Dubai - Dare to dream big

Dubai has me fascinated...

It's a town that dares it's creators to dream big and then finances their creations. Here we've found...
1) An indoor ski hill, complete with slope side Chalets at the attached hotel.
2) A replica of the canals of Venice
3) A replica of many old Arabic buildings on the outside, while inside, it's a 5 star hotel.

Seed money from oil has financed the rapid creation of Dubai as we know it, and there's no signs of it slowing down at all.

We went to the Dubai history museum the other day and it's a pretty short exhibit. While civilization has existed here for many centuries, the current history of Dubai goes back to about the 1950's when the ruling powers here decided to bring this city online and make it a center for tax free shopping and tourism.

Talking to the taxi drivers has revealed that there's a slightly darker side to the rapid development of Dubai. They've alluded to the fact that Dubai opens its borders to immigrants from Pakistan, India, Asia and uses these people to work the construction jobs. They don't offer the workers citizenship, pay them incredibly low wages (~500 dirhams/month) and don't help them out with any costs of living here. Workers choose to come here because there ARE jobs, unlike in their home countries, but they can't afford to bring their families here, and can't afford to send much money home. Most of all, they have a hard time finding some place to live. One taxi driver we spoke with said that he was sharing a room with 4 other guys, and none of them could afford to bring their families. It's sad.

~S