Day 95: Dubai Revisited - Luxury and Decadence
Today (actually April 9th out here), we were back in Dubai. Our previous trip featured a trip out into the desert, sand dunes, and playing with camels. This time, we selected to go for a touch of decadence and luxury by visiting Barj Al Arab. It's a luxury "7-star" resort famous for Brad and Angelina honeymooning there and Roger Federer and Andre Agassi playing a tennis match on the helipad fifty+ floors up. We took Jumeira Street to get here - that means "Burning Sand," which is all that existed 30+ years ago. One noticeable feature was the number of medical clinics and plastic surgery clinics we passed on the way - like over 200. Dubai's newest growth industry is medical (plastic) tourism. The hotel, which went into business back in 1999, is situated on an artificial island about 900 feet offshore. Because it was built on reclaimed land, the engineering required is quite complex. The foundations consist of 230 120-foot concrete piles driven into the gr...