Dubai/Saudi
Back in Saudi after a few months. Flew from Dubai last night. Yesterday was nuts. 4 hours sleep then up at 4:30am to drive to border of Oman for big group ride. 60 expats show up in the middle of nowhere to get their bike fix (not fixed). I love the hard core roadies. Actually quite cold in the mornings here-arm warmers and vest for sure.
We ride for about 20 minutes then cross a border with a very casual guard who cheers us on as we roll through. Incredible landscape, could be middle of Arizona- we roll through at a moderate pace- lots of short but steep climbs up into the hills of Oman. Oman has very little oil so is relatively poor compared to it’s close neighbors in the UAE.
Dubai continues to grow out of control. The worlds tallest building is finally finished- the Burj Dubai stands over 800m high and has 160 stories. Three hotels, spas, private residences etc. It’s an awesome spectacle. The buildings around it are normal sized skyscrapers and are completely dwarfed by it. It’s quite surreal.
If you’re looking to buy real estate in Dubai now is a good time. The market has completely crashed in the last year but promises to pick up again soon I hear. Based on the last two days, I would say it’s still booming. It’s like the Las Vegas of the middle east- if you can think of it, they have probably built it- it’s where billions of people from the middle east come to party. Yahoooo.
amazing jazz! thats awesome that you get to witness dubai in all its splendor!