Dubai shots..part 2

more Dubai photos...

from Sonny's webcam

15 to 18  Office buildings, Hotels and Residential Towers lining the streets where I pass by. Notice the gantry cranes and construction barriers that are still in place.

 

16

 

17.

 

18.

 

19. Outside the city center, other growth areas are in full swing for miles and miles of new city blocks

 

 

20. More of the same

 

 

21. Work goes on night and day.

 

 

22. An early-morning view of the world's tallest building under construction

 

 

 

23. The iconic Burj Al-Arab. Allegedly, the worlds most pricey and luxurious hotel.

 

 

24 A typical Friday in our flat. Relaxing and chatting with love ones at home thru the internet.

 

 

25. An occasional picnic in the beach with fellow Filipinos is a good way to socialize and unwind.

 

 

 

26. Visiting the Mall is also our favorite pastime !!

 

 

 

27. A typical trip to the grocery

 

 

 

28. This ski slope is neither in Switzerland nor Austria. This is ski-dubai, a man-made winter wonderland housed on a building in the middle of the blazing desert.....

 

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If your last visit to Dubai was more than 3 years ago, you will be amazed now by the very rapid change in the landscape and the skylines. Desert areas have been turned to lakes, while islands have turned up virtually overnight near the shorelines. High speed highways and interchanges criss-cross what used to be open desert. Skyscrapers have risen like mushrooms everywhere. 

 

 While most people thought that it’s petro dollars that are financing these absurdly fantastic projects, the truth is a heavy part of it is western money. Dubai has become a playground for the filthy rich and the very famous from Europe and America as developed properties are being gobbled up by them faster than they could be built. Donald Trump for example is underwriting some of the most ambitious projects in the Palm Islands. There are big, big projects that are done simultaneously, it’s really overwhelming to think about them. We have been speculating since way back 3 years ago that the bubble would soon burst. But the boom only gets crazier and until now, there is really no sign of let up. Not until five years that we will probably see a slow down. But then by that time, the building boom that are already starting in the other emirates (Fujeira, Ras Al Kaima, Abu Dhabi) would have been into full swing…

 

Sonny Espejo

 

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Thanks for this very enlightening photo essay about Dubai, Sonny!! Very much appreciated by me and all the readers of this board. Do not be surprised if hordes of Asinganians will come and  visit the city to buy the merchandise which they say  is about  one third of the price you would pay in North American retail stores!!

 

For the record, how true is it?

 

vic costes