Dubai At Night

Took a drive with my son in his Subaru hot rod that somehow gives me a feeling that we were always out of sync witht he rest of the crowd when it comes to cars and RVs in Dubai. Like all great pilots flying the Marktoum's fleet of Emerates Air, my son drives like a maniac on the Dubai dusty and often muddy highways although he swears and insists that the rest of the Emeratis who drove their BMWs and Messeratis were total idiots when it comes to driving. Dubai is considered the second most congested city only to Cairo when it comes to traffic in the whole of the Middle East and sources say that the volume of vehivcles on the road is ever growing. I asked one of my son's colleagues why everyone drives big and heavy Rvs. and he said that it is for safety reasons and not prestige. Most of the roads are excellent, however being relatively newly constructed, however during the rainy days one sees lighted signs warning against 'ponds' on the road. In an area of what used to at one time being a desert this is a modern day miracle for Dubai. On a more serious note i foresee a major problem for the city if the municipality does not pay carefull attention to proper drainage system as part of its blueprint, I do not even want to dwell on what the sewage system is like as yet.

The world's tallest building like 'the needle whose eye through which the camel could not pass' strikes up into the desert skies like a lightning rod inviting the wrath of Allah. This structure has brought the Petronas Twin Towers a notch down from being the tallest phallic symbol man has created pointing at the heavens. It stands among some of the the most uniquely designed architectures in modern times lining the skyline of what is the Heart od Dubai City. In ancient times the Beduins musy have congregated in the area never imagining in their wildest dreams that their Wadis would one day become a world class city.

Where Mecca and Madina draws muslims from all over the world yearly, The Emerates is a shopper's heaven and visitors comes from all over the world to have a great time fulfilling whatever their needs may be. This is the future playground for the rich and famous no doubt after all the infra structures has been set and the last of the tower cranes has disappeared from the skyline, perhaps The Emerates will be ready to do some serious tourism business.

In the meantime what do I really feel about my being here so far? It is too sterile for me, this place is like there is very little human warmth, like one big bazaar where alot of business florishes but you will never know what the other guy feels beyond the Dirhams. The locals, as far as foreigners are concern is like oil and water and symbolically it spells outright in their traditional costumes of men in white and women in black long robes. The foreigners are here to earn a living mostly in one form or another and what with the global economic as it is, one goes where the money is and most are not here to socialize or learn about the native or the country and its social customs, norms and religion. I have yet to meet a real home boy Emerati someone who I could sit and talk to about life here, dive beneath the surface and touch the bases of culture and traditions, but that is not going to happen not in the near future, not on this trip.

I am watching my son live his life, reflecting over what his sense of values are and what makes him tick while holding back a father's role and enjoying what is being offered with grace and thankfulness. I have almost completed two murals since I arrived and am quite happy with the outcome, safe to say that I have left my mark on the walls in Dubai as an artist. I am enjoying the fantastic food and company my son and his friends has to offer and the sights that I would never have behold had I not been here. I am in another country on another journey to find out.

Deep down I feel a kind of loneliness, an empty feeling like something is missing. Maybe I miss my two children back in Malaysia, but that's not entirely true as they are well cared for and are most probably glad that I am out of their hair for a while. Maybe this is part of ageing a process that creeps up on you whenever you are having fun and whispers in your ears that 'this too will pass'. Bright lights and glittering tall sky scrapers, luxurious dinings at fancy restaurants, I hunger for deeper more meaningful conversations and spiritual awakenings not talks of fish n chips and the traffic in Dubai.