#  >  > Non Asia Travel Forums >  >  > Travel the World Travellers Tales Forum >  >  A weekend in Dubai

## Bobcock

I've just had a weekend in Dubai (Friday / Saturday of course) here are some pictures from that trip.

This buildings stood out immediately as I arrived as I worked on the design team many years ago in the UK. They are called Emirates Towers and were one of the first tall buildings in Dubai. I had my camera set to a different White Balance as I had taken some different pics in Wales and I like the look of it so I haven't set it to normal.





The first shot I took of the Burj Khalifa, 828m and just spectacular.

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## Crepitus

> I've just had a weekend in Dubai (Friday / Saturday of course) here are some pictures from that trip.
> 
> This buildings stood out immediately as I arrived as I worked on the design team many years ago in the UK. They are called Emirates Towers and were one of the first tall buildings in Dubai. I had my camera set to a different White Balance as I had taken some different pics in Wales and I like the look of it so I haven't set it to normal.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The first shot I took of the Burg Khalifa, 828m and just spectacular.



nice..my son lives there in a concrete box umpteen floors up ...gotta go visit sometime..wanna see the desert and sample the food ...maybe some day

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## Bobcock

I arrived at 18:30 on Thursday evening to a deserted airport and was through in a flash. Other that is than being bothered by some English guy who wanted to chat and chat and chat about bugger all, struck me as one of those Financial Advisor types who just couldn't switch of no matter where he was. I lost him by getting into a different queue.

My pal Richard picked me up outside cistoms and we went off to his house via a drive through the town. On the way we stopped off at an alcohol shop. In a basement car park for a small shopping mall was an unmarked door. On the other side was cases and bottles of beer / spirits. About 28GBP for a case of Heineken and a fraction less for a case of Lebanese Beer. 

That evening we went off to a local golf club for a meal, I think it was called Arabian Hills. I had a really good Lamb Biryani and a couple of pints of Heineken.

We then sat up all night catching up on stuff, and drank one of the cases before heading to bed around 5am.

Next morning I was up at 9:30 to get to the Burj Khalifa for my ticketed time of 11am. It cost 105 Dhirams. The entrance is in the Dubai Mall. They encourage you not to take your bags up, but because I had a bag full of camera gear they let me take mine in. The girl on the counter was gorgeous, if I had been socal I of course would have had her ask to 'take care' of me througout my stay.

You walk down a long corridor to go into the tower, it is lined with this panelling which was rather nice.



There are a few twists and turns and even escalators in the corridor as well as some nice displays on the construction and design of the Burj.





You then enter a lift that takes you up the 124 stories to the observation deck at a rather rapid 15m/s. It takes less that a minute and you really can't feel it move. This is a crap pic, but I've included it it just for the story, it's taken looking up into the lifts mirrored ceiling.

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## Cujo

Ask Socal about cheap ho's.

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## Bobcock

I'm not sure I want a ho, cheap or expensive. Anyway the world of that young rich handsome over achiever is just so different to mine, whatever he told me just wouldn't apply would it?

Anyway..... as the ticket says....AT THE TOP - Burj Khalifa.

First up, the view looking East, the Dubai Mall on the left of the pic and the Address Hotel in the centre



Looking South



Looking North East

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## Bobcock

The buildings of Sheikh Zayed Road.



Looking West towards the Gulf

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## Bobcock

East again looking more downwards into the pools at the base . You can see the fountains in the botton of the pools.



Building Tops.

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## Butterfly

is it me or does those buildings location look strange ? it seems to be empty old streets down there and here we have those beautiful buildings,

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## IceSpike

Awesome shots!
No traffic cause of Friday and Saturday?
The drivers Day off.

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## IceSpike

Kinda looks like Anbar Province with buildings.

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## Jeremia

Excellent pics..


Thinking of flying out there for some cheap beer to bring back to Norway...

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## sunsetter

dubai was alright, but its still one huge, overpriced building site in a sandpit near the sea, nice pics bobcock, thanks for sharing

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## natalie8

> No traffic cause of Friday and Saturday?


Bobcock went up in the morning. Most locals and other Arabs sleep in until about noon or later on a Friday. Some work on Saturdays, so yes, Friday mornings are nice if you need to go out to do errands.

Nice shots bobcock. I've always liked The Emirates Towers. My husband and I went up to the top last May and it was only 100 dirhams each. They've upped the price by 5 dirhams. Buggers!  :Smile: 

I'm going to start a thread in the next little while with some of my random shots from my phone, all from Dubai.

Thanks for the thread. Do you have any more pics?

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## Bobcock

Loads more, we are only just started.....



Not sure what this is for but they are the biggest dry Air Coolers I have ever seen. I know Dubai runs on a system of District Cooling so Chilled Water is provided by the Local Authorities rather than individually generated by each building. This could be one of those stations, but as it is at the bottom of the Burj Khalifa, it could be just for this building. I'll ask my friend there, he would have access to the information.

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## Khun Custard

Great photo's and info Bobcock

A place void of entertainment, cultural and landscape that cannot be "fixed" by the phallic skyscrapers and ting tong architecture alone.

While on the subject of phallic and erections...................

CONDOM HISTORY
In 1272, the Arabs invented the condom, using a goat's lower intestine.
In 1873, the British somewhat refined the idea by taking the intestine out of the goat first.

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## Cujo

Question for Socal, "is this how you thought Dubai would look?"

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## Bobcock

Looking West. At the top of the pictures are the island that form 'the world'. To date I think only one island has been built on. Must be pretty lonely out there......



Looking South South West down the coast. The Burj Al Arab hotel is seen in the haze....



and through a long lens........in the distance behind are the tall buildings located on the causeway out to The Palm.



Twin towers being build south of the Burj Khalifa on Sheikh Zayed Road, a hint of Taipei 101 in the design, but not so tall.

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## Neo

Cheers Bob, nice pics as always  :Wink:

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## bsnub

I see this as a massive post zombie apocalyptic playground.

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## Bobcock

This roundabout was almost directly below the West face of the building.



The Dusit Thani Hotel, Dubai

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## socal

> Question for Socal, "is this how you thought Dubai would look?"


Yes it was. Just because I think there is reasonably priced prossys there, doesn't mean I dont know anything about the place.

 I have been well aware of the debt financed property bubble in Dubai. That is part of the reason why there is not allot of traffic.

It looks spectacular though.

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## kingwilly

Great pics Bob, thanks for sharing. 




> dubai was alright, but its still one huge, overpriced building site in a sandpit near the sea,


That seems to be a pretty good description from Bob's pics.

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## Gerbil

Nice photos.

But just reminds me of taking a load of fossilized turds, dipping them in glitter and tiny mirrored panels, then arranging them in a cats litter tray, that all you would have is a load of fancy shit in a sand pit.

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## Bobcock

Right lets get the pics from the building finished off.... The Viewing Gallery is on the 124th floor, so there is in fact another 30+ stories above.... looking up to the very top with a long lens



and looking up with a wide angle.....



There is a photographer walking around offering to take pictures of people, funny, he didn't ask me.



again...looking up....



The final shot looking West with the reflection from the North in the glass.

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## Bobcock

Back down on terra-firma.......



The Address Hotel, looks so much bigger from down below.....

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## Marmite the Dog

Those building look a bit wonky to me. I guess it's not such a good idea to build on sand...

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## Lostandfound

Great pics, thanks for posting. 

I always thought of Dubai being everything I hate about Arabs mixed with everything I dislike about New York all stuck in the middle of the desert. Perhaps it's time to stop off on the way to London and and see for myself.

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## Bobcock

The very top.......

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## Bobcock

The fountains at Dubai mall at the base of the Burg....

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## Bobcock

Inside Dubai Mall.......

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## IceSpike

Where are the Kids?

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## Bobcock

Not sure the exact rules, but my friend certainly has one.

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## happynz

> Where are the Kids?


Healthy lookin' women...

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## Bobcock

Dubai Mall continued.....



Inside the mall is a rather large aquarium.....



With quite a few sharks.....

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## Bobcock

Next we took a taxi over to the are of 'Old' Dubai which is around the mouth of the creek. The first stop was the Spice Souk. As it was a friday and not so late in the day it was reasonably quiet.

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## Bobcock

Yes, later, but I was disappointed as it was all in shops and had to be taken through windows.

Rule 1. Never photograph through windows.....

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## IceSpike

Wow, the Souks are so clean and tidy. Man I'm impressed again.

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## Sailing into trouble

Looks great, Did you see any very attractive and lonely hookers who want to get screwed for free for a week by a kid from Vancouver?

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## Bobcock

Nope, to my knowledge I did not see a single prostitute whilst there.

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## natalie8

Nice pics of the old part of the city and the creekside. I've only been to that area a few times but I'll be going again with my friend who's coming in November. 

Can we plase keep this thread on track and appreciate Bobcock's contribution rather than focusing on Socal. He has enough threads and posts to beg for attention.  :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):

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## BaitongBoy

^ Seems on track to me...great job, Bob...

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## English Noodles

Cheers, Bob. I'm away to Dubai for work at the end of the month. Have enjoyed this thread very much.

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## YDiver

glad left that shithole, for good old hookers try rattlesnake, sea view or good ol' york club for some fun...

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## English Noodles

^I don't want hookers, I'm a married man, and I'm going for work, not pleasure.

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## raylo

> great pics but much prefer here. may do a trip in al eid.
> 
> question for you: do you need a resident permit to buy beer in the alchol shoppe?


Most definitely

If you dont have or are over quota head to Ras Al Khaima. Remember if you dont have a card or are pulled over (unlikely) without proof of purchase it is an offence;

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## madjbs

The Alcohol store at Barracuda has a massive selection of alcohol for pretty cheap prices, certainly a lot better than any store in Thailand. Also, it is the only place in the U.A.E you don't need a license to buy it (except hotels and bars etc..) Just don't crash in Sharjah on the way back to Dubai!

I just got back from a 7 day motorcycle tour in The Oman, starting and ending in Dubai. The difference between the Oman and Dubai was amazing, even though they are only a couple of hours apart.

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## madjbs

> I'm going for work, not pleasure.


Noodles, it would be a shame not to visit some of the better places in the region. The Oman is great for a weekend getaway and there are some amazing places to visit there.

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## Looper

> is it me or does those buildings location look strange ? it seems to be empty old streets down there


Looks like legoland with stationary toy cars and no people or untidiness.

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## pasko

Never been to Dubai so your posting of photos was enlightening!!!

Thanks for taking the time to put it together!!

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## Roger Lee

Nice photos.  Quite a range in lens, 24mm-400mm.  Just curious, what lenses?

Roger

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## Bobcock

I carried 3 lenses with me to Dubai.

*EF 17-24 / 4L USM*



*Canon EF 24-105/4L IS*



*Canon EF 100-400/4.5-5.6L IS USM*



Usually leave my best lens at home when travelling as it is too heavy and these 3 cover it's range, just not it's speed.

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## albarb

> Question for Socal, "is this how you thought Dubai would look?"


I went there in April for the first time and was truly disappointed. While the Buildings are all spectacular - the whole place did not have any atmosphere whatsoever. It's just a huge area of New Buildings - showing off the what their wealth can buy now - and how Architects from all over the world can live their dream and design to their heart's delight.
A stop in Muscat was much more like what I expected from the area and it will be worth a return visit (without Dubai or Abu Dhabi).

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## Mr Lick

A lovely selection of pics Bob for one like myself who has never visited. 

I could never bring myself to travel to the top of those buildings as i experienced a wee bit of dizzyness merely viewing the photo's, so much appreciated.  :Smile:

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## Bobcock

Didn't really put any text with the last couple of pics.....

These are Dhows on Dubai creek, these are close to the mouth of the creek and are the real working Dhows not tourist boats. On the dockside is all the merchandise that these boats ferry across to India, fridges, TV's, could have a field day if one was a good thief as it all just sits there.....

We then took an Abra across the creek from Deira on the Northern side to Bur Dubai on the southern side. They cost 1 Dirham each.

Dhows from the creek.....

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## Bobcock

A couple of dhows just leaving port.....

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## Bobcock

On the Bur Dhai side we walked amongst the streets looking at the shops stocking a lot of Indian goods, most of the people seemed to be Indian / Pakistani.

Lots of mosques in the small streets

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## Bobcock

There was also a clothing souk, full of tourist tat really, nothing much of interest.....





Arabian Pussy, when you are not socal this is as good as it gets....

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## Bobcock

More tourist tat......probably not a decent pair of shoes amongst them....



This is on of the Abra that ferry people back and forth across the creek.



4pm, back on the other side, I remembered I hadn't had a bite to eat all day, so I had some samosas....

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## Cujo

I was there a while back myself.
Bobcock's given me permission to post some pics. Nowhere near the quality of Bobs of course but a bit of a different perspective maybe.
A lot of the dhows down the creek, they're like water (songtoys) the truck things that ferry people around.

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## Bobcock

Sanyo HD2 I'd say

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## Cujo

> Sanyo HD2 I'd say


Something like this
Sanyo | Xacti Vpc-Hd2 7.2 Megapixal 10x Optical 2.2-Inch LCD Screen High Definition Camcorder | VPCHD2 | Tri-State Camera, Video, and Computer

But 4 years old, (looks exactly like above) it's primarily meant as a camcorder but takes OK stills as well.

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## natalie8

Nice pics, Koojo. I have quite a few pics of Dubai either from when people came to visit us or just random shots while I was out and about. I'm really enjoying other people's views on it. I keep saying that one day I'll start a thread on my Dubai pics, but that will have to wait until I get back. I'm too busy being a tourist in UK for now.  :Smile:

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## IceSpike

I was told that most People that go to Dubai just stay in their rooms.
I guess they weré wrong. I Enjoy, Thank You Koojo.

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## Bobcock

Uploaded these a while ago but forgot to put in the thread.



Next onto the Gold Souk, which was not as interesting as the Spice Souk, mainly as everything was in shops, I was hoping for something more like the gold markets of Old Delhi.

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## Bobcock

My mate drove me out to a place Baba Al Sham to take some sunset pics in the desert, but it wasn't a great evening for it, this is the best I got....



That evening we went down to the Jumeria Beach Resort which is next to the Burj Al Arab. Now I didn't have a tripod and frankly the shots are well below par, but I'll include them anyway.

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## Bobcock

OK, last photo post in this thread as the weekend has come to an end. We had dinner in a Lebanese Restaurant in the JBH. Magnificent food, truly wonderful but not cheap. This is the belly dancer, but I didn't look at her belly.





Last building shots, taken in South Dubai, dunno what the area is called, this was after watching Wales trash the Irish in the World Cup. By that time I was pissed so I slept it off for the afternoon followed by more food and then a flight to BKK.

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## natalie8

Nice again, Bobcock. If you do make a return to Dubai and you want to go for great Lebanese food with good service and reasonable prices, I can highly recommend Arz Lebanon. They have a number of locations. While you were there did you smoke shisha? That's a whole tradition in itself, which I like once in a while.

How did you like Bab Al Shams? I haven't been there yet, but I'll definitely go with my friend who's coming to see me in November if you say it was good.

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## Smug Farang Bore

Nice pics BC. Was there in Dec for the 7s (England won) great time there...


As for the York!

Dunno wether to keep your hands on your wallet, drink or bollocks....!

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## Bobcock

I will be back in Dubai for Songkran.....April 5th to the 15th.....

Looking forward to it....

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