Adios Dubai

It's become a cliche to write about the architecture and changing skyline in Dubai. Cranes transforming desert into signature buildings within months are remarked on by everyone who comes, and returns after a couple of months.
The infrastructure is struggling to cope.
Traffic is ridiculous at rush hour. Petrol is 30 cents a liter and there are just too many cars crammed onto the roads. Public transport is dire and consists of old buses spewing black smoke ferrying the poor bastards from Pakistan and Bangladesh to the construction sites. These guys work around the clock and Health and Safety regs don't hold up progress. Not a union man myself usually, but this place is surely in need of some sort of worker protection.
Taxis are cheap and nobody walks anywhere. There is an accident every two minutes.
Building after building go up with astonishing speed and you have to wonder how well built they can possibly be. The famous "Palm" is sinking ( slightly) and I'm sure that the lemmings who raced to buy up the condos and villas, are wishing they'd been a little more circumspect.
The bubble keeps expanding.
One terrorist bomb here will it go "POP!" .
I don't want to be too pessimistic, but I can't help but wonder at the sanity of it all as the newest condo development "Airport City" was announced. Who wants to live at an airport with round the clock flights buzzing your swimming pool?
Optimism abounds and the stupid money is racing not to be left out.
The latest structure rising to take pride of place, is the "new" tallest building in the world. Taipei 101's days at the top of the heap are numbered.

At 3 am I'm getting on a 9 hour flight to Seoul. I'll be in Korea for 30 hours and then head for Beijing. I'll need to sleep at some point and I pity the poor souls on EK 322 who will get a double barrel Terry snoring session tonight.

My most enduring impression of this visit is feeling aircon sliding out of cash dispensing slot of the ATM on the street beside my hotel. New meaning to the concept of cold hard cash.

Weirdly surreal and a first.

I'll post some more if I get bored at the airport.

T