First impressions of Dubai

The taxi was as new as the city. A polished dashboard, smells of leather. The cool breeze of the air conditioning was soothing on my already heat prickled skin. My head had been tilted upwards since I arrived at the airport, constantly craning to see more. The airport alone made me feel like Dorothy entering the Emerald City – everything before was just Kansas in comparison. We passed dozens of road sweepers trying to keep away the encroaching sand from the fresh black roads, but the little flecks still mingled within the soil of the roadside gardens. There were roses in bloom among the palms, bright reds and pinks, all framed by a gentle mist of water.

“Sheik Mohammed, he is very impressed by English flower gardens.” The taxi driver explained in his throaty accent. “He works hard to give flowers to Dubai.”

“They’re beautiful,” I nodded. The taxi driver grinned. “Like an oasis.”

“Not so long ago, all this was sand. The Al Maktoum ancestors lived in the desert, rode camels, not cars.” His voice had a rehearsed sing song, but I was impressed with his enthusiasm. “Now, look at our city.”

I looked ahead. The skyscrapers and buildings in the distance looked like a mirage, glinting silver and glass, waving in the heat. Every building I’d read about seemed to be the biggest, or most stylish, most unique in the world. There was no room for mediocrity here – this was a city designed from scratch, and would be nothing less than the best. The street lights matched the rubbish bins. Like Tomorrow Land, but today.

“Most of the cranes in the world are here,” The taxi driver continued. “New building is going on every day.”

I began to make them out as we got closer, enormous mechanical arms lifting the weights of the city. We passed a building site, and in a corner of the yard there were dozens of brightly embroidered mats, pre set up to face Mecca I presumed. Efficiency, even in tradition. Part of me didn’t want to leave the taxi, to go into my hotel or go to the beach. I wanted to carry on as a passenger through this place, while my eyes were still new to it. It was like watching Tokyo or New York being built on fast forward, rising from the dunes, and I didn’t want it to slow. It was unusual and exciting, this sensation of being in a moment of progress and change, and I wished I could catch it and keep it – just to return to it from time to time, when I needed to feel more alive.