For our English-speaking friends - Dubai, a superlative in Disneylandoutfit

It'll take another day to clear the bikes. More waiting, more documents being filled and stamped and more money to be paid. At 5 p.m. we finally leave the port and easily find our way to Dubai. There we stay with a colleague of Elmar and his wife, parrot and turtle. Florent and Doris live right across the famous Burj Al Arab, we can see it from our balcony. We enjoy their hospitality, relax and start working: we have to update the blog, to organise the transport of the bikes to India, flights for ourselves, get the bikes serviced, ....

But we also do some sightseeing. The Dubai Museum is very interesting. It shows the fast development of the town. We walk around the bazar and along Dubai Creek. Here tradition meets the modern world: crossing the creek in an traditional "abra" (wooden watertaxi) you make out the high-tech fassades of the skyscrapers in the distance. 

One afternoon Florent takes us to "The Palm". The land for this giant building site is being reclaimed for 8 years now. Imagine: for 8 year ships have been carrying huge rocks from India and loads of sand to build an artificial island! And it is not finished yet! What if nature claims the land back one day?

Living in Dubai can be fun, if you have enough money and belong to the right group. The Emiraties, Expatriates and workers don't mix. There could be intercultural live, but it is all about money. The live and work conditions of the thousands of workers from India and Pakistan who make this country run, are very bad. To share flats or cars is not allowed,  they only get work permits, no visa, and within this time most of them are not allowed to keep their passports. Modern slavery?

Dubai is a "superlative". Every new project has to be higher, more spectacular, more expensive. But if you look closer, it's all fake. Where does this lead to? 

Florent took us out one day for a dessert cruise. Together with two other cars we surfed the dunes. It is like riding the roler coaster, mentions Annette, but without getting sick and on top being able to enjoy the awesome scenery and the beautiful colours.