for all you boat people

In the spirit of the tour dubai series, it's time for a few engineering escapades. Martin Oliver, the company's Middle East Manager, has been keen to ensure that Tophi and I have been taken to see some of the marine engineering feats undertaken in this fine country.

Recently, Martin, Tophi, and I made way for the Dubai office of the American Bureau of Shipping. We met the office's Chief Engineer and Principal Surveyor-- two very nice gentlemen. They offered us additional contacts at other companies that would be willing to show us new offshore platform construction. After hearing about what's happening for ABS out here, we quickly moved on to the day's main attraction: Dubai Maritime City.

Most developments in Dubai revolve around some central theme that makes each development "(theme) City." There's Festival City, Media City, Internet City, Ice City... er, that one was canceled..., and the list continues. Dubai Maritime City is a revolutionary concept. Combine the grit of sandblasting and dry docking with the glamor of cosmopolitan living, and you get an idea that makes dollar signs flash in front of Dubai World.

Behold the conceptual rendering of Dubai Maritime City. The shipyard is conveniently upwind of the beautiful apartment towers.

When ground broke several years ago, Dubai was riding a flash flood of growth. Two years ago the flood waters (aka economy) receded, and the municipality, through its multiple shell companies, was left holding the (empty) bag. Construction on the DMC's commercial and residential precincts slowed while Dubai World continued scraping away at the shipyard.

Construction of the two Synchrolift tables is seen in the foreground.

When we visited DMC, cameras were not allowed, so I don't have any present-day pictures. The Synchrolift tables are both operating, and we had the opportunity to see a 2780-tonne Saudi offshore diving support vessel undock. The yard has two Synchro-lift tables: one 6000-tonne and one 3000-tonne. The 6000-tonne lift can accommodate vessels 130 m long with a 35 m beam. 

At present, 49 vessels are berthed or docked at the DMC. The operations manager and dock master have a goal of serving 100 vessels on the same day.

The DMC is conveniently located directly on the Gulf. Unlike its predecessor, ships need not time their arrivals and departures with the openings of the Dubai Creek floating bridge. This may be the best feature about the new facility.

Time will only tell if the Dubai Maritime City will live up to its lofty conceptual render. I do think that Synchrolift tables are a fascinating way to conduct a docking. There are definite space advantages to being able to lift a vessel, roll it to a dry berth, and continue docking other vessels. What does the greater maritime community think? (Shout out to WebbieNews readers!!)

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Posted in: dubai,dubai maritime city,engineering escapades,tour series,work photos

tour dubai: part 3 - the dhow wharves and souks

There are a few sites that I always take my visitors to see. This post is the third and final in a series that covers those locations. And while my Nikon D5000 provides stunning images of the environs, you really have to see all of the glitz and sand to fully appreciate where we are. So come visit! (Or at least read the blog.)

It has been unusually wet here in Sharjah and Dubai for the last week. It has also been quite chilly, even during the day. I'm not sure what's going on with the weather, but it has put a damper on going places.

Our new hotel has also put a damper on going places. We're on the other side of Sharjah now, closer to Ajman, so it's more expensive to catch a cab to Dubai. This will be the final part of the tour dubai series; however, don't let me mislead you. The transportation is not discouraging more posts; the lack of variety in travel destinations is limiting new ventures. I can only write about walking around a mall so many times.

Onward! Today's tour is something that I find to be an eye opener. We often say how a country is built on the backs of this group or that. Dhow trading is the foundation of Dubai's economy, and it will probably return to being the only real thing going when the dust settles. There's such an immense contrast between the glamour of the shopping centers and hotels and Old Dubai.

To stretch out our travel time, we decided to walk from the old hotel to the Sharjah-Dubai border. We encountered this lot of cars leaving a mosque after the Friday service.

Though not quite a dhow, this wreck is part of the litter in the Sharjah Lagoon. In the far distance, you can see the Sharjah Eye. (NB: London later copied this Ferris wheel.)

The Dhow Wharf in Dubai is packed with boats waiting to pick up cargo. Most carry tires and appliances to countries around the gulf like Iran.

I don't think your hand is going to keep you from getting wet. Tophi and I wandered around an office tower with shops on the ground floor for over an hour waiting for the rain to stop.

This yacht takes "wooden" to a whole new level. 

Dubai's Spice Souk

It's always fun to play the "Name this Spice" game with the souk merchants. After a merchant offers you tea and dates, he tries to convince you that his saffron is the best. I convinced Tophi to play the game with one merchant in German to see if the merchant would follow. That crafty man carried the conversation with no problem.

Well. That's that. No more to see here. Move along... 

No, I'll have more stories and photographs in the coming days. We're almost at the halfway point! In the meantime, check out the some of the pictures that didn't make it to the blog.

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Posted in: dhow,dubai,leisure photos,sharjah,tour series

tour dubai: part 2 - the mall of the emirates

There are a few sites that I always take my visitors to see. This post is the second in a series that covers those locations. And while my Nikon D5000 provides stunning images of the environs, you really have to see all of the glitz and sand to fully appreciate where we are. So come visit! (Or at least read the blog.)

Stop. Before you start making remarks that my tour destinations consists solely of malls, let's stop to consider what other tourist destinations Dubai has to offer?  ... Can't think of any? Right. This emirate is based on a commitment to become a shopping mecca.

Eh... word choice. I'll glaze over that by introducing you to the Mall of the Emirates.

The Mall of the Emirates

While the Dubai Mall may tempt deep-pocketed travelers with superlatives like "world's largest mall," "world's largest acrylic viewing panel for an aquarium," "world's tallest fountain," "world's tallest building," and "world's largest candy shop," the slightly smaller, slightly older Mall of the Emirates doesn't bring shame to the royal family. The Mall of the Emirates boasts the Middle East's first indoor ski slope, Ski Dubai, and in typical fashion, the slope is the largest indoor ski slope in the world. (Take that, Dubai Mall!)

Get excited!

Now, I didn't give much credit to Ski Dubai the first two trips out here. Sure, I've peered into the climate controlled frosty wonderland's windows from inside the mall on many occasions, but I haven't considered actually skiing. Be it the fact that everyone asks if I have ridden the slopes in Dubai or be it the fact that I had an accomplice, I can now claim that I have skied Dubai.

For $41 your kids can romp around the Snow Park, featuring attractions like the one shown here. Based on this ride and the bubble experience at the Dubai Mall, I'm beginning to doubt how these kids are raised.

The chair lift to the top of the 80-meter slope moves slowly, allowing Tophi to capture these pictures.

Ski Dubai and the Mall of the Emirates require the energy of 3500 barrels of oil each day for air conditioning and electricity. That averages to 1 barrel of oil for each daily visitor.

So I'm not exactly graceful on skis.

Our two hours on the slope went by like two hours. It was entertaining, and I was able to practice my skiing. But. more. than. two. hours. would have been too. much. We hopped back in the car and glided towards the Burj Al Arab, the glitzy seven star hotel that didn't make the 7 Modern Architectural Wonders List.

That's not the Burj Al Arab -- that's the hotel Atlantis!

One wrong turn later, I narrowly escaped the long road to Abu Dhabi by taking the slightly shorter road to the Palm Jumeirah. I conceded to defeat, stopped for some pictures, and headed back to Sharjah. The Burj Al Arab wasn't brightly lit that night anyway.

The Atlantis hotel is the top of this photo on the "crescent." How apropos for the Atlantis to be on the first bit of land that will likely descend into the Arabian Gulf. It's beautiful in the mean time.

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Posted in: atlantis,dubai,leisure photos,ski dubai,tour series

tour dubai: part 1 - the dubai mall

There are a few sites that I always take my visitors to see. This post is the first in a series that covers those locations. And while my Nikon D5000 provides stunning images of the environs, you really have to see all of the glitz and sand to fully appreciate where we are. So come visit! (Or at least read the blog.)

Last Friday, Tophi and I worked until lunch time and finished the day around 3:00 pm. Scott suggested that we use the rest of the afternoon to go see The Dubai Mall and have dinner. I have been to Dubai's crown jewel at least five or six times. I have walked every square meter of its spacious 4 floors, watched numerous fountain shows, gazed up at the Burj Khalifa, and enjoyed fresh fro-yo at Red Mango; however, there is always something new to see.

If you haven't hit the highlights of the "World's Greatest Tour," go back and see those here.

For now, we'll see the Dubai Mall from Tophi's eyes. 

We took the Metro from Deira City Centre to the Dubai Mall stop. As you exit the aboveground Metro station, you can't help but notice this really tall building...

 With a name like "The Dubai Mall," it must be the world's greatest.

The Guinness Book of World Records awarded this plaque to the Dubai Mall Aquarium for having the largest acrylic viewing pane, but you already knew that from reading the plaque, right?

This is Fashion Avenue's catwalk. It lights up with nifty colors and patterns that would induce a seizure for any model, but it entertains the locals!

The Dubai Mall is training kids for the a better world.  

Here's an example of training kids for a better world. Let's fill a giant bubble with air, and tell the kid to roll around the lagoon. At least we know the kid won't keep his bubble beyond the rental period...

After exploring the mall for ages, we took to the streets. Here Tophi is inspecting an interesting ramp/stair thing. Those crafty Emirati!

Abu Dhabi is host to a terrific collection of Islamic, classical, and modern art. The rejects are sent to Dubai.

 The Dubai Fountain by night. The Fountain is patterned after the Bellagio's, but this fountain can shoot almost 20% the height of the Burj Khalifa, some 500 ft.

The Burj Khalifa by dusk. The building's towers all have strobe lights that twinkle like diamonds in the night sky.

The Ice Rink at Dubai Mall -- note the figure skating on the left with the white fedora. Yeah, he had some moves.

After we went back inside, we noticed this escalator had glass sides. Our tour ended with staring at the escalator for several geeky minutes. 

So that was our trip, we finished up with a light snack at Red Mango. We tried for four hours to walk around the mall to build up an appetite, but Scott's club sandwich from lunch was enough food for several days. As a result, we weren't hungry, but there's always room for fro-yo and fresh fruit.

On our next adventure, we'll journey to the Sharjah Natural History museum -- a trip that I've been trying to make each time I've lived out here. Never fear! Ski Dubai is also in our future. For more pictures from our trip to the Dubai Mall and my other travels in the Middle East, check out my Picasa web album.

Oh, there's some really good symmetry with Tophi being here for my last winter work. It's not quite Adventures in Salisbury, but leave a comment if you have travel suggestions for us.

**AinS Bonus for Facebook users: click here.

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Posted in: dubai,leisure photos,tour series,world's greatest