Dubai

Dubai describes itself as the "Capital of the world" and there may be some justification to that. If you take a break to watch the world go by then it truly does go by. I think I saw an Inuit yesterday.

All of the planet's tribes gather here to shop, drink coffee and eat cake. You can buy designer goods, fake designer goods and junk according to your taste and budget. At the moment there is a "festival of shopping" going on. As part of the festival, they have invited Beduin and other nomadic peoples to attend and give demonstrations of their culture. Most groups sing and dance but the Masai just jump up and down. I don't get the connection between Beduin and shopping - none of them were wearing Armani.

Dubai is much bigger than I thought it would be. It consists of a series of groups of tower blocks strung out along the Coast. Despite having motorways and 8 lane dual carriageways and an impressive MRT system it still takes a considerable time to get from one end to the other. From the old town to the 'Atlantis Hotel and Experience' at the tip of one of the palms took an hour and a half on the open topped tourist bus. The middle huddle of skyscrapers is 'Downtown Dubai" and contains the Burj Khalifa And the Mall of Dubai. The Burj is the tallest building in the world and the Mall is the biggest Shopping Mall in the world. The designer children's section (yes, you can even buy a designer child) is bigger than the Eastgate Centre in Inverness. There was some danger that the Mall was going to be beaten into second place and so they have begun to extend it - if there is a taller building then they might add a few more floors to the Burj.

We were staying in the old town, across the road from the oldest remaining building. It was a fort and is now the Dubai Museum. We joined a walking tour around the old town, weaving through narrow ancient streets, taking in Mosques and Hindu temples, cloth souks, pashmina souks, junk souks and gold souks. The pressure to buy was intense but we managed to resist.

We took a cruise up the Creek and marvelled at the modern skyline together with elderly dhows which still ply the waters of the Arabian Gulf. We saw fridges, televisions, tyres and all sorts of goods being loaded for destinations in Iraq, Iran, Kuwait and the other gulf states.

In the evening we had a fabulous meal in an old traditional Iranian house. A substantial group of Iranians settled in Dubai in times past and we took dinner in the Doctor's house.

Would I like to live there? As a younger man I worked for 2 years in Bahrain and enjoyed the lifestyle. I wouldn't like to live in Dubai now. Too hot and busy for my taste these days. We had a fabulous Lebanese dinner with Katherine Smart and her friend Jenna in a beautiful setting at the foot of the Burj Khalifa. They are enjoying life in Dubai and are making plans to stay for the longer term. I'm sure young people can still make their fortunes there.

As long the world keeps coming to shop what can go wrong?