WanderingWhy…

Today is day number 500 on the road for us and if you’ve been following along on this journey for that long you may recall our time in Panama.  We spent our first Christmas and New Year on the road with my old college roommate Jose.  Jose had just returned from 5 years overseas teaching English at a university in Dubai.  He enjoyed his time there but after 5 years of explosive growth and the congestion that comes with it, it was time to go back home.

It’s crazy how things work out though.

After a year back at home the job options for Jose yielded nothing but frustration and he decided to return to Dubai.  We just happened to be in the middle east already so… side trip!!

This time my friend’s game plan is to save some of that Dubai dinero to buy a house back in Panama.  Much like the majority of expats in this wealthy little kingdom, he is here to share in some of the riches.

Riches is what Dubai is all about.  Jose gave us the grand tour of the city throughout the week and pointed out entire sections of skyline that didn’t exist only a few years ago.  Mega communities all named something-village or other-city have appeared like a genie from the bottle.

I think of the city as a modern day fairy-tale kingdom.  What would you do with your kingdom if money were no object? keep it all for yourself (a-la Saudi Arabia) or build up your kingdom (Dubai) to make it the talk of the world?

Yes, build me the world’s only 7-star hotel:

 Nice huh? only $1800 a night.

Yeah, and an island shaped like a palm tree.  Hell, build me two more.  Okay, now how about a series of islands set in a map of the world.  Although we are surrounded by desert and not strapped for real estate, we need the tallest building in the world.  Actually, let’s take advantage of that space and build the most expensive airport in the world–that should break the record for biggest building in the world and the largest  airport in the world.

I’d also like a ski slope in the middle of the desert because my giant airport is not completed yet.

As Mel Brooks would say “It’s good to be the king.”  Or in this case, the Emir.  Out of the 1.4 million people who live here, maybe it would be great to be one of the few nationals (less than 20% of the population) of the kingdom and get free utilities, free education and be able to own land.

I’m being my usual sarcastic self in these observations but the city’s wealth is truly impressive. The roads and surrounding landscaping are beautiful.  The endless mega-shopping malls are sights in themselves.  The public parks are the best I have seen anywhere.

At home the public parks close at dusk but here they stay open until midnight.  It was pretty sweet to hang out in a beautifully landscaped, well-lit park with a view of the skyline at night while families BBQ’d and sat around talking.  No drunk idiots, no seedy elements emerging from the shadows, no pack up your gear and get out now.  I don’t have kids but something like this at home would be nice.  Funny how back home some of us wonder if the middle east is safe… I don’t know anywhere at home where people are perfectly comfortable letting their kids run around after dark.

Dubai is quite an ambitious little place but even here they are feeling the effects of the global financial fallout.  Thankfully my friend’s employment is more secure than most and he should be fine.

I hadn’t seen Jose for eight years when I met him back in Panama and thought it was likely to be just as long before I did so again.  But fortune shines on us when we need it in our travels and by a good series of events a year later we found ourselves in Dubai visiting my friend from Panama.  Life is sometimes crazy in a good way.

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