I went to visit my brother (who lives and works) in Dubai in 2007 and enjoyed my short stay. I managed to make more new friends (expats and others) and even had some time to look around a little and enjoy the beaches. I found Dubai to be an extremely modern city with all the 'mod cons' and glitz and glamour. Unfortunately I was on a less materialistic drive and couldn't fully appreciate the staggering impact of what all that money could do. I welcomed the fully enclosed air conditioned bustops what with the days topping at a high of 45 degrees celcious (and that was just the start of their summer) but I thought the indoor Ski Slope was a little over the top. The locals certainly enjoyed it. The really nice beaches belonged to really wealthy people or big hotels and if you brought bucks with you it made all the differance. This picture was taken along the beach toward the 'Burj Al Arab'.. the one and only seven star hotel in the world. Dubai's standards certainly are impressive.