Snap Shot Dubai

Trip to Dubai
18th to 21st July 2010

Summer holidays and I'm off adventuring in Europe, but first something a little bit different; a couple of days visiting friends in Dubai. This city in the sand is in many ways a place of contrast -raw nature and man-made glitz, wealth and poverty, searing heat and indoor skiing - but it's also surprisingly vibrant, multi-cultural and engaging. Thanks must go to S and F for showing me such a fantastic time.
The first thing I did after arriving was to leave again. The tour I booked of the Hajar Mountains and Hatta was spectacular; awesome scenery and sand dunes aplenty.
A yes, of course there were camels.
Sharks in a shopping centre.Dubai; city of sandcastles. The view 124 stories up from the Burj Khalifa observation deck. Unlike Hong Kong the haze on the horizon isn't pollution, but sandstorms raging out in the desert.
Goods for sale at the atmospheric Deira Spice Soulk.
Waiting to ferry passengers across Dubai Creek to Al Bastakiya.
Too big to fit in a photo! The Burj Khalifa by night.