By Ian Comandao - November 17th, 2009  Category: CCMBA 2010D| Residency 2: Dubai Well, the Dubai residency was certainly a surprise. And in more ways than one! The pace was certainly not as hectic as London, and for the most part the group was able to go out and actually see the city, find time to know more about each other, and ourselves, appreciate some not so obvious things, and welcome if not tolerate some of the more confusing aspects of living an international life. I’ve mulled over a whole lot of new things from the course of that week, and as the whole experience has left me with a rather dense collection of inner musings, I am left with little choice than to split up my next few blog posts.
This is the last of a series of 5
Though it’s part of the UAE, I find difficulty in approaching Dubai as anything other than a city-state. It’s not officially a city, mind you; it’s classified as a municipality. But whatever the nominal definition is, practically speaking, Dubai – the de facto city – is a country unto itself.
While the tone of the last few blog posts has ranged from perplexed to downright scathing, I do have to make it clear that despite all the smoke, and all the mirrors, I like Dubai. I really, really like Dubai.
I think what sold me on it was a slide that showed the whole of Europe, Asia and Africa – with Dubai right smack in the middle. It’s only a short 8 hour flight to over 60% of the world’s population, and all the spending power that comes with it. It’s setting itself up as the door to Africa, the commodities broker of choice for anyone who wants to source from the Dark Continent. Our friends from the Indus Valley are everywhere, working side by side with souk shopkeepers from the Middle Kingdom.
It’s amazing.
180 different races and nationalities, a thousand different languages and dialects, and foods and flavors from just about every corner of the globe. Everyone’s here to get a piece of the action, a real shot at prosperity, no matter how elusive.
During one of the hookah nights, sprawled out on the steps of yet another architecturally magnificent nouveau bazaar, I got into a very good conversation with some of my classmates. We’d snuck in some tinnies and, half-cut, began talking about how Dubai was built on the sweat of what was basically indentured Bangladeshi slave labour.
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By Ian Comandao - November 16th, 2009 Category: CCMBA 2010D| Residency 2: Dubai Well, the Dubai residency was certainly a surprise. And in more ways than one! The pace was certainly not as hectic as London, and for the most part the group was able to go out and actually see the city, find time to know more about each other, and ourselves, appreciate some not so obvious things, and welcome if not tolerate some of the more confusing aspects of living an international life. I’ve mulled over a whole lot of new things from the course of that week, and as the whole experience has left me with a rather dense collection of inner musings, I am left with little choice than to split up my next few blog posts.
This is Part 4 of a series of 5
I may have spent the entire residency with the wrong group of people.
I met up with a friend of mine on the last evening I was there, just before heading off to the airport. I first met the guy some 5 years ago, and he was just some dude, my best mate’s cousin, travelling around the world with his fiancé. Great fella though, we ended up drinking Beijing dry. He went back to Ireland and was about to live happily ever after, up until his wedding was called off right on the day. He moved to Dubai after that.
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By Ian Comandao - November 13th, 2009 Category: CCMBA 2010D| Residency 2: Dubai Well, the Dubai residency was certainly a surprise. And in more ways than one! The pace was certainly not as hectic as London, and for the most part the group was able to go out and actually see the city, find time to know more about each other, and ourselves, appreciate some not so obvious things, and welcome if not tolerate some of the more confusing aspects of living an international life. I’ve mulled over a whole lot of new things from the course of that week, and as the whole experience has left me with a rather dense collection of inner musings, I am left with little choice than to split up my next few blog posts.
This is Part 1 of a series of 5
The Burj now rates as one of the most awe-inspiring views I’ve seen in my life. Set against the backdrop of a Persian Sunset, this incredible edifice stands as testament to the government’s progressive, forward-looking policies, if not the overwhelming efficacy of royal caprice.
MBA-hearsay has it that the Burj, much like every other high-rise in the city, was only meant to last 25 years, part of a government plan to keep the economy afloat on nothing more than giant construction projects. In “fact”, it already has cracks in its foundations.
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