Our adventure has come to a close and the cloud of mystery covering this foreign land has been lifted.  If someone came up to me and said, "Oh, hey Pete - How was Dubai?"  Here's my answer.

Dubai is safe.  Safer than Philly.  Not once did I feel threatened - at all.  The people here are warm and welcoming.  No doubt, there are places in the Middle East that are unsafe.  It is not in the UAE.  The Middle East is slightly smaller than the entire United States - it's huge.  A high murder rate in Philadelphia doesn't characterize Pennsylvania, much less the whole USA.  The same principle holds in this part of the world.

Dubai takes a long view.  Anyone can readily give their organization's 2030 vision.  At times, this creates a disconnect from foreign comprehension of today's decisions - for right or wrong.

Dubai is new.  The Rolling Stones have been around longer than Dubai.  To be exact, 1971 is regarded as the dawn of Dubai as we know it.

Dubai is developing.  Progress here is real, but development takes time and Dubai is still maturing.  The benefit of later development is learning from and replicating tried and true processes from the West and other regions.  The downside is that tried and true processes are often times true in the context of the tried.  That is, what works for one state or culture sometimes must be understood from its evolution. 

Dubai is not oil.  Trade, manufacturing and the experience economy fuels the majority of the GDP.  Oil is less than 5%.

Dubai is not a flash in the pan.  Trends will come and go, bubbles will build and burst.  However, an unequivocal geographic fact remains: Dubai is 4 hrs from 2 billion people and counting.  It bridges Europe, the Far East, Africa and Russia with one another.  This is what will feed the trade and tourism industry here for years to come.

When traveling abroad, remember this golden rule: you are your greatest ambassador.  Take pride in that and you'll be fine.  Said another way, conduct yourself like you're meeting your girlfriend's parents for the first time and you'll be received well anywhere.  I've had the fortune of traveling to the Far East, the Middle East, Western Europe, Eastern Europe and Africa - and that has been my take away everywhere despite pre-trip anxieties to each new area.

I'll close taking a page out of LeVar Burton's book: "don't take my word for it."  See Dubai for yourself.

Kareha from Dubai - SIGNING OFF.

It is an old middle eastern tradition that when a baby is born, the hair on its head is shaved and the family pays the weight of this hair in gold, silver or jewels to charity.  Altruistic inception.  Cool concept.

This has nothing to do with what we did on the 10th, but I thought that was an interesting take away from a visit to the Sharjah heritage museum (Sharjah is one of the seven emirate states).  

No, no - the 10th was our next to last day here in Dubai and the highlight of our day was a crusade through the open sandy lands of eastern Dubai in big old Nissan SUVs.  This highlight following a great morning site visit to a local manufacturer of cables, Ducab.

Prior to hitting the sandy slopes, our drivers let the air out of tires as one must do to navigate tires through sand.  We then went through a nauseating journey of yelps and laughs until our newish driver popped two tires.  A serendipitous snafu, though, as we got to get out, take in our foreign environment, sand surf, free walk and take 1,000 pictures of ourselves at the scene.

A bit later we were back on the sand and eventually arrived at our destination:  An open air restaurant and market in a small valley surrounded by hills of sand. 

We closed out the night sitting on pillows around a table, taking in lamb kabobs, curried goodness and watching some belly dancing.

Kareha Out.

On the eighth day of January 2013, our fair group visited the Dubai Financial Market, sat through a lecture on Islamic Banking, and sipped tea at a 7 star sail-boat shaped hotel that sells $50,000 cell phones in the lobby.

After touring through the trading floor of the DFM, we learned their market is very much the same as our own in the US - rules, regulations, technological trading and security systems.  Whereas the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC) operates in the free zone outside the jurisdiction of UAE (we visited the DIFC earlier on in our adventure), the DFM operates under federal authority under the UAE's jurisdiction.

Islamic Banking is an interesting system that creatively side steps Muslim law particularly with regard to Riba, or interest, which is illegal to charge.  So, for very conservative muslims, this opens the door for banking and financing opportunities that was once closed.  It's kind of like a mortgage - for everything you'd want to finance.  With a fixed profit load instead of interest.  Por ejemplo, I want to buy a car.  I sign a contract with the bank.  The bank buys the car for, say, $30K (market price) and sells the car to me for $35K, which I purchase in monthly payments over the course of four years.  There exist similar methods with taking out lines of credit (like Islamic credit cards).  Unique risks and complexities exist within this method of banking, no doubt, but a considerable amount of literature exists that provides greater detail around the pros (and cons) and growth of this system.  Check it.

We capped our evening rather luxuriously taking tea at the Burj Al Arab, one of two 7 star hotels that exist in the world.  Google it.  Colorful.  Decadent.  Fragrant.  Smooth.

Looking out from our room high up in the tower at the beams of white steel that halo the hotel, it seemed ripe for a Bond style chase scene that ends with a leap from the hotel's helipad with a one handed grasp onto an escaping helicopter.  

I digress.  Here's the breakdown of tea, by course:

I. Champagne
II. Crustless mini-sammies: lox, cucumber, beef, chix and tuna salads
III. Salmon Wellington
IV. Biscuits with clotted cream and jams
V. Desert Pastries and Coffee, Tea
VI. Assorted truffles
VII. Kareha Out

Today we had an interactive session with the Principal Commercial Officer at the US Consulate in Dubai.  After passing through strict security we were lead into a room flying both the American Flag and the UAE Flag ( which has a vertical red stripe on the left side and then horizontal green, white and red strips.)  We were temporarily back on US soil.  We learned about US export policy in the middle east as well as the ease of doing business in this part of the world for US companies. This is a very business friendly environment for American companies, and the Commercial Officer made it clear that they are here to help us with any business issues here.  In order to do business in UAE you need to have a domestic partner. The US consulate will set up meetings with several well researched potential partners, and help you to decide which on would be the best fit.  The partnership is a 51% (UAE), 49%  (US) split with the domestic partner, but there are legal ways to obtain a "silent" partner for a relatively small fee.  Overall, we came away with an understanding of how we can develop our own businesses in this region.

We also had a lecture at the Westen Hotel by a director of the Starwoods resort chain.  We learned about the business of tourism in Dubai from the perspective of a large chain.   Even in the 2008 economic crises their hotel remained profitable and now that things have recovered they are doing very well.  We also learned about the Starwoods branding strategy and target segments in the GCC region.  As always we were met with tea, coffee, and snacks prior to our meeting, part of the more cerem  -DSJ

Today we hit up the Dubai Chamber of Commerce, learned the cultural do's and don't's in a business meeting, and surged to the top of the Burj Khalifa to Celine Dion's majestic voice.

The Chamber: A Brief History of Dubai
The Chamber of Commerce was a great visit with well spoken speakers.  Not surprisingly, the Chamber does what Chambers do...facilitate business growth in the region.   One of the interesting bits they shared was a brief history of how Dubai has been characterized over time.

• Pre 1956: the Pearl Era; this area was rich with pearls, which drove the economy until Japan developed a way to naturally manufacture pearls
  

• 1956 - 1971: The Oil Era; oil was discovered in this country in 1956, and brought in a new kind of wealth and economy that would lay the foundation...for laying the foundation.
  

• 1971 - present: The Infrastructure Era; over the last several decades, Dubai rose from the sands: roads, schools, hospitals and a sea port were built.  Then came commerce and industry from around the world.   This infrastructure is still being built.  Dubai wants to go from being home of 2 million people to 6 million people - tripling in size in the next decade.
  

Pretend Time
We sat through an excellent lecture on business tact here in the gulf region.  To summarize, I will describe a successful, imaginary business interaction between me (a Westerner) and a group from the gulf region.

"Despite the 125 degree weather, I dressed in my finest business formal garb and made my way into the building to greet my prospective gulf client to try and seal the deal.  Upon entering the room, I quickly eyed up the crowd to gauge oldest to youngest and started introducing myself to the oldest person first.  I gave a firm handshake but came in much closer person to person than I usually would in the states.  As I moved to the next oldest, one of the young guys came up to me and introduced himself.  I allowed it and moved on with my chronological approach.  I stepped up to one of the ladies but did not extend my hand, waiting for her to make a move first.  She didn't, so I nodded to her and I moved on.  After briefly greeting every single person in the room, we sat down.

I sat up straight.  Despite my preference to sit legs crossed, I did not - ever.  Nor did I stretch out my legs and dare show the bottoms of my shoes to my prospects.  

I was a little queezy from the exhaustion of my flight and the cup of coffee I just finished prior to arriving to the meeting - last thing I wanted was another drink.  I was offered a drink.  I accepted the drink and made sure to visibly take some sips.  I was not hungry.  I was offered a snack.  I accepted the snack and made sure to visibly take some bites.

The meeting began.  Throughout my presentation, the head honcho took some calls and stepped out, I was interrupted several times, the group had to step out for prayer once.  I remained patient and relaxed as I came in expecting the unexpected, but knowing the unexpected was the norm and not a sign of a meeting gone awry.

Towards the end of my pitch, the head honcho excused himself for a smoke.  I knew that meant decision making time.  Shortly thereafter, the boss returned and said he will hire my company.  I made the sale.  I did not bother him with signing on the dotted line.  I would wait to take care of those formalities with his entourage of colleagues.  We shook hands and he left.  I did not ask for his business card.

Throughout this whole interaction, I suppressed my amiable nature and penchant for making at least one light comment or joke along the way.  I was strictly business, knowing that if I could make the sale, a time for that stuff may come."

End scene.

The Burj Khalifa
59 second ride up 124 stories on the fastest, longest elevator in the world, up the tallest building in the world that weighs more than 100,000 elephants, collects 15 million gallons of water via condensation each year, and whose steel rebar could wrap around a fourth of the world.

Kareha Out

Throughout our 15 days in Dubai, we have 4 free days: January 1, Friday and Saturday: January 4 and 5 (weekends in this part of the world are Friday and Saturday), and January 11 (Friday).

These four days happen to be blogging holidays, too, but today's worth dishing out some words.  To keep life easy, I'll dish it out in a series of tweets following a brief preface.

A handful of our noble gang rented our bus driver for the day to head out to another of the 7 states that make up the United Arab Emirates: Al Ain (Dubai and Abu Dhabi are each
 states themselves).

#camel: passed by some camel racing on the drive out

#lulu:  thanks Jeff

#legit desert: desert takes many forms here but we drove by classic looking wind swept desert-scapes

#camel: zipped thru camel market, saw camels, more camels and a freshly born goat take first steps #aw

#hafeet: limestone mt, 1300 m tall, BC burial grounds, awesome views

#silk ice cream bars beat the heat

#oasis: greenery in the sand really changes the scenery of the land. #rhyme

#natural hot springs: doggy paddled through 110 deg water, got dizzy, got out, felt great

#leisure cafe: arabian buffet

#sheesha

#flies

#lots of flies

#great car convos

#awesome fly by the seat of our pants day

#Kareha Out

Today we traveled to Abu Dhabi - another of the 7 Emirates, which was about an hour and a half bus ride away.  Our first stop was Abu Dhabi University, were we received a warm welcome and a lecture from a prominent UAE Politician, and learned in more depth about the UAE government. The Federal National Council is their version of parliament - they have an elected president with a 5 year term.  They also have an elected legislative body with 40 members (approx. 20% from the Abu Dhabi and Dubai Emirates). 23% of the government is female.

As a rapidly growing country they have the luxury of studying the entire world for best practices in all areas - government, healthcare, schools, etc and have the ability to implement them.  It seems they mindset here is on a grand scale - they are building several new cities at the moment, and even though the already have the worlds tallest building and the worlds largest mall there are plans to build even bigger ones.  Also, some of the worlds most prestigious universities are represented here in Abu Dhabi, including NYU and the Sorbonne. 

After lunch we continued to the grand mosque which was completed in 2007.  The inside is adorned with semi precious gems and gold.  On the floor is the worlds largest carpet.  Some of the floral decorations in the mosque were designed by a British artist, and the giant chandlers were made in Germany.  our tour was great, and our tour-guide had spend 7 years living in America, which he loved.  Its hard to do this mosque justice in words - but it was breathtaking.

We continued on to the Viceroy Hotel on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi for dinner and the remainder of our evening.  It also hard to describe this hotel - but think F1 Race Track a meets yachts, meets water all in a single glance.  We received a tour of the presidential suite, where Madonna has recently stayed.

What a day.

-DSJ 

What do billions of dollars + open land + a Royal nod to being number one in everything equal?  A pretty wild experience.  It's the wow-factor product of this equation that has built one of Dubai's most stable industries: Tourism & Hospitality also known as "the Experience Economy."

There exists an under current of Too Big to Fail here in Dubai by way of oil money.  If the Sheikh or a Royal family backs a project, it will happen.  One mindset behind this, through the words of Sheikh Rashid to his son as Dubai was at the early stages of growth, is that the money may not always be around, so let's spend it while we can.  Even if there is question around the near term financial return.  In holding to this, the wow factor train has been able to persevere in Dubai through the financial crisis.

As it stands today, even as mega-projects have been put on hold in Dubai (e.g., Dubailand: Super Disney, Nakheel Tower: Super 1 Km tower, Palm Deira: Super Palm), Dubai still claims host to the world's largest mall with an indoor ski mountain (we're going there tonight), the world's most luxurious hotel (7 stars; we're going there for tea next week), the world's tallest building (the Burj Khalifa - we're riding to the top of it next week), the Palm Islands (we rocked out at the Atlantis at the tip of the Palm on NYE), and many other Best Of places.

This adds to the region's Experience Economy which represents 20% of GDP and lures many of the 30 million passengers through Dubai's airport each year.  In several years, that number is projected to tip 120 million and support a 10% annual growth estimate the tourism industry is expected to...experience.  While the local real estate and financial markets are harder to read in the short and long term, the passion for building the biggest and best is bringing millions of tourists to experience all this "wow," which is breeding even more "wow" from the growth of the fashion and retail industries.  A self-fulfilling and prosperous cycle.

All this the outcome of a real estate, financial sector and tourism seminar back to back to back.  Oh, and for a final nugget of wisdom: just because it's sold in a souk, doesn't mean you can wear it...no matter how convincing the pleasant souk merchants might make you think otherwise.  Maybe that's why I paid more than the next guy, too.

Kareha Out.

Today we visited the old Souks in Dubai.  They are a huge area of outdoor markets where everything is sold from gold, spices, and fashion to perfumes.  Everything was unique and exotic including fragrant Arabic perfume, and fine saffron.   There was more shinny gold then I had ever seen before. 

Walking through the market we experienced our first call to prayer beaming from the nearby mosque.  There was lot of haggling in the market, and we were approach by several people interesting in selling their product.

Next was our departure to Atlantis for new years eve.  You could feel the excitement in the group to spend new years eve at such a storied resort.  Dressed to the nines we departed for the outer ring of the palm tree shaped island.  We entered the resort taking about 100 pictures of the jaw dropping architecture of the resort along the plethora of ridiculously expensive cars in the area. We dined at the Saffron restaurant - where their buffet included lobster, oysters, Arabic foods, dates,  Indian foods, and much much more.  It was probably one of the largest and exotic buffets I have ever seen, and it included a giant 2013 ice sculpture. 

Around 11:45pm we were escorted campaign in hand to the beach, and were floored at the amazing fireworks display over the water and the entire Dubai skyline.  Fireworks shot off of the Burj Al Arab in the distance and it seemed as if fireworks were coming out of the whole skyline.

This was surely a new years to remember. 

There's an Arabic proverb that goes, "Grapes are eaten one at a time."  It's a refreshing adage aimed at pacing oneself in a multi-tasking obsessed world.

But who hasn't made the classic attempt to fit as many grapes in your mouth at once?  Despite your mom maybe yelling at you for its absurdity, it's an appealing break from the norm that may get a little messy, but all in all, a worthwhile initiative.

That is Dubai: a mouthful of grapes.

At the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) today, we were presented with a video about commerce in Dubai.  The video opened by boldly stating, "Rome wasn't built in a day; relatively speaking, Dubai was."  In a single generation, one of the largest commercial hubs in the modern world emerged from barren desert sands - literally.  It's no secret the picture of growth hasn't been pristine, but no record-breaking mouthful of grapes is.  The salient fact is that this city's place in the world is real - particularly as a cross-roads of industry between the Eastern and Western worlds; it's the sustainability of an incredible rate of growth that remains in question.

Grapes are [safely] eaten one at a time, but it's exciting to eat a mouthful of them at a time now and again.  And, the payoff can be great despite the hand-slaps and skepticism you might receive along the way.  As we say in the West, "Everything in moderation.  Even moderation."

Kareha Out.