A TALE OF TWO CITIES

This past week I was able to get out of Saudi Arabia and travel to a couple of countries in the region; nothing too exciting, just a wrinkle in the standard routine. My first stop was Dubai, to be followed by a trip to Muscat, Oman. As I trudged through airports and sat in traffic, I was struck again by how different the landscape in the Middle East can change from city to city. So this entry there are no high speed car chases or barb wire, but just a little glimmer into the different styles life can offer here.

Dubai an Emirate located in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This is often confusing to people because Dubai is so well known, but when a discussion deepens with a person they ultimately realize they aren’t sure if Dubai is a city, a country, a county, an area or whatever. Well Dubai is one of the seven Emirates that make-up the United Arab Emirates. The other six are Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Sharjah, Fujairah, Umm al-Qaiwain and Ras al-Khaimah. Abu Dhabi and Dubai are the most well known of the group. These seven emirates make-up a single government that oversees the politics and policies of the UAE, with Abu Dhabi ultimately having veto power over the body. Abu Dhabi is also the wealthiest emirate, with large natural gas and oil reserves off its shores in the Persian Gulf.

Dubai came to fame over the past 10-15 years through a massive and rapid expansion. The Al Maktoum family, rulers of Dubai, undertook an intensive plan to make Dubai the new hub for business in the 21st century. Investment rules were loosened and a huge free-trade port and area was established known as the Jebel Ali Free Trade Zone. Companies by the 1,000s flocked to Dubai and set-up warehousing, offices and manufacturing facilities as a launching point to ship product to the rest of the region: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, etc. Along with the free trade zone came investment banks and other financial institutions, media centers and technology companies. The final touch was the creation of an almost legendary tourism business. Seven star hotels, exotic housing neighborhoods, indoor skiing, gigantic malls, and now the tallest building in the world, all sprung-up in Dubai. It is a playground for the wealthy.

As I got off the plane and walked into Dubai International Airport I was reminded why I am not a particular fan of traveling there. The airport is huge. I have had to walk from one side to the other and it is not pleasurable. The duty free area alone is as big as the average US mall. Two stories with all the major brands. Like a casino, the airport never sleeps. It is a major transit point for the world traveling east to west or vice versa. Flights leave at 2am to Singapore, 10am to Houston, and at all times of the day to London and the rest of Europe. Walking from one end to the other takes almost 45 minutes!

Once out of the airport it’s immediate heat. Dubai is a concrete jungle and can be very humid. Tommy Broussard, our Director of Eastern Hemisphere Operations picked me up and we headed to a lunch meeting with V&M pipes. Along the way I was able to capture some of the amazing sites.

Here is the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. This first picture doesn’t do justice to its height or massive base, needed to support the upper stories.  But this photo might put the height into perspective! This building is 2,717 feet tall…almost ½ a mile up! You can take a $50 tour up to the 110th floor if you want. I’ll stay down here on the ground thank you very much.

And if that still isn’t enough, here’s a professional photo taken of the massive building. Look at those itty-bitty skyscrapers around the base!

Check out the indoor skiing slope. That silver tube stretches back up the “mountain”. We’re talking chair lifts folks!

In Dubai there is no shortage of places to eat so we decided on Mexican food (yep, you start to miss burritos when in Saudi!). The food was excellent and our meeting was productive. We said our goodbyes and headed to Tommy’s house for some R&R before my 7pm flight to Muscat. I took one photo out of Tommy’s apartment. You can see another apartment building going up with a cool twisting architecture. The marina is down below. I'd say that Tommy’s home is quite different from the Oasis.

That evening I was back to the airport, trudging miles to my gate, and then catching a flight to Muscat. As a parting shot, here is an inside view of the airport in Dubai…this is one side of the luggage area, just for Dubai Airlines. If you’re flying another airline, you’re in a totally different area.

Muscat is located in the country of Oman. Oman is renowned for its peaceful, loving population and wise leadership. Muscat is very different from Dubai. It has carefully planned its growth by limiting building heights and colors. As I woke-up the morning after my flight, I took these photos from my window.

Muscat was my first adventure to the Middle East back in 2008. I took a load of photos on that first trip. Here are some of the more memorable ones.

Check out the Shanri-La Hotel - 7 wonderful stars without all the glitz and glamour.

Check out the beach in Muscat.  Very serene.  The water is very clear and people are swimming and fishing all through the summer.  This is right down the beach from the Shangri La Hotel.

Like night and day from the Burj Khalifa, Muscat is a sleepy little town in comparison. Unni Kizhake (our Project Manager in the region) and I headed to meetings with our local partners, a local pipe company, as well as some customers. It was a very productive trip that we capped off with some Turkish seafood. Here is Unni in a nice Valentine’s Day photo that Jack Mason made at lunch last year…ok, sorry, but there has to be some pranks and fun in every blog.

The next morning, heading back to the airport, I snapped another photo. Look how hard it is to get the buildings in the photo!

Also notice the backdrop of mountains. Oman is bordered by a mountain range which gives the country a totally different feel from the flat desert of Saudi Arabia and Dubai. It is very pretty, although it holds heat in like a microwave. Saudi Arabia has been around 106 the past week. Oman was running at about 111! You would think the difference was negligible at those levels, but trust me, it’s noticeable in a big way.

Oman is a wonderful place. I know the Middle East is not the garden spot choice for people’s vacation, but I highly recommend Oman, especially if you can tie-it to another week in a place like Thailand or somewhere in Asia. The people are wonderful and there is a lot to do in Oman, from hiking to lounging on the beach to shopping in the markets. I prefer Oman to the large cement jungle of Dubai, but either way it sure was nice to get away to another country for a few days.