Debbie Does Dubai ...

A tale of 3 cities - Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar

2008-05-17T12:20:00.002+04:00

A great slideshow article by the Financial Times on the architecture and brand of the 3 cities vouching to be the biggest, baddest, brashest or the coolest and most cultural can be found here.

I was in Qatar last year and I couldnt help but notice something missing. It was oddly calm, and almost felt that I was in Dubai in the early 90s! Eg: one could smoke indoors :-D

After seeing the webcast on FT.com it is quite clear to me that the 3 cities are undergoing a battle to rebrand and differentiate themselves. However, I cant help to wonder how well defined their strategies are.

Eg: If its all about attracting foreign real estate investment in Dubai then why was there a comment recently by a senior Police official that "Foreigners are the greatest threat to the national security of the UAE"!? Surely, they must know that foreigners are also 90% of the contributors to their GDP, and 90% of consumers of their imported chewing gums, shawarmas, to their swanky hotel rooms. Infact the expatriate population has lived in these cities for decades now without a peep for their rights, citizenship or any other political representation.

Another thing that baffled me was the 6 year limit for workers. I mean come on guys! IF you want us to leave we will, but do you know that for any economy to grow you need a solid immigration population that becomes its cheap labor supply, new consumers and moves up the existing society strata?

Oh well.

Pictures from my latest helicopter flight

2008-04-12T11:52:00.012+04:00

A lot of you write in asking for tips on Dubai real estate, sight seeing, etc. And my best advice to you all is take a helicopter flight around Dubai. There are around 3 companies offering this now - HeliDubai (approx $2000/ hour), Aero Gulf (approx $1000/ hour), and another one from the Dubai Festival City (I can't really remember the name of that company). There's also that odd sea plane doing the rounds.

Atlantis Nears Completion

2008-04-12T11:41:00.004+04:00

The Palm Jumeirah's flagship Atlantis is almost complete. Situated on the top of the crescent, the mega resort recently imported sharks and dolphins from the bahamas for the famed water slide that takes one through a glass tube surrounded by hungry sharks.

The Atlantis opening party, which has been in works for the last 2 years is going to bring in some major names from Madonna, Elton John, Andrea Bocelli to David Beckham and Shah Rukh Khan.

Hotel rooms are already mostly booked for the first 3 months. My sources say you can get a hotel room in early 2009 but nothing will beat the view on New Year's eve 2008 when one of the most dazzling display of fireworks will herald the new year.

Atlantis will be the first of the 35 hotels on the ring of The Palm Jumeirah.

The Big Dubai Fire

2008-04-12T11:14:00.007+04:00

Here are some pics I took from my car and yacht of the fire in Al Quoz.

Also check out the gulf news article here .

Oddly, there was another one in the following week wiping out the entire Deira Naif Souq, one of the oldest markets of Dubai. See here .

Sheikh Mohammed Gives Rare Interview in English

2007-10-20T13:43:00.000+04:00

Here's a glimpse in the mind of this great visionary of our time. Sheikh Mohammed speaks to 60 minutes in a rare English interview. Click here to see the interview .

Some excerpts from the interview :

"I want it to be number one. Not in the region, but in the world," Sheikh Mohammed says. Asked what he means by "number one in the world," Sheikh Mohammed says, "In everything. High education, health, housing. Just making my people the highest way of living."

"Why do you want everything to be the biggest, the tallest?" Kroft asks. "Steve, why not? Why not? If you can have it in New York, why can’t we have it here?" Sheikh Mohammed asks. "Why are you in such a hurry? Most people would try and do this in a lifetime, not five years," Kroft asks. "I want my people to live better now. To go to high school now. To go to good health care now. Not after 20 years," the sheikh explains.

Sheikh Mohammed says he considers himself a friend of the United States and the he loves the country and its people. Asked what he likes about the U.S., Sheikh Mohammed says, "I like everything about them, except their foreign policy little bit. I don't like their foreign policy."

(c) CBS

Burj Dubai becomes the tallest building in the world

2007-07-22T17:57:00.000+04:00

141 storeys

512.1 meters high

39,000 metric tons of steel rebar

142,000 sq m of glass

330,000 cubic meters of concrete

22,000,000,000 man hours

56 elevators travelling at 1.75 to 10 metres/sec

> 5,000 consultants and skilled construction workers on site.

CLICK HERE TO PLAY VIDEO

Cityscape Abu Dhabi

2007-05-26T11:43:00.000+04:00

This month saw Abu Dhabi's first major real estate show - The Cityscape Abu Dhabi. Being ever so curious to see what the big brother is doing, and finally having a reason to go to Abu Dhabi for the first time in 2 years, I drove up to the new ADNEC to see what it was all about.

I was disappointed. Blame it on the fact that maybe I was blown away by the OTT ATM Dubai stands or perhaps that I just expect a little too much for a first attempt but there was something lacking in Cscape AD.

Ofcourse, there were the impressive Frank Gehry's Guggenheim, Jean Nouvel's Louvre, Zaha Hadid's Performing Arts Centre and Tadao Ando's Maritime Museum. The Desert Island seemed inviting and so did the other REAL island projects, a great initiative by the leadership of AD to make this city a modern architectural wonder. According to Cityscape Abu Dhabi's press release "projects worth US$ 400 Billion were on Show at Cityscape Abu Dhabi"

$400 Billion!?! That figure is supposed to pack a punch so hard to anyone visiting Cityscape AD that one would walk out dazzled eyed with a moronic look of amazement.

But no, that didnt happen to me. Cityscape Abu Dhabi was just a property show with a few stands. I spoke to Jones Lang LaSelle there and asked them how was business and they almost laughed. One of their representatives said they were inundated with sales offers - to them.

On my 2 hour drive back to Dubai with the desert (which may one day be all buildings) on both sides I thought what did this exhibition lack? What does Abu Dhabi lack which Dubai has. And then it dawned - it was the "oomph" factor. Dubai knows how to infuse glamour with real estate and has done it really well. It was also competition. In Dubai a private expatriate developer can feel he/she can make as big and better of a stand than Dubai's state owned developers.

Dubai thrives on competition whereas in AD there is no competition. They probably say they dont need it but competition is what drives innovation and creativity.

In my two hours at Cityscape Abu Dhabi it was quite obvious that they are in no hurry to sell. Cash flow was obviously not a concern. But if Abu Dhabi wants to razzle and dazzle it needs to find its "oomph", wherever and whatever that may be.

The World, Dubai

2007-05-14T06:08:00.000+04:00

It's been a while since my last blog, those nice guys at Dubaibuy.info have been revamping their site to give you a bit more of a feel of Dubai with some way cool images.

I used my time off to scout around and see how things are coming along in Dubai. I really do feel privileged to live and work in this fabulous city!

Burj Dubai has grown this past week to surpass all of the tallest buildings in the United States and any day now it will become the worlds tallest building in its own right.

But what I found more fascinating than the Burj, because we've been watching it grow every day anyway, is what has been going on at The World. It's hard to see from my villa which of course isn't on the beach anyway! However, I saw the latest aerial photo of The World new on Dubaibuy.info the other day, so as a self confessed sand sculptress I set out to find out what those innovators at Nakheel have been doing with sand 3 miles out in the Gulf.

The reclamation is almost done, about 94% I hear, so pretty soon now the 300 islands will start to have structures growing on them. It's going to be a really awesome development. While I was digging around in the sand I came across an amazing new satellite shot of The World that I just had to share with you all.

So now The World can be seen on the world from space... it's gotta be confusing for those Martians!!

Enjoy the pic...

2007-02-25T07:08:00.000+04:00

The World...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaLRoXi8b1M

Simply Amazing!

2007-01-26T20:44:00.000+04:00

A big shout out to all those that have been inspired, fascinated and have invested in our favorite city - Dubai! And for all those that havent, I'm glad to make your acquaintance.

This blog is in partnership with my freinds at DubaiBuy.info, the online portal that wants to turn the real estate market upside down - literally! Allow me to explain - Usually buyer Smith flies into Dubai from wherever seeking to buy property. Soon after his search he realizes he is confused. Through my years of selling real estate I see this all the time.

Now this will change!! DubaiBuy will have real estate developers chasing potential buyers because once that form is filled they will be competing for your sale and allow you to chose those properties that have fit your criteria.

So let me begin by asking everyone out there to tell me what their experiences with Dubai real estate has been...