, is the largest and richest emirate, and Abu Dhabi (the city in the emirate of Abu Dhabi) is the capital of UAE. It's ruler is also the country's leader. They are the ones who bailed out their profligate little famous and notorious sibling, the one that many people around the world equate to the whole country: Dubai.

Only about 5% or less of Dubai's GDP comes from oil. Like I said, they don't have much at all.


[Edited on December 2, 2010 at 2:09 AM. Reason : ]

12/2/2010 1:51:24 AM

Don't forget about what essentially amounts to slavery there:
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/the-dark-side-of-dubai-1664368.html

There are three different Dubais, all swirling around each other. There are the expats, like Karen; there are the Emiratis, headed by Sheikh Mohammed; and then there is the foreign underclass who built the city, and are trapped here. They are hidden in plain view. You see them everywhere, in dirt-caked blue uniforms, being shouted at by their superiors, like a chain gang – but you are trained not to look. It is like a mantra: the Sheikh built the city. The Sheikh built the city. Workers? What workers?

Every evening, the hundreds of thousands of young men who build Dubai are bussed from their sites to a vast concrete wasteland an hour out of town, where they are quarantined away. Until a few years ago they were shuttled back and forth on cattle trucks, but the expats complained this was unsightly, so now they are shunted on small metal buses that function like greenhouses in the desert heat. They sweat like sponges being slowly wrung out.

Sonapur is a rubble-strewn patchwork of miles and miles of identical concrete buildings. Some 300,000 men live piled up here, in a place whose name in Hindi means "City of Gold". In the first camp I stop at – riven with the smell of sewage and sweat – the men huddle around, eager to tell someone, anyone, what is happening to them.

Sahinal Monir, a slim 24-year-old from the deltas of Bangladesh. "To get you here, they tell you Dubai is heaven. Then you get here and realise it is hell," he says. Four years ago, an employment agent arrived in Sahinal's village in Southern Bangladesh. He told the men of the village that there was a place where they could earn 40,000 takka a month (£400) just for working nine-to-five on construction projects. It was a place where they would be given great accommodation, great food, and treated well. All they had to do was pay an up-front fee of 220,000 takka (£2,300) for the work visa – a fee they'd pay off in the first six months, easy. So Sahinal sold his family land, and took out a loan
from the local lender, to head to this paradise.

As soon as he arrived at Dubai airport, his passport was taken from him by his construction company. He has not seen it since. He was told brusquely that from now on he would be working 14-hour days in the desert heat – where western tourists are advised not to stay outside for even five minutes in summer, when it hits 55 degrees – for 500 dirhams a month (£90), less than a quarter of the wage he was promised. If you don't like it, the company told him, go home. "But how can I go home? You have my passport, and I have no money for the ticket," he said. "Well, then you'd better get to work," they replied.

Sahinal was in a panic. His family back home – his son, daughter, wife and parents – were waiting for money, excited that their boy had finally made it. But he was going to have to work for more than two years just to pay for the cost of getting here – and all to earn less than he did in Bangladesh.

[Edited on December 2, 2010 at 10:49 AM. Reason : .]

12/2/2010 10:46:01 AM

I forgot to say, all the places I listed have detailed websites with timings, prices and pictures. (wild wadi, atlantis, ski dubai, etc)

If you would rather do organized/group tours due to lack of time, there are many tour companies which do organized stuff to everyone's taste (adventure, shopping, architecture, etc). You can find them through Google, but here is one to get you started: http://www.lama.ae ... click on Services, and Rates.

12/3/2010 1:50:07 AM

so i'm heading back for a week - landing jan 3 - this time i should have a bunch more time to see the sites and whatnot

12/30/2010 2:53:34 PM

remember:

Quote :

"OmarBadu, URGENT! Do you want to go up to the observation deck of the tallest building in the world? If so, you should book and pay online now! Doing so, tickets cost about $27, but if you get there and want to go up on the spot, it is $108 (4x)!!! So I would suggest you book them now! https://tickets.atthetop.ae/eticketing/ The sun sets around 5:45 pm local time, something to consider when reserving a spot. (night view from top? day view?)"

also make sure to do some DUNE BASHING!

12/30/2010 2:58:35 PM

thanks for the reminder - i'm definitely going up this time - it'll likely be at night since i'll be at a client site all day

12/30/2010 3:44:30 PM

and better reserve asap because spots will be going due to new year festivities!

12/30/2010 3:52:48 PM

i've got tickets for tonight at 8:30pm - the only time they had available when i booked a few days ago

plan on checking out the dubai mall and going to the aquarium and maybe doing some ice skating if it's not insanely packed

1/5/2011 3:40:21 AM

the burj khalifa


then a picture of the same building from the ground and up top

1/6/2011 11:51:25 AM